NFL Power Rankings: Cardinals Win Overtime Thriller, Chargers Bounce Back

In week 13, we saw two NFC teams clinch their respective divisions, while other teams -- namely the Raiders and the Cowboys -- gave their opponents the chance to get back in the race. The wild card races, too, are becoming less and less of a certain thing. The Bears and Falcons both lost their quite winnable games, putting the extra playoff spots up for grabs.

Let's take a look at the power rankings moving into week 14. Remember, LW = last week's ranking.

1. Green Bay Packers (12-0) (LW: 1): The Pack almost suffered their first loss of the year against the Giants on Sunday, but Aaron Rodgers was able to pull off a stunning late game drive. It looks as if they'll go through the season unscathed this year.

2. New Orleans Saints (9-3) (LW: 2): Although they allowed over 400 yards passing to the one-dimensional Lions, the Saints' offense was able to carry them to victory. Drew Brees became the first QB ever to pass the 4,000 passing yard mark through 12 games.

3. New England Patriots (9-3) (LW: 3): After leading the Colts by a score of 31-3, the game finished up with three unanswered Indy touchdowns. Their defense is still atrocious and they could be a quick out in the playoffs.

4. Baltimore Ravens (9-3) (LW: 4): Ray Rice rushed for a career high 204 yards to help the Ravens maintain pole position in the AFC North. They should get Ray Lewis back from injury soon too, which should help.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) (LW: 4): The Steelers were able to absolutely route the Bengals to keep on par with the Ravens. Unfortunately for them, they have to turn around and play again on Thursday night against the Browns.

6. San Francisco 49ers (10-2) (LW: 6): It's hard to move the 49ers anywhere given the lack of talent they went up against in the Rams. Frank Gore became the franchise rushing leader, so kudos to him for that. Also, the 49ers clinched the NFC West with that victory. Patrick Willis may be missing a few games with a hamstring injury.

7. Houston Texans (9-3) (LW: 7): The Texans won with a rookie quarterback named T.J. Yates. Yep, that says what we needed to hear about the Atlanta Falcons. The bad news for the Texans is that Andre Johnson now injured his left hamstring after returning from a right hamstring injury.

8. Denver Broncos (7-5) (LW: 13): Moving the Broncos up this far on the rankings chart wasn't easy to do, but that's what happens when every team in the 8-12 slots from last week lost their game in week 13. Tim Tebow just keeps on rolling.

9. New York Jets (7-5) (LW: 14): The Jets continue to stay alive in the AFC, hoping for a playoff berth. Shonne Greene had one of his better games of the year, rushing for three touchdowns against the Redskins.

10. Dallas Cowboys (7-5) (LW: 9): The Cowboys probably would have won on a field goal in the fourth quarter if it weren't for Jason Garrett icing his own kicker. From that, they went on to lose on a 52 yard screen pass in overtime. They still lead the NFC East, but they also still have to play the Giants twice this season.

11. Tennessee Titans (7-5) (LW: 15): If Houston can start losing as they have been expected to do, Tennessee still has a shot at winning the AFC South. Chris Johnson looks revitalized and ready to carry his team like he has the past couple of years.

12. Cincinnati Bengals (7-5) (LW: 10): The Bengals watched their playoff dreams take a bit of a slip after getting manhandled by the Steelers. Andy Dalton showed that he is still a rookie and needs time to develop. That said, I still think they make the playoffs this year.

13. Oakland Raiders (7-5) (LW: 8): Oakland traded for Carson Palmer in the hopes that they could make the playoffs and possibly advance as soon as this season. But when you lose to the Dolphins in a 34-14 fashion, you may not even get that far. The Broncos have now taken the lead in the AFC West.

14. Atlanta Falcons (7-5) (LW: 11): Atlanta had a very winnable game against the Texans and a rookie QB, but they couldn't capitalize. They still would enter the playoffs as a wildcard if they started today, but their offense has some things to figure out if they want to keep that position when week 17 comes to a close.

15. Chicago Bears (7-5) (LW: 12): The Windy City is in disarray right now. Shortly after losing their franchise QB to a thumb injury, the Bears lost Matt Forte to an MCL sprain and he is expected to miss 2-4 weeks. Their playoff chances are also dwindling. Worst of all, they are the newest team to be part of the Brett Favre rumors. Ugh.

16. Arizona Cardinals (5-7) (LW: 19): The Cards are riding a wave of greatness right now, having won two straight and four of their last five games. They also won their second straight overtime game, both coming from botched field goals leading to 19-13 final scores. In fact, there were many odd things that came out of that victory.

17. Detroit Lions (7-5) (LW: 16): Ndamukong Suh sat out the first of his two game suspension, severely impairing the Lions ability to get pressure on Drew Brees. Their thin secondary keeps getting picked apart and collecting 11 penalties never helps either.

18. New York Giants (6-6) (LW: 17): The Giants gave the Packers their toughest game of the season and looked like a relatively good team after their collapse against the Saints just one week before. They still have to play Dallas twice and have an outside chance at making the postseason.

19. San Diego Chargers (5-7) (LW: 21): The Chargers' offense looked explosive against a bad Jaguars team on Monday night. Philip Rivers was accurate and his playmakers finally looked healthy and ready to go. Don't count this team out yet.

20. Seattle Seahawks (5-7) (LW: 23): Marshawn Lynch did it again... The 'Hawks also made Vince Young look absolutely terrible with his four interceptions. Get Skittles a new contract, Seattle.

21. Buffalo Bills (5-7) (LW: 18): Injuries have killed the Bills after such a fantastic start to their 2011 season. At least C.J. Spiller had the best game of his career against the Titans, rushing for 83 yards.

22. Miami Dolphins (4-8) (LW: 27): The 'Fins have been one of the better teams in the league over the past few games, winning four of their last five. Reggie Bush looks legit and Matt Moore serves as a great bridge to the QB of the future. The defense has been impeccable as well.

23. Philadelphia Eagles (4-8) (LW: 20): The good news: the Eagles expect to have Michael Vick back next week. The bad news: it hardly matters at this point. What a disappointing season for the dream team.

24. Carolina Panthers (4-8) (LW: 28): Cam Newton set the single-season record for rushing TDs by a quarterback, rushing for three to bring his total to 13 against the Bucs. With the return of their injured players and a few more good draft choices, this team may be on the track to something great.

25. Kansas City Chiefs (5-7) (LW: 29): Tyler Palko registered the first TD pass of his NFL career after replacing Kyle Orton, who injured his finger on his first play as a Chief. Oh, and the Chiefs won. Ya, it was a weird game.

26. Cleveland Browns (4-8) (LW: 22): The Browns were dominated by thee Ravens and they still have to play them once more this season. Also, they still have yet to play the Steelers. Cleveland can never catch a break.

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-8) (LW: 24): The Bucs were without Josh Freeman against the Panthers, but last time I checked, Freeman doesn't play defense. They have now lost six straight.

28. Washington Redskins (4-8) (LW: 25): Trent Williams and Fred Davis will miss the last four games of the season due to failed drug tests, but Roy Helu has really stepped up his game since the beginning of this season.

29. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-9) (LW: 26): Blaine Gabbert flinches every time he gets a little bit of pressure in his face. All of the offense runs through Maurice Jones-Drew. The defense is susceptible to the deep ball. Need I say more?

30. St. Louis Rams (2-10) (LW: 30): Another lousy loss by the Rams puts them into the doldrums of the NFC West and almost guarantees them a top three pick in 2012.

31. Minnesota Vikings (2-10) (LW: 31): Adrian Peterson should return next week, but in the meantime, Toby Gerhart looked like a stud against a pretty good Broncos defense. They gave up a late game victory, but then again, what team wouldn't have done the same against the almighty Tebow?

32. Indianapolis Colts (0-12) (LW: 32): The Colts managed to score 21 points in the fourth quarter under the direction of Dan Orlovsky. They are still going to go 0-16, though. I have no doubt in my mind.