NFL Power Rankings: Underachievers Who Will Hit Their Stride

The following two teams haven't played as good yet as they will be playing at the end of the season. That is a scary proposition for the rest of the league.

The NFL is all about peaking at the right time, and these two teams are prepared to do just that.

No. 6 Baltimore Ravens

At 7-3 it is a little absurd to suggest the Ravens are underachievers, but then again it was completely absurd this team lost to the Seahawks and the Jaguars.

The Ravens have looked as good as any team in football at times this season.

Like any Ravens team, that starts with their defense. They are first in yards allowed per rush and ninth in yards allowed per pass attempt.

Their failures this year have not been due to their defense. They have been due to their offense and their befuddling propensity to get Ray Rice the ball.

In those two losses, Ray Rice had a combined 13 carries. That is not enough for one game, let alone two.

The Ravens need to be a run first team. Even when they aren't finding success with the run they need to keep pounding the rock and be confident in the fact that their defense will get them the ball back. This will wear a defense down and lead to success in the second half.

Instead, the Ravens have been a pass-happy team. They are third in the league in pass attempts per game. That leads to games like the ones against the Jaguars and Seahawks where their offense can't find a rhythm.

The Ravens will figure this out. They have put together balanced game plans for most of their game, and they will avoid the fatal mistake of abandoning the run in the future, and when they do they will avoid the kind of ugly losses that have pushed them down the rankings.

No. 14 Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons are not having anywhere near the success they had in the regular season last year. They are just 6-4 this season. However, they are ascending at just the right time, and they have the kind of team that can be dangerous in the playoffs.

The Falcons' D got of to a slow start, but they have turned that around. They are very strong against the run. They are second in rushing yards allowed per game and seventh in yards allowed per rush.

They are 20th in the league in yards allowed per pass attempt, but they are making big strides in that area. For the season they are allowing 7.0 yards per pass, but in the last three games they are allowing just 5.7 yards per pass.

On offense the Falcons are as balanced as any team in the league. They are 10th in passing yards per game and 11th in rushing yards.

They have made similar gains on offense in the passing game as they have on defense. For the season they are averaging 6.9 yards per pass, but in their last three they are averaging 8.6 yards per pass.

The Falcons have used these improvements to win four of their last five game after starting the season 2-3. This team should continue to get better.

Richard Langford's Power Rankings

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