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	Titans · Trends	1
	If Kerry Collins plays like he did against the Bears, they will be a Super Bowl team. It's that simple. The passing game is the one area of this team that worried some.
	2	Giants · Trends	2
	They run it better than anybody, which controls the football. And when they get a lead they have a pass rush that can get after it. They're the best team, even if they are in the second spot here.
	3	Panthers · Trends	3
	Can I really put a team that had a quarterback throw for 72 yards and get picked four times in the third spot? At 7-2, you have to do it.
	4	Buccaneers · Trends	6
	Jon Gruden has to be thrilled with his 6-3 start and the way Jeff Garcia has played. We know the defense will be good.
	5	Redskins · Trends	7
	They come off the bye with a huge game against the Cowboys at home. They need to win it to try to keep pace with the Giants in the division -- or they will be taking the wild-card route.
	6	Patriots · Trends	10
	As Matt Cassel grows, they will only get better. They have two huge games in the next two weeks against the Jets at home and at Miami. Win them, and they will win the division.
	7	Jets · Trends	8
	They've done what they've been asked to do, which is beat up on a weak schedule. We'll know if they're any good Thursday after they play the Patriots.
	8	Cardinals · Trends	9
	They're going to the playoffs. Barring a late-season collapse of epic proportions, even by Cardinals standards, they will win the division. That means we'll get the treat of watching that offense more in the postseason.
	9	Cowboys · Trends	11
	The most important question in Dallas since Who shot JR is this: How's the pinkie? That's Tony Romo's pinkie.
	10	Falcons · Trends	12
	Matt Ryan isn't playing like a rookie, that's for sure. But the most impressive thing is how well the defense is playing. Brian VanGorder is doing a nice job with that unit.
	11	Colts · Trends	18
	The past two weeks have saved their season. They appear to be getting it right in time to make a second-half push.
	12	Steelers · Trends	4
	I worry about their passing game. Ben Roethlisberger isn't playing well. He needs to get it going or they'll be watching come playoff time.
	13	Ravens · Trends	14
	Joe Flacco is the real deal and the defense is playing good football. Nice job, John Harbaugh.
	14	Eagles · Trends	5
	They get the Bengals this week, which is a must-win if they are to have any chance to win the division. They're 0-3 against the NFC East, with two losses at home. That's not good enough.
	15	Vikings · Trends	19
	Will they ever get good quarterback play? Not with the group they have, which means it's all about Adrian Peterson and the defense.
	16	Bills · Trends	13
	Trent Edwards has cooled and so have the Bills. He just hasn't been smooth the past three weeks. The Bills are fading fast.
	17	Bears · Trends	15
	Get better, Kyle Orton. Soon. The offense isn't the same without you, and the Bears head to Green Bay this week.
	18	Dolphins · Trends	20
	They get Oakland at home, a game they should win, which will set up a huge division game in two weeks with the Patriots. Is that possible?
	19	Packers · Trends	16
	They lost two tough road games and now must try to regroup against division rival Chicago at home. One thing that is missing is the running game from last season.
	20	Broncos · Trends	21
	Here's the deal: Jay Cutler will have to win shootouts for this team to be in the playoffs. He's capable, that's for sure.
	21	Jaguars · Trends	23
	Jack Del Rio's tough talk worked against Detroit. But that's the Lions. We'll know if they're back for sure next week when they play the Titans.
	22	Saints · Trends	17
	At 4-5, they're in last place in the division. They still have games left against all three teams, but they better get it going.
	23	Chargers · Trends	24
	Even when they win, like they did Sunday, it's not pretty. The pass defense made Tyler Thigpen look like Len Dawson.
	24	Browns · Trends	22
	The change to Brady Quinn matters none if the defense can't stop anybody. Where is the pass rush or the coverage?
	25	Texans · Trends	25
	They are a different team without Matt Schaub. Sage Rosenfels just can't get it done. To think there was a controversy of sorts before the season between those two.
	26	Rams · Trends	26
	The past three games have taken the luster off Jim Haslett's first two games. That's what happens when the talent base isn't that good.
	27	Seahawks · Trends	27
	At least this time when they came east they didn't get blown out. Seneca Wallace played better, but their season is over.
	28	Bengals · Trends	28
	Coming out of the bye, coach Marvin Lewis just might be playing for his job. At least his team showed life the last time out.
	29	Raiders · Trends	29
	They did play better on defense against the Panthers. Now we'll see if it holds up on a long road trip to Miami.
	30	49ers · Trends	30
	They battled Monday night, which has to make feisty Mike Singletary happy. The good thing is some young players are starting to step up.
	31	Chiefs · Trends	31
	Tyler Thigpen has played well the past couple of weeks. The next seven games should be to find out if he can be a long-term answer.
	32	Lions · Trends	32
	Drew Stanton should play the rest of the season. They have to see what he can do. If not, they need to hope Matt Stafford comes out.