NFL Week 15 Power Rankings

Five Quick Hits

* Chicago Bears average points per game: with Jay Cutler, 26.8; without Cutler, 11.8.

* Great job handling the power outage at Candlestick Park. A round of applause for everyone involved.

* Jon Gruden is so mean-spirited and combative as an announcer. Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski want to be his friend even when they disagree, but Gruden makes everything personal. This week, Tirico pleaded with him, "When did facts become criticism?" What an awkward booth, really uncomfortable to listen to most weeks.

* Chris Johnson has rushed for over 100 yards four times this season. He's rushed for under 70 yards the other 10 times, with no games between 70-100.

* Everyone makes this mistake, but it's still surprising to see it on a big site that has editors, like NFL.com. The term is "shoo-in," not "shoe-in." That doesn't even make any sense. Also, it's a dog eat dog world, not a doggy-dog world.

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Regular readers know that I often comment on announcers and analysts, usually to suggest things that might be handled differently. If you just want to get the rankings, scroll down a bit and you'll find them. Brackets show last week's rank.

With regard to announcers, we'll start on Saturday night. As part of the NFL Network pre-game show, Deion Sanders shared with viewers his list of the best quarterbacks in the game: "I think Tony Romo is one of the elite quarterbacks in the game today, but let me read off a quick list — Brady, Big Ben, Manning, Brees, Eli — they can win with virtually no help ... you have Rivers, Flacco, and Matt Ryan, I think those are the next procession of guys, along with Romo, who need a little help." Do you notice anyone missing from that list? I listened to this clip three or four times, and it's word for word, plus Deion was reading off notes, so this wasn't just off the top of his head.

WHERE ON EARTH IS AARON RODGERS?

For that matter, what about Matt Schaub, Matt Stafford, Cam Newton? You prefer Joe Flacco over those guys? And Eli Manning ahead of Philip Rivers, Tony Romo, and Matt Ryan? Wow. It's also interesting how quickly Michael Vick has dropped off these lists.

When the game started, Brad Nessler announced to viewers that the broadcast was their second game in two days. Thursday, Friday, Saturday makes three days, tiger. I also liked when Nessler proclaimed, "Another costly penalty ... although declined." Yeah, real costly. Check out the big brain on Brad. Sunday, Joe Buck — who actually has been far less annoying this season than in the past — was doing the play by play of Washington's visit to the Giants when he made this call: "He finds an open receiver, but the play is broken up." Wait, what?

If a guy is open, that means he's not covered. If the play was broken up, that means he was covered. The term "open" is just routinely abused by play-by-play announcers. One more announcer comment in the St. Louis section, for those who are interested.

1. Green Bay Packers [1] — With Greg Jennings out of action, Aaron Rodgers posted his lowest passer rating of the season — by almost 20 points. Through Week 12, Rodgers' lowest rating of the year was 111.4 at Chicago in Week 3. Overall, he was at 127.7. Since then: 106.2, 96.7, 80.1. Those are still good marks, but not really dominant. Injuries are becoming a major problem, and I'm sure the team would benefit from some rest, but I hope Mike McCarthy will be mindful that their first playoff game isn't until the middle of January. You don't want anyone else to get hurt, but you want to enter the playoffs with some rhythm and momentum. It's hard to be confident if you haven't won in a month.

2. New Orleans Saints [2] — I recently ran across an old column from 2004, in which I noted that Michael Irvin had torn into Steve Young for comparing Drew Brees' season to Kurt Warner's 1999. I've said stupid things, too — in the same article, I called for the Seahawks to fire Mike Holmgren, one year before he led them to Super Bowl XL — but I bet Irvin would like to have that one back. Brees has already had a better career than Warner. He could retire today and he'd be a Hall of Famer. That said, his blatant pursuit of the consecutive-games-with-a-passing-touchdown record is a little off-putting.

3. New England Patriots [4] — Lost Andre Carter for the season with a quad injury. Carter led the team in sacks (10), and his loss is a major blow to a defense that doesn't need any more weaknesses. The Patriots have clinched the AFC East and are positioned for home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Best point differentials in the AFC: Patriots +140, Texans +107, Ravens +98, Steelers +67, Chargers +45, Jets +31.

4. Baltimore Ravens [3] — With Lardarius Webb limited by injury, they yielded a season-high 31 points against San Diego. Who's more important to this team, Ray Lewis or Webb? The Ravens went 4-0 with Ray on the sidelines, allowing just 12.5 points per game in his absence. With Lewis, they're 6-4 and that average is 18.6. Look, Ray Lewis is an all-time great. At this point in his career, though, it's not apparent that he's an above-average player.

5. San Francisco 49ers [8] — David Akers is on my fantasy team, so don't interpret this as a complaint. But man, the 49ers suck in the red zone. The Niners are obviously a good team, and that defense can take them a long way, but I've never seen a Super Bowl contender that couldn't score touchdowns. Akers broke Jerry Rice's single-season team record for scoring, but what the ESPN telecast didn't mention was that Rice did it in 12 games. His record was set during the 1987 strike season.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers [5] — "I don't get it. I understand the competing part, but you're three scores down with a buck fifty-one to go ... I don't know why he's out there." That's Ron Jaworski at the end of Monday's game. Ben Roethlisberger, coming off a high ankle sprain and widely expected to sit this week out, played all 60 minutes. He committed four turnovers and got hit repeatedly, especially near the end of the game, when rookie Aldon Smith teed off on him for what seemed like almost every play. There's proving you're tough, and there's proving you're a poor decision-maker. This wasn't proving you're tough.

7. Atlanta Falcons [7] — Won four of their last five, and seven of nine. Last week, I mentioned that it seemed excessive for the Falcons to be favored by 12½ against Jacksonville. Lo and behold, Atlanta won by 27. I am a huge believer in what Paul Zimmerman (Dr. Z) used to call trap games. If the line is way off from what it seems like it should be, there's probably a reason. The linemakers are practically begging you to take what looks like an easy win. Don't do it — go against your instincts and bet the other way. This doesn't always work, of course, but a little cash on the Falcons last week would have come back a winner.

8. Houston Texans [6] — With coordinator Wade Phillips on medical leave, the Houston defense gave up 20 points for the first time in more than two months (Baltimore, Week 6) and allowed more than two touchdowns for the first time since Week 3 against the Saints. The Texans are 0-4 when their opponent scores 20+. Arian Foster this week became the first running back since Priest Holmes with back-to-back 600-yard receiving seasons.

9. Seattle Seahawks [12] — Won by at least 17 points for the third week in a row. Marshawn Lynch has rightly drawn a lot of positive attention, but Lynch averaged 2.1 yards per attempt in Week 15. The Seahawks won, and won big, because of their defense. They grabbed 5 takeaways, including two returned for touchdowns. They started six drives at or beyond their own 40-yard line. Chicago didn't run a single play in the red zone. Seattle ranks sixth in the NFL in fewest points allowed (273), far better than teams with great defensive reputations, like the Bears (293) and Jets (315).

10. Arizona Cardinals [13] — Third home game in a row, all wins. The Cardinals are 5-2 in Arizona, 2-5 on the road. John Skelton has directed four of the wins, but it's not clear to me that he's outperformed Kevin Kolb. Skelton is a little better runner and he's done better avoiding sacks, but Kolb is ahead in completion percentage, yards per attempt, and interception percentage. Overall, Kolb's passer rating (81.1) is far better than Skelton's (69.8). The team's improvement has been mostly about defense and the ground game, not Skelton's league-worst 5.2% interception rate. Rex Grossman (4.8%) thinks Skelton needs to be more careful with the ball.

11. Denver Broncos [9] — With so many people anxious to deflect credit from Kordell Stewart Tim Tebow, I wonder if we've been overrating their defense. It's true that the unit has improved dramatically since early in the season, but it still ranks 22nd in yards allowed and 24th in points allowed. I mean, that's not really elite. In the last three weeks, they shut down Caleb Hanie and the Bears, but allowed 41 to the Patriots and a season-high 32 for Minnesota.

Tebow fumbled twice against New England. Everyone mentions that he's not throwing interceptions — just two all season, a phenomenal 0.9% INT percentage — but he has lost four fumbles. Tebow's 10 fumbles are as many as Cam Newton and Andy Dalton combined. Or Rodgers, Brees, and Brady combined. He's actually 5th in the NFL in fumbles, even though he didn't start until Week 7.

12. San Diego Chargers [18] — Third straight game winning by at least 20. It's stunning that this team has two 3-game winning streaks, and it's 7-7. San Diego looks as dangerous as anyone right now, but there are two big questions hovering over this team. One is, can they win on the road? The Chargers are just 2-4 away from San Diego, and the last two games are on the road. The other question is how they'll hold up in tight games. The Chargers play so well from ahead, and with that great passing game, they're never out of it, but the team hasn't responded well to adversity this season. Purely as a fan, I'd like to see them in the playoffs. They're fun to watch when everything's clicking.

13. Dallas Cowboys [15] — My favorite stat from their blowout win over Tampa: at halftime, Tony Romo had more completions (18) than Josh Freeman had yards (14). The Cowboys finished with four times as many first downs and more than doubled the Buccaneers' yardage.

14. New York Jets [10] — Worst loss since their 45-3 whipping from the Patriots in Week 13 last year. Who suffered a more embarrassing defeat to an NFC East opponent with a losing record in Week 15, the Jets or their stadium-mates and Week 16 opponent, the Giants? I know the media doesn't want to admit it, but the loser of that game is not going to the playoffs. I'm not sure the winner is, either, but they'll certainly have a better chance.

15. Detroit Lions [16] — Will clinch their first playoff berth in over a decade if they win either of their final two games. Unfortunately, they face the red-hot Chargers, then the Packers in Green Bay. If I had to guess, I'd say they get in, but it's no sure thing. Cliff Avril got to Carson Palmer twice in Week 15. Lions with double-digit sacks since their last postseason appearance:

Robert Porcher, 2001 (11.0)
James Hall, 2004 (11.5)
Ndamukong Suh, 2010 (10.0)
Cliff Avril, 2011 (11.0 and counting)

The team record is 23, by Al "Bubba" Baker in 1978. Since sacks became an official statistic in 1982, the mark is 15.0, by Porcher in 1999.

16. Cincinnati Bengals [17] — It seems like nobody is talking about this, but the Bengals are tied for the last wild card in the AFC, and both of their final two games are at home. They're tough matchups, against the Cardinals and Ravens, but it's not obvious to me that the big-market Jets have a better shot at the postseason than the small-market Bengals. Non-football thought: in real life, how many cardinals or ravens would have to attack a bengal en masse before you'd bet on the birds? For cardinals, I'm saying at least two dozen.

17. Tennessee Titans [11] — Devastating loss on a day when they could have moved into the driver's seat for a playoff berth. Matt Hasselbeck's early-season resurgence has taken a serious nose dive:

First four games: 288 yds/gm, 104.7 rating
Ten games since: 177 yds/gm, 70.8 rating

Some of that decline is probably just regression to the mean — anyone playing at a very high level is likely to return to average eventually. And some of Hasselbeck's dropoff is probably related to Kenny Britt's season-ending injury in Week 3. Some of it was just the league adjusting to Hasselbeck and Tennessee's new offense, some of it was defenses focusing less on an inconsistent and ineffective Chris Johnson. But almost certainly, some of Hasselbeck's decline should be attributed to age (36) and injuries. You wonder how much longer he can play.

18. Philadelphia Eagles [19] — Scoring 3 TDs in their rout of the Jets, LeSean McCoy broke Steve Van Buren's 66-year-old team record for single-season TDs. The difference? Van Buren set his record in a 10-game season. He may be the most underrated player in the Hall of Fame, a superstar in his day, but largely unknown now. McCoy hasn't nearly equaled Van Buren's historic 1945 campaign, but I do believe he's been the best RB in the NFL this season. McCoy has scored in every game this year but one, the Week 11 victory over the Giants, when he rushed for 113 yards.

19. New York Giants [14] — If Tony Romo had a game like Eli Manning did on Sunday, what would people say? I know there were some ugly drops, but 3 interceptions with no TDs and a 45.5 rating? There's no way to twist that into a good game. If Romo had the exact same game as Eli, fans and journalists would crucify him. It's the December jinx. He choked in a critical game. He's a bum, put in Jon Kitna. It wouldn't be an NFL season without fiery criticism for Romo, and fawning adulation for Eli Manning, but Romo's TD/INT differential this season is +20. Manning's is +10. Halfway through the second quarter, Washington had more TDs than Eli had completions.

Tom Coughlin, who used to be the most efficient coach in the NFL on replay challenges, is just 3/10 this year, including a couple of really strange ones with no real hope of success. Coughlin also called a timeout, trailing 23-3, with :37 left in the game. He even tried an onside kick with :34 left. The game's over, jackass. All you can do now is (1) waste everyone's time, and (2) get players hurt. John Harbaugh did the same thing on Sunday night. I appreciate a competitive spirit, but you can't come back from 20 down in the final minute. That's never happened, and it never will. What you can do is get people hurt. Grow up.

20. Carolina Panthers [22] — Fifth straight game scoring over 20 points. Last season, they scored 20 only twice all year. That's up to 11 already with Ron Rivera and Cam Newton at the controls. Offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski has done a nice job, as well. Here's something weird: Newton has fewer passing yards than the opposing quarterback in every game since October 30th (Week 8 vs. MIN).

21. Miami Dolphins [20] — In New Orleans, Reggie Bush averaged 3.99 yards per carry. In Miami this year, he's averaging 5.02, with significantly more attempts. How have the Dolphins been able to use him so much more effectively than the Saints did? With 973 rushing yards and two games to go, Bush has a good chance — in his sixth season — to double his previous career high (581).

22. Washington Redskins [27] — I thought the Giants would beat them, but was Sunday's victory really as shocking as the media implied? Washington gave the Patriots and Jets all they could handle, and it's the last team to beat Seattle, which otherwise is 5-0 since Week 9. London Fletcher's performance this season, at age 36, is remarkable. Against the Giants, Fletcher had 10 solo tackles and a forced fumble, plus a pass deflection that led to an interception. He's probably one of the five best inside linebackers in the league. It looks like he still has good years in front of him, but already, I believe Fletcher deserves serious Hall of Fame consideration.

23. Kansas City Chiefs [29] — Very nice win for Romeo Crennel and Kyle Orton. I don't know how many of Sunday's upsets were related to taking an opponent lightly. If I had to pick one, it actually would be the Giants game. I think they were so focused on the matchup with Dallas the week before, they were drained afterwards and maybe a little overconfident. But in a way it's not surprising that Green Bay lost to a mediocre team rather than a great one. I can't remember any comparable late-season upsets in the last decade, but there are two I always think of:

1997, Week 12: 8-2 Packers lose at 0-10 Colts
1998, Week 15: 13-0 Broncos lose at 5-8 Giants

It's going to be tough with Terrell Suggs and DeMarcus Ware out there, but Tamba Hali deserves serious all-pro consideration.

24. Cleveland Browns [28] — Fourth loss in a row, but all against teams in playoff contention, a combined 35-21 (.625). The Browns rise less because of their decent performance against the Cardinals than the sad declines of the Bears, Bills, Jaguars, and Raiders, all of whom were ranked ahead of Cleveland last week.

25. Oakland Raiders [23] — Three straight losses, immediately following three consecutive wins to close November. Darrius Heyward-Bey set career-highs in receptions (8) and receiving yards (155) on Sunday, while tying his career-high for touchdowns (1). This is Heyward-Bey's third season in the NFL. He has 5 career TDs.

26. Chicago Bears [21] — My policy in this column is always that teams are ranked on how good they are right now, and right now, the Bears are missing their two most important offensive players. Caleb Hanie is a disaster, and the team has lost four straight. Johnny Knox suffered a horrific back injury on Sunday, but it reportedly is not career-threatening.

27. Jacksonville Jaguars [25] — Trailing 27-0 at halftime, they had more turnovers (2) than net passing yards (1). Blaine Gabbert absolutely should not be playing quarterback in the NFL right now. He has the physical tools — size, good arm — but he has trouble reading defenses, and his decision-making is atrocious. His whole style of play is defined by anxiety and indecision. Is it worse for Gabbert's long-term confidence to bench him, or to keep putting him out there to fail? It was irresponsible to enter the season with Gabbert as the starter and no one else to give him a break in case things played out the way they have. This team's personnel decisions over the last eight months or so are as bad as any team in the NFL. The Jags went 8-8 last year.

28. Buffalo Bills [24] — C.J. Spiller had a career day against Miami. Unfortunately, all of the Dolphins had career days against Buffalo. The Bills, who started 3-0 and 5-2, now have the same record as the Dolphins, who started 0-7.

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [26] — Worst point differential in the NFC: Rams -180, Buccaneers -154, Vikings -112, Washington -48. The Bucs have lost by double-digits six times this year, including three in a row.

30. Minnesota Vikings [30] — Gave up three times as many first downs (36) as they gained (12). That only happens a handful of times per season. The Vikings are 0-6 since the bye, and they've been outscored by over 100 points this season, 406-294.

31. St. Louis Rams [31] — The worst announcer I've heard this season, by far, has been Dan Dierdorf (whom I actually liked as recently as last year). Describing a sack on Kellen Clemens, Dierdorf actually said this: "He didn't feel that coming at all ... luckily, he saw it." Right after the play, Dierdorf declared that Clemens didn't know a hit was coming, and upon watching the replay, tried to cover up his mistake when he noticed that Clemens unmistakably ducked before contact. I know, all announcers make goofs like that sometimes. As viewers, I think it's our right to have a little fun with that. If Deion Sanders forgot about Aaron Rodgers, or Brad Nessler can't count to three, that's amusing.

So my problem with Dierdorf isn't that he said something he assumed was true, that turned out not to be. My problem is that he's a cheerleader. Dierdorf is so married to specific storylines from before the game that he never departs from them, sometimes in outright defiance of reality. His "analysis" is totally dishonest, and he should be ashamed of it. Also, CBS should be ashamed that when the officials called an unnecessary roughness penalty after the play, viewers never saw what happened. After a significant call like that, especially one that prompts the crowd to chant, "Ref, you suck," fans deserve a replay. Bush league.

32. Indianapolis Colts [32] — First win without Peyton Manning since December 14, 1997 — more than 14 years ago. Dan Orlovsky passed for 82 yards, with a long of 18, as the Colts at least partially dodged infamy. They were outgained by 100 yards and gave up more than twice as many first downs as they gained.