2012 NFL Power Rankings Week 17: Broncos Finally Reach the Top 

I trust you all have had a joyous holiday season. One more week of regular season football and one more holiday to finish it all off for 2012. Interestingly enough, this week not one single top ten team remained in its position from the previous week. A lot of movement at the top, but none at the bottom…with no changes from the 24^th spot down.

1. Denver Broncos (Last Week Rank: 3): It’s been a long time coming, but the Broncos finally take over the top spot.

2. New England Patriots (1): Close call in Jacksonville. Kinda makes you wonder a little bit, eh?

3. Atlanta Falcons (4): The Falcons will get to play all their playoff games at home. The only question is: will there be more than one game?

4. Seattle Seahawks (5): That was a pretty impressive butt-whooping the Seahawks laid on the 49ers. I told you the 12^th man is alive and well.

5. San Francisco 49ers (2): See above, but reversed. Ouch. Would Alex Smith have handled the noise better? He’s only 2-4 @ Seattle.

6. Green Bay Packers (7): The Pack beat up on the Titans. No surprise there. But that is what good teams do to bad teams.

7. Houston Texans (6): The Texans are not nearly as dominant as we thought, but are they good enough to make it to the Super Bowl?

8. Washington Redskins (9): Outside of the Broncos, the Redskins are the hottest team in the league.

9. Cincinnati Bengals (11): Cincy finally got the Steelers-monkey off their back. Are the Ravens next?

10. Baltimore Ravens (12): Despite an impressive win against the Giants, the Ravens are not where they need to be heading into the playoffs.

11. Chicago Bears (10): The Bears are on the outside looking in after being hot for the better part of the season. Looks like another disappointing season in Chicago.

12. New York Giants (8): The Giants might just be the worst of the playoff hopeful teams. I, for one, have no desire to see them play another week.

13. Minnesota Vikings (14): The Vikings beat the Texans…on the road…without 100 yards rushing from AP…??? Hey, it happened.

14. New Orleans Saints (15): The Saints are trying to avoid a losing record. Maybe the Panthers will be in an obliging mood.

15. Dallas Cowboys (13): The Cowboys had it laid out for them and they lost. I don’t expect anything different this week.

16. Carolina Panthers (16): The Panthers were a big disappointment this season, but at least Cam is in the really funny “Play 60” commercial. Cracks me up every time.

17. St. Louis Rams (17): The Rams could finish with a winning record, but they are playing in Seattle. So more likely it will be the 6^th straight losing season in St. Louis.

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (18): What do you do with a team like the Bucs? Really, what do you do?

19. Miami Dolphins (20): The Dolphins have a long way to go, but the defense isn’t too bad and would benefit by a more consistent offense.

20. Indianapolis Colts (21): The Colts will be the lowest ranked team in the playoffs, but I don’t know if anyone really wants to play them. You cannot underestimate the role that emotions can play.

21. Pittsburgh Steelers (19): The Steelers offense has perfecting the art of making mediocre production look difficult. They have wasted another strong year by the defense.

22. San Diego Chargers (23): It’s definitely time for a change in San Diego.

23. New York Jets (22): Who will be the starting QB for the Jets next year? Alex Smith? Michael Vick? Maybe Seattle will trade Matt Flynn?

24. Cleveland Browns (24): I still say “Keep Shurmur!”

25. Arizona Cardinals (25): The Cardinals are ranked 25^th, I’m not sure how but they are.

26. Detroit Lions (26): By far the biggest disappointment in the NFL in 2012. Congrats to Calvin Johnson, though.

27. Buffalo Bills (27): Buffalo is a mess. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Chan Gailey both need to be replaced.

28. Tennessee Titans (28): Complaints are flying in about Jake Locker, but he only has 10 starts to his name. This team has plenty of other problems to focus on other than him.

29. Philadelphia Eagles (29): Michael Vick returns for the season finale. Believe it or not, this might not be the last game he plays for the Eagles.

30. Oakland Raiders (30): The fact that Oakland is actually using Terrelle Pryor right now probably tells you all you need to know.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (31): Can we just get Tim Tebow in here, already?

32. Kansas City Chiefs (32): Five pro bowlers and just two wins this year. Yeah, that makes sense.