After some Thanksgiving Day blowouts and a great set of Sunday games, it's time for the NFL Power Rankings once again. Without further ado, here they are:


The Top 10

1: With their 2nd win over the division rival Redskins, the Giants have a chance to clinch the division with a win against the Eagles. It's as simple as that. A Cowboys loss would also clinch it for them.

2: The Titans can also clinch a playoff spot on Sunday. If they can beat the Browns, then they win the AFC South. That's a pretty likely scenario, as the Titans are huge favorites at home.

3: Amid rumors that their defensive coordinator is heading to Tennessee, the Bucs keep on rolling. 4 straight wins now, and the division is theirs for the taking if they can win next week at Carolina on Monday night.

4. They crushed the Patriots, and brought Matt Cassel down to Earth pretty hard. Their defense is the best in the league, and their offense is just good enough to keep them in it.

5. After struggling mightily in his absence, the Cowboys are now 7-1 on the season when Tony Romo has been healthy and on the field. He's their difference maker, and as long as he's playing well, they have a chance to win.

6. I can't emphasize this enough: Matt Ryan is a winner. He did it at Boston College, and he's doing it in Atlanta. This time it was a road win against the Chargers, and this team is squarely in the playoff picture after 4-12 last year.

7. The Panthers won a solid game against the Packers, and scored 35 points on the road. DeAngelo Williams had a monster game (4 TD's), and Mark Jones was huge on special teams with 155 kick return yards.

8. Their still-solid defense and rejuvenated offense will continue to win games down the stretch. Joe Flacco is going to be an excellent NFL quarterback once he gets a little more experience.

9. Their offense seemed to disappear again in Cleveland, but the defense was dominant, allowing them to squeak away with another win. Their division chances are gone, but they're the favorites for the first wild card spot.

10. Right now, they're the best team in the AFC East, but that's like winning the gold medal in the Special Olympics. The Dolphins were the only team in the division to win last week, and it was a close one over the Rams.


The Bottom 5

28. Somewhere, Shaun Alexander is laughing, but not laughing too hard, because he's unemployed. How did a team go from being as consistently good as the Seahawks have been, to THIS bad?

29. Jim Haslett needs at least 2 more wins to preserve his job. The 49ers and Seahawks (both at home) just may give him that chance, although no one would be shocked to see the Rams lose out, either.

30. If it weren't for their week 17 matchup with the Bengals, their 20-13 win over the Raiders could have been one of the ugliest games of the year. I refuse to boost them too much just for beating Oakland.

30. When Tyler Thigpen is engineering game winning drives against you, something is wrong. Unless, of course, you're the Raiders. Then, it's pretty much par for the course.

31. 1-10-1. It's a beautifully symmetrical record, as long as you're not a Bengals fan. Then, I can understand why it could feel a bit ugly. They'll finish with 13 or 14 losses.

32. 0-16 WATCH: Remaining games include the Vikings, @ the Colts, the Saints and @ the Packers. Those are 4 very losable games, although the Saints worry me, since they're all but eliminated already.


As always, your feedback is more than welcomed. Let me have it.