NFL Power Rankings Week 13: 4 Divisional Races Beginning to Take Shape

The next time NFL teams take the field, it will be December. The playoff picture is taking shape and the Green Bay Packers are 11-0 for the first time in franchise history after blowing away the Detroit Lions in the second half on Thanksgiving Day.

There are two divisions that are basically locked up: The Packers lead the NFC North by four games with five to play and the San Francisco 49ers lead the NFC West by five games with five to play.

There are two divisions that are starting to look secure: The New England Patriots have a two-game lead and a season sweep over the New York Jets in the AFC East and the Houston Texans are two games clear of the Tennessee Titans in the AFC South (even if they may soon need to dust off Jacky Lee or Pete Beathard to play quarterback).

The other four races are still tight: The Baltimore Ravens lead the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North despite matching 8-3 records thanks to a season sweep. The Cincinnati Bengals lurk a game behind. The Oakland Raiders maintained their one-game lead over the charging Denver Broncos, who have won five of six to climb into contention.

In the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys have won four straight and now lead the New York Giants, who have lost three in a row, by a game in the NFC East. The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons each won in Week 12, leaving the Saints with their one-game lead in the NFC South.

There wasn’t a great deal of movement in the rankings this week—the Saints are up a couple of spots and the Giants fell four places in the wake of New Orleans’ Monday night beatdown of Big Blue.

These rankings are based on a team’s body of work to this point and do not reflect any future predictions.

32. Indianapolis Colts (0-11)

Last week’s ranking: 32

This week: Lost to Carolina 27-19

Next: at New England

Strength-of-victory factor: 0

The Colts are 0-11 for the first time since 1986 and produced just one yard of offense in the first quarter. Indianapolis had just 142 total yards in the first half.

But the Colts were competitive after losing their previous four games by a combined 137-27.

Indianapolis ended a nine-quarter touchdown drought with a second-quarter score, Dwight Freeney logged his first sack since Week 5, and the team had two chances to force overtime in the final minutes. Both drives ended with end-zone interceptions.

Curtis Painter was 15-of-29 for 226 yards and a touchdown to go with the two picks. But the Colts couldn’t stop the Panthers’ running attack, allowing 201 yards and 5.7 yards per attempt.

31. St. Louis Rams (2-9)

Last week’s ranking: 31

This week: Lost to Arizona 23-20

Next: at San Francisco

Strength-of-victory factor: 12

The Rams got burned again by Arizona’s Patrick Peterson, who three weeks after beating St. Louis in overtime with a 99-yard punt return helped beat the Rams again with an 80-yard punt return for a score.

Brandon Lloyd’s 16-yard touchdown reception from Sam Bradford tied the game 20-20 midway through the fourth quarter. Nick Miller, just three days after re-signing with the Rams, returned a punt 88 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.

St. Louis’ run defense, ranked last in the NFL, was gashed for 268 yards. It was the Rams’ seventh straight loss to the Cardinals in St. Louis.

30. Minnesota Vikings (2-9)

Last week’s ranking: 30

This week: Lost at Atlanta 24-14

Next: vs. Denver

Strength-of-victory factor: 7

The Vikings couldn’t score after Percy Harvin returned a kickoff 104 yards to the Atlanta 3-yard line, and a comeback from a 17-0 deficit fell short.

Minnesota played without Adrian Peterson, out with an ankle injury, and lost three players to injury in the first half while the Falcons ran up the big lead.

Toby Gerhart, starting for Peterson, scored on a one-yard run late in the third quarter and after a special-teams mistake by Atlanta, Christian Ponder hit Harvin for a 39-yard score on fourth-and-13 to cut the deficit to 17-14.

Ponder was 17-of-25 for 186 yards but was sacked four times and scrambled away from pressure several more times. Gerhart had just 44 yards rushing while Harvin caught eight passes for 95 yards.

29. Kansas City Chiefs (4-7)

Last week’s ranking: 28

This week: Lost to Pittsburgh 13-9

Next: at Chicago

Strength-of-victory factor: 13

Tyler Palko’s four turnovers scuttled any chance the Chiefs had to take advantage of a lackluster performance by the Steelers on Sunday night.

Kansas City didn’t score a touchdown and have just one since beating San Diego in Week 8, losing four straight since then.

The Chiefs had a chance on their final possession until Palko looked for Dwayne Bowe, who leaped but didn’t reach for the high throw. Pittsburgh intercepted the pass with 29 seconds left to seal the win for the Steelers.

Palko was making his second straight start in place of injured Matt Cassel, and he also fumbled away a snap and threw interceptions on consecutive pass attempts in the first half.

28. Carolina Panthers (3-8)

Last week’s ranking: 29

This week: Won at Indianapolis 27-19

Next: at Tampa Bay

Strength-of-victory factor: 7

DeAngelo Williams ran for two touchdowns and Cam Newton had another as the Panthers won on the road for the first time since Dec. 27, 2009.

Williams carried the ball 15 times for 69 yards, Jonathan Stewart had 70 yards on 10 attempts and Newton carried nine times for 53 yards as Carolina ran for a season-high 201 yards.

Newton was also 20-of-27 for 208 yards throwing the ball. Steve Smith caught three balls for 68 yards to crack the 1,000-yard mark for the season, but Carolina wore down the Colt defense with the run, part of an attack that controlled the ball for more than 36 minutes.

Sherrod Martin sealed with win with a nifty end-zone interception in the final minute.

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7)

Last week’s ranking: 25

This week: Lost at Tennessee 23-17

Next: vs. Carolina

Strength-of-victory factor: 17

The Buccaneers turned the ball over five times and lost for the fifth straight game despite LeGarrette Blount running for 103 yards.

Josh Freeman threw for 199 yards and a touchdown, but he had an interception and lost a fumble.

Freeman’s fumbled snap on 4th-and-1 ended Tampa Bay’s final possession with 40 seconds left. The Buccaneers also got shredded by the Tennessee running game, surrendering 202 yards on the ground on a cold, rainy day.

Tampa Bay held a 17-10 lead after three quarters before the Titans rallied.

26. Arizona Cardinals (4-7)

Last week’s ranking: 27

This week: Won at St. Louis 23-20

Next: vs. Dallas

Strength-of-victory factor: 11

Patrick Peterson tied an NFL record with his fourth punt-return touchdown of the season, and Beanie Wells ran for a franchise record 228 yards on 27 carries.

Wells’ 53-yard burst in the fourth quarter set up Jay Feely for a decisive 22-yard field goal with 4:12 left.

The Cardinals won for the third time in four games despite another bad outing from John Skelton, who was 12-of-23 for 114 yards and two interceptions, giving him five picks in his last two games.

Peterson also became the first NFL player to score on four returns of 80 or more yards. He had beaten the Rams with a 99-yard punt return in overtime three weeks ago.

25. Cleveland Browns (4-7)

Last week’s ranking: 23

This week: Lost at Cincinnati 23-20

Next: vs. Baltimore

Strength-of-victory factor: 10

The Browns trailed for only 38 seconds, but they were the final 38 seconds of the game.

Cleveland’s special teams problems continued, with a botched snap on a long field-goal try by Phil Dawson contributing to a miss from 55 yards that would have given the Browns the lead with 1:51 remaining.

Dawson had earlier connected from 32 and 54 yards—his longest kick of the year. It was Cleveland’s 12th loss in their last 15 games against Cincinnati.

The Browns got a boost from the return of Peyton Hillis, who ran for 65 yards on 19 carries after missing six games with a hamstring injury.

Colt McCoy was 16-of-34 for 151 yards and two touchdowns. His final pass on fourth down with 10 seconds left was knocked away by the Bengals defense.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-8)

Last week’s ranking: 24

This week: Lost to Houston 20-13

Next: vs. San Diego (Monday night)

Strength-of-victory factor: 14

Rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert was benched after being sacked six times and throwing a pick.

Luke McCown led the team to a field goal late, but his fourth-down pass with about a minute to go fell incomplete and the Jaguars were unable to take advantage of a Texans squad down to its third quarterback.

Jacksonville outgained Houston 255-215, but Josh Scobee missed a 55-yard field goal and Marcedes Lewis dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone with no one near him. The former Pro Bowler tight end has been plagued by drops this year, and his miscue forced the Jags to settle for a short field goal.

McCown was 7-of-11 for 62 yards in two series after Gabbert was 13-of-29 for 136 yards.

Maurice Jones-Drew was the lone bright spot on offense for Jacksonville, running for 99 yards on 18 carries and catching four passes for another 67 yards.

23. Washington Redskins (4-7)

Last week’s ranking: 26

This week: Won at Seattle 23-17

Next: vs. New York Jets

Strength-of-victory factor: 16

Rex Grossman hit Anthony Armstrong with a 50-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-19 midway through the fourth quarter and the Redskins came from behind late to stun the Seahawks, who led 17-7 in the fourth quarter.

Grossman was great early in the game, shaky in the middle and then recovered for a brilliant finish.

Grossman was 26-of-35 for 314 yards, including going 7-of-9 in the fourth quarter. Washington also got a spark from rookie running back Roy Helu, who ran for 108 yards on 23 carries and his first NFL touchdown run.

LaRon Landry and Brian Orakpo combined to sack the quarterback on Seattle’s final play, and the Redskins then ran out the clock.

22. San Diego Chargers (4-7)

Last week’s ranking: 22

This week: Lost to Denver 16-13 (OT)

Next: at Jacksonville (Monday night)

Strength-of-victory factor: 15

Nick Novak missed a 53-yard field goal attempt in overtime, pissing away San Diego’s chance to break a losing streak that is now at six games (yes, I went there).

The Broncos got their game-winning field goal with 29 seconds left in overtime.

The Chargers’ losing streak is their longest since closing the 2001 season with nine straight losses. Philip Rivers was 19-of-36 for 188 yards but did not add to his NFL-leading total of 17 interceptions.

Ryan Mathews continued to be a thorn in Denver’s side, running for a career-high 137 yards on 22 carries. It was Mathews’ third career 100-yard game, all coming against the Broncos.

21. Miami Dolphins (3-8)

Last week’s ranking: 21

This week: Lost at Dallas 20-19 (Thanksgiving)

Next: vs. Oakland

Strength-of-victory factor: 13

The Dolphins fell because they couldn’t finish drives—four times Miami drove to within 10 yards of the end zone, but they settled for field goals on each of those possessions.

The Dolphins’ only touchdown was a 35-yard pass from Matt Moore to Brandon Marshall, and the Cowboys won it with a field goal at the gun.

Miami had its three-game winning streak snapped after an 0-7 start.

Moore was 19-of-32 for 288 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked four times and had some trouble handling snaps, with one going through his hands and recovered by Dallas at the Dolphins' 5-yard line, setting up the Cowboys’ first touchdown.

Reggie Bush ran for 61 yards on 16 carries and had three receptions for 35 yards. Marshall’s five catches netted 103 yards. The touchdown came while a Dallas defender had him in a headlock for the final five yards.

20. Seattle Seahawks (4-7)

Last week’s ranking: 20

This week: Lost to Washington 23-17

Next: vs. Philadelphia (Thursday night)

Strength-of-victory factor: 20

The Seahawks led 17-7 early in the fourth quarter before the Redskins rallied to win.

Seattle’s last drive started deep in their own end after Brandon Browner was called for unnecessary roughness during Washington’s punt.

Tarvaris Jackson was sacked on 4th-and-5, ending the Seahawks’ hope for a comeback of their own.

Marshawn Lynch ran for 111 yards and also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass. Jackson was 14-of-30 for 144 yards and threw a late interception.

Seattle was also flagged nine times for 91 yards in penalties and twice had to burn timeouts because the wrong personnel were on the field.

19. Philadelphia Eagles (4-7)

Last week’s ranking: 18

This week: Lost to New England 38-20

Next: at Seattle (Thursday night)

Strength-of-victory factor: 19

Vince Young couldn’t keep the Eagles’ fading playoff hopes alive despite a career-high 400 yards passing.

Philadelphia is all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention in a season that began with Super Bowl expectations.

Angry fans at Lincoln Financial Field were calling for the firing of coach Andy Reid during the second half. The Eagles are 1-5 at home this season and have lost eight of their last nine at the Linc, including a first-round playoff loss in January.

Young finished 26-of-48 in recording his first career 400-yard game and third game of more than 300 yards passing.

The Eagles took an early 10-0 lead before New England outscored them 38-10 the rest of the way.

18. Denver Broncos (6-5)

Last week’s ranking: 19

This week: Won at San Diego 16-13 (OT)

Next: at Minnesota

Strength-of-victory factor: 31

Matt Prater kicked a 37-yard field goal with 29 seconds left in overtime, and the Broncos won their fourth straight game and fifth in six games since Tim Tebow took over at quarterback.

Tebow ran the ball 22 times—the most carries for a quarterback in a game since at least 1950—for 67 yards and was 9-of-18 passing for 143 yards and a touchdown. Tebow didn’t throw an interception for the fourth straight game, all Denver wins.

Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller helped lead the rejuvenated Broncos defense. Dumervil had two sacks and rookie Miller had another.

It was Denver’s second OT win with Tebow at quarterback—the Broncos needed extra time to win at Miami in Week 7, Tebow’s first start this season.

17. Buffalo Bills (5-6)

Last week’s ranking: 16

This week: Lost at New York Jets 28-24

Next: vs. Tennessee

Strength-of-victory factor: 27

The Bills’ valiant comeback attempt fell short en route to their fourth straight loss.

Stevie Johnson dropped a pass down the middle that would have gone for a huge gain, and Ryan Fitzpatrick threw behind Johnson in the end zone with eight seconds left on what would have been the go-ahead touchdown.

Fitzpatrick was 26-of-39 for 264 yards and three touchdowns as Buffalo played without several injured starters, including running back Fred Jackson.

Johnson had one of the Bills’ touchdown receptions late in the first half but drew a penalty for his celebration, which included mocking shooting himself in the thigh—a clear reference for Jets receiver Plaxico Burress’ nightclub incident three years ago.

Dave Rayner mishit the kickoff from the 20-yard line, and New York recovered at the Buffalo 36 en route to a touchdown to tie the game at halftime.

16. New York Giants (6-5)

Last week’s ranking: 12

This week: Lost at New Orleans 49-24 (Monday night)

Next: vs. Green Bay

Strength-of-victory factor: 26

The slumping Giants have lost three straight after a 6-2 start, as the Saints piled up 577 yards of total offense in a Monday night rout.

New York is now a game behind Dallas in the NFC East and host unbeaten Green Bay on Sunday.

New Orleans threw for 372 yards and ran for another 205.

Besides the beating on the scoreboard, the Giants got beaten up health-wise as well, losing defensive end Osi Umenyiora to an ankle injury and having wide receiver Hakeem Nicks rocked on a vicious hit. Nicks stayed in the game despite bruised ribs.

Eli Manning completed 21 straight passes at one point—one off the NFL record—and finished 33-of-47 for 406 yards and two touchdowns. He was also intercepted once.

15. New York Jets (6-5)

Last week’s ranking: 15

This week: Beat Buffalo 28-24

Next: at Washington

Strength-of-victory factor: 27

Mark Sanchez threw a career-high four touchdown passes, including the eventual game-winner to Santonio Holmes from 16 yards out with just over a minute remaining, as the Jets kept their playoff hopes alive with a  comeback win.

Plaxico Burress helped set up the final score with an acrobatic one-handed catch along the left sideline for 18 yards and a first down on a 3rd-and-8 play.

Sanchez’s overall numbers were unimpressive—17-of-35 for 180 yards and a pick—but he came through with the game on the line.

He also threw two touchdown passes to Dustin Keller and another to Burress as the Jets rebounded from losing two straight.

14. Tennessee Titans (6-5)

Last week’s ranking: 17

This week: Beat Tampa Bay 23-17

Next: at Buffalo

Strength-of-victory factor: 25

Chris Johnson ran for a season-high 190 yards, and Matt Hasselbeck threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Damian Williams on 4th-and-2 with 3:01 remaining to beat the Buccaneers.

It was the third-highest output of Johnson’s career and the most since Nov. 1, 2008.

Tennessee forced five turnovers and overcame four of its own on a cold, rainy day in Nashville. Tampa Bay outscored the Titans 14-3 off turnovers despite Tennessee getting the ball in Tampa Bay territory on three of them.

The ninth turnover of the game was crucial, though, when linebacker Colin McCarthy picked off a pass with 2:19 remaining.

13. Atlanta Falcons (7-4)

Last week’s ranking: 13

This week: Beat Minnesota 24-14

Next: at Houston

Strength-of-victory factor: 26

Matt Ryan threw three touchdown passes and the Falcons came up with a big goal-line stand after Minnesota returned a kickoff 104 yards to the Atlanta 3-yard line.

The Falcons raced to a 17-0 lead before the Vikings made it interesting.

Chris Owens made the big play on special teams, diving to catch Percy Harvin of the Vikings on the long kickoff return to save the Falcons. Sean Weatherspoon killed the drive when he stopped a 4th-and-1 play for a two-yard loss. Atlanta was able to run out the clock from there.

Ryan finished 26-of-34 for 262 yards. Roddy White made 10 catches for 120 yards and a touchdown.

It was the second straight week the Falcons nearly squandered a huge lead—they had to hang on to beat Tennessee the previous week after taking a 20-0 advantage.

12. Oakland Raiders (7-4)

Last week’s ranking: 14

This week: Beat Chicago 25-20

Next: at Miami

Strength-of-victory factor: 37

The Raiders held off the Bears, thanks in large part to the kicking game. Sebastian Janikowski kicked a team-record six field goals and Shane Lechler had an 80-yard punt and neutralized return star Devin Hester. Oakland intercepted three passes as well.

Janikowski hit field goals from 40, 47, 42, 19, 37 and 44 yards to break the team record he had shared with Jeff Jaeger.

Lechler, meanwhile, had a 49.2 net punting average and pinned Chicago inside the 20 on three of his five kicks.

Carson Palmer threw for 301 yards, and Michael Bush iced the game with a touchdown run in the fourth quarter as the Raiders won their third straight.

11. Cincinnati Bengals (7-4)

Last week’s ranking: 11

This week: Beat Cleveland 23-20

Next: at Pittsburgh

Strength-of-victory factor: 26

A.J. Green made a leaping catch across the middle and wound up gaining 51 yards, setting up Mike Nugent’s field goal with 38 seconds left that gave the Bengals their lone lead of the day against their in-state rivals.

Green finished with 110 receiving yards, the first receiver this year to top the century mark against Cleveland.

Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton was 21-of-31 for 270 yards and broke Greg Cook’s team rookie record with his 16th touchdown pass of the season.

Cedric Benson ran for 106 yards on 21 carries, giving him 100 yards in both wins over Cleveland this season.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3)

Last week’s ranking: 10

This week: Won at Kansas City 13-9

Next: vs. Cincinnati

Strength-of-victory factor: 36

Ben Roethlisberger threw a short touchdown pass to Weslye Saunders in the second quarter, and the Steelers took advantage of four turnovers by the Chiefs. Roethlisberger was 21-of-31 for 193 yards and was intercepted once.

The Steelers lost All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu to a head injury in the first quarter but kept the struggling Chiefs out of the end zone. Keenan Lewis sealed the win with an interception with 29 seconds remaining.

Ike Taylor and Ryan Mundy also had picks for Pittsburgh.

Roethlisberger’s broken thumb didn’t stop him from hitting 10 different receivers. Rashard Mendenhall chipped in with 57 yards rushing.

9. Dallas Cowboys (7-4)

Last week’s ranking: 9

This week: Beat Miami 20-19 (Thanksgiving)

Next: at Arizona

Strength-of-victory factor: 31

Tony Romo overcame a sloppy performance to team with DeMarco Murray on an efficient final drive which set up Dan Bailey’s 28-yard field goal at the gun.

It was Dallas’ fourth straight win and fourth decided by a Bailey kick in the final two minutes or overtime.

With the Giants’ loss Monday night, the Cowboys took sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

Romo was 22-of-34 for 226 yards and two touchdowns to Laurent Robinson. He was intercepted twice, snapping a streak of 128 consecutive passes without throwing a pick.

Murray had 87 yards on 22 carries and caught four passes for another 41 yards.

8. Chicago Bears (7-4)

Last week’s ranking: 7

This week: Lost at Oakland 25-20

Next week: vs. Kansas City

Strength-of-victory factor: 31

Caleb Hanie struggled in his first career start in place of injured Jay Cutler, and the Bears had their five-game winning streak snapped.

Hanie came in having thrown only 14 regular-season passes since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He was 18-of-35 for 254 yards and three interceptions, including a crushing pick late in the first half when Chicago was deep in Raider territory with a chance to take the lead.

Hanie did throw two touchdown passes, including a five-yarder to Kellen Davis with 2:11 that cut the deficit to 25-20. The touchdown was set up by an 81-yard catch and run by Johnny Knox.

7. Detroit Lions (7-4)

Last week’s ranking: 6

This week: Lost to Green Bay 27-15 (Thanksgiving)

Next: at New Orleans

Strength-of-victory factor: 32

The Lions came apart in the third quarter thanks in part to Ndamukong Suh’s ejection.

Detroit is now 2-4 and on the playoff bubble after a 5-0 start. The loss was the Lions’ eighth straight on Thanksgiving, a franchise record for holiday futility.

Suh faces a likely suspension after he was thrown out of the game for stomping on the arm of a Green Bay lineman in the third quarter.

Detroit was also hurt by Matthew Stafford’s three interceptions—he now has thrown nine picks in the last three games.

Stafford was 32-of-45 for 276 yards and two touchdowns, and the Lions lost running back Kevin Smith, who was huge in their win over Carolina the previous week, to an ankle injury.

6. New Orleans Saints (8-3)

Last week’s ranking: 8

This week: Beat New York Giants 49-24 (Monday night)

Next: vs. Detroit

Strength-of-victory factor: 38

Drew Brees threw for 363 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another score as the Saints rolled up 577 yards of total offense while crushing the slumping Giants.

Tight end Jimmy Graham caught five passes, including two touchdowns, and Lance Moore caught Brees’ other two scores.

New Orleans ran for 205 yards and got scoring runs of 12 yards by Pierre Thomas and 35 yards by Mark Ingram in addition to Brees’ touchdown.

All three of Marques Colston’s catches came on a 34-second, 88-yard drive late in the first half that gave New Orleans a 21-3 lead. Colston accounted for 78 of the 88 yards on the drive.

5. Houston Texans (8-3)

Last week’s ranking: 4

This week: Won at Jacksonville 20-13

Next: vs. Atlanta

Strength-of-victory factor: 31

Matt Leinart’s tenure as the Texans’ starting quarterback was a short one—he suffered a broken collarbone late in the second quarter after going 10-of-13 for 57 yards and a touchdown.

Leinart will require surgery and is out for the rest of the season.

It was his first start in place of Matt Schaub, lost for the season with a foot injury suffered two weeks ago in Houston’s win at Tampa Bay. Third-stringer C.J. Yates was 8-of-15 for 70 yards, doing just enough to beat the offensively challenged Jaguars.

Arian Foster ran for 65 yards and a touchdown, and Ben Tate added 26 yards on the ground.

4. New England Patriots (8-3)

Last week’s ranking: 5

This week: Won at Philadelphia 38-20

Next: vs. Indianapolis

Strength-of-victory factor: 41

Tom Brady threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns, and the Patriots stayed in the hunt for the top overall seed in the AFC.

Brady was 24-of-34. Deion Branch and Wes Welker each topped 100 yards receiving and tight end Rob Gronkowski made his 11th touchdown catch of the season.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis added two rushing touchdowns as New England roared back after falling behind 10-0.

The much-maligned Patriots defense surrendered 400 yards passing but held LeSean McCoy to a season-low 31 yards rushing.

3. Baltimore Ravens (8-3)

Last week’s ranking: 3

This week: Beat San Francisco 16-6 (Thanksgiving night)

Next: at Cleveland

Strength-of-victory factor: 52

The Ravens set a franchise record with nine sacks despite playing without injured Ray Lewis, who was inactive for a second straight game.

Baltimore scored 10 points in the fourth quarter after the teams had played to a 6-6 tie through three periods.

Joe Flacco hit Dennis Pitta for an eight-yard score to cap a 16-play, 76-yard drive that lasted more than 7:30. It was the only touchdown of the game.

Terrell Suggs had three of Baltimore’s sacks. In the defense-dominated game, Flacco was 15-of-23 for 161 yards, and Ray Rice ran 21 times for 59 yards.

2. San Francisco 49ers (9-2)

Last week’s ranking: 2

This week: Lost at Baltimore 16-6 (Thanksgiving night)

Next: vs. St. Louis

Strength-of-victory factor: 44

Alex Smith was sacked nine times and the 49ers were held without a touchdown for the first time this season.

Smith was 15-of-24 for 140 yards and an interception against a defense that rarely let him get set in the pocket.

San Francisco opened the second half with a 13-play, 7:30 drive that led to a 52-yard field goal by David Akers to tie the game at 6-6.

Baltimore responded with a long drive of its own for the game’s only touchdown.

Although the Ravens had first-and-goal from the San Francisco 1, the 49ers defense kept its distinction as being the only NFL team not to allow a rushing touchdown this season.

1. Green Bay Packers (11-0)

Last week’s ranking: 1

This week: Won at Detroit 27-15 (Thanksgiving)

Next: at New York Giants

Strength-of-victory factor: 52

Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes, and the Packers built a 24-0 lead in the third quarter thanks to Lions miscues.

Green Bay is 11-0 for the first time in franchise history, and their franchise-record winning streak is now at 17 games, including the playoffs.

Rodgers was 22-of-32 for 307 yards with touchdown passes of three yards to Greg Jennings late in the first half and 65 yards to James Jones in the third quarter.

Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews and Rob Francois had interceptions for the Green Bay defense.