NFL Power Rankings Week 12: Which Contenders Are Now Pretenders?

Games played after Thanksgiving are ultimately what separate the pretenders from the contenders. With that being said, some teams have already done a pretty good job of distancing themselves from the NFL's Week 11. 

These teams appeared to be on track to make a playoff run and even possibly a Super Bowl run, but now they're simply plummeting down the NFL power rankings entering Week 12. 

New York Jets

Where do I even start with the New York Jets? In a matter of five days, the Jets went from being 5-3 and a possible contender in the AFC East to a complete joke with losses against the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos. 

On Thursday night, the Jets were embarrassed by Tim Tebow and the Broncos, as they were literally "Tebowed."

New York is now 5-5 and on the outside looking in. 

Chicago Bears

How can I say that the 7-3 Chicago Bears are now pretenders? Well it's quite simple actually: Jay Cutler is likely out for the remainder of the season with a broken thumb on his throwing arm.

Despite winning their last five, the Bears are ultimately hopeless without Cutler as their new starting quarterback. Caleb Hanie lacks experience—and is no where as good as Cutler is. 

With the Bears being in the very-competitive NFC North, I am expecting the Detroit Lions to finish ahead of the Bears for second place in the divisional, behind the Green Bay Packers of course. 

Buffalo Bills

Sunday afternoon against the Miami Dolphins, the Buffalo Bills had a real legitimate shot at righting the ship—they failed on all levels with a putrid 35-8 loss.

Buffalo has now lost three in a row and are tied for second place in the AFC East with a 5-5 record with the New York Jets. 

The team's defense along with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Fred Jackson are not performing at the same level that they were a few weeks ago, when Buffalo was one of the better teams in the league, possibly an elite team. Now the Bills are simply a below-average team.

It certainly appears that the magic has run out in Buffalo. 

Cincinnati Bengals

It's a real shame that the Cincinnati Bengals play in the same division as the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers and there should be no reason to be negative about the 2011 Bengals' football team. In a matter of a year, the team has moved on without Carson Palmer, Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens with rookies Andy Dalton and A.J. Green leading the way to a solid 6-4 start. 

However, the Bengals have now lost two games in a row against divisional rivals, the Ravens and the Steelers, and now appear to be simply not good enough to make the playoffs.

I am definitely going to say that 2011 has been a complete success for Marvin Lewis and the Bengals, despite probably not making the playoffs. They have a lot of promising things going for them in the future, but as of right now they're nothing more than pretenders in the AFC. 

Tony Santorsa's Week 12 Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers

2. San Francisco 49ers

3. New Orleans Saints

4. New England Patriots* 

5. Chicago Bears

6. Baltimore Ravens

7. Pittsburgh Steelers

8. Detroit Lions

9. Houston Texans

10. Atlanta Falcons

11. New York Giants

12. Cincinnati Bengals

13. Dallas Cowboys

14. Oakland Raiders

15. Denver Broncos

16. Philadelphia Eagles

17. New York Jets

18. Buffalo Bills

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

20. Tennessee Titans

21. San Diego Chargers

22. Seattle Seahawks

23. Cleveland Browns

24. Miami Dolphins

25. Washington Redskins

26. Carolina Panthers

27. Kansas City Chiefs*

28. Jacksonville Jaguars

29. Arizona Cardinals

30. Minnesota Vikings

31. St. Louis Rams

32. Indianapolis Colts 

*Monday night game

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