AFC Power Rankings - week 14

[lifelongsteel]

It took until the 13th game of the season for the AFC to take some semblance of shape, and for the most part the teams with the best QB's are the best teams. There was very little movement in the rankings between week 13 and week 14. Here we go with last weeks ranking in parenthesis:

The top two seeds

1 (1). Patriots (10-3) - Going into this season I felt that this would be the best version of the Pats D since their super bowl winning years. Clearly looks like it is. They are 13th in yards allowed and 9th in scoring D for the season. But over their past 3, against the Lions, Packers and Chargers they are only giving up 16 pts a game.

2 (2) Broncos (10-3) - Win over Buffalo was somewhat ho hum. I wonder if commitment to run is some form of acknowledgement that Peyton can't do it by himself outdoors, in the cold, in the playoffs.

Likely playoff teams

3 (4) Ravens (8-5) - This third spot is haunted, as the Steelers, Chiefs and Bengals all crapped the bed after moving into this lofty position. Who better than the ratbirds for a little bad juju.

4 (5) Steelers (8-5) - Win over Bengals was most important W since the 2011 season. Think about that for a minute. Best back in league + best play action QB in the league + best route runner in the league + 1 hell of a deep threat = no one wants to play this team in the playoffs.

5 (6) Colts (9-4) - Nice last drive for Luck after a pretty big clunker at Cleveland. This team is much better than the sum of it's parts. Those parts aren't great.

Still kicking

6 (3) Bengals (8-4-1) - Current AFC North division leader, but upcoming tilts @browns vs.Broncos and @Steelers cast some serious doubt on their chances. Browns throttled them earlier this year in Cinn.

7 (7) Chiefs (7-6) - I like this team, but they can only win 1 way. Chiefs @ Steelers may be one of the best games of the year. Smith doesn't have the game to beat the Steelers deep. Steelers don't have an OT that match up with either of KC's edge rushers.

8 (8) Chargers (8-5) - Brutal final 3 vs. Denver, @ SF and @KC. Rivers is still in my mind the most under appreciated player in the league. Currently 5th in QBR, 1 spot behind Ben.

9 (9) Dolphins (7-6) - Will lose this week @ NE then win at home vs. Minn and NYJ. Won't be enough. Ravens destroyed them for the last 3 quarters of the game in Miami.

10 (10) Texans (7-6) - Crucial SBI contest this weekend at home against the Ravens. I don't expect this one to go our way. Only managed 304 yards in Jax. Ravens will completely shut them down.

T11 (T11) Browns (7-6) - Defense is for real. Gordon is out of shape. Johnny coming to the rescue?

T11 (T11) Bills (7-6) - Have GB and NE in their final 3. Future looks promising for this team

The Others

Ranking of teams 13-16 has been discontinued, for at least this week.


Updated AFC QB Ratings with QBR in parenthesis

1. Tom Brady (100.2) - Starting to see a few more cracks in the armor as he's thrown more bad INT's than usual. Still runs the smartest most flexible offense in the league. Still seems to make the right decision on almost every play.

2. Peyton Manning (105.7) - Protecting him more and more with the run game, which is a good idea at this point in his career. Still a special player even with the arm strength decline.

3. Ben Roethlisberger (103.0) - On any given week Ben could play like the best or the 10th best QB in the league, so it's hard on a weekly basis to put him in context. Crossing my fingers for an epic Ben run through these last 3 games and the playoffs.

4. Phillip Rivers (100.6) - I'm a bigger fan of this guy than most. Those who compare him to Cutler are missing the point. If your QB outworks people and demands the best from himself he earns the right to demand results from his teammates.

5. Andrew Luck (98.8) - The future of the league, but not better than the other four at this point. Too many mistakes right now.

6. Joe Flacco (94.5) - Proven winner. If DPI counted as a completion he would have a QBR over 100.

What say you?

[swissvale72]

It took until the 13th game of the season for the AFC to take some semblance of shape, and for the most part the teams with the best QB's are the best teams. There was very little movement in the rankings between week 13 and week 14. Here we go with last weeks ranking in parenthesis:

The top two seeds

1 (1). Patriots (10-3) - Going into this season I felt that this would be the best version of the Pats D since their super bowl winning years. Clearly looks like it is. They are 13th in yards allowed and 9th in scoring D for the season. But over their past 3, against the Lions, Packers and Chargers they are only giving up 16 pts a game.

2 (2) Broncos (10-3) - Win over Buffalo was somewhat ho hum. I wonder if commitment to run is some form of acknowledgement that Peyton can't do it by himself outdoors, in the cold, in the playoffs.

Likely playoff teams

3 (4) Ravens (8-5) - This third spot is haunted, as the Steelers, Chiefs and Bengals all crapped the bed after moving into this lofty position. Who better than the ratbirds for a little bad juju.

4 (5) Steelers (8-5) - Win over Bengals was most important W since the 2011 season. Think about that for a minute. Best back in league + best play action QB in the league + best route runner in the league + 1 hell of a deep threat = no one wants to play this team in the playoffs.

5 (6) Colts (9-4) - Nice last drive for Luck after a pretty big clunker at Cleveland. This team is much better than the sum of it's parts. Those parts aren't great.

Still kicking

6 (3) Bengals (8-4-1) - Current AFC North division leader, but upcoming tilts @browns vs.Broncos and @Steelers cast some serious doubt on their chances. Browns throttled them earlier this year in Cinn.

7 (7) Chiefs (7-6) - I like this team, but they can only win 1 way. Chiefs @ Steelers may be one of the best games of the year. Smith doesn't have the game to beat the Steelers deep. Steelers don't have an OT that match up with either of KC's edge rushers.

8 (8) Chargers (8-5) - Brutal final 3 vs. Denver, @ SF and @KC. Rivers is still in my mind the most under appreciated player in the league. Currently 5th in QBR, 1 spot behind Ben.

9 (9) Dolphins (7-6) - Will lose this week @ NE then win at home vs. Minn and NYJ. Won't be enough. Ravens destroyed them for the last 3 quarters of the game in Miami.

10 (10) Texans (7-6) - Crucial SBI contest this weekend at home against the Ravens. I don't expect this one to go our way. Only managed 304 yards in Jax. Ravens will completely shut them down.

T11 (T11) Browns (7-6) - Defense is for real. Gordon is out of shape. Johnny coming to the rescue?

T11 (T11) Bills (7-6) - Have GB and NE in their final 3. Future looks promising for this team

The Others

Ranking of teams 13-16 has been discontinued, for at least this week.


Updated AFC QB Ratings with QBR in parenthesis

1. Tom Brady (100.2) - Starting to see a few more cracks in the armor as he's thrown more bad INT's than usual. Still runs the smartest most flexible offense in the league. Still seems to make the right decision on almost every play.

2. Peyton Manning (105.7) - Protecting him more and more with the run game, which is a good idea at this point in his career. Still a special player even with the arm strength decline.

3. Ben Roethlisberger (103.0) - On any given week Ben could play like the best or the 10th best QB in the league, so it's hard on a weekly basis to put him in context. Crossing my fingers for an epic Ben run through these last 3 games and the playoffs.

4. Phillip Rivers (100.6) - I'm a bigger fan of this guy than most. Those who compare him to Cutler are missing the point. If your QB outworks people and demands the best from himself he earns the right to demand results from his teammates.

5. Andrew Luck (98.8) - The future of the league, but not better than the other four at this point. Too many mistakes right now.

6. Joe Flacco (94.5) - Proven winner. If DPI counted as a completion he would have a QBR over 100.

What say you?

All sounds good, Lifelong....agree with most.

One slight correction. Texans play Indy this weekend, have Baltimore at Reliant next week.

[Thrillsseeker]

It took until the 13th game of the season for the AFC to take some semblance of shape, and for the most part the teams with the best QB's are the best teams. There was very little movement in the rankings between week 13 and week 14. Here we go with last weeks ranking in parenthesis:

The top two seeds

1 (1). Patriots (10-3) - Going into this season I felt that this would be the best version of the Pats D since their super bowl winning years. Clearly looks like it is. They are 13th in yards allowed and 9th in scoring D for the season. But over their past 3, against the Lions, Packers and Chargers they are only giving up 16 pts a game.

2 (2) Broncos (10-3) - Win over Buffalo was somewhat ho hum. I wonder if commitment to run is some form of acknowledgement that Peyton can't do it by himself outdoors, in the cold, in the playoffs.

Likely playoff teams

3 (4) Ravens (8-5) - This third spot is haunted, as the Steelers, Chiefs and Bengals all crapped the bed after moving into this lofty position. Who better than the ratbirds for a little bad juju.


4 (5) Steelers (8-5) - Win over Bengals was most important W since the 2011 season. Think about that for a minute. Best back in league + best play action QB in the league + best route runner in the league + 1 hell of a deep threat = no one wants to play this team in the playoffs.
Right on!

5 (6) Colts (9-4) - Nice last drive for Luck after a pretty big clunker at Cleveland. This team is much better than the sum of it's parts. Those parts aren't great.

Still kicking

6 (3) Bengals (8-4-1) - Current AFC North division leader, but upcoming tilts @browns vs.Broncos and @Steelers cast some serious doubt on their chances. Browns throttled them earlier this year in Cinn.

7 (7) Chiefs (7-6) - I like this team, but they can only win 1 way. Chiefs @ Steelers may be one of the best games of the year. Smith doesn't have the game to beat the Steelers deep. Steelers don't have an OT that match up with either of KC's edge rushers.

8 (8) Chargers (8-5) - Brutal final 3 vs. Denver, @ SF and @KC. Rivers is still in my mind the most under appreciated player in the league. Currently 5th in QBR, 1 spot behind Ben.

9 (9) Dolphins (7-6) - Will lose this week @ NE then win at home vs. Minn and NYJ. Won't be enough. Ravens destroyed them for the last 3 quarters of the game in Miami.

10 (10) Texans (7-6) - Crucial SBI contest this weekend at home against the Ravens. I don't expect this one to go our way. Only managed 304 yards in Jax. Ravens will completely shut them down.

T11 (T11) Browns (7-6) - Defense is for real. Gordon is out of shape. Johnny coming to the rescue?

T11 (T11) Bills (7-6) - Have GB and NE in their final 3. Future looks promising for this team

The Others

Ranking of teams 13-16 has been discontinued, for at least this week.


Updated AFC QB Ratings with QBR in parenthesis

1. Tom Brady (100.2) - Starting to see a few more cracks in the armor as he's thrown more bad INT's than usual. Still runs the smartest most flexible offense in the league. Still seems to make the right decision on almost every play.

2. Peyton Manning (105.7) - Protecting him more and more with the run game, which is a good idea at this point in his career. Still a special player even with the arm strength decline.

3. Ben Roethlisberger (103.0) - On any given week Ben could play like the best or the 10th best QB in the league, so it's hard on a weekly basis to put him in context. Crossing my fingers for an epic Ben run through these last 3 games and the playoffs.


4. Phillip Rivers (100.6) - I'm a bigger fan of this guy than most. Those who compare him to Cutler are missing the point. If your QB outworks people and demands the best from himself he earns the right to demand results from his teammates.

5. Andrew Luck (98.8) - The future of the league, but not better than the other four at this point. Too many mistakes right now.

6. Joe Flacco (94.5) - Proven winner. If DPI counted as a completion he would have a QBR over 100.

What say you?

Great stuff. Bolded and underlined my favorite parts!

[Fury]

http://steelerfury.com/drupal/?q=node/46

[Stosh-67]

Nice work Life..........
Thanks for your time..........

Pretty competitive year...............with (2) 10 win teams and (10) other teams with a chance to win 10 games........obviously they all cant win 10 games as many play each other.........
but there should be alot of 9 and 10 win teams this year.

[Kodiak]

The horrendous NFC South is poised to go 3-1 against out Steelers

[SteelBull]

Wow Lifelong - making it all the way to the homepage. From the mean streets of Albuquerque

Good article - appreciate it!

[lifelongsteel]

Wow Lifelong - making it all the way to the homepage. From the mean streets of Albuquerque

Good article - appreciate it!

The streets were only mean because they were filled with 99% cowboy fans

[955876]

4 (5) Steelers (8-5) - Win over Bengals was most important W since the 2011 season. Think about that for a minute. Best back in league + best play action QB in the league + best route runner in the league + 1 hell of a deep threat = no one wants to play this team in the playoffs.

Except for opposing offenses that know for every 30 we score there is an easy 35 out there for the taking themselves.

In prior years I'd be thinking SB given what the offense is capable of.

Unfortunately, this D is so bad I'm certain that Tim fucking Tebow could literally do the damn pregame in studio in a suit and strip down to his t-shirt an dress shoes and still fuck this "defense" up.

Tom Brady or Joe the fucking Plumber it doesn't matter. They can and will light us the fuck up.

Only hope is our offense is 1 point better than the very worn speed bump we currently call a defense.

[lifelongsteel]

4 (5) Steelers (8-5) - Win over Bengals was most important W since the 2011 season. Think about that for a minute. Best back in league + best play action QB in the league + best route runner in the league + 1 hell of a deep threat = no one wants to play this team in the playoffs.

Except for opposing offenses that know for every 30 we score there is an easy 35 out there for the taking themselves.

In prior years I'd be thinking SB given what the offense is capable of.

Unfortunately, this D is so bad I'm certain that Tim fucking Tebow could literally do the damn pregame in studio in a suit and strip down to his t-shirt an dress shoes and still fuck this "defense" up.

Tom Brady or Joe the fucking Plumber it doesn't matter. They can and will light us the fuck up.

Only hope is our offense is 1 point better than the very worn speed bump we currently call a defense.

Almost every team is flawed this year. Who would you put ahead of us?

[Kodiak]

Almost every team is flawed this year. Who would you put ahead of us?

NE has their typical offense to drop half a bill on our defense, while having the defense to significantly disrupt our offense. In Foxboro the Pats should justifiably be 20pt favorites.

Rodgers is playing like he did in 2010 playoffs, and we know how that worked out.

SEA is rounding into form and has the defense to route our offense. I also think PHI is a bad match-up on both sides of the ball.

Everyone else we have at least a puncher's chance.

[jeemie]

4 (5) Steelers (8-5) - Win over Bengals was most important W since the 2011 season. Think about that for a minute. Best back in league + best play action QB in the league + best route runner in the league + 1 hell of a deep threat = no one wants to play this team in the playoffs.

Except for opposing offenses that know for every 30 we score there is an easy 35 out there for the taking themselves.

In prior years I'd be thinking SB given what the offense is capable of.

Unfortunately, this D is so bad I'm certain that Tim fucking Tebow could literally do the damn pregame in studio in a suit and strip down to his t-shirt an dress shoes and still fuck this "defense" up.

Tom Brady or Joe the fucking Plumber it doesn't matter. They can and will light us the fuck up.

Only hope is our offense is 1 point better than the very worn speed bump we currently call a defense.

Almost every team is flawed this year. Who would you put ahead of us?

Did you see that Pats/Packers game two weeks ago?

We are not in their class.

We might challenge Seattle because the patient small ball offense is the way to go against them, but we would need someone who could be physical with their DBs. So I'd rank Seattle ahead of us.

[lifelongsteel]

Did you see that Pats/Packers game two weeks ago?

We are not in their class.

We might challenge Seattle because the patient small ball offense is the way to go against them, but we would need someone who could be physical with their DBs. So I'd rank Seattle ahead of us.

Of course. I ranked the Steelers fourth in the AFC. 955876 thought that was too high. I asked him who he would put ahead of us.

Not sure why this has turned into "The packers and seahawks are better than us".

[SteelBull]

Lifelong, I think it's the reading thing - I mean this topic is at two pages. Very hard to consume all that. Hopefully not the logic thing!

If I can hopefully restate your premise correctly, prior to this derailment: "none of the better teams (you had 3, just in the AFC), really want to see the underdog Steelers coming to play, as the Steelers might just win a one game playoff due to a potent (but sadly very inconsistent) offense."

At least that's how I read it...

[lifelongsteel]

Lifelong, I think it's the reading thing - I mean this topic is at two pages. Very hard to consume all that. Hopefully not the logic thing!

If I can hopefully restate your premise correctly, prior to this derailment: "none of the better teams (you had 3, just in the AFC), really want to see the underdog Steelers coming to play, as the Steelers might just win a one game playoff due to a potent (but sadly very inconsistent) offense."

At least that's how I read it...

Thank you Cliff Note.

[bradshaw2ben]

Here's crazy for you: The Steelers could lose this weekend and lose one of their following two games... and still get in.

Essentially, two more wins of any kind-- chances are decent. Win ATL and KC, chances good. Win the two AFC games, very good. Win all three, perfect.

[jeemie]

Did you see that Pats/Packers game two weeks ago?

We are not in their class.

We might challenge Seattle because the patient small ball offense is the way to go against them, but we would need someone who could be physical with their DBs. So I'd rank Seattle ahead of us.

Of course. I ranked the Steelers fourth in the AFC. 955876 thought that was too high. I asked him who he would put ahead of us.

Not sure why this has turned into "The packers and seahawks are better than us".

I based it off this:

Best back in league + best play action QB in the league + best route runner in the league + 1 hell of a deep threat = no one wants to play this team in the playoffs.

I know these are AFC rankings, but playoffs include the Super Bowl.

The Pats are also better than us.

And the only reason I would give us a shot against the Broncos is because Peyton in winter sucks (although Pittsburgh is often colder than Denver in the winter).

[lifelongsteel]

Got it Jeems. Time permitting* I'll amend to say that "no defensive coordinator wants to see us in the playoffs".

*Time will not permit

[SteelBull]

Hahahaha - yes, time will not permit. Great point.

That and we're out of challenges because the Potted Plant. Oh wait, never mind.

[Legacy User]

the good in 14..we can beat anyone if we play great on offense and just ok on defense..
the bad in 14.. we can lose to any scrub team in nfl on any sunday..

im hoping for a hot streak -roll of games like 05 cept our offense carries us to promisd land..