NFL Power Rankings Week 15: Labeling the League's Contenders & Pretenders

Throughout the season, there have been teams that looked ready for a playoff appearance. These teams seemed tough, defeating some the best opponents they've faced, but as the season progressed they've fallen flat.

Others, however, were predicted to be postseason locks and they've more than met the challenge. Consistent, dominant and experienced, these teams have realized their potential and will most certainly be taking the field come January.

In the former category, there is one team that, while talented and impressive, ultimately just does not have what it takes to defeat tough teams and make it to the playoffs—the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals have outperformed expectations, to be sure, especially considering they've done so with a rookie quarterback under center and a rookie wide receiver as his primary target. At 7-6, the Bengals have done well, especially for a team I believed had the best shot of going winless when the season started.

But the talk of the Bengals being true playoff contenders happened prematurely. When the discussion hit its peak in Week 9, Cincinnati had notched a five-game win streak and had a record of 6-2.

However, they hadn't beaten any teams of note.

Still ahead for the team were two contests against the Pittsburgh Steelers, two against the Baltimore Ravens, a tough Week 14 matchup against the Houston Texans—difficult games that stood directly between Cincinnati and the playoffs.

Since Week 9, the Bengals have gone 1-4, dropping twice to Pittsburgh, once (in their first meeting to date) to the Ravens, lost in the final seconds to the Texans and defeated only the lowly Cleveland Browns.

That's simply not good enough to make the playoffs, and in the off chance they still do, they're certainly not good enough to get very far. Though the Bengals seemed able to commingle with the NFL's best earlier this season, it's simply just not played out that way after all.

This is in stark contrast to their division-mates, the Baltimore Ravens, who have managed to dispatch teams both great and poor in the 14 weeks they've been taking the field.

The Ravens, at 10-3, are the top team in the AFC North and are the No. 2 overall team in the conference. Their three losses are a bit disturbing considering who defeated them—the Tennessee Titans, Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars—but they've also manhandled the Steelers twice and the NFC powerhouse San Francisco 49ers on Thanksgiving night.

Baltimore knows what it takes to perform at a high level from the beginning of the season to the end. Much of that has to do with experience—aside from a youthful receiver corps, the Ravens are full of been-there-done-that veterans who can react to both success and failure with equal coolness.

That's the main difference between the two teams—experience.

The Bengals have many of the same components as the Ravens, and a similar level of talent. But when it comes to working together week after week, the Ravens have an edge that the Bengals hot start cannot match.

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