NFL Computerized Power Ranks: Week 13

Week 13 featured 3 pretty big showdowns with playoff implications on the line. The #1 ranked Falcons disposed of the Buccaneers, causing them to possibly slip out of the NFC playoff race. The Steelers beat the Ravens to take back control of the AFC North. And, last but not least, in a showdown between 2 9-2 teams on Monday night, the Patriots destroyed the Jets to take over 1st place in the AFC East.

These results, of course, had an impact to the top of the power ranks. The Falcons remained at #1, the Steelers jumped up 2 spots to #3, and the Patriots moved up 1 spot to #2. The Jets, who came into this week ranked #2, fell 5 spots back to #7. The Saints stayed put at #4 for their narrow win over Cincy, and oddly, the Packers leapfrogged the Bears (who have been stuck outside the top 5 most of the season despite being 9-3) into the #5 spot.

As usual, the bottom 5 all lost this week, and did not change position. The only thing to note at the bottom is that the Cardinals are so bad that they are at a very strong risk of falling behind 1-11 Carolina.

The biggest gainers this week were the Cowboys and Seahawks, who each jumped 6 spots. The Cowboys beat the Colts in Indy, which would have been more impressive if they weren't facing the 1999-2009 Colts at this point. The Seahawks got to ravage the Panthers, and stay tied in first in the NFC West. The biggest losers were the Colts, who all of the sudden are in an absolute tailspin, but still look like the favorites to win the AFC South, and the 49ers, who got knocked 2 games back of the horrible NFC West playoff race.

Playoff Projection
NFC
First Round Byes: #1 Falcons, #5 Packers
#6 Bears @ #8 Eagles
#4 Saints @ #16 Rams
Top 5 Out: #10 Giants, #13 Buccaneers, #19 Cowboys, #20 Seahawks, #24 Vikings

AFC
First Round Byes: #2 Patriots, #3 Steelers
#11 Ravens @ #9 Chiefs
#7 Jets @ #17 Jaguars
Top 5 Out: #12 Chargers, #14 Raiders, #15 Browns, #18 Dolphins, #21 Colts

Here are the full ranks
1. Falcons - 81.70 - Even
2. Patriots - 79.87 - +1
3. Steelers - 72.76 - +2
4. Saints - 72.07 - Even
5. Packers - 71.57 - +2
6. Bears - 71.14 - Even
7. Jets - 69.26 - -5
8. Eagles - 68.98 - Even
9. Chiefs - 66.48 - +2
10. Giants - 59.92 - +3
11. Ravens - 59.10 - -1
12. Chargers - 57.36 - -3
13. Buccaneers - 55.90 - -1
14. Raiders - 50.47 - +3
15. Browns - 49.92 - +1
16. Rams - 49.42 - +3
17. Jaguars - 49.14 - +1
18. Dolphins - 46.94 - -4
19. Cowboys - 46.93 - +6
20. Seahawks - 44.31 - +6
21. Colts - 44.15 - -6
22. Texans - 42.14 - -1
23. Titans - 40.41 - -1
24. Vikings - 40.13 - Even
25. Redskins - 38.26 - -2
26. 49ers - 36.39 - -6
27. Bills - 31.81 - Even
28. Broncos - 30.74 - Even
29. Lions - 30.60 - Even
30. Bengals - 25.37 - Even
31. Cardinals - 17.39 - Even
32. Panthers - 17.22 - Even