Week 11 NFL Power Rankings: Does the Palmer loss drop the Cardinals?

Another week has come and gone this year, and we're slowly creeping towards the playoffs. Our own Cardinals sit 8-1 in the league, their best start since 1948. However, that does not mean the Cardinals are tops in the league. Instead, that position goes to the:

1) New England Patriots (7-2)

They had their bye week, but after thrashing the Broncos, they claimed the #1 seed in the AFC , and I don't see them letting go. The Patriots travel to Indianapolis next week, which is never an easy place to play. A loss there puts their claim for the #1 seed at risk, which the Broncos will be hoping for.

2) Arizona Cardinals (8-1)

The #1 seed in the NFC just lost their starting quarterback. That means Drew Stanton will come in and try to replicate the winning success he had earlier in the season, going 2-1 in three games. His only loss came to the Denver Broncos, in which he entered the fourth quarter down three and driving, before suffering a concussion, and the team meltdown afterwards. Bruce Arians, and Stanton's teammates have the utmost respect for Stanton and believe in him as a player, so time will tell if he can get it done.

3) Denver Broncos (7-2)

The Broncos followed their thrashing from the Patriots with a thrashing of the Raiders. The Raiders played well early on, but after their defense allowed a big touchdown to Manning, it was all Broncos from there on out. The Raiders are no slump. Their record indicates it, and people bash them, but you watch those guys play and you can see that they just cannot finish out games and are subject to bad luck. The Broncos travel to St. Louis next, and we all know that the Rams are no slouch either.

4) Detroit Lions (7-2)

The Lions boast the top defense in the league, and it's easy to see why. Their front seven is playing some lights out football, which helps their back end. Offensively, you could see some problems with them while Calvin Johnson was out, but it was not the doom and gloom so many predicted. He's back now after missing five weeks, and he lit up the Dolphins, 7 catches for 113 yards and a score.

5) Philadelphia Eagles (7-2)

Wow. Mark Sanchez folks. The Eagles just clobbered the Panthers, who many people thought was going to be one of the top teams this season. Clearly that is no longer the case. The Eagles now sit in control of the NFC East, a game up on the Dallas Cowboys. We will see if Sanchez can maintain the roll the team is on, but as of right now, they are sitting pretty at number five.

6)  Green Bay Packers
7) Indianapolis Colts
8) Dallas Cowboys
9) Seattle Seahawks
10) Cleveland Browns
11) Baltimore Ravens
12) Kansas City Chiefs
13) San Francisco 49ers
14) Cincinnati Bengals
15) Miami Dolphins
16) Pittsburgh Steelers
17) Buffalo Bills
18) San Diego Chargers
19) New Orleans Rams
20) St. Louis Rams
21) Minnesota Vikings
22) Houston Texans
23) Atlanta Falcons
24) New York Giants
25) Carolina Panthers
26) Tenessee Titans
27) New York Jets
28) Washington Redskins
29) Chicago Bears
30) Oakland Raiders
31) Jacksonville Jaguars
32) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Thoughts? I know some people look at the Raiders at 0-9, but honestly they're a tough team. I don't see them as bad as their record shows.