NFL Power Rankings: Gauging the Week's Biggest Fallers

The elite teams like the Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots were successful in Week 13, but there were just as many teams fighting for the playoffs that were rather disappointing. 

Nine teams sit at 7-5 in today's NFL. 

Which clubs made the biggest falls heading into this weekend's action?

Dallas Cowboys 

The Cowboys were winners of five of their last six before their trip to Arizona to take on the lowly Cardinals. The offense was clicking largely due to the balance DeMarco Murray brought to the team and the defense was dominating. 

They are more talented than the Cardinals—no doubt about it—yet they had communication issues at the end of regulation that led to a missed field goal. They couldn't make the defensive stop in overtime, leading to a crushing defeat. 

Dallas missed out on a fantastic opportunity to take a two-game lead in the division. 

Not good. 

Detroit Lions 

The Lions didn't have it easy, playing the Saints in New Orleans on Sunday night. However, their last seven games cannot be ignored. 

They're 2-5 over that stretch and have been extremely undisciplined and essentially immature over their last two games. (11 penalties in Week 13)

Detroit's postseason hopes look faint at this juncture. Although they have the same record as the Falcons and Bears—the two teams vying for that final playoff spot—they lose the tie-breaker to both clubs. 

Chicago Bears 

Think things are bad in Detroit? How about Chicago? Caleb Hanie has been awful in his first two starts and now they could be without star running back Matt Forte for the remainder of the regular season with a sprained MCL. 

Why do they have this staunch support of Hanie? 

Their remaining schedule looks like this: at Denver, home vs. Seattle, at Green Bay, at Minnesota. 

Can they make the postseason? 

They need to get a post-Jay Cutler win, first. 

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