Power Rankings: More than half still in it to win it

As we do the SportsLine.com Power Rankings each week, leading into the playoffs in less than a month, one thing becomes clearer with each passing Sunday:

There is definitely a line of demarcation in the NFL.

Jeremy Shockey and the Giants are among the teams just delaying the inevitable -- elimination.(AP)

Just look at this week's poll. After about the 18th spot, which is occupied by those Hail Mary Browns, there is a real drop in talented teams. What does that mean? With three weeks to go in the regular season, about half the teams might as well start looking at 2003.

As for that top 18, they all have the ability to make noise in the playoffs, if they can get there. Even the fading Bills (6-7) at No. 17 could do damage if they somehow found a way to get in, which is now looking less and less like a possibility because they can't figure out a way to beat the Patriots.

That's what parity has done. The great team is no more, which will make the playoffs one big free-for-all. Another reason is because all the top teams have issues.

The Eagles still sit atop the rankings, but if they have to play the postseason without Donovan McNabb, how feared will they be? The Tampa Bay offense has come alive the past couple of weeks, but without a consistent running game and an offensive line the staff hates, how can they be considered a strong favorite?

Green Bay, San Francisco and New Orleans have defensive issues, the Falcons might be too young and the Dolphins are too inconsistent away from home. The team that somehow finds a December remedy to their warts will be the team that wins the whole thing.

So, the next three weeks, in the spirit of bowl season, will be known as the NFL's Compound W (wart removal) Bowl season, three weeks of games to see if one team can separate itself from the others before the postseason.

As it is now, nobody has done so, although the Raiders look better and better each week. With that passing game, and an improved defense, Oakland might be the class of the AFC.

The playoff spots are all but decided in the NFC, with the Eagles, Bucs, Packers, 49ers, Saints and Falcons virtually in. The order is still to be determined, with some key games in the final three weeks, beginning with Green Bay at San Francisco on Sunday.

The AFC is a mess. There are still 11 teams with a better than .500 record and no team has a better mark than the 9-4 Raiders. And the Raiders play in a division with three other teams better than .500, two of whom they still have to play. Oakland also has to play on the road at Miami on Sunday.

So get ready for an interesting final three weeks in the AFC, where even sub-.500 Buffalo is still in it.

As for those teams below the demarcation line, you know who you are and why you are there. The next three weeks should be spent cleaning out the closets, throwing away anything that will be of no use next season -- including coaches.

Of the 11 teams that are officially eliminated from the playoffs, six could have coaching changes after the season. Another two that are still alive could as well.

Those coaches are feeling the heat of being below the demarcation line, a line that comes more into focus each December. Stay near it, and you keep your job. Fall a little below it, and look out.

One more thing: The Bengals would kill just to get close to that line.

The complete Power Rankings for Dec. 10: