NFL Power Rankings: Teams That Will Use Big Wins To Crack Top 10

Three teams are ready to announce themselves as legitimate playoff threats this week. They are all lurking just outside the top 10 of the power rankings, and they will crash through that barrier with big wins this week.

No. 13 New York Giants

The Giants are going to come out like a hungry dog against the Saints. They have lost two straight, and are now 6-4. They are still tied for first place, but they are tied with a Dallas team that is hotter than the Giants are cold.

The Giants know they need to snap their skid.

On the other side of things, they will be playing a Saints team that is coming off of their bye, and is alone in first place. 

The Saints will have nowhere near the rabid desperation of the Giants. The game before the bye the Saints beat a Falcons to give them a 1.5-game cushion in the division. That has undoubtedly resulted in an unavoidable sense of contentment for the Saints.

Teams have struggled after the bye this season anyway, and New Orleans will continue that trend. 

Teams are just 13-15 following a week off.

Sean Peyton has been average following the bye with a 3-3 record. However, that .500 winning percentage is well below his .622 winning percentage as a head coach. 

The Giants will hit the Saints in the mouth coming out of the gates and the Saints will be trying to recover the rest of the way.

New York's fifth-ranked passing attack will hit for big plays in the first half against the 19th-ranked passing defense of the Saints.

The Saints will make a bit of a second-half run, but it will not be enough.

Prediction: Giants 27, Saints 21

No. 11 Oakland Raiders

The Raiders have won two straight. They are in sole possession of first place, and they are starting to hit their stride in the Carson Palmer era.

They are one win away from cracking the top 10 in my power rankings. They will get that win as the Cutler-less Bears visit Oakland.

With the Bears having Caleb Hanie under center the Raiders will be able to gear up to stop Matt Forte. This is going to be key. The Raiders rush defense has struggled mightily at times this year. They are 31st in yards allowed per rush.

However, in situations where they have been able focus on stopping the run they have found success. Last week against rookie QB Christian Ponder the Raiders held the Vikings RBs to just 3.4 yards per carry.

In Week 5, playing against a Texans team that was without Andre Johnson, they held the Texans to just 2.8 yards per carry. They won both of those games.

They will find similar success against Forte, and shut the Bears offense down in the process.

Offensively, the Raiders will not have the same problem running the ball.

With Palmer under center the Bears will not be able to load up against the run. And while the Bears are 10th in rushing yards allowed per game, that number is misleading.

They are 29th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per carry. This works out well for a Raiders team ranked sixth in rushing yards per carry at 4.8.

The Raiders will be able to control the ball in this one, and grind out a comfortable victory.

Prediction: Raiders 24, Bears 13 

No. 14 Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons will remind everyone that they are legitimate Super Bowl contenders with a dominating win over the Vikings that will be their fifth victory in six games.  

The Falcons fell well under the radar with a lackluster 2-3 start. However, they have been improving every week since then.

The Falcons D is rock solid against the run. They are second in rushing yards allowed per game and seventh in yards allowed per rush.

This will be key against a Vikings team starting an erratic rookie QB, and with no Adrian Peterson to bail him out. The Vikings will not be going anywhere on the ground in this one.

That will lead to Ponder making mistakes like he did last week. The young QB chucked three picks after Peterson left the game.

Ponder will be going against an improving pass defense. Atlanta is 20th in the league in yards allowed per pass attempt, but that number is shrinking by the week. For the season they are allowing seven yards per pass. In the last three games they are allowing just 5.7 yards per pass.

On offense, the Falcons' balance will be too much for the Vikings to handle.

The Falcons are improving in yards per attempt on offense, just like they are 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.

That number will only improve as they take on a battered and bad Vikings secondary. Minnesota is 24th in the league in yards allowed per pass attempt.

The Falcons will walk away with an easy win.

Prediction: Falcons 31, Vikings 13

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