NFL Power Rankings Week 12: NFC Playoff Contenders
Sunday's win means the Cowboys are back in the saddle and riding high once again. If the season were to end today, the Cowboys would be in the playoffs as the NFC East winner.
And even though there are six games left to play, today we'll take a look at the playoff picture via the various power rankings out there to understand which NFC playoff contenders are the flavor of the week, and which aren't.
It looks like the Packers, 49ers and Saints will win their divisions, so we'll leave them out of the picture for now. Instead, we'll look at the Cowboys and Giants, who are in a battle for the NFC East crown, as well as the Lions, Bears, Falcons and Eagles. We include the Eagles, because just like in any bad movie, they're not really dead until somebody drives a stake through their heart. We also leave the Cutler-less Bears in because while they are dead, nobody has realized it yet.
Cowboys safety Abram Elam said yesterday that there's no use focusing on the standings at this point: "We can't control the standings. They'll probably be different next week, so what can we do about that? It's been changing all year. If you focus on that, you'll be left behind." Yeah, but we can speculate.
The summary of this week's power rankings after the break.
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The Cowboys Are The Shizzness |
Oddsshark: 3rd (3rd). Oddshark use a multitude of stats to establish an offensive and defensive power ranking, which they then adjust for the remaining strength of schedule.
[update] Advanced NFL Stats: 4th (4th). The Cowboys stay put overall, as does the offense in fourth, while the defense drops three spots to fourteenth.
WhatIFsports: 4th (4th). These guys simulate every possible match-up in the NFL 100 times, and use the winning percentages from those nearly 50,000 games to evaluate every team, with updated rosters and depth charts.
[update] National Football Post: 7th (10th). "After two straight Giants’ losses, can we call Romo and the Cowboys the favorites in the NFC East?"
Walter Football: 8th (9th). Cowboys move up a spot. I'll spare you the jibber jabber that passes as Cowboys commentary there.
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Hey, we lead the division. Of course we're ranked higher than at least two out of the Bears/Lions/Falcons trio |
ESPN: 9th (12th). "As maddening as he can be sometimes, Tony Romo is 18-2 in November in six years as the Cowboys' starter. " ESPN's NFC East blogger Dan Graziano added this take on the Cowboys:
"The Cowboys started the season ranked 14th, fell as low as 21st at one point, and now find themselves in the top 10 after three straight wins. With games coming up against the 3-7 Dolphins and the 3-7 Cardinals, and with the two teams in front of them having lost their starting quarterbacks in the past two weeks, the Cowboys have the opportunity to keep moving up -- as long as they can keep winning."
Covers.com: 9th (13th). "Big time week for the Cowboys. They beat Washington after being inches from losing and the Giants lost to set up a division tie."
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At least we're ahead of the Giants |
Sporting News: 10th (11th). "It's been a season of rejuvenation for Newman, who at 33 seems like he's healthy for the first time in a while. He's been excellent over the past month."
SB Nation: 10th (12th). "Impressive turnaround for the Cowboys. They were 2-3 at one point but now hold a share of the NFC East lead."
Fox Sports: 10th (14th). Brian Billick: "There is a gentleman on Twitter, @Vance14, that reminds me every week that the Cowboys will be among the best teams in the NFL by season's end. Well, they finally find their way into the top 10 and with their next two games being against the Dolphins and Cardinals, he may be right. Problem is, they finish the season with three of their last four against divisional rivals in the Giants (twice) and hosting Philly, who will be happy to spoil their playoff hopes." @Vance14 is teaching Billick to Fear The Star.
CBSsports.com: 11th (12th). "Tony Romo owns November, going 18-2 in the month in his career. The Miami game on Turkey Day suddenly looks a lot tougher the way the Dolphins are playing."
Sagarin NFL rankings: 11th (11th). These are rankings based on W/L record, points differential and schedule strength. Cowboys jump ahead of the Gaints on the strength of the Buffalo Beatdown.
Teamrankings.com: 12th (13th). This site measures the relative strength of all teams using team performance, home/away status, margin of victory and other factors.
Coolstandings.com: 11th (13th). These guy use the Pythagorean Theorem to calculate their power rankings.
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C'mon Man! (the We're Not Even Ahead Of The Giants section) |
ProFootballWeekly: 11th (12th). "Games vs. rival Redskins are never easy."
WEEI.com: 11th (12th). "The Cowboys are undefeated in the month of November. Tony Romo and the offense have found a rhythm. The balanced attack of run and pass is making the offense difficult to defend against. Defensively, the Cowboys have shown signs of improvement. The run defense allowed just 2.5 yards per carry to the Redskins after being scorched by Fred Jackson last week for 8.8 yards per carry."
ProFootballTalk.com: 11th (12th). "The Cowboy won’t be under the radar for much longer."
[update] Football Outsiders: 12th (10th). FO have the Cowboys with the 8th-ranked offense (+2), the 12th-ranked defense (-2) and the 25th ranked special teams (-6).
NFL.com's Brain Trust of Experts: 13th (12th). Charles Davis ranks the Cowboys highest (9th), Pat Kirwan lowest (15th).

Below is how the three remaining contending NFC East teams fared in this week's power rankings - and with that I've unceremoniously dumped the Redskins from the table. For good measure, I've added the other NFC teams who are direct competitors for a playoff spot at this point in time.
The missing rankings will be updated as they become available
83 comments
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Comments
Not that it matters
but we are slowy creeping up.
We're here to win football games. The way to do that is to tell him and to get on him at the right times. I do that when you guys (media) don't see and watch.''
What else makes a strong leader?
"You win,'' Romo said. "You're a very good leader once you win.
"That's' what we're going to do.''
Great, just freakin' great
Zombie bears and blood-suckin’ eagulls.
Cry 'Havoc!'
by tanstaafl on Nov 22, 2011 2:09 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
now.. how ya gonna kill it... if it has no heart ? muwahahahahaaaa
woman !, don't try to understand em, don't try to make them understand you, for they are a breed apart ! lol
(redskins)= A Tale of 2 owners, bought by Snyder, OWNED by the COWBOYS
Id say RIP Al Davis, but i know your up there drunker than a monkey and clocking angels in the 40 yd dash.
Bears aren't really done OCC.
Hanie can get them 3 wins if they play solid defense and run the ball like they’re doing. I’m focusing on the Lions losing twice to the GB Packers.
Packers are going to help us out a lot hopefully. Vs. the Giants, Lions twice, and Bears.
Realist.
Dont forget Devin Hester
Why are teams STILL kicking to him?
Hey Washington... D.C. stands for Dallas Cowboys
DeMarcus is EveryWare Man
Twitter: @silva918
Who is Hanie?
Oh, you mean the guy who’s thrown 8 NFL passes in his career?
by One.Cool.Customer on Nov 22, 2011 2:15 PM CST up reply actions
Of course, Cowboys and Eagles fans know
How much “almost” is worth in the NFL.
My most recent fanpost:
The Weekly Chessmatch: Cowboys @ Eagles
by CotySaxman on Nov 22, 2011 2:31 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
yeah he was real good in that second half actually
besides that pick 6 to Raji I thought he played pretty well
Bruce Carter+Sean Lee=BRUCE LEE!!!!
RDD=REAL DEAL DEMARCO!!!!
by Archie Barberio on Nov 22, 2011 3:00 PM CST up reply actions
pick 6 to Raji.
Words you don’t hear used together very often.
We're here to win football games. The way to do that is to tell him and to get on him at the right times. I do that when you guys (media) don't see and watch.''
What else makes a strong leader?
"You win,'' Romo said. "You're a very good leader once you win.
"That's' what we're going to do.''
by TARHEEL PAUL on Nov 22, 2011 3:33 PM CST up reply actions
More often than
Raji takes the handoff and TOUCHDOWN!
Tony Romo 2011's League's Most Valuable Player and 2012's Superbowl MVP
"No one gives us the right, we take it." L. ~SPN
He did ok when he came in for Cutler
during the NFC championship game. Notice I said “ok”. He held the fort down and gave them a “spark”. Different story when you have to start a few games though.
We're here to win football games. The way to do that is to tell him and to get on him at the right times. I do that when you guys (media) don't see and watch.''
What else makes a strong leader?
"You win,'' Romo said. "You're a very good leader once you win.
"That's' what we're going to do.''
by TARHEEL PAUL on Nov 22, 2011 2:20 PM CST up reply actions
Two pea's in a pod.
We're here to win football games. The way to do that is to tell him and to get on him at the right times. I do that when you guys (media) don't see and watch.''
What else makes a strong leader?
"You win,'' Romo said. "You're a very good leader once you win.
"That's' what we're going to do.''
by TARHEEL PAUL on Nov 22, 2011 2:31 PM CST up reply actions
Two peas?
Or a pea’s? Appease?
My most recent fanpost:
The Weekly Chessmatch: Cowboys @ Eagles
by CotySaxman on Nov 22, 2011 2:32 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
both? maybe?
We're here to win football games. The way to do that is to tell him and to get on him at the right times. I do that when you guys (media) don't see and watch.''
What else makes a strong leader?
"You win,'' Romo said. "You're a very good leader once you win.
"That's' what we're going to do.''
by TARHEEL PAUL on Nov 22, 2011 2:41 PM CST up reply actions
just a flashback here
15th October, 2006: an undrafted guy from the storied Eastern Illinois University throws his first two regular season NFL passes.
a week later, he comes on at halftime as a reliever and never relinquishes starting duty when healthy afterwards.
any educated guess who i’m talking about?
i’m not saying Hanie will push Cutler from the starting lineup, but imo it’s too early to overlook him
by slowmotion80 on Nov 23, 2011 4:03 AM CST up reply actions
and the lions get the saints as well
He who laughs last, thinks slowest
"Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name"
"Really love your peaches, want to shake your tree"
Bears are toast........move along
Nobody cares about your effin fantasy team, keep it to yourself...........Lock n Load
But what about the skins?
Tony Romo 2011's League's Most Valuable Player and 2012's Superbowl MVP
"No one gives us the right, we take it." L. ~SPN
27.9 opinion-based, 27.8 stat-based. Any way you look at them, it isn’t pretty.
by One.Cool.Customer on Nov 22, 2011 2:54 PM CST up reply actions
Is Miami in the same ballpark?
Hey Washington... D.C. stands for Dallas Cowboys
DeMarcus is EveryWare Man
Twitter: @silva918
I didn’t track them this time, but they should be in the mid twenties in most rankings.
by One.Cool.Customer on Nov 22, 2011 3:42 PM CST up reply actions
Most Polls aren’t giving any love to the dolphins b/c of who they have played. What I’m looking at is how they have beaten them. That is what gets me. They haven’t allowed a TD in 3 games.
by Aaron Burtram on Nov 22, 2011 8:10 PM CST up reply actions
not good
looks like Barry Church is starting for Sensabaugh
that makes me real nervous, I think I would rather roll with Frank Walker at FS
Bruce Carter+Sean Lee=BRUCE LEE!!!!
RDD=REAL DEAL DEMARCO!!!!
by Archie Barberio on Nov 22, 2011 2:59 PM CST reply actions
I'd be more concerned about Jenkins coming back to cover Marshall.
Other than that, do the Fins really have anyone who scares you? Reggie’s not going to do much on the ground against our front 7.
Also, Church has been solid in limited time.
Fasano? :)
he started catching balls instead of deflecting them since he moved to Florida
by slowmotion80 on Nov 23, 2011 4:06 AM CST up reply actions
Barry Church hasn't been a liability at all this season
I’m ready to see what he has.
"There are no traffic jams along the extra mile."- Roger Staubach
Pet Cat of 2011- Barry Church!
I STILL believe in Tony Romo.- 10/2/11
BishopWest said he loves Church
Come to think of it, he may not have meant the safety. Never mind.
Don't believe everything you think.
I hope this is a running joke with you guys. If it is, don't mind me.
If not, Bishopwest is a chess player.
"I'm huunngray. I want some f**ken french tooast!"
With a little help from the Patriots and Saints this weekend...
And a win against Miami on Thursday, the Cowboys will be in a good spot. The Eagles just need someone to put them out of their misery and I’m hoping that Tom Terrific will do it. The Saints haven’t lost at home all year so that makes it a tough outing for the Giants.
Worked in New Orleans last year and that place has gone crazy over football
I swear every single person is wearing a Saints Breese jersy and an LSU hat, I went to three different sports bars to watch the cowboys and all three said no because they only played the saints when they were playing on thier 100 TV’s
by Musiccitynorm on Nov 22, 2011 3:08 PM CST up reply actions
Until Philly loses one more, I'm not counting them out.
I think they match up well with the Giants and Boys and could sweep both.
I’m suddenly a big Pats fan next week. And Saints of course.
Pessimists say the cup is half-empty, while optimists say it's half-full. Well, the real question is, is it a good beer? Realist Larry, 2011
by Realist Larry on Nov 22, 2011 3:19 PM CST up reply actions
I agree, but it's tough for any team to go 6-0, even if they'll be favored in 4 of their last 6.
Winning out and they’re almost surely in. Lose two more and they are basically dead. But there’s still a chance they could sneak in at 9-6, especially with Cutler out. I give them around a 10% shot at making the playoffs.
They'll bring McNabb back for the tie...
Don't believe everything you think.
by dunkman on Nov 22, 2011 6:33 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
All the reason why I wanted the Giants to win this past Sunday.
We're here to win football games. The way to do that is to tell him and to get on him at the right times. I do that when you guys (media) don't see and watch.''
What else makes a strong leader?
"You win,'' Romo said. "You're a very good leader once you win.
"That's' what we're going to do.''
by TARHEEL PAUL on Nov 22, 2011 3:36 PM CST up reply actions
Just to make sure our heads are on straight
Before this stretch (Seattle to Arizona) I think every Cowboy fan would have been happy if someone told you the Boys would go 4-1 over those 5 games. That would give us a solid winning record at 7-5 and should put us back in the division/wild card race.
Well, we currently have three in the bag and we can hope to win all five. However, we have to keep in mind we might end up losing one of the next two games to an inferior team. At the time it’ll be frustrating with lots of yelling and blame to go around. But if you look at the big picture and see we went 4-1, you’ll note that things went about as well as you could expect.
What do you figure our odds were/are of winning each individual game over that stretch (as much as you’d like to think the better team always win, fluke interceptions, punt returns, missed field goals happen)? If you said the Boys had an 80% chance to win each game, then over 5 games you’d expect us to win exactly 4 of them with only a 33% chance of winning all 5.
Of course, we already have 3 wins in hand, so our odds move up to a 64% chance of beating both the Dolphins and the Cards, and a 30% chance of going 1-1. That means only a 4% chance of losing both.
If we lose both then we’ll have a right to complain and will have to reevaluate, and I’m certainly going to be cheering for us to win all five (and then against the Giants, and Eagles, and into February), but even if we drop one of these next two we’ll have to consider the last 5 weeks as a success.
by niceville56 on Nov 22, 2011 3:20 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
Why are you trying to bring logic and reason to the table?
Did no one explain to you that rabid emotion and knee jerk reactions are the proper way to handle things here?
Formerly Pineywoods - different name, same cockeyed view of the world.
Jason Garrett - Lord of Order
Rob Ryan - Lord of Chaos
by Tom Ryle on Nov 22, 2011 3:26 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs
hahahahaaa
woman !, don't try to understand em, don't try to make them understand you, for they are a breed apart ! lol
(redskins)= A Tale of 2 owners, bought by Snyder, OWNED by the COWBOYS
Id say RIP Al Davis, but i know your up there drunker than a monkey and clocking angels in the 40 yd dash.
Your math is off, a little.
4-1, while most likely, only has a probability of 41%. 3-2 is 20%, 5% for 2-3… Of course, 80% seems high to start with.
My most recent fanpost:
The Weekly Chessmatch: Cowboys @ Eagles
by CotySaxman on Nov 22, 2011 4:30 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Hey OCC
are we gonna get to hear about your french coworker before Thursday’s game.
Romo wasn't built in a day.
no
thats only for monday mornings after a great win
FEAR THE STAR
Tony Romo 2011's League's Most Valuable Player and 2012's Superbowl MVP
"No one gives us the right, we take it." L. ~SPN
and it’ll be a while before the next post – I’ve got to come up with some new ideas first
by One.Cool.Customer on Nov 22, 2011 3:44 PM CST up reply actions
yeah the next great win should be no sooner than NYG or even PHI
Tony Romo 2011's League's Most Valuable Player and 2012's Superbowl MVP
"No one gives us the right, we take it." L. ~SPN
I promise this, a win over the Eages will be epic.
by One.Cool.Customer on Nov 22, 2011 3:58 PM CST up reply actions
yeah i had wondered
how long it took you to write all of that, great stuff keep it coming.
FEAR THE STAR
Romo wasn't built in a day.
Tim McMahon just tweeted that Tashard Choice just got released by the skins
Hey Washington... D.C. stands for Dallas Cowboys
DeMarcus is EveryWare Man
Twitter: @silva918
good for him, get away from that circus
Nobody cares about your effin fantasy team, keep it to yourself...........Lock n Load
Wow, so they only signed him as a spy
The only reason they had him on the roster was as a cheap way to get a 3-year player to spill his guts about our offense and defense.
Cowboys to the Superbowl
by Blue Eyed Devil on Nov 22, 2011 4:26 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Too bad it didn't work
"Deion never played quarterback in the National Football League, so his comments are based off the other side of the ball. If you play my position and criticism can really affect you and hurt you and make you play differently, then you’re only gonna be around for so long anyway. The whole objective is to keep getting better. Keep finding ways to improve, and if your talented enough and good enough, you will lead your team to the Super Bowl. That will happen around here, it will."
by willyoubemycharizard on Nov 22, 2011 4:34 PM CST up reply actions
where are all the naysayers that said we were no better than a .500 team???
(crickets chirping)
In Romo we Trust
I said 8-8/9-7
Still could be, but I sure hope not.
Nobody cares about your effin fantasy team, keep it to yourself...........Lock n Load
I think I said 9-7 in my preview of the season
Bruce Carter+Sean Lee=BRUCE LEE!!!!
RDD=REAL DEAL DEMARCO!!!!
by Archie Barberio on Nov 23, 2011 12:07 AM CST up reply actions
I think they still need oxygen from laughing so hard
At your prediction that we would win eight in a row when we were 2-3.
Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t be throwing stones.
In his defense, he said win 8 in a row and get to 11-5
While we didn’t win 8 in a row, 11-5 is definitely still in play.
Terry, do me a favor. Gloat when, and if, we actually finish the season with a winning
record. Anything else is just a jinx.
Fernie Fernie Fernie
If this team can’t win three of six down the stretch…then we should close up this site right now.
Have you cleared this with Dave? With the OCC?
He’ll hack your brain housing group, man.
Don't believe everything you think.
4 more WINS
My guess 4 wins IS a must for the boys to make it or at least to have a shot at the playoffs. Let’s see how JG prepares this team for the second half.
The rankings are a joke. GB and NYG won SB out of nowhere.
GO COWBOYS!!!
This may be a bit of an optimistic approach
but does anybody think maybe we should root for the Giants to beat the Saints Sunday? I know, I know…hear me out. I fully expect us to take care of business and beat the Giants (maybe twice) to win the division. That being the case, I want to catch New Orleans and try to secure the 3 seed in the playoffs, thus avoiding Green Bay as long as possible. Obviously, I feel confident going to San Francisco in the post season (we’ve won there already with Romo’s punctured lung), and in my mind, letting others have their shot in Green Bay before we have to is ideal.
Now Green Bay could slip up and San Fran could end up the 1 seed, and then this is all for naught, so never mind!! I’m so confused. Maybe I’ll just root for the Cowboys to win (as always), and let the chips fall where they may. Hahaha. Thanks for letting me have a discussion with myself!
by sportsfanatic21 on Nov 22, 2011 6:33 PM CST reply actions
if we are fortunant to play GB , i hope the weather is good .
woman !, don't try to understand em, don't try to make them understand you, for they are a breed apart ! lol
(redskins)= A Tale of 2 owners, bought by Snyder, OWNED by the COWBOYS
Id say RIP Al Davis, but i know your up there drunker than a monkey and clocking angels in the 40 yd dash.
For anyone afraid of the walking dead Eagles - do not fret
Our Hero Tom Brady is coming to the rescue…he will put them out of their misery.
Good Pernt...
As much as I hate the Patriots (and I’m not even really sure why).. at least they can but the finishing touches on the Dream Team for us.
I think the rest of the season comes down pretty simply.
4-2 Wins it in a lot of scenarios.
This probably is assured if the boys two losses are to Miami (afc team) and TB/AZ (NFC Teams out of division). That would give them 2 wins vs giants and only 1 additional NFC Loss.
However, I really have a lot of fear in me that the NYG will win both of those games.
If we are really a better team, and we really expect to make a strong playoff run…then two wins against the Giants will go a long way to build some momentum.
Fear the Star
My Rankings...
1 Packers 154
2 Patriots 124
3 49ers 121
4 Bears 120
5 Steelers 99
6 Texans 99
7 Saints 97
8 Falcons 85
9 Ravens 79
10 Lions 76
11 Cowboys 61
12 Jets 50
13 Raiders 43
14 Giants 39
15 Broncos 25
16 Buccaneers 18
17 Bengals 10
18 Eagles -6
19 Titans -9
20 Chargers -10
21 Bills -14
22 Seahawks -25
23 Chiefs -35
24 Browns -38
25 Jaguars -45
26 Dolphins -58
27 Cardinals -79
28 Panthers -81
29 Rams -82
30 Redskins -82
31 Vikings -83
32 Colts -152
Divisions
1 NFC North 267
2 AFC North 150
3 NFC South 119
4 AFC East 102
5 AFC West 23
6 NFC East 12
7 NFC West -65
8 AFC South -107

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