NFL Power Rankings Week 12: New England Patriots and 5 Teams on the Rise

With 11 weeks gone in the NFL's regular season, some teams are starting to peak at the right time and others are peaking at the wrong time. One of each sits in the AFC East, the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins. 

New England Patriots, 6-3:  While their offense is showing signs of mortality, they are still scoring points, and more importantly, they are showing signs that they can stop people on defense too. They've given up just 19 points and 712 yards in the last two weeks combined, and they've forced six turnovers. 

Cleveland Browns, 4-6: For the second week in a row they outplayed their opponent, only this time it turned into a win. The Browns defense is playing well. The 19.3 points per game they've given up is the seventh best in the NFL. I'm not sure they want to be improving right now, but they are. A good young team with a chance to get better can help itself with an elite WR like Alshon Jeffery  . They need to lose enough to get him. 

Miami Dolphins, 3-7: I'm pretty sure Dolphins fans are wondering why this group couldn't have shown up at the beginning of the year. They didn't just beat the Bills. They beat them down. They beat them thoroughly. The question is why? So much for sucking right Reggie?

Denver Broncos, 5-5: Stop trying to understand and just accept it. For whatever reason, the fact is the Broncos are a better team with Tebow at the helm, even on defense. Since Tebow took over as the starter, they've given up nearly 80 yards a game and one less TD. Maybe there's something to this intangibles thing. 

Dallas Cowboys, 6-4: Everyone is waiting for Tony Romo to implode, but has anyone considered the possibility that it's not going to happen? The Pokes are firing on all cylinders right now. They've outgained their opponent in all but one game this season. Since losing to the Eagles they've forced seven turnovers and only committed one. When you're winning both of those wars you're going to win a lot of games. 

Team	Last Week	This Week	Change
Green Bay Packers	1	1	0
San Francisco 49ers	2	2	0
New Orleans Saints	3	3	0
Chicago Bears	4	4	0
New England Patriots	8	5	3
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	6	0
Baltimore Ravens	5	7	-2
Houston Texans	9	8	1
Dallas Cowboys	12	9	3
Detroit Lions	10	10	0
Atlanta Falcons	11	11	0
New York Jets	13	12	1
New York Giants	7	13	-6
Oakland Raiders	15	14	1
Denver Broncos	20	15	5
Tennessee Titans	18	16	2
Cincinnati Bengals	16	17	-1
Buffalo Bills	14	18	-4
Philadelphia Eagles	21	19	2
San Diego Chargers	17	20	-3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	19	21	-2
Cleveland Browns	29	22	7
Miami Dolphins	30	23	7
Seattle Seahawks	26	24	2
Jacksonville Jaguars	23	25	-2
Carolina Panthers	25	26	-1
St Louis Rams	28	27	1
Minnesota Vikings	27	28	-1
Kansas City Chiefs	22	29	-7
Arizona Cardinals	24	30	-6
Washington Redskins	31	31	0
Indianapolis Colts	32	32	0