Well folks, this is it. The NFL regular season has come and gone and with that, so have the weekly power rankings. Three divisions have yet to be claimed in the NFL, with the Saints gaining yet another NFC South title after their victory over the Falcons on Monday.
The Christmas Eve games were a load of fun and have set up plenty of interesting story lines heading into the final week of the regular season. Let's take a look at the power rankings for one last time this season. Remember, LW = last week's ranking.
1. Green Bay Packers (14-1) (LW: 1): With another win under their belts, the Packers have officially been granted home field advantage all the way until the Super Bowl (if they make it there). Aaron Rodgers passed for five total TD's against the Bears, marking a career high.
2. New Orleans Saints (12-3) (LW: 2): The Saints clinched the NFC South and Drew Brees clinched the single season passing record, beating out Dan Marino's record by three yards. The only difference is that Drew did it in 15 games.
3. New England Patriots (12-3) (LW: 3): The Pats trailed for most of the game against the Dolphins, trailing 17-0 at the half. Tom Brady caught fire in the second half and rushed for two touchdowns himself and the Patriots have now clinched a first round bye in the AFC.
4. San Francisco 49ers (12-3) (LW: 4): The 49ers are another team that is battling for the bye. Lately, their offense has been stalling and their defense finally gave up their first rushing TD of the season, but they should still be a tough out in the postseason.
5. Baltimore Ravens (11-4) (LW: 5): Baltimore is still battling for the AFC North, but they do hold the tie breaker with Pittsburgh and have a good chance of winning in Cincinnati next week.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-4) (LW: 6): If Big Ben can play and be somewhat mobile in the playoffs, this team can do damage in the AFC once again. If not...
7. Detroit Lions (10-5) (LW: 12): I've got to give it to the Lions. They started the season at 6-0 and then started sliding, especially once they lost Jahvid Best to injury. Despite their youth, they battled back and have clinch berth in the playoffs. Kudos to them.
8. Atlanta Falcons (9-6) (LW: 8): Even though they were blown out by the Saints, it's hard to discredit Atlanta. They might even get a third shot at New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs.
9. Cincinnati Bengals (9-6) (LW: 15): The Bengals almost melted under the pressure against the Cardinals, but with such a young team led by a rookie at QB, that's not something to get alarmed over. They still have a great shot at making the playoffs, but they may not get past their first opponent.
10. New York Giants (8-7) (LW: 18): With all of the injuries that plagued this team at the beginning of the season and the entrance of the new 'Dream Team' Eagles, not a lot of people thought they'd be seeing them playing for their playoff lives in the final week of the season.
11. Philadelphia Eagles (7-8) (LW: 16): The Eagles knew near the beginning of the game that they had nothing to play for, but they went out in a classy manner. Michael Vick threw three TD passes and the defense almost shut out the Romo-less Cowboys.
12. Denver Broncos (8-7) (LW: 10): Tim Tebow has pretty much been revealed as the awful passer that he is. I would bet that Elway will look to make a change at the position in the offseason.
13. Dallas Cowboys (8-7) (LW: 13): Dallas goes nowhere because they had Stephen McGee playing under center against Philly. His hand appears to be a non-issue, but if it is, the ground game will no be able to pick up the slack against the Giants and they could find themselves out of the playoff picture.
14. San Diego Chargers (7-8) (LW: 9): The Bolts came so close to making yet another late season surge to push themselves into the playoffs, but it just wasn't their year. Norv Turner can kiss his job goodbye.
15. Seattle Seahawks (7-8) (LW: 14): Seattle was another team that made a late push for a chance at the playoffs, but to no avail. Re-signing Marshawn Lynch in the offseason is priority number one.
16. Arizona Cardinals (7-8) (LW: 7): So I will admit that I probably had the Cards too high last week (a tad bit of homerism), but I feel they are justified at this position. They play like garbage over and over for the beginning of games, but they stick with it and somehow always keep fans interested until the end.
17. Houston Texans (10-5) (LW:11): Houston has impressed this year, but it is hard to imagine them doing anything at all in the playoffs with T.J. Yates manning the quarterback position.
18. Carolina Panthers (6-9) (LW: 20): Cam Newton is your hands down winner of the offensive rookie of the year award. It would be asinine to give it to someone else.
19. New York Jets (8-7) (LW: 17): After losing the battle of the big city, the Jets find themselves on the outside looking in. Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez might not be able to coexist any longer.
20. Oakland Raiders (8-7) (LW: 24): If the Broncos are defeated by Kyle Orton and the Chiefs and the Raiders can manage to beat the Bolts, they are in the playoffs. What a way to honor the late Al Davis. Just win, baby.
21. Tennessee Titans (8-7) (LW: 22): After an embarrassing loss to the Colts, the Titans came out and barely managed to beat the Jaguars. Chris Johnson continues to show that he has a pulse and Matt Hasselbeck has become the perfect stopgap for Jake Locker.
22. Washington Redskins (5-10) (LW: 19): I continue to hold my stance that the Redskins with a decent quarterback would not be a half bad team. They could also use a top flight receiver, but that's for another day.
23. Miami Dolphins (5-10) (LW: 21): Could Matt Moore actually retain his starting quarterback job next season? Where does the future of Chad Henne stand? Can Reggie Bush truly be your every down back? There are so many questions that need to be answered by the Dolphins this summer.
24. Buffalo Bills (6-9) (LW: 28): The Bills finally exposed Tim Tebow for the awful QB he is. Finally, they get to do what every other team has been doing to their quarterback.
25. Kansas City Chiefs (6-9) (LW: 23): Do you think Kyle Orton holds a little bit of resent towards the Broncos for putting Tebow ahead of him on the depth chart? He'll get his chance to show them why that was a mistake this Sunday. His play could singlehandedly keep the Broncos out of the playoffs. The Chiefs will need to make a decision on Dwayne Bowe in the offseason too.
26. Chicago Bears (7-8) (LW: 25): Was Josh McCown actually kind of... dare I say, good? I mean yeah, he threw two interceptions, but imagine if he had been playing instead of Caleb Hanie all this time. I'll bet the bears would be eyeing a wildcard spot. They have a huge decision to make with Matt Forte.
27. Minnesota Vikings (3-12) (LW: 29): Christian Ponder was concussed and Adrian Peterson tore his ACL/MCL, but hey, at least the Vikes won the game, right?
28. Cleveland Browns (4-11) (LW: 26): Here's another team that has a QB related decision to make this summer. Should they stick with Colt McCoy?
29. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-11) (LW: 27): Maurice Jones-Drew has rushed for a career-high 1,437 yards this season. That's the good news. The bad news is that Blaine Gabbert didn't really look all too good. He still has plenty of time to turn it around, though.
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-11) (LW: 30): Bye, Raheem. It's amazing how much regression this team showed in 2011.
31. Indianapolis Colts (2-13) (LW: 31): Two in a row for the Colts!?! What in the world is going on here? They better be careful, though. They may lose Andrew Luck to the Rams if they keep on winning.
32. St. Louis Rams (2-13) (LW: 32): As a Cardinals guy, you have no idea how much joy it gives me to put the team that was projected to win the division at the bottom of the power rankings. See you all next year.