NFL Power Rankings Week 12: Packers Remain Packers; Ravens Resurface

SB Nation's NFL power rankings for Week 12 are once again dominated by the AFC and NFC North, which take up six of the top 11 spots in our rankings. The Packers, as usual, are at the top of the list and Baltimore surges ahead a few spots after beating Cincinnati and moving their division record to 3-0.

Teams ranked from No. 3 to No. 9 are all pretty close and we could see an argument to flip that group around in a number of ways. For now, though, here's how SB Nation's power rankings shake out:

1. Green Bay Packers (10-0, LW: 1): Clearly, the best team in the league. Even the 9-1 49ers aren't in the same hemisphere as the Packers. The biggest question with this team is whether they'll run the table on the regular season.

2. San Francisco 49ers (9-1, LW: 2): They're going to wrap up the division shortly and should be en route to a first round bye.

3. Baltimore Ravens (7-3, LW: 5): The Ravens are now 3-0 in their division, which might be the best division in football. Sweeping Pittsburgh and beating the Bengals is impressive and will go a long way to determining tiebreakers down the stretch.

4. New Orleans Saints (7-3, LW: 3): The Saints didn't play last week but they're still among the NFC elite.

5. Houston Texans (7-3, LW: 4): The Matt Schaub hurts. Big time. We'll see next week if Matt Leinart can do an adequate job replacing him. We'll see how he does before adjusting their ranking too much.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3, LW: 6): They're in a tie with Baltimore in the AFC North. Both these teams should make the playoffs -- it's just a matter of who wins the division.

7. New England Patriots (7-3, LW: 7): New England looked sluggish in the first half on Monday night but, as they do, they quickly turned it into a rout over KC.

8. Chicago Bears (7-3, LW: 8): The Bears defense should do enough to carry them to a playoff spot but they need a healthy Jay Cutler back if they're going to make a playoff run. That may not come until January.

9. Detroit Lions (7-3, LW: 11): The game of the year is coming up on Thanksgiving Day when the Lions host the unbeaten Packers. Can they do it?

10. Dallas Cowboys (6-4, LW: 12): Impressive turnaround for the Cowboys. They were 2-3 at one point but now hold a share of the NFC East lead.

11. Cincinnati Bengals (6-4, LW: 9): Cincy played Pittsburgh and Baltimore tough, but they're both losses. At 6-4, they still have to play the Steelers and Ravens (again) as well as the Texans. They need an upset in there.

12. New York Giants (6-4, LW: 10): The Giants season could be determined over the next three weeks -- at New Orleans, Green Bay, at Dallas.

13. New York Jets (6-4, LW: 13): The Jets will be in a dog fight with the Bengals to secure a wildcard spot. It doesn't look like they'll be catching New England in the AFC East.

14. Oakland Raiders (6-4, LW: 16): Your first place Raiders. Oakland QB Carson Palmer is playing much better and Oakland is winning.

15. Atlanta Falcons (6-4, LW: 15): It's hard to figure out the Falcons but they've won four of five (with one overtime loss) so this might be their run.

16. Denver Broncos (5-5, LW: 20): Say what you want about Tim Tebow, but the Broncos are 4-1 under him and a game out of first place.

17. Buffalo Bills (5-5, LW: 14): Even Chan Gailey says his team isn't good anymore but they're still in the wildcard race.

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6, LW: 17): The Bucs are young but you hoped they would take a step forward this year. Unfortunately, it appears they're headed in the wrong direction.

19. Philadelphia Eagles (4-6, LW: 22): I said last week they needed to run the table so that's one in a row.

20. Tennessee Titans (5-5, LW: 19): The Matt Hasselbeck injury doesn't appear to be serious but there's no injury to explain Chris Johnson's disappearance act this season.

21. San Diego Chargers (4-6, LW: 18): That's five losses in a row. Were we wrong about this team "having a lot of talent" but being unable to get it done? Maybe they just don't have as much talent as we thought.

22. Kansas City Chiefs (4-6, LW: 21): The Chiefs played the Patriots strong through one half on Monday night before allowing it to get ugly.

23. Seattle Seahawks (4-6, LW: 24): That's two in a row but it's only affecting draft position at this point.

24. Cleveland Browns (4-6, LW: 27): The offense is miserable but they got enough to beat Jacksonville last Sunday. Tough spot with them in arguably the best division in football.

25. Miami Dolphins (3-7, LW: 31): Wow. Three in a row? That's incredible. Give Miami credit for returning from 0-7 to win three straight, including two blowouts.

26. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-7, LW: 26): There's not a lot to say about Jacksonville. We expected plenty of struggles with Blaine Gabbert in there.

27. Washington Redskins (3-7, LW: 23): They're probably worse than their record indicates. The 3-1 start seems like last century.

28. Arizona Cardinals (3-7, LW: 25): Like Seattle, there's nothing to see here.

29. Carolina Panthers (2-8, LW: 28): Only two wins on the year but that's not a major concern right now. This season is about getting Cam Newton acclimated.

30. St. Louis Rams (2-8, LW: 29): A candidate for the NFL's most disappointing team (if not for Philly).

31. Minnesota Vikings (2-8, LW: 30): With games coming up against the Falcons, Lions, Saints and Bears, it's only going to get worse.

32. Indianapolis Colts (0-10, LW: 32): I don't think they'll be leaving this spot for the rest of the year.