NFL Power Rankings Week 12 Updated

(1) Green Bay Packers (10-0) The green and yellow machine looks strong and should remain firmly in this position by picking up another win against the Detroit Lions this week. It should be an exciting Thanksgiving Day game.

(2) San Francisco 49ers (9-1) Life is good without Mike Singletary around, and they recently picked up a win against the Arizona Cardinals, 23-7 last week and this week they face the Baltimore Ravens in the Harbaugh Bowl.

(3) Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3) The Pittsburgh Steelers sit patiently in second place in the AFC North hoping for a slipup by the Ravens sometime soon. The team is rested off of a bye and faces the Kansas City Chiefs this week.

(4) New Orleans Saints (7-3) The Saints stayed hot and picked up a huge road victory recently against the Falcons. They control their own destiny and have control of the NFC South division. The team is rested coming off of a bye and now has an interesting game against the New York Football Giants this week.

(5) New England Patriots (7-3) The Patriots look like they are back on their feet after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs, 34-3. The team is now in control of the AFC East and looking to continue playing well with an interesting matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles this week.

(6) Houston Texans (7-3) The Houston Texans were impressive this week with a big win on the road against Tampa Bay, 37-9. The Matt Leinart era begins, but the team is severely injured with Andre Johnson, Matt Schaub, and Mario Williams all out of the lineup. The team is rested after coming off of a bye week and has an interesting divisional matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars this week. The team will try to hold on to the lead in the AFC South and finally reach the playoffs. The next six games should be interesting.

(7) Baltimore Ravens (7-3) The Baltimore Ravens rebounded nicely with a win against the Cincinnati Bengals, 31-24 last week. They love the spotlight and big games, so they should perform well in the Harbaugh Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers.

(8) Chicago Bears (7-3) Life without Jay Cutler as the curse of Kristin Cavallari arrives for the second time in a short period, rendering the franchise quarterback helpless with no timetable set for his return. The Caleb Hanie era begins as the team looks great with excellent defense and special teams as they beat the Chargers 31-20. I like the fight in the team, but they will be challenged as they travel to face the Oakland Raiders this week. It should be a great game, that the team better be prepared to play or they could lose.

(9) Detroit Lions (7-3) The team took care of business last week as they moved closer to reaching the playoffs by defeating Carolina, 49-35. This week, we will find out if they can beat the best as they face the Green Bay Packers in a Thanksgiving Day exciting game.

(10) Atlanta Falcons(6-4) The team picked up a nice win over the Tennessee Titans last week with a 23-17 win to start a new winning streak and stay in the hunt for the NFC South crown. This week they face the Minnesota Vikings. Eventually, this team should get it figured out and play much closer to its potential each week.