NFL Power Rankings: Looking at the League's Most Impressive Teams

What makes a team impressive isn't simply that they're good and have a winning record. If a team is playing well that has historically done so, then it's not impressive that they've managed to yet again field a dominant squad.

Impressive means a team that's playing well and winning games, but wasn't expected to have that level of success when the season began. In the following slides, I examine four teams that have exceeded expectations in 2011.

The Baltimore Ravens

While the Baltimore Ravens are no strangers to success, they're having the best season in recent memory.

Baltimore has managed to sweep division rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers in their two regular-season meetings and most recently defeated the previously one-loss San Francisco 49ers. They sit atop the AFC North and are becoming Super Bowl favorites with every successive win.

Quarterback Joe Flacco has become less of a liability to the team, as they rely more heavily on the run game and, of course, their consistently dominant defense.

With just three losses so far this year and a relatively easy schedule the rest of the way, the Ravens should easily earn the AFC North title and a playoff berth—something thought to be nearly impossible at the start of the season.

The San Francisco 49ers

It's not uncommon for a team to turn around its fortunes in the span of one offseason, but with such a strange and nearly non-existent one this year thanks to the lockout, those kinds of wholesale improvements are much harder to achieve.

However, the San Francisco 49ers have managed to do so even with a first-year head coach at the helm of the team. The new-look Jim Harbaugh 49ers are 9-2 through 12 weeks after ending 2010 with a 6-10 record.

Not much else has changed for the team—the quarterback is the same, the running back is the same and the defense has only improved, though it's been one of the NFL's best since 2009. What has changed, however, is how those components are playing as individuals and as a team.

With one more win, the Niners clinch a playoff spot and win the NFC West. While it's yet to be known if the team has what it takes to notch postseason victories, they're clearly the NFL's most improved and most impressive team of 2011.

The Cincinnati Bengals

Before the start of the season, if anyone asked me which team I thought had the greatest chance of going 0-16 this year, I would have said the Cincinnati Bengals.

The main reason? Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton.

Without much veteran help at wide receiver or an experienced quarterback to help coach him along, it seemed that the Bengals would have yet another struggling season in the otherwise competitive AFC North.

Instead, the Bengals have won seven of their 11 games so far this season and are firmly in the hunt for a wild card playoff berth. Dalton's inexperience hasn't shown itself very often this year, helped in part by another rookie, wide receiver A.J. Green and his sure hands.

It might be a tough go for the team should they hit the postseason, but with so many weapons on both sides of the ball, the Bengals have more than a good chance to evolve into one of the league's best teams quite soon.

The Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers have followed up their 2010 Super Bowl championship season with 11 straight wins, showing no sign of the dreaded hangover that often results from a team winning the NFL's most coveted honor.

In recent memory, no team has gone from winning the Super Bowl to being anything more than symbolic favorites to repeat, but the Packers are more than just a theoretical favorite—they're the real deal.

What's most impressive is that Green Bay hasn't just remained as dominant as they were in their postseason tear last season, they've gotten better.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has completed a career-high 71.8 percent of his passes through 12 weeks and has already surpassed his personal-best 30 passing touchdown 2009, throwing 33 with five games still remaining in the regular season.

The Packers looked unstoppable in the playoffs last year; the fact that they have continued to look unstoppable this deep into this season is impressive.

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