NFL - Week 14 Power Rankings & Awards Watch

By Willie Mullen

Week 14 Power Rankings

1. Indianapolis Colts (1) 13-0 - Another week, another win for the Colts.  It will be interesting to see how Indy handles their starters now that they have clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs
2. New Orleans Saints (2) 13-0 - What's the only thing better than two 13-0 teams in the NFL?  Both of them playing prime time games before Sunday's full-slate
3. San Diego Chargers (3) 10-3 - Eight straight wins for the Chargers and a victory Sunday over the Bengals would pretty much secure the #2 seed in AFC
4. Minnesota Vikings (4) 11-2 - As nice as it was to see Adrian Peterson rebound from a sluggish outing, the biggest news for Vikings fans in Sunday's win was the return of corner Antoine Winfield (9 tackles, saftey, forced fumble)
5. Green Bay Packers (5) 9-4 - The Packers look for their sixth straight win against the struggling Steelers on Sunday and are close to clinching a playoff birth
6. Philadelphia Eagles (8) 9-4 - The offense is really firing on all cylinders and the Eagles control the NFC East
7. Cincinnati Bengals (6) 9-4 - The Bengals were blown-out by a much stronger Vikings team and face another tough test this week at San Diego
8. New England Patriots (12) 8-5 - The Pats move-up despite a lackluster performance against Carolina; questions about the severity of Tom Brady's injured ribs are starting to surface
9. Arizona Cardinals (7) 8-5 - It was an ugly night for the Cardinals in San Francisco but fear not Arizona fans, the Lions are up this week
10. Denver Broncos (9) 8-5 - The Broncos showed some good fight coming back from 21-down in Indy as Brandon Marshall set an NFL-record for receptions in a game (21)
11. Dallas Cowboys (10) 8-5 - They played well enough to beat the Chargers on Sunday but lost and this team just cannot catch a break in December
12. Miami Dolphins (13) 7-6 - Huge win on Sunday over the Jaguars but the Dolphins have to keep on finding ways to win if they want to make the playoffs
13. Baltimore Ravens (16) 7-6 - The Ravens are locked in a tight battle with the Miami, the Jets and Jacksonville for the sixth spot in the AFC playoffs; luckily they get the Bears on Sunday
14. New York Giants (11) 7-6 - Sure injuries have hurt but the Giants defense is a shell of its former self
15. Jacksonville Jaguars (14) 7-6 - Jacksonville still controls the six seed but their playoff chances are on the line Thursday night when they host the undefeated Colts
16. New York Jets (19) 7-6 - The Jets have quietly kept themselves in the playoff picture with wins in three straight games
17. Tennessee Titans (15) 6-7 - The Titans may very well be the best team in the league that does not make the playoffs
18. San Francisco 49ers (20) 6-7 - Michael Crabtree's production through his first eight games project to a 75 catch, 945 yard, 4 TD 16-game rookie season.  Not bad at all.
19. Atlanta Falcons (18) 6-7 - Mike Smith has his team playing inspired football despite missing their two offensive leaders
20. Houston Texans (22) 6-7 - Why does this team always seem to play great football once they are out of the playoff race?
21. Pittsburgh Steelers (17) 6-7 - The story of the 2009 Steelers' was perfectly summarized in their 13-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night
22. Carolina Panthers (21) 5-8 - With games against the Vikings, Giants and Saints remaining, 5-11 is a real possibility for the Panthers
23. Washington Redskins (25) 4-9 - Their next two games are at home against the Giants and the Cowboys so the Skins should have a lot of influence on the NFC playoffs
24. Chicago Bears (23) 5-8 - On a team lacking play-makers, it's hard to understand why Devin Aromashodu (8 catches, 76 yards, TD) played sparingly prior to Sunday's game against Green Bay
25. Buffalo Bills (27) 5-8 - At least the Bills are not giving up on the 2009 season under interim coach Perry Fewell
26. Seattle Seahawks (24) 5-8 - Matt Hasselbeck fumbled three times and threw an interception Sunday at Houston and the Seahawks desperately need offensive line help
27. Oakland Raiders (26) 4-9 - JaMarcus Russell replaced Bruce Gradkowski and showed no ill-effects from being benched, returning to his old-form with ease (10/16, 74 yards, 1 INT)
28. Kansas City Chiefs (29) 3-10 - Jamaal Charles had a great day Sunday (181 total yards, 1 TD); Matt Cassel did not (4 INTs)
29. Cleveland Browns (31) 2-11 - Cleveland never struggles to get ready to play Pittsburgh but let's see if they can keep up the intensity against two bottom-feeders (Chiefs, Raiders)
30. Detroit Lions (28) 2-11 - The Ravens set team records for yards and rushing touchdowns and tied a team record for points Sunday against the Lions.  Yikes.
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (30) 1-12 - Josh Freeman (0 TDs, 8 INTs) is having some big-time rookie struggles the last two weeks
32. St. Louis Rams (32) 1-12 - I bet you cannot name the Rams starting quarterback last Sunday.  Give up?  Keith Null.

Awards Watch

MVP - Peyton Manning (Drew Brees, Chris Johnson, Philip Rivers)

Off. Player - Chris Johnson (Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, DeSean Jackson)

Def. Player - Charles Woodson (Jared Allen, Darren Sharper, Patrick Willis)

Off. Rookie - Percy Harvin (Hakeem Nicks, Michael Crabtree)

Def. Rookie - Brian Cushing (Clay Matthews, Jairus Byrd)

Coach - Marv Lewis (Josh McDaniels, Jim Caldwell, Sean Payton)