NFL Power Rankings: Playoff Contenders That Will Fall Hard

The NFL is starting to get interesting heading into the final stretch of the season. The playoff push has begun with some surprising contenders and some of the usual suspects, which always seems to be the case every year.

Some of those playoff contenders are going to find that life gets hard in December and will fall from their perch. In the case of a few teams, it has started, but things will still get worse over the final five weeks. 

Fans can try to sugarcoat the truth all that they want, but even they know that the bottom is going to drop off at some point. That sounds bleak, but that doesn't make it any less true. 

Here are three teams that will slide in the rankings over the final month of the season. 

 

Houston Texans (8-3)

Things just go from bad to worse for the Texans, who were riding high three weeks ago after defeating Tampa Bay to improve their record to 7-3.

They are going to be on their third-string quarterback heading into the final month of the season and have no hope whatsoever of making it to the Super Bowl. But more important than that is what will happen to them over the final five games.

While it seemed like a lock that the Texans would win the AFC South two weeks ago, circumstances have made things dire in Houston right now, and those playoff dreams could go up in smoke.

 

Oakland Raiders (7-4)

I want to like the Raiders, I really do. But the more that I watch them play, the more I am convinced that they are going to fall apart down the stretch.

Their victories aren’t pretty, which shouldn’t matter, but we all like to see teams impress as they win, and Carson Palmer still scares me because he is going to make at least one throw every week where he looks like he is lost.

The only reason they won this week was because the Bears were playing Caleb Hanie at quarterback. They didn’t do anything to inspire confidence or make you think that they are a threat to make a deep run in the postseason.

 

Chicago Bears (7-4)

It takes a big man to admit when he is wrong, and I was wrong about the Bears. I thought that they were strong enough on defense, special teams and with the running game to overcome Caleb Hanie, but that proved not to be the case.

Jay Cutler has never been given credit for leading the Bears offense, but if you saw the game that they played against the Raiders, you saw just how important his presence is to what this team wants to do.

Before Cutler went down last week, there was some talk that the Bears were the second-best team in the NFC. Now, they are going to have to fight to stay over .500 the rest of the season. 

 

Adam Wells' Week 13 NFL Power Rankings
1. Green Bay Packers (11-0)
2. New England Patriots (8-3)
3. Baltimore Ravens (8-3)
4. San Francisco 49ers (9-2)
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3)
6. Houston Texans (8-3)
7. New Orleans Saints (7-3)
8. Cincinnati Bengals (7-4)
9. Dallas Cowboys (7-4)
10. Oakland Raiders (7-4)
11. New York Giants (6-4)
12. Atlanta Falcons (7-4)
13. Denver Broncos (6-5)
14. Detroit Lions (7-4)
15. Tennessee Titans (6-5)
16. Chicago Bears (7-4)
17. New York Jets (6-5)
18. Washington Redskins (4-7)
19. Buffalo Bills (5-6)
20. Philadelphia Eagles (4-7)
21. Seattle Seahawks (4-7)
22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7)
23. Arizona Cardinals (4-7)
24. Kansas City Chiefs (4-7)
25. San Diego Chargers (4-7)
26. Cleveland Browns (4-7)
27. Carolina Panthers (3-8)
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)