When it comes to Creative Misfortune Power Rankings, winning isn't the only thing, but it is the most important component of the rating. I don't believe teams can be powerful if they consistently lose, even to other great teams.
The Forked Few~
Abandon hope and fortune all ye who rank here
# 32 - Carolina Panthers (previous: 32)
Not much can be said about a team just running out the clock on the season.
# 31 - Cincinnati Bengals (previous: 29)
An absolutely horrendous performance at home against the Buffalo Bills. When people think of offensive explosions, the Bills don't often come to mind, but Cincinnati made the perennial chumps of the AFC East look like champions.
# 30 - Arizona Cardinals (previous: 27)
Larry Fitzgerald isn't happy and wants to feast on caviar instead of the garbage Arizona has been serving. That doesn't bode well for next season.
# 29 - Detroit Lions (previous: 31)
One of these weeks Detroit will put it all together and actually win a game on the road. Even at 2-8 this is a much improved team.
# 28 - Buffalo Bills (previous: 30)
Offensive juggernauts! Even scoring all those points against Cincinnati can't tarnish the outcome. Just think, only three weeks ago the Bills hadn't even won a game. Now look at them. They're all growed up.
The Creatively Challenged~
Folly remains ever their mistress
# 27 - San Francisco 49ers (previous: 23)
Seriously? The 49ers couldn't even manage a field goal at home against the Buccaneers. That's quite pathetic. Are we looking at in-season coaching change #3? Singletary better start winning soon. His team at least still has a decent shot to win the division.
# 26 - Minnesota Vikings (previous: 26)
Great news! The Vikings are still undefeated in the interim Leslie Frazier era. Bad news. The Vikings have difficulty playing out of doors on the road and their next game is back east in Washington. Good news. The Redskins aren't that great. Bad news. They aren't bad, either.
# 25 - Denver Broncos (previous: 24)
I have never seen a team so devastated by a first quarter fake punt that burned them. It took the Broncos three quarters to recover and by then their season had already been lost.
# 24 - St. Louis Rams (previous: 20)
There's no shame in losing to one of the best teams in the league, but the dream of finishing the season with a winning record keeps getting further and further away.
# 23 - Houston Texans (previous: 22)
Rally back from a deficit just to lose in the final seconds once, shame on the other team. Rally back from a deficit just to lose in the final seconds twice, shame on you.
# 22 - Cleveland Browns (previous: 21)
Oh, those pesky Jaguars, like the Jets before them. If NFL games were only 58 minutes long instead of 60, Cleveland might be on a three-game winning streak.
# 21 - Dallas Cowboys (previous: 28)
Finally. A victory in the billion dollar pleasure dome. Now all the Cowboys have to do is win out, get a lot of help and slide into the playoffs as a wild card. Or they can win just enough to screw up their 2011 draft picks.
The Remarkably Average ~
Dancing the fine line between misfortune and glory
# 20 - Seattle Seahawks (previous: 18)
They're the best in the West, which frankly, isn't saying very much.
# 19 - Miami Dolphins (previous: 16)
Any hopes for a late season playoff push were all but crushed by the Bears last Thursday Night. It's never good to be shut out at home.
# 18 - Oakland Raiders (previous: 13)
Footloose and fancy-free teams don't lose their cool and get rocked 35-3.
# 17 - Tennessee Titans (previous: 17)
The Vince Young era looks to have ended in Tennessee. I remember all those great moments, like when Vince Young upset the Reggie Bush-led New Orleans Saints in the Rose Bowl to lead Texas- I mean - the Titans to a national championship. Ah, good times.
# 16 - Washington Redskins (previous: 25)
I have no idea if this team is really good and underachieving or really bad and overachieving, so I'll just rank them here at 16 and let them decide. Shanahan will clear things up for us once we've completed our wind sprints and are back in shape enough to successfully run a two-minute drill without incident.
# 15 - Jacksonville Jaguars (previous: 19)
The Jaguars- best team in the AFC South by virtue of early tie-breakers. If Tampa Bay wasn't playing so well, they'd be the surprise team of the NFL, but as it is, they aren't even the surprise team in Florida... especially when you consider the Heat's pathetic 8-6 start. Shouldn't they be 14-0?
# 14 - San Diego Chargers (previous: 15)
The Chargers are back to .500. I already have them penciled in for a disappointing home playoff loss in January.
# 13 - New York Giants (previous: 10)
Two weeks ago the Giants were the toast of the league, but an embarrassing loss to the Cowboys and another sloppy loss against the Eagles has New York caught in a dead spin heading out to sea. They still have a chance to escape disaster, but suddenly the playoffs are no longer a sure thing and at least one wild card, if not two, will come out of the NFC South.
The Fortunate Seven ~
The best of those not yet elite
# 12 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (previous: 12)
Doubts still plague the Bucs' 7-3 record, but the next two weeks (at Baltimore, vs Atlanta) will go a long way to proving whether or not Tampa Bay is for real.
# 11 - Kansas City Chiefs (previous: 14)
Warning: Chargers in the mirror are closer than they appear.
# 10 - Chicago Bears (previous: 11)
Week 17. Chicago at Green Bay. It might just be for all the marbles in the NFC North.
# 9 - Indianapolis Colts (previous: 7)
MANNING, NO! Sure, it's one thing for one of your practice-squad wide receivers to make a bad read and cut left when they should cut right, but the superstar quarterback can't make a big mistake like that... in the final minutes of a game... against Tom Brady... and Bill Belichick... and, and.. you just can't do that Manning.
# 8 - Baltimore Ravens (previous: 9)
Now that the Ravens have finished their second bye week of the season, the division will be won or lost two weeks from now when the Steelers come to town. If they can survive a scare from those upstart Buccaneers this week, Baltimore will be in business.
# 7 - New Orleans Saints (previous: 5)
The offense is clicking, the defense is wrecking havoc and now a short week gives the Saints an interesting Turkey Day challenge in Dallas as they make their attack run for the playoffs.
# 6 - Philadelphia Eagles (previous: 6)
Vick may be the answer at quarterback, but Kolb better be ready to play if Vick keeps scrambling and getting hit.
The Creative Elite ~
Wielding misfortune at its finest
# 5 - Pittsburgh Steelers (previous: 8)
Open-handed cheap shots aside, the Steelers recovered nicely from the embarrassing loss to the Patriots. A tune-up game against Buffalo will set the stage for Pittsburgh's week 13 tilt against the Baltimore Ravens.
# 4 - Green Bay Packers (previous: 4)
Two straight games, two blow-out victories and two fired coaches. That trend ends this week when the Pack travel to Atlanta.
# 3 - New England Patriots (previous: 3)
It's always good to beat Indianapolis. It's even better to get to play Detroit on Thanksgiving. Fantasy players, start all your Patriots.
# 2 - New York Jets (previous: 2)
Eventually the Jets will have to figure out a way to beat a team before the waning moments of the fourth quarter.
# 1 - Atlanta Falcons (previous: 1)
The Falcons have a great opportunity to prove, without question, they deserve Creative Misfortune's #1 overall ranking when Green Bay comes to town this weekend. In a possible preview of the NFC Championship game, Atlanta needs to win, because it is far warmer in the Georgia Dome on Sundays in January than at Lambeau Field.
Week 11 Power Ranking Awards:
The Free Fallers - Oakland Raiders (-5), St. Louis Rams (-4) and the San Francisco 49ers (-4)
The Biggest Movers - Washington Redskins (+9), Dallas Cowboys (+7) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (+4)
Maintaining The Status Quo - Atlanta Falcons (1), New York Jets (2), New England Patriots (3), Green Bay Packers (4), Philadelphia Eagles (6), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12), Tennessee Titans (17), Minnesota Vikings (26) and the Carolina Panthers (32)
Creative Misfortune Super Bowl XLV Favorite ~ After Week 11
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