Originally published Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 6:35 PM
Danny O'Neil's NFL power rankings
1. Green Bay (1) Packers' countdown to Christmas at a dozen wins and counting. 2. New Orleans (2) If Saints need a crutch to lean on, coach...
| 1. Green Bay (1) | Packers' countdown to Christmas at a dozen wins and counting. |
| 2. New Orleans (2) | If Saints need a crutch to lean on, coach Sean Payton has two. |
| 3. Baltimore (3) | Rice-a-runnin': Ray rushed for career-high 204 yards last week. |
| 4. San Francisco (4) | Opponents are ground meat. Niners have yet to allow a rushing TD this season. |
| 5. Pittsburgh (5) | Steelers still surviving with their Ben-but-don't-break offense. |
| 6. Houston (6) | It's late, it's fate, it's — ummm — QB T.J. Yates? |
| 7. New England (7) | Hardly down Pats: They've scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games. |
| 8. N.Y. Jets (16) | Rex Ryan isn't the kind of guy to shy away from putting his foot in his mouth. |
| 9. Oakland (10) | Raiders' CP3 happy David Stern had no say in Raiders-Bengals deal. |
| 10. Denver (14) | If Tim were tiny, he would be perfect for "A Christmas Carol." |
| 11. Atlanta (8) | Second-half story: Falcons outscored 143-120 in third and fourth quarters this year. |
| 12. Dallas (9) | 'Tis the season for the Cowboys to start losing for no good reason. |
| 13. Cincinnati (11) | With three losses in four games, Bengals running a collective fade route. |
| 14. Chicago (12) | Caleb Hanie has Bears shooting BBs in a .357 Magnum world. |
| 15. Tennessee (15) | And just like that, Chris Johnson is up to speed. |
| 16. N.Y. Giants (17) | Defense prepared for gymnastics with a Tuck (Justin) and a Rolle (Antrel). |
| 17. Detroit (13) | Ndamukong Suh's crash caused by — wait for it — stomping on the gas. |
| 18. Seattle (18) | A lump of Cole really soured Seattle's holiday spirit. |
| 19. Miami (21) | Reggie Bush looks at Kris Humphries and says, "Thank goodness that's not me." |
| 20. Philadelphia (20) | If you're looking for the Eagles, they're out in the tank doing the backstroke. |
| 21. San Diego (22) | Chargers need to remember to put the recycling bin out so Norv Turner can be collected. |
| 22. Arizona (25) | LaRod Stephens-Howling was LaMan with last week's OT TD vs. Cowboys. |
| 23. Carolina (27) | QB Cam Newton has rushed for more touchdowns than 26 teams in the league. |
| 24. Washington (23) | The most offensive thing about this point-starved team? Its nickname. |
| 25. Tampa Bay (19) | Devil Rays subject of "The Extra 2%" Bucs are more like, "How the other half lives." |
| 26. Buffalo (24) | Billfold is a wallet as opposed to a Bills fold, which describes the past two months. |
| 27. Kansas City (26) | Forty-one days and counting since Chiefs scored more than 10 points in a game. |
| 28. Cleveland (28) | Eighty-four days and counting since Browns scored more than 20 points in a game. |
| 29. Minnesota (29) | Team from the land of a thousand lakes looks to be lost at sea. |
| 30. St. Louis (30) | Looking for Albert Pujols' replacement? You won't find a hitter like that in Rams' lineup. |
| 31. Jacksonville (31) | Jags to modify Obama's motto: Yes we Khan! |
| 32. Indianapolis (32) | It's about time for team owner to have a man-to-Manning talk over Colts' QB future. |
Last week's rankings in parentheses









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