Not much change in the Top 10 as teams ranked higher last week came out with victories. How can we drop Pittsburgh much for losing to the best team in the league? Furthermore, while Dallas and NY Giants should have won their games, the point is that they didn’t. Meanwhile, San Diego managed to pull their game out and move up in the standings. It’s unbelievable that a team this good might miss the playoffs. Those of you who enjoy painful football can check out the bottom of the rankings for your fix. Without further ado, here are your week 12 Power Rankings.
| Rank (Pv) | Team | Record | Comment |
| 1 (1) |  |
11-0 | Despite a subpar game by Peyton, the Colts roll over Pittsburgh easily. Next real test: San Diego. |
| 2 (2) |  |
9-2 | One more win at KC and Denver will have pretty much wrapped up the division.
|
| 3 (3) |  |
9-2 | They won a game they should have lost but they are still the best team in the NFC. Holmgren earned his salary with the timeout that lead to a booth review. |
| 4 (6) |  |
7-4 | After yet another multi-TD game, can anyone argue with Marty’s assertion that LT is the best of all time? |
| 5 (4) |  |
7-4 | They aren’t built to beat Indy in the dome, which doesn’t bode well as Indy is sure to have HFA throughout. |
| 6 (7) |  |
8-3 | I don’t want to upset Bears fans but remember in 2001 when Chicago kept winning games on defense? They didn’t last too long in the playoffs. |
| 7 (5) |  |
7-4 | Tough loss against Denver won’t matter much if they can beat the Giants this weekend. They would be 2 (virtual) games up on NY with 4 to play. |
| 8 (8) |  |
7-4 | Jeremy Shockey’s reaction to the missed field goal was classic. Just like when that guy on Ali G realized he was on Austrian Gay TV. |
| 9 (9) |  |
8-3 | Jags fans, don’t count on Leftwich being able to come back for the playoffs. You might be better off with a fully healthy Garrard and 6 weeks of experience. |
| 10 (11) |  |
8-3 | If the Panthers can win their division with their remaining schedule (Atl, TB, @NO, Dal, @Atl), then they should be the favorites out of the NFC. I don’t think they can. |
| 11 (12) |  |
8-3 | As always, the Bengals are very good at beating up mediocre teams. Pittsburgh, however, is a quality team, and they will be nice and angry next Sunday. |
| 12 (10) |  |
7-4 | We’ll give Matt Bryant a mulligan considering a hamstring strain but that miss was a killer in the Bucs’ division title hopes. |
| 13 (14) |  |
7-4 | The best thing to happen to the Chiefs yesterday wasn’t Johnson’s running or Wesley’s INTs, it was Leftwich breaking his ankle. |
| 14 (15) |  |
7-4 | Atlanta goes to Carolina for a chance to tie atop the NFC South. Atlanta has beaten Carolina 9 out of the last 10 times. |
| 15 (13) |  |
6-5 | I stand corrected, it’s the Patriots and not the Bears who are the San Diego Padres of the NFL. |
| 16 (20) |  |
6-5 | What does it say about Culpepper that this team is playing better with Brad Johnson at the helm. |
| 17 (17) |  |
5-6 | It took 3 straight chokes but Gibbs’ approval rating has finally caught up with Bush’s. However, neither can be fired. |
| 18 (18) |  |
5-6 | If the Eagles organization keeps insisting they want the TO distraction behind them, why file a petty tampering grievance against Jerry Jones and the Cowboys? |
| 19 (22) |  |
5-6 | Kudos to Ryan Fitzpatrick for making a paper snoozefest into one of the most entertaining games of the year. |
| 20 (19) |  |
4-7 | McGahee continues his TD-less skid and Losman continues to miss throws. In their loss to Carolina, the offense had as many drives of 0 or negative yardage as they had of 20+ yards. |
| 21 (26) |  |
4-7 | Vonnie Holiday thinks they have a shot at the playoffs. They played a very good game against the Raiders but I think he left his pipe in Michael Irvin’s car. |
| 22 (16) |  |
4-7 | Things are so bad that players are screaming at each other, Moss is giving the stink eye to Norv Turner, and a few unnamed players lobbied for the benching of Kerry Collins. |
| 23 (21) |  |
4-7 | Free Charlie Frye! Why bother with Trent Dilfer at this point? Let the kid get some time before you go into the draft. |
| 24 (23) |  |
4-7 | Clearly Mooch had to go but when will Ford realize that Millen is the problem. What exactly has the team accomplished under his watch? |
| 25 (24) |  |
3-8 | Is it any surprise that Arizona has the lowest franchise valuation in the league? This team will never win. |
| 26 (25) |  |
3-8 | Half full: despite being down 34-0 and losing Demps, the Ravens fought back. Half empty: The Bengals stopped playing by the third quarter. |
| 27 (28) |  |
3-8 | Hopefully for Titans fans, McNair’s performance yesterday won’t fool the Tennessee FO into thinking they don’t need a new QB next year. |
| 28 (30) |  |
3-8 | Why does Haslett still have a job? The Saints are the worst coached and dumbest (as evidenced by their penalties Sunday night) team in the league. |
| 29 (27) |  |
2-9 | I guess Nolan finally decided the playoffs are out of reach. Alex “Eyebrows” Smith will start the rest of the season. |
| 30 (29) |  |
2-9 | Can Joe Buck please stop making excuses for Favre? Whenever Favre makes a mistake, it’s because he’s trying to compensate for the lack of talent around him. When one of his teammates makes a great play, it’s because Favre elevates the talent around him. I think Buck’s mom used to make 2 cakes for his birthday. |
| 31 (31) |  |
2-9 | In the long run, the Jets will be much happier that Nugent’s field goal came up 2 feet short. |
| 32 (32) |  |
1-10 | If I had poured $800M into the Texans, I would have fired Dom Capers by now. What exactly is Robert McNair waiting for, a sign from God? |