NFL Power Rankings: 2008 Week 15 Edition
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The Tennessee Titans and New York Giants flip-flopped -- just barely -- the top two perches in the latest installment of ESPN.com's NFL Power Rankings.
The Titans, who destroyed the Cleveland Browns in Week 14, won the top berth by one point. Apparently, our team of experts thought the Giants played fairly well in their home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, considering the game came in the wake of the Plaxico Burress controversy.
The Titans' reign atop the rankings will be tested with an interesting Week 15 visit to the resurgent Houston Texans, who rank No. 22 in this poll. The Giants will visit the No. 8 Dallas Cowboys, which in most recent seasons would be the clear-cut game of the week.
The most intriguing Week 15 matchup is the AFC North showdown between the No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers and the No. 7 Baltimore Ravens. With a victory before the home folks, the Ravens could forge a virtual tie for first in the division and split the season series with the Steelers. In Week 14, the Ravens dominated the Washington Redskins 24-10 and the Steelers escaped with a last-minute, 20-13 victory over the Cowboys.
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The Carolina Panthers, who routed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-23 on ESPN's "Monday Night Football", are the No. 4 team this week. The Indianapolis Colts, winners of six in a row, round out the top 5.
The Miami Dolphins' 16-3 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Toronto made them the big climbers in the latest rankings. The Dolphins moved up four spots to No. 12 overall. Other movers this week include the Ravens (from No. 10 to No. 7), the NFC West champion Arizona Cardinals (from No. 12 to No. 9) and the resurgent Eagles (from No. 17 to No. 14).
The New York Jets remain in first place in the AFC East. Still, the Jets' loss to the host San Francisco 49ers made them the poll's biggest losers. Coach Eric Mangini's team tumbled six places to No. 13 overall, far removed from the No. 3 ranking they enjoyed just two weeks ago. The Redskins' loss to the Ravens cost them five spots (from No. 13 to No. 18 overall).
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(Editor's note: LW indicates each team's ranking last week.)
| 2008 Power Rankings: Week 15 | ||||
| RK (LW) | TEAM | REC | COMMENT | |
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1 (2) | Titans | 12-1-0 | They outscored the Lions and the Browns in the past two weeks by a cumulative score of 75-19. (PK) |
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2 (1) | Giants | 11-2-0 | Tom Coughlin is great in these situations. Domenik Hixon will bounce back with big game against the Cowboys. (MM) |
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3 (3) | Steelers | 10-3-0 | The Steelers are 16-5 in December games since 2004. That's why they're perennial threats come January. (JW) |
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4 (5) | Panthers | 10-3-0 | The Panthers' Monday night victory over Tampa Bay was huge for their NFC South title chances. The Panthers have a difficult schedule remaining, but also have the incentive of running the table to perhaps earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC. (PY) |
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5 (6) | Colts | 9-4-0 | The Colts should remain in blowout mode for the next two weeks. (PK) |
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6 (4) | Buccaneers | 9-4-0 | The loss to Carolina knocked the Bucs out of first place in the division and exposed their defensive flaws. Even a loss to Atlanta keeps the Bucs in the race because they finish with home games against San Diego and Oakland. (PY) |
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7 (10) | Ravens | 9-4-0 | The Ravens aren't asking for respect. As winners of seven of eight, they're taking it. (JW) |
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8 (8) | Cowboys | 8-5-0 | The defense was great, but the collapse could cause a hangover. Tony Romo wasn't himself. He needs to have a strong game against the Giants. (MM) |
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9 (12) | Cardinals | 8-5-0 | The Cardinals are in position to pass the Vikings for the third seed in NFC. (MS) |
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10 (11) | Patriots | 8-5-0 | The Patriots don't control their own destiny, but as long as they keep winning they have a shot at the playoffs. (TG) |
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11 (9) | Falcons | 8-5-0 | The loss to New Orleans hurts, but the Falcons still have a very real chance to get to 10-6. (PY) |
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12 (16) | Dolphins | 8-5-0 | The Dolphins keep winning the games they're supposed to -- not beautifully, but they're winning. (TG) |
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13 (7) | Jets | 8-5-0 | They still control their destiny, but not as sure-handedly as two weeks ago. (TG) |
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14 (17) | Eagles | 7-5-1 | They're back in the thick of things after a huge win over the Giants. This team is scary. (MM) |
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15 (15) | Vikings | 8-5-0 | The Vikings could clinch the division title as early as this weekend at Arizona. (KS) |
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16 (14) | Broncos | 8-5-0 | Are the up-and-down Broncos finally showing consistency as they close in on the AFC West crown? (BW) |
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17 (18) | Saints | 7-6-0 | Once again, the Saints are still alive. They played perhaps their best game of the season against Atlanta. But their only real chance at a playoff spot is to run the table at Chicago, at Detroit and home with Carolina. (PY) |
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18 (13) | Redskins | 7-6-0 | The dream is over. This team's in a huge slump and it has too much ground to make up. (MM) |
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19 (19) | Bears | 7-6-0 | The Bears will play in a quick turnaround game Thursday night, but it's against a New Orleans team that struggles away from the Superdome. (KS) |
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20 (22) | Texans | 6-7-0 | The Texans are coming off of what felt like a landmark win at Lambeau Field. (PK) |
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21 (23) | Chargers | 5-8-0 | The Chargers are coming off of their best win of the season. Is it too late? (BW) |
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22 (21) | Bills | 6-7-0 | They're a lot closer to Lions-caliber than they are Giants-caliber. (TG) |
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23 (20) | Packers | 5-8-0 | Will the defending NFC North champs win again this year? (KS) |
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24 (25) | 49ers | 5-8-0 | The Niners are wondering what might have been with Shaun Hill starting all season. (MS) |
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25 (24) | Jaguars | 4-9-0 | Even Jack Del Rio is calling the offense inept. (PK) |
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26 (26) | Browns | 4-9-0 | The Romeo Crennel job watch starts in three weeks. (JW) |
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27 (27) | Chiefs | 2-11-0 | The Chiefs are doing everything but closing out games with victories. (BW) |
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28 (29) | Seahawks | 2-11-0 | Trip to St. Louis gives Seahawks chance to snap skid. (MS) |
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29 (28) | Raiders | 3-10-0 | Can the Raiders spoil Randy Moss' return to Oakland? If they do, it'll be a bright spot in another bleak season. (BW) |
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30 (30) | Rams | 2-11-0 | How bad are the Rams? Even Josh Brown and Steven Jackson faltered Sunday. (MS) |
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31 (31) | Bengals | 1-11-1 | There is no fight left in these Bengals. They've been outscored 69-6 the past two games. (JW) |
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32 (32) | Lions | 0-13-0 | If you want to play quarterback for the Lions this week, just give 'em a call. They're running out. (KS) |
| Glossary |
| TG - Tim Graham (AFC East); JW - James Walker (AFC North); PK - Paul Kuharsky (AFC South); BW - Bill Williamson (AFC West); MM - Matt Mosley (NFC East); KS - Kevin Seifert (NFC North); PY - Pat Yasinskas (NFC South); MS - Mike Sando (NFC West) |
