Posted: 2 days ago
A few weeks ago, it appeared the NFC was loaded with power teams, several having the Super Bowl look.But as we head to the final week of the NFL season, warts have showed up on several of those teams.The New Orleans Saints suddenly have major defensive i sues.The San Francisco 49ers surprisingly do as well.The Seattle Seahawks lost at home against a big underdog in the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, and they've lost two of their last three games.The Green Bay Packers might be the team with the fewest i sues after their beatdown of the Minnesota Vikings. But, remember, they had i sues on the road at San Francisco and against the Chargers.All those teams still have a chance to be the top seed in the conference in the playoffs, and all are considered power teams.But that doesn't mean i sues haven't popped Elfrid Payton Jersey  up. Where the Baltimore Ravens, winners of 11 straight and the top seed in the AFC, have the look of a clear Super Bowl favorite in that conference, that's not the case in the NFC.The Ravens are the top team in my Power Rankings again this week and they will go into the playoffs that way because this week's game against the Steelers doesn't mean anything to them and they will rest players.The New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs look like true contenders in the AFC, but the Ravens are the clear favorite  a team with few warts.The NFC suddenly now has teams with i sues.Whichever of those teams can clean those up in the next few weeks will emerge as the team to beat in the conference. For now, we have a lot of teams with sparkling records, but i sues from the past month have us questioning them as we head to the postseason. Biggest Movers  4  Raiders  8  Jaguars RkTeams  ChgRcrd Bobby Portis Jersey  1  Ravens  Their mi sion is accomplished: It's time to rest guys this week after locking up the top seed.  --  0-0-0  2  Packers  Is there any doubt that they are an elite team. If their lines dominate like they did against the Vikings, they will be a tough out.  --  0-0-0  3  Chiefs  The way the defense has played the past month, they are a real threat again to win it all. We know the offense is good.  --  0-0-0  4  Patriots  Are the Patriots getting it going at the right time? The offense looked much better against the Bills, and that's a sign of progre s.  1  0-0-0  5  49ers  The defensive i sues we saw against the Rams have to be concerning. The Seahawks will certainly challenge that defense this week.  1  0-0-0  6  Saints  They won a tough game on the road against the Titans, but the defense struggled again. That's not a good trend heading to the playoffs.  1  0-0-0  7  Seahawks  They have a ton of injuries that showed up in a big way in the lo s to the Cardinals. Even so, if they beat the 49ers they win the division.  3  0-0-0  8  Vikings  The Packers mauled them Monday night at home. Now they will have to take the rough road in the playoffs as the sixth seed.  --  0-0-0  9  Bills  They showed in the lo s to the Patriots that they could be a tough out in the playoffs. The defense is legit.  - Myles Powell Jersey -  0-0-0  10  Texans  As division champs, they can still get the third seed, although unlikely. But they didn't look good beating Tampa Bay last week.  --  0-0-0  11  Steelers  They just aren't that good, even if they beat the Ravens this week and get into the playoffs. The quarterback situation is a me s.  --  0-0-0  12  Titans  They need to beat the Texans this week to earn a playoff spot. They have to play better than they did two weeks ago when they lost to them at home.  --  0-0-0  13  Eagles  Carson Wentz has been on a tear lately and has the Eagles one victory away from the playoffs. It won't be easy this week against the Giants, though.  1