Updated Dec. 11
What's left to decide?
We have three weeks left in the regular season and the playoff field is pretty much set. We basically have one playoff spot in each conference to be decided.
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| Philip Rivers came through to keep San Diego on track to repeat as AFC West champ. (Getty Images) |
So much for important December games. The two hottest things going are whether the New England Patriots will go undefeated and whether the Miami Dolphins will go winless.
Can we start the playoffs now? We can pretty much map out the playoffs.
Let's start with the AFC. The Patriots will have the top seed, the Colts the second. They get byes. That means barring major changes, the first week will have the Steelers and the Chargers playing home games. Either the Jaguars or Browns will play in San Diego, and the other, or even Buffalo, will play in Pittsburgh. The Steelers and Chargers can still lose out in their division races, but it isn't likely.
Ho-hum.
The NFC isn't much different. The Cowboys and Packers will get first-week byes. That leaves the Seahawks and the Bucs to likely host first-round playoff games. The fourth seed will play host to the Giants, the third will play host to the team that sneaks in as the sixth seed. That team will come from a group consisting of Minnesota and a handful of others, with the Vikings having the inside track.
So what's left to decide? Only playoff positioning in both conferences and probably one playoff spot.
Oh, boy.
What happened to great division races being decided on the final week? What happened to parity, where all fans had hope with three weeks left?
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Here's what happened: There are four dominant teams, eight others that are good and the rest aren't.
That makes for a top-heavy league and top-heavy CBSSports.com Power Rankings. The top four teams are the elite of the rankings. We have New England, Dallas, Indianapolis and Green Bay.
On paper, it appears those four will be the four teams in the conference championship games in just over a month.
What has given us any indication that it won't be that way?
Most years, there is a team that makes a surprise playoff run. But it sure doesn't look that way this year. Then again, we know better than to try and think we can predict the playoffs already.
But you do have to admit that the only drama of the final three weeks is New England's greatness, Miami's ineptness and two playoff spots.
January can't get here soon enough. Even that looks predictable because of the Big Four.
The Power Rankings through Week 14:
| Power Rankings | ||||||||||
| Current | Team | Previous | ||||||||
![]() | 1 | Patriots · Trends | 11 | |||||||
| They get Tom Brady back. They have the deepest team in the league. Oh, and they have the best coach. Add it up, and it's no wonder they are Super favorites. | ||||||||||
![]() | 2 | Steelers · Trends | 1 | |||||||
| The champions are loaded again and will be in the thick of it come playoff time. They didn't do much to improve their offensive line, though, which has to be a concern. | ||||||||||
![]() | 3 | Colts · Trends | 7 | |||||||
| Peyton Manning is back healthy again, so they are a real contender again. The addition of Donald Brown to the running game will give it more explosiveness. The key will be the return to health of major defensive players. | ||||||||||
![]() | 4 | Cardinals · Trends | 2 | |||||||
| They've done some nice things in the offseason, including adding corner Bryant McFadden and drafting Beanie Wells to carry the football. They will be a playoff team again and maybe they'll finish in Miami. | ||||||||||
![]() | 5 | Eagles · Trends | 4 | |||||||
| They've had a wonderful offseason, adding key players like tackles Jason Peters and Stacey Andrews and loading up in the draft with speed and quickness. They will be tough to stop on offense. | ||||||||||
![]() | 6 | Giants · Trends | 5 | |||||||
| They fortified the defense with some key free agents and added a speed receiver in Hakeem Nicks to the passing game. Tom Coughlin will have this team in the playoffs again. | ||||||||||
![]() | 7 | Titans · Trends | 6 | |||||||
| They haven't done a lot, and losing Albert Haynesworth will hurt. The other thing is their division is tough. They also have to get more big plays from their passing game. | ||||||||||
![]() | 8 | Ravens · Trends | 3 | |||||||
| Joe Flacco will be better in his second season as a starter and that defense will once again be among the best. They do have to take their passing game up a notch. | ||||||||||
![]() | 9 | Falcons · Trends | 9 | |||||||
| It's all about the defense for the Falcons. Adding Tony Gonzalez makes the offense complete and the draft was loaded with defensive picks to help the other side. They aren't going away. | ||||||||||
![]() | 10 | Saints · Trends | 19 | |||||||
| This is another team that has improved its defense in the past four months in terms of talent. Now new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has to bring it all together. | ||||||||||
![]() | 11 | Chargers · Trends | 10 | |||||||
| This is still a deep, talented team. If Philip Rivers continues to develop, the Chargers will easily be the class of the AFC West. | ||||||||||
![]() | 12 | Texans · Trends | 17 | |||||||
| The Texans have a lot of important pieces in place. As long as Matt Schaub can stay healthy, they might be ready to make a real playoff push. | ||||||||||
![]() | 13 | Panthers · Trends | 8 | |||||||
| They will be the same team: Run heavy and play tough defense. Is that enough? Jake Delhomme has to play better. | ||||||||||
![]() | 14 | Bears · Trends | 18 | |||||||
| Getting Jay Cutler is the steal of the offseason. He makes them a real playoff threat. Yes, I do believe that. | ||||||||||
![]() | 15 | Cowboys · Trends | 14 | |||||||
| They have talent, but something just seems to be off. I don't think they're as good as the Eagles or Giants in their own division, which is why they are down this low. | ||||||||||
![]() | 16 | Bengals · Trends | 24 | |||||||
| Getting Palmer back makes them dangerous and the defense will be better around him. I like the Bengals as a sleeper team. I really do. | ||||||||||
![]() | 17 | Vikings · Trends | 13 | |||||||
| Quarterback. It's all about the quarterback. Whether it's Sage Rosenfels or Tarvaris Jackson, that position has to be better. Words of advice: Stay away from that guy named Favre. | ||||||||||
![]() | 18 | Packers · Trends | 23 | |||||||
| The move to a 3-4 under new coordinator Dom Capers will be one to watch closely. If that side of the ball plays better, Aaron Rodgers might get them to a playoff game. | ||||||||||
![]() | 19 | Bills · Trends | 22 | |||||||
| Can Terrell Owens make them a playoff team? That might be stretching it, but they will be better on offense. | ||||||||||
![]() | 20 | Seahawks · Trends | 28 | |||||||
| New coach Jim Mora takes over a veteran team that was hurt by injuries last season. They need to keep Matt Hasselbeck healthy. If they do, they will push the Cardinals. | ||||||||||
![]() | 21 | Jets · Trends | 16 | |||||||
| How long does it take to get Mark Sanchez ready? If he's what they think he is, they will be better than expected. If not, it's a redshirt season and they will win six games. | ||||||||||
![]() | 22 | Buccaneers · Trends | 15 | |||||||
| Who plays quarterback? Whoever it is has to be better than what they had last season. There are also some age concerns on defense. New coach Raheem Morris faces a challenging first season. | ||||||||||
![]() | 23 | Redskins · Trends | 25 | |||||||
| They're the fourth team in a four-team division. That will make it tough to win eight games. | ||||||||||
![]() | 24 | Jaguars · Trends | 26 | |||||||
| They've made some nice moves to fix the offensive line, and now it's time for the offense to do more. The defense also needs young players to step up, especially end Derrick Harvey. | ||||||||||
![]() | 25 | Broncos · Trends | 20 | |||||||
| They're excited about Kyle Orton. I'm not. I think he's OK. They better hope the defense plays better than a year ago or it won't matter who quarterbacks the Broncos. I do like Knowshon Moreno. | ||||||||||
![]() | 26 | Dolphins · Trends | 12 | |||||||
| They are the step-back team this season. But in 2010, look out. I think Chad Henne will take over at some time this season. | ||||||||||
![]() | 27 | 49ers · Trends | 21 | |||||||
| It's all quarterback with the 49ers. Can Shaun Hill or Alex Smith get the job done? If not, they'll stay down here all year long. | ||||||||||
![]() | 28 | Raiders · Trends | 27 | |||||||
| It's all about JaMarcus Russell. If he plays an entire season to the level of expectations, the Raiders will be better. I think he can. But they have other issues. | ||||||||||
![]() | 29 | Chiefs · Trends | 29 | |||||||
| They landed their quarterback in Matt Cassel and have added a few players to help, but new coach Todd Haley faces a big task in getting this offense to play like his Arizona unit did. | ||||||||||
![]() | 30 | Browns · Trends | 30 | |||||||
| New coach Eric Mangini will build this team the way he wants it. But one has to wonder if that's a good thing considering his Jets history. | ||||||||||
![]() | 31 | Rams · Trends | 31 | |||||||
| The Rams were a disaster last year. New coach Steve Spagnuolo has a lot of work to do. They're at least a year away. | ||||||||||
![]() | 32 | Lions · Trends | 32 | |||||||
| They have their franchise quarterback to build around, and Jim Schwartz will do a good job, but there's a lot of work still to be done. | ||||||||||



































