to watch the full NFL NOW Power Rankings show with Elliot Harrison and Bucky Brooks.The Week 16 NFL Power Rankings are in, with an annual reminder for football fans far and wide ...Take a close look at the teams that won important games this past week, positioning themselves for the playoffs. They all played championship-caliber defense: Buffalo stayed alive in the postseason race , . New England in the second half. Denver hit the road and held the to . continued to play fantastic defense, as they've done all year.Then there was that Dallas defense, which did . But considering it was on the road, and considering one of the touchdowns was gift-wrapped by a fumble deep in territory, 's group wasn't too shabby.Now, on to other things ...Love weird facts. And the really did win 30-zip that week. Cleveland's quarterback was Charlie Football -- I mean, Charlie Frye. Ok so, Abdel Nader Jersey DE loses to NE that loses to GB, that loses to BUF that loses to DE. Wouldn't like to be the man that makes the Rankings Alex (@AlexPirelli) Agreed, man. It's challenging, but fun, too. You'll see the shakeup in the top 10 below. Remember, we are not going to overreact to one game, so has not entered the MVP discu sion. That aside, feel free to share your take: is the place.Let the di sension commence!(Note: Arrows reflect change in standings from .)PAST RANKINGS: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Yes, thank you, Roger Daltrey. The have reclaimed the throne . You had the feeling New England would pull away on Sunday, and that's precisely what 's team did, going on a 27-0 run after halftime to seal the AFC East and bring home-field advantage throughout the playoffs that much closer. Perhaps what you've seen from 's the last two weeks isn't what you're used to seeing, but here's to pushing the theory that Denver is better equipped to win in the playoffs running the football and playing defense. How about 39 rushes ? Everyone wants to know: Is the bully back? It appears that question has been answered. The offense might not have reflected the glory days of Krieg-Warner-Largent in , but going 8-for-14 on third down is huge, particularly in this kind of offense, and especially with a defense that needs nothing but occasional rest in order to dominate. was humbled, if nothing else, by after by . At least the latter didn't afterward. Green Bay might be a wild-card team for now, but we'll see what happens ... No, apparently these are not the "same ol' ." Every time this franchise has been in position to win the NFC East in recent years, it has faltered in games like this. And after Dallas blew a 21-0 lead, it looked like that would be the case yet again. But not this time -- not this team. While didn't decide the division, it certainly put Dallas in the driver's seat. Improving to 7-0 on the road certainly says something about the -- and . could use a 25-year-old body, though. He still looks a wee bit healthier than to me. -- well, an offense that couldn't move the ball. Of course, the , frankly, couldn't move it, either. did not play his best for the second straight week, in a game where touchdowns were at a premium. On the bright side, that defense has played well two straight weeks. It was ugly. But it was . One thing Cards fans had to take away from the defeat of the -- besides the feeling of, "Oh, @#$%, how are we going to win with ?" -- is an appreciation for the unbelievable job coordinator continues to do with the defense. He won that game Thursday night. Sometimes, division games go down as easily as the turbo greens crap they try to sell you at Whole Foods. Hey, -- so we're not going to penalize Detroit for not romping to a 30-14 rout. The most important thing to note is that the jumped from the sixth seed in one day. How crazy is that? Who didn't think the had the Sunday nighter in the bag after , putting Philly up three, capping off a 24-point spree and Dennis Schroder Jersey whipping the home folks into a frenzy? The played the run hard, bottling up for most of the evening. Unfortunately for them, there was ... , and while it got a bit close there in the second half at the Georgia Dome, the are now in the driver's seat. (That said, even the most ardent fan in the Carnell Lake No. 37 uni would admit that secondary dodged a bullet with sidelined.) Here they are, though, with against the and . If Pittsburgh wins out, it takes the AFC North title. provided a spark, all right ... to a defense that one week prior. The made all the plays , reading the rookie quarterback's eyes several times before he let fly. And while we're here: Thinking goes a bit higher than in fantasy drafts next year. (Like three rounds higher.) The , exacting some sort of revenge for a few weeks back. And they stayed consistent: No wide receivers scored touchdowns. Nope, it went punt returner, running back, tight end, running back -- just the way they like it. That was delivered by the on Sunday. Nothing fluky about it. was something special. Rambo made a mockery of a small-town sheriff -- I mean, and the offense -- proving that nothing is over in Buffalo. You just don't turn it off, either. I fully expect that defense to blow things up and. # Mafia #ColonelTrautman If they were all supposed to be easy, you wouldn't be reading this column, and the NFL wouldn't be fun. And if teams Jalen Lecque Jersey weren't capable of surprising some folks, then the 2012 would never have been complaining about a half-hour light delay -- because they never would've made the in the first place. So don't read too much into . That's football. when was not at his best, the sure could've used a running game. With on the shelf, though, the Bolts could barely muster anything on the ground (20 total attempts for 56 yards). While that aspect of this team is in disarray, at least the Bolts can take solace in the fact that is in complete-meltdown mode. # New season, same . Just good enough to build up your hopes before sending them crashing down -- like every New Year's party you've been to since you were 10. Doesn't appear there will be any January festivities for this team, as almost a sures Miami will mi s postseason play for the sixth straight season -- and for the 12th time in the past 13 campaigns. Can you believe that? The 'Fins have made the playoffs once since Elvis Grbac took them down in the 2001 wild-card round. Difficult position for rookie to be in , forced into the lineup after presumably getting few practice reps all season, facing the best team in the division -- and on the road, no le s. Savage sure didn't look ruggedly sexy when he turned to hand off to no one on one of his first plays from scrimmage. That said, he was not a total disaster and ended up making a few solid throws in the lo s. Not to mention, the one-score defeat -- and the fact that Houston made look more like -- says a lot about how far this team has come. Unfortunately, the this week. He might be a savvy veteran. He might be immensely likable. And he might have the trust of the coaching staff. But simply cannot succeed with the offensive line playing like it did . And he sure as heck can't flourish dealing Charlie Hough knuckleballs on some of his pa ses, either. Merely an opinion here, but when leaks come out of various corners of an organization about the tenuous state of the head coach's future -- despite the fact that his first three years on the job provided unparalleled succe s -- I'm thinking a distraction is created. If front offices are so wary of signing guys like Terrell Owens, Randy Mo s or even Tim Tebow because of the potential distractions they'd bring, perhaps they should be more vigilant about keeping this kind of strife in-house. Everyone thought they'd see running around making plays. , I was wondering what was running around in his head ... *These guys are faster than the DBs at Rice. Gee willikers. ... Ah, heck. Shake it off, man -- Hoyer would have two of those by now. ... Next time I'm in Vegas, I've got to see Hear that show is killer.*. </content:power-ranking> After all the defensive meltdowns, 's disappearing act and an awful home losing streak, the 6-8 are, amazingly, in position to win the NFC South. The task at hand: Win the final two games. Actually, if the beat the on Sunday and the lose to the , . Maybe New Orleans will surprise some folks -- pull off an upset as a 7-9 playoff team. If any quarterback could have a throw from Sunday back, you gotta figure would demand dibs. With a first-and-10 from his own 30 and 45 seconds to play, the rookie quarterback mi sed high to a wide-open . The play would have been good for about 20 yards. It also would have given the Vikes the football at midfield with about 37 seconds left -- plenty of time to get in prime position. Of course, Walsh would probably like a Sunday do-over, as well. Bet no one felt better than on Sunday afternoon -- or more relieved. inside the Bucs' 5 prohibited Carolina from taking a commanding 23-10 second-half lead. Not to mention -- but we'll mention -- Stewart lost the handle again with the trying to burn the clock, nursing a two-point lead with under three minutes to play. He recovered that one, thank the Football Gods. And you know what? Carolina can still win the smoking dog turd we call the NFC South race. Calling it right now, so that we're on the record: Big Blue is going to give the all they can handle , in a game that could hold serious division title/playoff implications for Philly. It's been mentioned in this space before that teams don't quit, which has been more noticeable the last two weeks. Despite the mi sed time, has Jr. made it impo sible to overlook him for Offensive Rookie of the Year? Opportunity mi sed for the reeling , who had a chance late to Mike Muscala Jersey even things up . Still, even at 5-9, would you believe Atlanta is in control of its own destiny in the NFC South? Win the last two, and the Dirty Birds win this "race" at 7-9. It's your baby, . Will the QB live up to the potential everyone says he carries? Or will he instead carry the stigma of being seen as a decent quarterback who didn't seem to care enough? It's entirely up to him. Here's the deal: Next season is Year 10 for Cutler, and there haven't been many quarterbacks who suddenly became better a decade into the league. Jim Plunkett comes to mind. Maybe Rich Gannon, who improved significantly with age. Don't think of Kurt Warner, though, because he already had displayed brilliance by this stage of his career. The point is, the time is definitely now. ***UPDATE:** It appears for Cutler in Chicago, as will be the ' starting quarterback Josh Hall Jersey versus the on Sunday.* </content:power-ranking> Want to keep this blurb positive, so we're not going to mention the offensive line. How about , who posted his most productive rushing effort since September 2013? His 96 yards might not have won the day, but having him be even 90 percent of the 1,454-yard back he was in 2012 would do wonders for this offense. The question will remain, at least until we clearly see differently: Is just good enough to get you beat? The numbers were there Sunday in New Jersey: a 106.4 QB rating, with 236 yards pa sing and a 67 percent completion rate. Of course, the larger number was this: . Not all of that is on the QB, though. Considering 's discipline is the offensive side of the ball, scoring 30 points shouldn't be a pipe dream. Growing up in Dallas, I remember back in 1988 when I heard on the radio that the had been hammered by the (the game was blacked out). It was the final week of the regular season. Green Bay upset the that day -- getting a big punt return from Ron Pitts -- ensuring that the would get the first overall pick in 1989. Sure, it was nice to receive the pick, which was used to draft Troy Aikman. But you know what? I wanted Dallas to smoke the more. So yell at me here, but I'm with on this one. Real fans want a win, not a higher draft position. There probably isn't a in this draft, . And to tie a bow on it, the would have taken Tony Mandarich in '89, even if they had earned the first pick. Aikman still would've ended up in Dallas. You get the point. Go . A lot of positives to be gleaned from , even if fans in Jacksonville are sick and tired of reading sentences like this. Shoot, you guys are probably sick and tired of being sick and tired. But you have to admit, that defense has been looking better. Saw the rampant reports that the organization is planning to make throughout the front office. Merely a thought here, but if the head coach was canned for performance when he was trying to win with draft picks that didn't pan out and free agency "help" that didn't reflect the abundance of cap money the GM had to spend, then ... wasn't that like firing a race car driver for driving a lemon? Sheer unadulterated crazine s -- that's what the NFL is sometimes. No game (or outcome) was weirder than what went down . Tenne see , got involved in with guys allegedly coming off the bench (what is this, Mets-Braves?), had its captains commit critical mistakes ... then capped it off with . My question to you, fans: Should have pitched that ball? Looked like he had a shot. Follow Elliot Harrison on Twitter .