NFL Power Rankings Week 13: Labeling the League's Contenders & Pretenders

One of the benefits of being nearly all the way finished with the NFL season is simply being able to differentiate which teams are truly good and which teams just flirted with greatness and missed the mark.

Earlier in the season, all manner of teams can look good—playoff good, even—but it's the ability to maintain that into the difficult November and December stretch that proves whether a team is truly a threat in the postseason.

Take, for example, the Buffalo Bills, who started the season 5-2 through the first eight weeks of the season but have lost their last three in a row. At first, injuries began damaging the team on both sides of the ball, but then the once-powerful passing game led by quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick also fell off.

The final, most devastating blow came when running back Fred Jackson, one of the most productive in the league, broke his leg and went on injured reserve. Now at 5-6, the Bills' surprising start has given way to mere mediocrity and it's not likely they will regain what they lost and return to their early-season form.

However, another surprising team has managed to continue to do well week after week: The San Francisco 49ers. With a 6-10 record in 2010, there were certainly reasons to believe the team could improve this season, but few predicted that they'd be 9-2 through the first 12 weeks.

While San Francisco has fielded a strong defense for years now, their offense has been a major liability. Now, with a brand new head coach unable to even contact his team during the lockout, the team has managed to put together a system that works for them: an efficient, run-heavy offense that doesn't rely on quarterback Alex Smith to be superman.

The Niners will clinch both the NFC West title and a playoff berth with a win this weekend, and they've certainly earned it. The fact that they've been able to maintain a high level of play throughout the season instead of steadily declining, a la the Bills, proves that San Francisco's success has been no fluke.

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