MVN: Most Valuable Network

The big winner in the NFL this week has to be the Denver Broncos.  At an incredibly unimpressive 7-5, the Broncos appear to have the AFC East well in-hand.  They upset a pretty overrated Jets squad as the Chargers fell to the Falcons to drop three games back in the division.  The Falcons moved to 8-4, which actually puts them at third place in their own division, and still on the outside looking in when talking about the NFC playoff picture.  The Chargers play three of their final four games in the division, so they could win out against incredibly poor competition and win the thing, but if the past is any indicator, they'll choke against the Raiders this week, and Mike Shannahan will be able to rest his starters at 7-6.

But the MVN Power Rankings are oblivious to all this, and still argue that the Chargers are better than the Broncos.  Albeit, not by much.

1. New York Giants (11-1)
The Giants were at every possible disadvantage on Sunday from an emotional/weather standpoint, and still beat the Redskins convincingly on the road.

2. Tennessee Titans (11-1)
The Titans are a great team that knows how to put weak opponents away.

3. Baltimore Ravens (8-4)
The Ravens are the final of the three elite teams in the NFL.  Those tough losses are a thing of the past, and they'll have their shot at a division championship when the Steelers come to town.  Here's the funny thing: if they get a wild card, they'll probably be the ones that get to play the Broncos in the first round, which might be advantageous, if they can't land a first round bye.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-3)
The Tampa offense will still disappear from time to time, but the defense should be getting the credit that Jon Gruden wishes it would.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3)
The offense still isn't good at all, but when you play defense like the Steelers do, and do all the small things well, you can't be rated that much lower than this.

6. Carolina Panthers (9-3)
The Panthers' don't do the small things well, and struggle in run defense, but if this team can win 3/4 of it's games with Jake Delhomme at QB, then they are built very solid from the inside out.

7. Dallas Cowboys (8-4)
The Cowboys are very potent, but I have a feeling that against the top defenses on the horizon, Tony Romo's finger injury will be the decisive factor in the Cowboys missing the playoffs.  3-1 is the mark to shoot for, but 2-2 could do it if they can beat division foes Philadelphia and New York.

8. Philadelphia Eagles (6-5-1)
The key for most teams in the NFL is to avoid close games with bad opponents, but for the Eagles, it's apparently to avoid close games with all opponents.

9. Indianapolis Colts (8-4)
Peyton Manning has cooled off the last two weeks with more changes on the offensive line.  With their schedule, the Colts are a lock for the playoffs.  Problem is, it's hard to see them doing much when they get there.  Well, unless they get Denver in the first round.

10. Atlanta Falcons (8-4)
It would be unfortunate if Atlanta missed the playoffs this year, but unless they can win out (NO, TB, MIN, STL), they won't be able to control their own destiny.

11. Minnesota Vikings (7-5)
The Vikings will win the NFC North unless they lose half of their defensive line to substance abuse related suspension.  Without those guys up front, Jared Allen gets his production cut, and the Vikings are pretty vulnerable.  It's unfortunate that a drug case will decide a division, but rules are rules.

12. New York Jets (8-4)
Thankfully, we can stop with the Favre insanity that the last two Jets wins caused.  Now, the Jets simply have to finish strong and beat the Dolphins to take the division.  I'm starting to think that only one team is going to come out of the AFC East, so the Jets have to recover quickly from this loss.

13. Arizona Cardinals (7-5)
The Cards have struggled on defense the last two weeks, but still figure to lock up the division when they play the Rams in Week 14.

14. New England Patriots (7-5)
There's a whole bunch of things that the Patriots don't do well that the Steelers were able to expose, but they can still throw the football, and will be alive in the AFC East right down to the wire.  They don't have many games left inside the division, however, and that will cost them at the end of the year.  If the Pats don't win out, they are unlikely to make the playoffs since the Colts hold tiebreakers and the Ravens are unlikely to lose twice the rest of the year.

15. New Orleans Saints (6-6)
The Saints are just another team that can throw, throw, throw, but when they go on the road, they end up playing at the other teams tempo, and it seems to cost them a lot of close games.  8-8 is likely, which probably puts them in last place.

16. Green Bay Packers (5-7)
The Packers rely too heavily on their defense to generate scores and to win shootouts.  At 5-7, their only shot at the playoffs is for the Vikings to lose their defense to suspension, and then to sweep the Bears, and hopefully take a weak division at 8-8.

17. Washington Redskins (7-5)
Thanks to key victories in September, and a soft schedule in the final three weeks, the Redskins will need only a little bit of help to make the NFC playoffs at 10/11 wins.  They will need to sweep Philadelphia though, which is easier said than done, and then just take care of business on the road like they have all year.  They trail Dallas by a game, but where Dallas has to play the Giants and the Steelers in December, the Redskins get to play the Bengals and 49ers.  You do the math, and tell me if you think the Redskins will make up that game.

18. Miami Dolphins (7-5)
The Dolphins offense has run into some problems once opponents started keying on the run.  Chad Pennington is still playing well, but he's most effective when he has a ground game to carry the load.

19. Chicago Bears (6-6)
Kyle Orton has come back to earth since his ankle injury.  The Bears don't figure to be a force in the playoffs, but the target number is nine victories, which must include a win over Green Bay, in order to win the North.

20. Houston Texans (5-7)
Matt Schaub's return makes this team instantly better.  It would be nice if the defense would show signs of life just like they did on Monday Night.

21. San Diego Chargers (4-8)
At least at the beginning of the season, the offense was performing.  Recently, the Chargers pass protection has been less than stellar, and Phillip Rivers' season has quickly done an about face.

22. San Francisco 49ers (3-9)
This team is much improved under Mike Singletary and QB Shaun Hill.

23. Denver Broncos (7-5)
The Broncos have the offensive firepower to upset you if you turn the ball over, but too weak a defense to be a serious threat if you do not.

24. Buffalo Bills (6-6)
I guess playing the Chiefs isn't a universal cure-all.

25. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8)
Too many things went wrong for the Jags this year, and we're likely to see a purging of veteran talent in the offseason.  This team figures to be back in the thick of things next year.

26. Seattle Seahawks (2-10)
The Seahawks are really, really bad on both sides of the ball, and are probably the most surprising team of the year, but not in a good way.  Matt Hasselbeck is in decline, and though the Falcons' addition of a top FA back (Michael Turner) is an example of how to improve through free agency, Julius Jones and TJ Duckett are a good example of how to "run" in place, so to speak.  Hasselbeck's career can be salvaged if he gets help on the OL and at WR, but there might not be enough time for the Seahawks to correct all the ills.

27. Oakland Raiders (3-9)
OC Greg Knapp showed a lot of creativity in his gameplan this week, but past that, it's hard to hide JaMarcus Russell at QB.  Russell has shown improvement in his decision making, but he's still very inaccurate, doesn't see the field well, and still doesn't have the trust of his coaches, and trust in his blockers.  Those drops don't help, obviously.

28. Cincinnati Bengals (1-10-1)
The Bengals are simply a good team without a quarterback.  When Carson Palmer returns, it's not hard to see the Bengals back in the AFC playoffs.  Something does have to be done about the offensive line and running back situations.

29. Kansas City Chiefs (2-10)
The Chiefs have done a magic show on offense, creating an offense in which Tyler Thigpen is not horrible.  I do believe Thigpen's success will be short lived, but give the Chiefs credit for being competitive even when the defense is not becoming of an NFL team.

30. Cleveland Browns (4-8)
Without Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn, it's Ken Dorsey's passes that will now be fumbled by Kellen Winslow, ignore Donte Stallworth, and be dropped by Braylon Edwards.  Jamal Lewis is still on the roster, for what it's worth.

31. St. Louis Rams (2-10)
This team should be doing better on defense, so it's easy to say they are underachieving.  The offense is a nice example of how a team does with two previously productive quarterbacks, no semblance of an offensive line, and one receiving threat who is a rookie.

32. Detroit Lions (0-12)
I don't think the Lions will go 0-16, but according to the Power Rankings, the worst team they play the rest of the year is the Packers, so certainly it's possible.  I'm looking forward to a Jim Sorgi-Drew Henson showdown in Week 17.  Somebody make this happen!