NFL Power Rankings: Gauging the League's Most Unpredictable Teams

There are two types of unpredictability in the NFL. One—being so multifaceted as to keep opponents guessing—is desirable, while the other—where a team is alternately dominating and being dominated—is both infuriating for its players and fans alike.

In the following slides, I focus on four teams that fall in that latter category.  These teams are so inconsistent on a week-to-week basis that it's a detriment to their bottom line—winning and making it to the postseason.

New York Giants

The New York Giants have managed impressive wins this season, defeating the Buffalo Bills in Week 6 while they were still on a tear and besting the New England Patriots in Week 9.

However, they've also notched losses to some of the NFL's weakest squads, including the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5 and the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11.

Now the Giants have lost three straight, most recently in thorough defeat by the New Orleans Saints, 49-24.

The only thing consistent about the Giants in recent years is their inconsistency. They're historically solid in the first eight weeks of the season, winning three out of four games in the first half of the season since 2004.

However, they win just 40 percent of the time in the final eight weeks.

The slide is consistent to how they've performed this season, losing just twice in the first eight weeks but dropping three straight in Weeks 10-12. That is likely to continue through Week 13, considering they face the undefeated Green Bay Packers.

If the Giants want to repeat the success of their 2007 Super Bowl season, they need to find a way to maintain momentum, eliminate the inconsistencies on offense and find contingency plans in case of injury.

Otherwise, this pattern of unpredictability will only repeat itself in the future.

New York Jets

Perhaps it's the shared home, but the New York Giants aren't the only occupants of MetLife stadium that have issues staying consistent.

The New York Jets, who have reached the AFC championship game for the past two seasons, are now fighting just to see the postseason this year, sitting at 6-5 and two games behind the AFC East-leading New England Patriots.

The Jets have many issues this season: Their once-strong defense has been allowed over 20 points in all but four games; their offense has struggled to remain consistently productive week after week with quarterback Mark Sanchez fluctuating between asset and liability; and they haven't managed to beat their most difficult opponents.

Defeating good teams is the No. 1 way the Jets can prove they're still the tough team head coach Rex Ryan constantly makes them out to be, but their wins have come against teams like the slumping Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers, the Miami Dolphins while they were in the midst of their 0-7 start and the Jacksonville Jaguars, the least-productive offense in the league.

Against the league's strongest, such as the Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders, the Jets just can't hang. Those are the games that fluster the error-prone Sanchez, especially when the team cannot get much going on the ground and have to turn to him to throw the ball 30 or 40 times.

That puts immense pressure on their defense, and they've not been up to the task this year as they have in the past.

All of these issues combined make the Jets a different team every week, and that's no way for a so-called Super Bowl contender to play the game.

Miami Dolphins

Few truly know what's going on with the Miami Dolphins. They started the season 0-7 and managed a three-game rebound before notching their eighth loss in Week 12 against the Dallas Cowboys, losing by a single point.

Four of their eight losses have come via margins of three points or less, indicating that Miami is a better team than their record indicates.

However, at the end of the day, it's the record that determines playoff status, draft ranking and overall division standings, and the Dolphins don't have one to be proud of right now.

The Dolphins' problems started early on in the season, when starting quarterback Chad Henne suffered a season-ending shoulder injury that saw backup Matt Moore ascend to the position.

Moore, never the most inspiring option at quarterback, struggled at first but then found his rhythm at the same time as running back Reggie Bush, who had been poorly- or under-utilized for the first part of the season.

That resulted in the team's close Week 8 loss to the New York Giants and wins in the three following weeks. Most recently, they lost to the Cowboys by that aforementioned one point, which is a good sign that the team can hold their own with a tough opponent but little more.

The Dolphins need to win close games instead of shooting themselves in the foot. Little mistakes have plagued them all season long, and while they've shown flashes of overcoming them, it hasn't been enough to turn their season around.

Instead, it's made them one of the more confounding teams in the league this year.

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions were a fashionable pick to make it to the Super Bowl this year, and while their playoff hopes are still very much alive, they need to be a more consistent team in this late part of the season.

Detroit started the season strongly, winning their first five games in a row before dropping two straight to the hard-to-beat Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers.

Since those two losses, they've alternated wins with defeats, besting the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers in Weeks 8 and 11 and losing to the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers in Weeks 10 and 12, respectively.

Those two divisional losses are the most painful for the Lions, who were squarely in the wild-card race before losing to the Bears, a team also hoping for a postseason berth.

Most of Detroit's problems are a result of inconsistencies on offense, namely the up-and-down play of quarterback Matthew Stafford. Through the first eight weeks of the season, Stafford threw 19 touchdowns to just four interceptions.

Since Week 8, when he broke his right index finger in the team's win over the Denver Broncos, he has just seven touchdowns to a whopping nine interceptions.

Whether it's the finger or some other issue that has caused Stafford to falter is unknown; however, it's clear that without him performing well, the team has trouble earning victories and proving that they're truly the dominant team everyone pegged them to be.

Full 32-Team NFL Power Rankings for Week 13

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