A New League Order

Unscripted NFL Power Rankings
2014 Week 12

Nipping at #10's heels:

Chargers (#16), Dolphins (#15), Ravens (#14)

Steelers (#13), Bengals (#12), Seahawks (#11)

10. San Francisco 49ers (6-4)
Last Week: 11th
Best Ranking: 3rd (Week 2, Post-Draft)
Eli Manning threw five interceptions and the 49ers still had to sweat things out. That's how good the Niners defense was Sunday - and how mediocre the offense was against the Giants. Still, the Niners climbed into a second-place tie with Seattle in the NFC West after the Seahawks lost at Kansas City. Next, San Francisco will host Washington (3-7). The Niners have won the last three meetings with Washington, including last season's 27-6 victory. In that game, Colin Kaepernick had three touchdown passes and zero interceptions and the 49ers defense had six sacks of Robert Griffin III. - Paul Gutierrez

9. Dallas Cowboys (7-3)

Last Week: 8th

Best Ranking: 2nd (Week 8)

Quarterback Tony Romo's value was never more evident than it was at Wembley Stadium in Week 10. Playing with two fractures in his back, Romo threw for 246 yards and had his third three-touchdown performance of the season in the 31-17 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was a gutty performance heading into the Week 11 bye week. Everybody saw what happened when Romo could not play against the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 2. The offense imploded. But when on the field, Romo leads the NFL in completion percentage (68.8 percent), is fourth in passer rating (107.2) and tied for seventh in touchdowns (18) this season. - Todd Archer

8. Philadelphia Eagles (7-3)

Last Week: 5th
Best Ranking: 4th (Week 8, 4, 3)
The Eagles have played three games on the road against NFC contenders this season. They are 0-3 in those games against San Francisco, Arizona and now Green Bay. The Eagles are 7-0 in the rest of their games. That 7-3 record is pretty good, but the losses were all in playoff-type games. The defense could not pressure Aaron Rodgers and let Green Bay's quarterback stand in the pocket and choose from his array of weapons. The most recent time the Eagles' defense looked this vulnerable was last season in Denver, when Peyton Manning picked it apart in a 52-20 win. The Eagles recovered from that beating and improved steadily the rest of the season. That will be the challenge with games against Dallas and Seattle in the next month. - Phil Sheridan

7. Indianapolis Colts (6-4)

Last Week: 7th

Best Ranking: 3rd (Week 8)

This was an opportunity for the Colts to send a message to the rest of the AFC that they’re a team that will be in it until the end. Instead, a 42-20 loss to the Patriots showed the rest of the AFC that they can win in the AFC South, but have a difficult time beating playoff teams. All four of the Colts' losses this season have been against teams likely to make the playoffs - Denver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New England. So much focus was on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski that they forgot about the run game. The Patriots ran around and through the Colts all night, finishing with 244 yards rushing. - Mike Wells

6. Kansas City Chiefs (7-3)
Last Week: 10th
Best Ranking: 6th (Week 12)
In winning their fifth straight game, the Chiefs improved to 7-3 and moved into a tie for first place in the AFC West with the Denver Broncos. The Chiefs were 3-for-4 scoring touchdowns in the red zone (three rushing TDs). The Chiefs’ ability to run the ball in the red zone mutes the fact that their wide receivers don't have a touchdown catch. The Chiefs not only remain the only NFL team without a touchdown catch from a wide receiver, they also got catches from only one wideout Sunday. The Broncos come to Arrowhead for a Sunday night game against the Chiefs on Nov. 30, but first the Chiefs have their only Thursday night game of the season this week against the Raiders. - Adam Teicher

5. Detroit Lions (7-3)

Last Week: 4th

Best Ranking: 4th (Week 11, 10)

The Lions continued to have a strong defense, and once again, the Lions’ offense failed them. Detroit only reached the red zone once Sunday and failed to score a touchdown for the first time this season. This came about because of some rough throws by Matthew Stafford, some bad protection of Stafford by the Lions' offensive line and a lack of creative play-calling on movement downs. The biggest issue for the defense now is the lack of sacks on Drew Stanton. The former Lions’ quarterback was picked off twice, but wasn't sacked once. - Michael Rothstein

4. Denver Broncos (7-3)
Last Week: 2nd
Best Ranking: 1st (Week 9, 8, 7, 3)
The Broncos have slugged it out with all four NFC West teams, and they looked like a different team at home compared to on the road. At home, the Broncos overwhelmed the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers - they outscored those two teams 83-37 - but on the road the Broncos were outmuscled by the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3, the New England Patriots in Week 9, and the Rams on Sunday. The Broncos are now 2-3 on the road, with their wins coming against a Jets team that had one win at the time the Broncos played them and a winless Raiders team. - Jeff Legwold

3. Green Bay Packers (7-3)

Last Week: 6th

Best Ranking: 3rd (Week 12)

For the first time in franchise history, the Packers put up 50 points in consecutive games. In their last four first halves at Lambeau Field, they have outscored their opponents 128-9. When they jumped out to a 30-6 halftime lead over the Eagles, they became the first team in NFL history to score 28 or more points in the first half of four straight home games. They have scored at least 30 points in each of the past six home games, setting a franchise record. At 7-3, they pulled into a tie with the Detroit Lions atop the NFC North after the Lions' loss to the Arizona Cardinals. - Rob Demovsky

2. Arizona Cardinals (9-1)
Last Week: 3rd
Best Ranking: 2nd (Week 12)
After the first quarter, quarterback Drew Stanton looked like he was about to jump in the running for offensive player of the year. But then a combination of reality and Detroit's defense hit the Cardinals and the offense, yet again, slowed to a crawl. He threw 186 of his 306 yards in the first quarter while the Cards didn't score for the final 51 minutes and 12 seconds of the game, but it didn't matter. The Cardinals' defense responded to the pressure put on them by the fluttering offense and prevented the Lions from moving the ball. The defense - especially the secondary - responded with an effort that was worthy of an appearance in January. - Josh Weinfuss

1. New England Patriots (8-2)

Last Week: 1st

Best Ranking: 1st (Week 12, 11, 10)

The Patriots stand alone atop the AFC with an 8-2 record, a result of their smash-mouth victory and the Broncos' road loss to the Rams. In the process, the Patriots proved that they can assert themselves on the road in a big game. The Colts entered the game as the NFL's highest scoring team, averaging 32.2 points per game. In holding them to 20, the Patriots played a mix of coverages, absorbed a few big plays, but came through in the critical situations with either turnovers or stops. This is a stingy unit that is developing more confidence each day. The Patriots are now 31-3 in the second halves of seasons (games 9-16) since 2010. That is easily the best mark in the NFL. - Mike Reiss