Power Rankings: NFC teams putting up a good fight

Updated Nov. 6

Let's face facts: We thought the NFC was the minor league heading into the season. The AFC, we all reasoned, was the loaded conference.

Greg Jennings and the Packers can put distance between themselves and Detroit on Thanksgiving. (AP)

Why bother to play the Super Bowl? There are seven teams in the AFC who could win the NFC, we thought. Won't the big game be ugly no matter who represents the NFC?

Once again, those of us trying to figure out the NFL were dead wrong.

At the halfway point, it's quite obvious that the two best teams are in the AFC, the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.

But the next three teams in the CBSSports.com Power Rankings are all NFC teams. The Green Bay Packers are at No. 3, followed by the Dallas Cowboys at No. 4 and the New York Giants in the No. 5 spot.

Those three teams are all playing well. But something else has happened to help get them there.

Some of the so-called good teams in the AFC aren't that good right now.

The San Diego Chargers, a chic Super Bowl pick before the season, are 4-4. The Denver Broncos are 3-5. The Cincinnati Bengals are 2-6. The Jacksonville Jaguars are 5-3, but they were blown out by the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

The AFC is 20-19 against the NFC, which says even. The AFC West lost all three games to the NFC North last Sunday.

Taking all of that into account it's obvious that the NFC isn't as bad as we thought, excluding the NFC West of course.

Our top 10 this week is made up of six AFC teams and four NFC teams. Two are huge surprises, one from each conference.

Poll Which is the best team in the NFC?   10%  Lions     9%  Giants     48%  Cowboys     33%  Packers     Total Votes: 62929

The Detroit Lions are eighth in the rankings, while the Cleveland Browns are ninth. The Lions are 6-2 and the Browns are 5-3. That is simply amazing.

But if someone goes down, like Denver, someone has to go up.

We see it every year, a surprise team or teams making playoff pushes. This year it's Jon Kitna and Mike Martz in Detroit and Derek Anderson and Kellen Winslow in Cleveland.

In the next three weeks, the elite NFC teams will play each other. The Giants and Cowboys play this week. The Packers and Lions play on Thanksgiving and the Packers and Cowboys play the following week. In early December, the Cowboys and Lions play.

By mid-December, one team will emerge as the power team in the NFC. Until then, let's not forget that the NFC has some good teams, too -- even if they aren't as good as the top two in the AFC.

The Power Rankings through Week 9:

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Colts · Trends	1
	They didn't look great against the 49ers, but they found a way. That's what good teams do. It has to be good having Bob Sanders back again.
	2	Saints · Trends	2
	It was a little bit of a struggle against the Falcons, but the schedule is favorable the rest of the way, to say the least. Is an undefeated season possible?
	3	Vikings · Trends	4
	They have a real hold on the division after sweeping the Packers. They really are a balanced team and Brett Favre is coming off a big game. There, I said it. Aside from the Steelers game, he is playing well.
	4	Broncos · Trends	3
	After their first loss, here come the champions. The Pittsburgh Steelers will provide another stiff test for the Broncos. They need to throw it better. Period.
	5	Patriots · Trends	5
	They come off the bye with a chance to take a real hold of the division by beating Miami. You know they'll be ready for the Wildcat.
	6	Bengals · Trends	6
	At 5-2 after their bye, they get a rematch with the Ravens this week. They can throw it better now than when they beat them the first time, which should help.
	7	Steelers · Trends	7
	They can show they are back with a road victory at Denver. The bye week gives them a little edge heading into that one, although Denver will be angry coming off its first loss.
	8	Eagles · Trends	8
	We get Eagles-Cowboys this week for first place in the NFC East. That should be fun. The Eagles are rolling after that Oakland disaster two weeks ago.
	9	Cowboys · Trends	11
	Is it time to stop ripping on Tony Romo? He's playing some of his best football. The defense, which was a problem much of the season, is playing better.
	10	Ravens · Trends	14
	They had to beat Denver to save their season, but now they get a big one against the Bengals on the road. To have a real chance to win the division, they need that one.
	11	Cardinals · Trends	9
	Can anybody figure this team out? They play well on the road and stink it up at home. Good thing they're on the road this week.
	12	Giants · Trends	10
	They are an example of how fast things can go bad in the NFL. If that defense doesn't play better soon, they could be playoff-less.
	13	Texans · Trends	16
	The improvement of the defense to go with that passing game has really helped this team. They do have a lot of premium talent on the defensive side of the ball.
	14	Chargers · Trends	17
	They seemed to right things the past two weeks, but now must head east to play a desperate Giants team. That won't be easy.
	15	Falcons · Trends	12
	They played well at New Orleans, especially in the second half, and the schedule gets easier now. They are a good 4-3 team.
	16	Packers · Trends	13
	Boy that offensive line is bad. If they don't improve there, Aaron Rodgers doesn't stand a chance.
	17	Bears · Trends	19
	Nothing like the Cleveland Browns to provide the perfect potion for all that ails a team. Facing Arizona at home this week won't be as easy.
	18	Dolphins · Trends	22
	That wasn't pretty against the Jets, but they found a way. Now they have to go to New England, with a chance to get back into the race. Playing two consecutive road games is tough.
	19	Jets · Trends	15
	There is no way they should have lost to the Dolphins at home, but at 4-4 they have been way too inconsistent. How about some special-teams work this week?
	20	Jaguars · Trends	18
	They will be a .500 team at best. The defense isn't very good, so they will play a lot of high-scoring games. The good news is they have a winnable game against Kansas City this week.
	21	Panthers · Trends	24
	Was that a job saver for coach John Fox and a season saver last week in Arizona? It was a big win, but those two things are still to be decided.
	22	49ers · Trends	20
	Playing close isn't good enough. They have to start winning those kinds of games. It's hard when they're limited on offense.
	23	Bills · Trends	21
	The run defense is really bad and they don't have the offense to make up for it. Did you ever think they would long to get Trent Edwards back so much?
	24	Seahawks · Trends	23
	They've been a major disappointment in a lot of people's minds. But the injuries have crippled this team. It's a tough first year for Jim Mora Jr.
	25	Raiders · Trends	25
	At least they showed up and competed against the Chargers. It's more than they did the previous week. Wonder how Tom Cable's troubles will affect the team?
	26	Chiefs · Trends	26
	They come off their bye with the Larry Johnson saga hanging over their heads. Something they need more of: Better play from Matt Cassel.
	27	Redskins · Trends	27
	Did they fix things during the bye? Is Jim Zorn safe now that he made it through the week off? Can they turn it around? Doubtful.
	28	Rams · Trends	31
	They won. They won. They won. After 17 consecutive losses, they should celebrate. Steven Jackson is having a good year for a bad team.
	29	Titans · Trends	32
	The move to Vince Young paid off. Yeah, as long as Chris Johnson runs for 228, it paid off. They did show more life coming off their bye in winning for the first time.
	30	Lions · Trends	28
	Losing to the Rams drops them down a few spots. They are competing, which is a good sign for this young team.
	31	Browns · Trends	29
	Does this team need a bye or what? Do they really have to play out the season with that offense?
	32	Buccaneers · Trends	30
	The Josh Freeman Era begins, and it's the right thing to do. They have to get him going for the future. Why wait?