NFL Power Rankings Week 13: Which Teams Are on the Rise in the Playoff Hunt?

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, we can now start to look forward to the playoffs and actually draw up a clear playoff picture. 

Contenders are shaping up for a legitimate playoff run while the pretenders are simply showing their now colors. 

Now that the NFL's Week 12 is all but over with yet one more game to be played on Monday night, we can start analyze the results from this past weekend of action. 

With that being said, which teams are on the rise in the playoff hunt? 

Denver Broncos

Tim Tebow has done it again, his Denver Broncos were able to pull off an incredible 16-13 overtime victory against the free-falling San Diego Chargers.

I do realize that Tebow did not throw the game-winning touchdown or kick the game-winning field goal Sunday against the Chargers, but he was efficient. Tebow posted a solid 95.4 quarterback rating with a touchdown thrown as well as running for 67 yards on 22 carries—which is the record for most carries by a quarterback since the NFL merger. 

With the victory, the Broncos are now 5-1 with Tebow as their starter but more importantly improve to 6-5 on the season and are just a game behind the Oakland Raiders in the AFC West as well as a game behind the Cincinnati Bengals for the final playoff spot. 

New York Jets

Just a week after being "Tebowed," the New York Jets bounced back in a huge way with an impressive 28-24 victory over their divisional rivals, the Buffalo Bills.

Granted, the Jets would not make the playoffs if the season were to end today, but with a 6-5 record they're still in contention.

The key for success moving forward is that New York's defense needs to be its strength while Mark Sanchez needs to up his game and play like he did today against the Bills as he tossed four touchdowns and produced when his team needed him the most. 

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens came up huge with a convincing 16-6 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Thanksgiving night. 

In the first ever Harbaugh Bowl, John's Ravens walked away with an impressive victory over arguably the NFL's best defense. 

Baltimore did not score a lot of points, but they simply did not need to. Baltimore's defense managed to outplay San Fran's defense as their pass rush tormented Alex Smith all night as they tallied up nine sacks. 

The Ravens put up a solid case for being the team to beat in the AFC.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals may have lost two straight games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, but showed a strong case of resiliency Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.

Andy Dalton and the Bengals pulled off  a gusty 23-20 victory over the Browns, which improves their record to 7-4.

Cincinnati has the final Wild Card spot in the AFC and will face Pittsburgh Steelers next weekend—a game that is arguably a must-win for the young Bengals roster. 

Tony Santorsa's Week 13 Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers

2. Baltimore Ravens

3. New England Patriots

4. San Francisco 49ers

5. New Orleans Saints*

6. Pittsburgh Steelers

7. Atlanta Falcons

8. Dallas Cowboys

9. Cincinnati Bengals

10. Chicago Bears

11. Houston Texans

12. Detroit Lions

13. Oakland Raiders

14. Denver Broncos

15. New York Giants

16. New York Jets

17. Tennessee Titans

18. Buffalo Bills

19. Philadelphia Eagles

20. San Diego Chargers

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

22. Miami Dolphins

23. Kansas City Chiefs

24. Carolina Panthers

25. Washington Redskins

26. Arizona Cardinals

27. Seattle Seahawks

28. Cleveland Browns

29. Jacksonville Jaguars

30. Minnesota Vikings

31. St. Louis Rams

32. Indianapolis Colts

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