NFL Power Rankings Week 14: Predicting Every Division Winner

With four weeks left in the regular season, there's still quite a bit of football to determine the playoff seedings and division winners.

Can the Broncos continue surging? Will the Falcons catch the Saints? What about the Cowboys, who slipped up in Arizona?

The Steelers are keeping pace with the Ravens and could still win the AFC North if Baltimore drops one more. And the Texans continue winning despite some tough injuries throughout the course of 2011.

All this being said, here are the final division champions when Week 17 concludes in one month.

AFC North: Baltimore Ravens (9-3)

Baltimore and Pittsburgh may be tied with a 9-3 record, however the Ravens swept the regular-season series 2-0 and have the odds significantly in their favor.

Now, with games remaining at San Diego and at Cincinnati, neither are guaranteed wins as Baltimore has slipped up three times on the road against inferior opponents (Titans, Jaguars, Seahawks).

But, the Tennessee loss is looking more and more legit each week now that the Titans are on the cusp of postseason qualification at 7-5. Not to mention the Steelers still have to play at San Francisco, which is not an easy game.

Other than that however, the Steelers have the Browns twice and St. Louis at home. Hence, Pittsburgh will finish no worse than 12-4.

As for the Ravens, they'll defeat Cleveland and Indianapolis so getting at least one more road win over the Chargers or Bengals is a must. Right now the AFC North is Baltimore's to lose; the question is whether they can live up to the pressure of Pittsburgh continually breathing down their neck.

AFC South: Houston Texans (9-3)

Behind the golden right arm of T.J. Yates (okay, maybe it's not golden), the Houston Texans are 9-3 and just beat a very good Atlanta Falcons team.

They currently hold a two-game lead on the Tennessee Titans and have winnable games remaining against Cincinnati, Carolina and Indianapolis. Provided that the Texans win at least two of those games, they will then be 11-4 heading into the regular-season finale against the Titans.

As for that game, Houston would also be 5-0 in the division compared to Tennessee's at-best 3-2. Therefore the division would be locked up even if the Titans are 9-5 by then.

It's simple: The Titans needs Houston to lose just once more before Week 17, preferably to Indianapolis on the road. To that end, don't expect the Titans to catch Houston as the Texans have arguably the NFL's most complete defense.

And as long as the offense continues to pound the rock effectively and not turn the ball over, Houston will win the AFC South sooner than later.

AFC East: New England Patriots (9-3)

The chance the Jets have of catching the Patriots is if New England only wins one more regular-season game and New York wins out.

The Pats swept the season series over the Jets but New York is still alive for a playoff berth. New England has games remaining at Washington and Denver (not easy) and home versus Buffalo and Miami.

As for the Jets, the Green has Kansas City at home, at Philly, the Giants and at Miami. Based on how the Dolphins have recently played, that is their toughest remaining contest.

So, it's not out of the question for the Jets to finish a solid 10-6, however New England is not finishing worse than 11-5. The Broncos, Redskins and Dolphins all have the potential to best the Pats, however not all three will.

Buffalo is a guaranteed win and only Denver appears to be a loss. During the Brady-Belichick era, the Broncos are the only team with a winning record against New England and the game is in The Mile High City.

Nonetheless, by season's end expect New England to finish one game up on the Jets because New York finishing with a better record than the Patriots has slim-to-none odds.

AFC West: Denver Broncos (7-5)

There's no mistaking how Tim Tebow has reignited the Denver Broncos. The man is virtually flawless in crunch time and Denver is now atop the AFC West.

And much thanks to the Oakland Raiders becoming the Croakland Raiders in Miami last week, the Broncos tie for a 7-5 record.

Fortunately also, the Broncos have three winnable games left in Chicago, Buffalo and Kansas City. Only the Patriots look like the team who can put a bump in Denver's road as their offense will outscore Denver.

In the Bay Area we see that the Raiders still have games against Detroit, Green Bay, at K.C. and versus San Diego. The Bolts are a likely win and despite being shut out by the Chiefs, they haven't played well at home this season.

That said, you can't expect Oakland to beat the Packers in Green Bay and can they match the explosive Lions? Denver is in control of their own destiny and now the Raiders are playing catchup.

Obviously the difference here (Tim Tebow aside) is that the Broncos defense has been causing turnovers and scoring—something Oakland has lacked not only this season, but as of recent.

NFC North: Green Bay Packers (12-0)

Well if you're able to find someone who hasn't found out yet, the Packers have already clinched the NFC North with a 12-0 record, so bet them that Green Bay will win the division and you'll get some easy dough.

Much thanks to both the Bears and Lions dropping a game in Week 13, Titletown now needs to claim that No. 1 seed in the NFC.

Each of Green Bay's games left are all winnable and perfection is quite possible. The question thereafter, however, is if the Cheese can repeat in the postseason.

Now, we'll worry about that bridge when it comes time to cross it so until then, enjoy your division title, Green Bay.

NFC South: New Orleans Saints (9-3)

The Saints have been rolling the past month and quickly diverted anything about being overrated after losing to St. Louis. It was a "brain fart" game, period.

Currently the Saints' only NFC South competitors are the 7-5 Atlanta Falcons who lost in Week 13.

New Orleans holds a 9-3 record and still has to host the Dirty Birds (Week 16), so not all is guaranteed just yet. Atlanta has a few winnable games left in Carolina, Jacksonville and Tampa, so the Falcons finishing at least 10-6 is realistic.

The Big Easy, on the other hand, has a tough road game at Tennessee and then plays at Minnesota. That Titans game is by no means a cakewalk and the Vikings play very well at home.

If the Saints drop one of those games and then to Atlanta, the Falcons will win the NFC South. Unfortunately for the Dirty Birds, though, they're inconsistent in road games and New Orleans is virtually unbeatable at home.

So, even if the Saints head into Week 16 with a 9-5 or 10-4 record, Atlanta won't beat them in the Superdome. Hence, another division championship for New Orleans.

NFC East: Dallas Cowboys (7-5)

The Dallas Cowboys need to send a letter of appreciation to the Green Bay Packers for beating the New York Giants in Week 13.

The Cowboys shot themselves in the foot in losing to Arizona, but got extremely fortunate that the Packers outscored the Giants. Otherwise there'd be a tie atop the NFC East.

Not to mention there's two games left between the Giants and Cowboys (this week and Week 17). Luckily for Dallas, they still have a one-game lead and have Tampa Bay and Philly lodged between the G-Men.

As for Big Blue, sandwiched between Dallas are the Redskins and Jets. Rex Ryan and company are vying for their own playoff spot and Washington is playing spoiler. Chances are the Cowboys and Giants split, so it comes down to the middle games.

There, the Cowboys wins twice and New York splits those games.

And when the final standings are set, Dallas finishes 10-6 and the Giants just 8-8.

NFC West: San Francisco 49ers (10-2)

Despite having only played three NFC West games to this point, the 49ers clinched the division on Sunday with a win over St. Louis.

And we could argue that San Fran is overrated being in the NFL's worst division, however they have solid road wins over Cincinnati and Detroit, as well as other road wins over the Eagles and Redskins.

Still alive for the NFC's No. 1 seed, Frisco needs Green Bay to slip up twice. However, San Fran also has a game left against Pittsburgh, so finishing 13-3 may happen, but 14-2 is more likely.

Either way though, expect the 49ers to earn a first-round bye this January under first-year NFL head coach Jim Harbaugh. Talk about hiring the right guy.

Week 14 NFL Power Rankings (LW = Last Week's Rank) (* = MNF Teams)

1. Green Bay Packers (12-0) (LW 1)	17. New York Giants (6-6) (LW 17)
2. Baltimore Ravens (9-3) (LW 6)	18. *San Diego Chargers (4-7) (LW 20)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) (LW 2)	19. Miami Dolphins (4-8) (LW 21)
4. New Orleans Saints (9-3) (LW 5)	20. Arizona Cardinals (5-7) (LW 22)
5. Houston Texans (9-3) (LW 3)	21. Seattle Seahawks (5-7) (LW 25)
6. New England Patriots (9-3) (LW 4)	22. Buffalo Bills (5-7) (LW 19)
7. San Francisco 49ers (10-2) (LW 7)	23. Kansas City Chiefs (5-7) (LW 24)
8. Atlanta Falcons (7-5) (LW 9)	24. Philadelphia Eagles (4-8) (LW 18)
9. Denver Broncos (7-5) (LW 14)	25. *Jacksonville Jaguars (3-8) (LW 26)
10. Tennessee Titans (7-5) (LW 16)	26. Carolina Panthers (4-8) (LW 28)
11. New York Jets (7-5) (LW 15)	27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-8) (LW 23)
12. Dallas Cowboys (7-5) (LW 8)	28. Washington Redskins (4-8) (LW 27)
13. Detroit Lions (7-5) (LW 13)	29. Cleveland Browns (4-8) (LW 30)
14. Oakland Raiders (7-5) (LW 11)	30. Minnesota Vikings (2-10) (LW 29)
15. Chicago Bears (7-5) (LW 10)	31. St. Louis Rams (2-10) (LW 31)
16. Cincinnati Bengals (7-5) (LW 12)	32. Indianapolis Colts (0-12) (LW 32)

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