Week 15 NFL Power Rankings

by Jon Azpiri | December 9, 2008 at 01:17 pm

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Here are some NFL power rankings for Week 15 of the 2008 NFL season. Last week's rankings are in brackets.

1 (3) Tennessee Titans (12-1) They outscored the Lions and the Browns in the past two weeks by a cumulative score of 75-19. They also managed to clinch their first AFC South title since 2002. Still, the Titans' real test will come on Week 16 when they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

2 (2) Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3) The Steelers have the best defense in the league and it's likely to get better as the team has a tendency to play well in December. With winter here, there may be no more intimidating place to play than the chilly confines of Heinz Field.

3 (1) New York Giants (11-2) Domenik Hixon had a chance to make everyone forget about Plaxico Burress. It didn't happen. The question now is whether other teams will learn from the Eagles and find ways to beat the Giants.

4 (5) Carolina Panthers (10-3) A big home win against the Bucs gives them sole possession of the NFC South lead. Don't expect them to relinquish it.

5 (4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-4) A tough loss to Carolina and another tough game against Atlanta this week will be a challenge for the Bucs. Thankfully, they can look forward to ending the season against Oakland and San Diego. An 11-5 record would look pretty good.

6 (7) Indianapolis Colts (9-4) They have easy games in the next couple of weeks, so look for the Colts to keep on rolling.

7 (8) Baltimore Ravens (9-4) The Ravens have won seven of their last eight. Everyone knows about their defense, but their well-balanced offense doesn't get enough credit.

8 (6) New York Jets (8-5) Brett Favre passed for just 137 yards against San Francisco. They can't keep that up and expect to be considered an elite team.

9 (9) Atlanta Falcons (8-5) A tough loss to New Orleans, but they still have what it takes to do well in the playoffs. An improved run defense wouldn't hurt, mind you.

10 (10) Dallas Cowboys (8-5) The loss to Pittsburgh showed they couldn't handle the 2008 version of the Steel Curtain. Of course, no other team can handle the Steelers defense either. Now if only they can figure out what to do with Marion Barber?

11 (11) New England Patriots (8-5) The Pats squeaked out a win against the Seahawks. They know they have a small margin of error and they don't seem to be nervous about it.

12 (13) Minnesota Vikings (8-5) On behalf of everyone here at NowPublic, I'd like to thank Visanthe Shiancoe for accidentally exposing his penis on national TV.

13 (14) Miami Dolphins (8-5) How quickly we forget that the Dolphins were 1-15 last year. How can Tony Sparano not win Coach of the Year?

14 (15) Denver Broncos (8-5) Just when the Broncos seem to be getting back to normal, they lose running back Peyton Hillis for the rest of the season due to a torn hamstring. Of course, the team has fought through injuries all year. Just don't expect them to be consistent.

15 (20) Philadelphia Eagles (7-5-1) A huge win against the Giants shows that this team still has tremendous skill. Who knows how long it will last?

16 (16) Arizona Cardinals (8-5) The Cards clinched their division. Still, is anybody really scared of these guys?

17 (19) Chicago Bears (7-6) They still have a chance to catch up to Minnesota for the NFC North title because they play two of their last three games at home.

18 (17) New Orleans Saints (7-6) The Saints need to go a major winning streak to have a chance at the playoffs. Playing Chicago on the road Thursday game won't help.

19 (12) Washington Redskins (7-6) Their loss to the Ravens Sunday night pretty much ended their season.

20 (22) Houston Texans (6-7) The Texans have won three in a row. Is it too much to expect to make it four against Tennessee? Probably.

21 (18) Buffalo Bills (6-7) Hosted a "home"game in Toronto in an effort to cultivate more Canadian fans. Apparently, they thought the best way to appeal to the locals was to play like a CFL team.

22 (24) San Francisco 49ers (5-8) The Niners have won three of the last four, including last Sunday's gutty win over the Jets. Maybe Mike Singletary's antics can work, after all.

23 (23) San Diego Chargers (5-8) Thursday's pounding of the Raiders reminded fans of what this team used to be.

24 (21) Green Bay Packers (5-8) The Packers defense has allowed 110 points in their last three games.

25 (25) Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9) The Jags have one of the worst offenses in the league. But at least we know that QB David Garrard is not afraid to work up a sweat.

26 (26) Cleveland Browns (4-9) If you're interested in coaching the Cleveland Browns, please send your resume to:

Cleveland Browns Stadium
1085 West 3rd Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44114

Att: Phil Savage

27 (27) Oakland Raiders (3-10) They had a chance to stick it to their division rivals on Thursday night and they completely crapped the bed.

28 (29) Seattle Seahawks (2-11) After watching the Seahawks play the Pats on Sunday, you couldn't help but think that they deserved better. The team played hard, QB Seneca Wallace had the game of his life, and his offensive line fought valiantly. The team deserved to win but a late fumble negated all their hard work, an apt metaphor for the Seahawks' season.

29 (28) Kansas City Chiefs (2-11) Like the Seahawks, haven't been able to finish strong.

30 (30) St. Louis Rams (2-11) Not even Steven Jackson can help the Rams.

31 (31) Cincinnati Bengals (1-11-1) They've been outscored 69-6 their last two games. Too bad the Bengals won't play the Lions this season. If you ask me, there should be some sort of BCS-type game that pits the league's two worst teams against each other so we can find out once and for all which is the most pathetic team in the NFL.

32 (32) Detroit Lions (0-12) The Lions are so bad that Lions players are wanting to fight fans. The way things are going, they'd probably lose that battle too.