NFL Power Rankings Week 12: Sliding Teams That Will Stay in Contention

While the 2011 NFL season is more than half over, there is still a lot of football to be played. That's welcome news for some teams.

All of these teams once looked in great position to at least make the playoffs, but are now in a far more precarious spot.

Still, even though recent news hasn't been positive, these teams are far from done.

New York Jets

If the Jets offense can find any kind of consistency at all, a strong finish to the season is possible—even likely.

At 5-5, the rest of the schedule sets up very well for a 10-6 finishing record. That will generally earn a spot in the playoffs. With no team in the AFC better than 7-3, 10-6 is quite likely to be good enough.

Once the Jets are in the playoffs, they have proved they can win and win on the road, which they will certainly need to do this year. Unfortunately, they're likely going to be battling with this team for that playoff spot...

Cincinnati Bengals

Even with another game against both the Steelers and Ravens on the schedule, the Bengals are in an OK position. 

The Browns, Rams and Cardinals are all below .500. They also host a Texans team that will be without Matt Schaub. Additionally, it's certainly not a given they will lose to both the Ravens and Steelers again, as both games were close.

Cincinnati certainly can't be counted out as a 10-6 team, which puts it in great shape to make the playoffs.

Chicago Bears

In one respect, they're not sliding. Riding a five-game winning streak, the Bears are one of the hottest teams in the league. 

But news hasn't exactly been good for the Bears recently, as Jay Cutler is possibly out for the season. Still, I am not counting them out of contention in any way. 

At 7-3 with big wins over potential playoff rivals, a 10-6 record will be good enough to get Chicago in the playoffs. The rest of its  season sets up well. The Bears go to Oakland, host Kansas City, go to Denver, host Seattle and then finish in Green Bay and Minnesota. 

At least three wins in those games will be wins, if not more. The Bears still have Matt Forte and a strong defense.

Michael Dixon's Week 12 NFL Power Rankings

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