NFL Power Rankings: Week Fourteen

32. Indianapolis Colts (0-12) - Should the team pick #1 overall, it will have an interesting cunundrum. Take Andrew Luck (which would likely signify the end of Peyton Manning's tenure in Indy) or trade the pick for what would likely be a small fortune in picks and/or players.
31. St. Louis Rams (2-10) - The Rams have the league's worst run defense (157.8 yards/game), worst scoring offense (11.7 points/game) and second worst total offense (284.0 yards/game). Simply put, the Josh McDaniels experiment has been a bust.
30. Jacksonville Jaguars - The Jaguars have the worst total offense in the league (254.7 yards/game), and injuries have decimated their secondary, which has led their defense to struggle in recent weeks. QB Blaine Gabbert needs legitimate receivers in order for the offense to be respectable.
29. Minnesota Vikings - Percy Harvin finally performed as a #1 receiver last week (8 catches, 154 yards, 2 TD), but the team couldn't hold off another Tim Tebow-led 4th quarter rally. QB Christian Ponder is improving, but threw an interception late that led to the game-winning Matt Prater field goal as time expired.



28. Cleveland Browns - Browns QB Colt McCoy is averaging a paltry 5.9 yards per pass attempt (only Blaine Gabbert has a lower YPA), which is indicative of the lack of downfield playmakers at wide receiver.
27. Tampa Bay Buccanneers - The defense again looked abysmal, allowing the Panthers to rack up 38 points and 385 total yards, the latter sadly being better than their season average (393.8, 30th in NFL).
26. Washington Redskins - The 'Skins hung tough with the Jets for much of their game, but ultimately fell. With the team already struggling with injuries, they'll now be without emerging TE Fred Davis and T Trent Williams for the last four games of the season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.
25. Philadelphia Eagles - The Eagles have been officially eliminated from the postseason after their loss to Seattle, but in reality, they haven't been in the hunt for about four weeks. It appears as though DeSean Jackson's dissatisfaction with his lack of a contract extension, as his play has not measured up to last season's breakout performance.
24. Carolina Panthers - Carolina has now won two straight, and Cam Newton broke the NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback after posting three in the Panthers 38-19 win over Tampa Bay. The team could still use another receiver to pair with Steve Smith, but this team could contend for a spot in the postseason should some of their key players return healthy.
23. Buffalo Bills - The Bills are in a tailspin, as they've lost five straight. Key injuries to some of their best players (DT Kyle Williams, C Eric Wood, RB Fred Jackson) have taken this team from contending for a playoff spot to just hoping to win another game this season.
22. Kansas City Chiefs - Its hard to feel good about the Chiefs offense from their 10-3 win over the Bears. If you remove the 38 yard touchdown on the Hail Mary touchdown pass at the end of the first half that resulted in a Dexter McCluster fluke touchdown, they racked up 218 yards. On the bright side, the defense did post six sacks and held the Bears offense to just 181 yards, but the offense lost Matt Forte early in the first quarter, and was already without starting quarterback Jay Cutler.
21. Arizona Cardinals - The Cardinals are 4-1 in their last five games, and the defense played very well against the Cowboys, sacking Romo five times and limiting Dallas to 75 yards on 20 runs. Kevin Kolb was effective, throwing for 247 yards on 25 attempts, and did not turn the ball over.
20. San Diego Chargers - The Chargers finally snapped a six game losing streak, beating down the Jaguars in Jacksonville 38-14. Philip Rivers threw for almost 300 yards and three touchdowns, and racked up another 139 yards on the ground. The playoffs are still likely out of reach, as is saving head coach Norv Turner's job, but the players on this team need to prove to whoever is the next head coach that they deserve their spot.
19. Seattle Seahawks - Seattle has looked better in recent weeks, and the emergence of Marshawn Lynch has a lot to do with it. Over the last five games, Lynch is averaging 118.2 yards per game on the ground, and has scored six toucdowns in those games. If Lynch continues in "Beast Mode", he'll likely represent the 'Hawks in the Pro Bowl this season.18. Miami Dolphins - The Dolphins absolutely beat down the Raiders, and Reggie Bush eclipsed 100 yards rushing again in their 34-14 win. Matt Moore is playing great football, and the team is 4-1 in their last five, the lone loss coming in Dallas 20-19 on a last second Dan Bailey field goal.
17. Oakland Raiders - The Raiders looked lost against the Dolphins, and are now in a tie with the Denver Broncos for the AFC West lead. The team clearly misses the big play ability of RB Darren McFadden, who may return this weekend.
16. Chicago Bears - Chicago is free-falling after their loss to the Chiefs. More painful than that is the knee injury to RB Matt Forte, who the offense was focused around. His sprained MCL will likely keep him out of action for a week or two at minimum, and the Bears are already without Jay Cutler for the rest of the regular season.
15. New York Jets - The Jets continue to play ugly, and they are lacking big plays in the passing game. The team has to find a way to play consistently on offense in order to reach the postseason and have a chance to make good on all of head coach Rex Ryan's grandiose claims.
14. Detroit Lions - The Lions struggled containing the potent Saints offense for much of the game, but the offense performed decently. If they can do a better job of stopping the run, they'll still have a good chance of reaching the playoffs.
13. Tennessee Titans - Tennessee is quietly back in the hunt for a playoff berth, and Chris Johnson has now run for over 100 yards in three of the last four games. It'll still likely be an uphill climb to reach the playoffs, but with all the craziness of the NFL season so far, stranger things could happen.
12. Denver Broncos - The Broncos defense struggled to contain the passing attack of Christian Ponder and the Vikings, but Tebow looked better, hitting 10 of 15 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns, and the Broncos showed more balance in the passing game. Denver now sits tied with Oakland atop the AFC West, and have won six of seven since Tebow took over for Kyle Orton as the starter.
11. New York Giants - The Giants gave the Packers all they could handle before falling 38-35. Eli Manning continues to have a great season, and threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns, and Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz tore up the Packers secondary. The loss hurts their playoff chances only slightly, as the Cowboys, Falcons, Bears and Lions all lost as well, so New York remains only one game out with four to play.
10. Cincinnati Bengals - The Bengals got thrashed by the Steelers, and are clearly the third best team in their divison. The defense has not been the same since losing Leon Hall for the season, but the offense should rebound after scoring only 7 points in the loss.
9. Atlanta Falcons - The Falcons dropped a tough game against Houston this past week, but had the right gameplan, as Houston did run for 162 yards, but it took 44 carries to reach that total. Games against Jacksonville and Carolina the next two weeks should have Atlanta at nine wins with two games remaining.
8. Dallas Cowboys - The Cowboys are the most complete team in the NFC East, and despite the setback against Arizona, still have the inside track to winning the division. Tony Romo will also likely have WR Miles Austin back this week after missing the previous four games with a hamstring injury, making an already potent offense even more explosive.
7. Houston Texans - T.J. Yates displayed surprising poise for a rookie in a tough game, and acquitted himself well in his first career start, throwing for 188 yards and a touchdown. So long as the run game continues to be effective, the Texans should be able to hold on to win their division, though the hamstring injury to WR Andre Johnson is concerning.
6. New England Patriots - Are the Patriots the team that ran out to a 31-3 lead on the winless Colts, or the team that let Indianapolis score 21 unanswered points late and give New England players and fans alike a scare. There's no doubt about the offensive talent on this team, but until the defense can stop giving up so many yards, Brady and company will have to continue to do so.
5. Baltimore Ravens - Ray Rice continues to run well in recent weeks, as he ran for a career high 204 yards against the Browns, and the defense suffocated Peyton Hillis. The Ravens hold the tie-breaker over the Steelers, but will need to keep winning to lock up a first round bye.
4. New Orleans Saints - Drew Brees has already thrown for over 4,000 yards this year, and is on pace to break Dan Marino's single-season yardage record. This team has great pass-catchers at all positions, but TE Jimmy Graham is Brees' go-to player, racking up 75 catches, 1,046 yards and 8 TD through the Saints 1st 12 games.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers - The Steelers are playing great football, and Antonio Brown has emerged as a solid second option to Mike Wallace at WR (50 catches, 774 yards, 1 TD). Rashard Mendenhall needs to run better (3.8 yards/game this season), but will get to face the porous Browns run defense twice in the final four weeks.
2. San Francisco 49ers - The 49ers posted their first shutout of the season, holding the Rams to 31 yards rushing on 23 rushes. This team has a great chance of finishing as the NFC's second seed, as their only big remaining test is their Week 15 home game against the Steelers.
1. Green Bay Packers - The Packers escaped the New Meadowlands with a 38-35 victory. Aaron Rodgers was again spectacular, leading the team on a last minute drive which culminated in the Mason Crosby 31-yard game winner as time expired, though he did throw his fifth interception of the season. 16-0 looks like a very realistic possibility, as they play three of their last four at home (Oakland, Chicago, Detroit) and their road game is against the offensively inconsistent Chiefs.