NFL Power Rankings: 4 Contenders Trending in the Wrong Direction

When it comes to the 2011 NFL season, mediocrity is king.

As many of you have already noticed, there just aren't that many legitimately good teams this year. There are certainly teams with good records, no doubt about that, but a small handful of them just don't pass the eye test.

That doesn't matter as far as the standings are concerned, but NFL power rankings are all about the eye test. You have to know what to look for when you're looking at contenders, and weaknesses tend to stand out more than strengths. When you do find weakness, that's when you have to knock a team down a peg or two, record be damned.

Personally, there are four contenders that I'm down on at the moment. Allow me to tell you why.

Detroit Lions (No. 13)

Sure, the Lions are 7-4 and tied for second in the NFC North, but anybody who has watched them play in recent weeks should be able to vouch this is not the same team that started the year 5-0.

The Lions' biggest issue right now is their youth. This is something that can be a good thing, but the Lions have made the mistake of looking like a young team in recent weeks. They've made way too many dumb mistakes, and their composure has been pretty despicable at times.

Hothead defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has a lot to do with this. Perhaps the Lions will grow up if he's taken off the field for a few games.

Of course, that's up to the commissioner's office.

Chicago Bears (No. 10)

The Bears are the team tied with the Lions in the NFC North, but they'll never be weaker than they are right now.

It's not like it's any big secret why the Bears are so weak. They're going to be without Jay Cutler for a couple weeks, and his absence is already being felt. Making his first start in relief of Cutler against the Oakland Raiders, Caleb Hanie threw three interceptions. Had Cutler been under center, the Bears probably would have won the game.

As a whole, I think the Bears are a pretty decent team, but they're going to show us in the coming weeks why the quarterback position is the most important position in sports.

Houston Texans (No. 9)

The Texans are in the same boat as the Bears. The key difference is their situation is considerably more desperate.

Losing Matt Schaub was bad enough. Losing Matt Leinart is even worse. Without the two of them, it's up to rookie T.J Yates and whichever veteran the Texans to sign off the scrapheap to handle quarterback duties for the Texans.

The true bummer is the Texans are an elite team in pretty much every other area. Their defense is outstanding and they have the best rushing attack in the NFL. However, when you take their quarterback situation into account, they just don't stack up very well against the other top teams in the league.

Cincinnati Bengals (No. 8)

Yes, the Bengals won on Sunday, getting a late field goal from Mike Nugent to knock off the Cleveland Browns.

So, what's my problem with them?

Well, in so many words, it's that they needed a late field goal to beat the Browns, one of the worst teams in the league. A team that's supposed to be as good as the Bengals shouldn't need such dramatics, which leaves me wondering just how good they are.

The Bengals are still a good team, don't get me wrong, but since they lost two in a row to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens and then barely beat the Browns, I'm inclined to think they're not that good.

We're going to find out for sure down the stretch. The Bengals have two more games against the Ravens and Steelers, and they also have to face the Schaub- and Leinart-less Texans. If they lose those games—well, that just won't be good for them.

Zachary D. Rymer's Week 13 Power Rankings

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