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Jim Lang's Power Rankings: December 16, 2008

TW LW Team Our Take
1 3 Most teams would eventually be crushed by the pressure of enduring the toughest schedule in the NFL. Most teams would have wilted under the unrelenting physical assault unleashed upon them by Ray Lewis and the Ravens. Not the Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger completed 7 of his 22 passes during the Steelers 92 yard game winning drive in the fourth quarter. I am still not convinced that Santonio Holmes scored that touchdown. However, I am convinced the Steelers still would have punched it in from the one. Up next it's the Titans and a chance from Mike Tomlin's Steel Town Posse to lock up home field advantage in the AFC play-offs.
2 4 Seven straight wins and counting for the Colts. Over the course of their seven game winning streak, Peyton Manning has tossed 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions. The Colts will close out the season against the Jaguars this Thursday and then the Titans. A nine-game winning streak heading into the post-season is not out of the question for Tony Dungy's team. While Kerry Collins is a great story in Nashville, Manning is a great player. Nine times out of 10, the great player will beat the great story.
3 1 I will give Jeff Fisher all the credit in the world for owning up to his mistake. However, I still can't figure out why he didn't let Mister Automatic - Rod Bironas - to attempt what would have been the game winning field goal against the Texans? Kerry Collins had a bad game and now the Titans have to deal with two major injuries on defence. All world defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch will both be out of the Titans lineup for the last two weeks of the regular season. Losing Haynesworth is a major blow to the Titans as they prepare to face the Steelers and the Colts over the next two weeks. Now Fisher has to find a way to patch together his battered lineup in an attempt to hold on to home field advantage in the AFC playoffs.
4 5 Look no further than DeAngelo Williams to uncover the reasons that the Carolina Panthers are having such a huge season. Through the first sevens game this season, Williams had only scored two touchdowns. Over the course of the past seven games, Williams has scored a whopping 12 touchdowns. Now, John Fox and the Panthers will take their three game winning streak and their 11 and 3 record into the Meadowlands for the Mother of All Showdowns with the Giants. The winner of the game will grab the hammer for home field advantage in the NFC playoffs.
5 2 The once unbreakable, unflappable Giants have hit a major roadblock. In two short weeks, the Giants went from an 11 and 1 record to a two-game losing streak and the possibility of losing out home field advantage in the NFC playoffs to the Panthers. The real shocker in the Giants loss to the Cowboys was the sight of their offensive linemen screaming at the coaching staff on the sideline. That just didn't happen three weeks ago. The Plaxico Burress "thigh-gate" controversy has had a major impact on the Giants. Now the challenge for Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin is to stop the bleeding before it gets completely out of control. Up next, it's a showdown with the Panthers at the Meadowlands in the Sunday night game.
6 6 The Ravens have only lost two games in the AFC North. Both of those losses were against the Steelers. Ed Reed and Ray Lewis played their ass off but it still wasn't good enough to beat the Steelers. There were two reasons why the Ravens lost this game. First, rookie Joe Flacco couldn't figure out a way to get the Ravens offence into the end zone. Three field goals against the Steelers likely isn't going to get the job done. The other big reason was the Ravens defence allowed Big Ben and the Steelers to go on a 92 yard drive on what turned out to be the game winning touchdown. Flacco and the Ravens are in tough again this week as they travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys.
7 11 Playing football in Dallas is a beautiful thing. Why, I can even imagine Tony Romo, Jason Witten and Terrell Owens sitting around the Cowboys locker room hugging each other and singing Kumbaya after their big win over the Giants. Yeah, right. Look, I don't care if Witten and T.O. hate each other, just as long as they come to play on Sunday. The game ball wasn't handed out to anyone on the Cowboys offence. No, Jerry Jones and Wade Phillips proudly handed the game ball to defensive end DeMarcus Ware for his three sack performance against that first class Giants offensive line. Ware and the Cowboys defence sacked Eli Manning eight times. That's the kind of defence it takes to win in the playoffs. Whether or not the Cowboys end up in the post season is still to be determined.
8 9 Patriots - Anyone who doesn't believe in the "football gods" should have watched Matt Cassell in action against the Raiders this week. Five years ago, Brett Favre threw four touchdowns against the Raiders one day after his dad died. On Sunday, Cassell tossed four touchdowns against the Raiders four days after his dad had passed away. Even Bill Belichick was a little emotional as he hugged Cassell after the game. I am sorry, but that is a definite sign that the "football gods" were looking down on Cassell in his time of grief. The Pats close out the season at home against the Cardinals and on the road against the Bills. That means 11 and 5 is definitely within the Patriots grasp.
9 10 Look out because the Vikings are coming to get you. The Purple People eaters have won four straight and six of their last seven games. Assuming Visanthe Shiancoe kept his towel on and Fox wasn't filming the locker room; the Vikings had three, very worthy candidates, for game balls in their impressive win over the Cardinals. Adrian Peterson continues to tear up NFL defences and has all but locked up the league's rushing title. Bernard Berrian had a solid game scoring touchdowns both receiving and off of a punt return. Defensive End Jared Allen had another sick game. Playing with a bad shoulder and a bad knee, Allen had two sacks to give him 14 and half sacks on the year. Over the last three weeks Allen has six and a half sacks and is earning every penny of his big off season free agent contract. The Metrodome will sound like a squadron of fully loaded F-15 Strike Eagles on takeoff when the Vikings host the Falcons.
10 12 For my money, ESPN's Tom Jackson is the best NFL analyst on television. Jackson made a very interesting point in the Dolphins win over the 49ers. He noticed that while on paper it didn't look like the Dolphins had a great game, they still forced the 49ers to start all their drives deep in their own end. That's not the kind of football that wins any style points, but it is very effective in winning tight games. Chad Pennington was his usual economical but very effective self as he went 12 of 19 with two touchdowns. The same team that went 1 and 15 last year has now won three straight and four of their last five. Next week the Dolphins are on the road in KC then they're in the Meadowlands for a date with the Jets. Hard to believe, but the Dolphins still have a shot at winning the AFC East.
11 NR Can a rookie quarterback really win the MVP award in the NFL? I never would have thought it was possible until the Falcons Matt Ryan came along. Matty Ice might not win, but he deserves a ton of votes. Even though he tossed two interceptions against the Bucs, Ryan still had the jam to make some key plays and was smart enough to keep feeding the ball to running back Michael Turner on their game winning drive in over time. Ryan and the Dirty Birds will get an even tougher test this week when they face Jared Allen and the Vikings on the road in Minnesota. This will be the game where the entire NFL finds out what Matty Ice and the Falcons are really made of.
12 7 In two short weeks, the Bucs entire season took a dramatic turn for the worse. First they give up 299 yards rushing to the Panthers in their brutal loss to their division rivals. Then this past Sunday, Michael Turner and the Falcons burned the Bucs vaunted defence for another 175 yards on the ground. In the aftermath of the Bucs OT loss to Atlanta, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin officially announced he's leaving the team at the end of the season to join his son Lane at the University of Tennessee. Brian Griese did his best in place of the injured Jeff Garcia. The good news for Jon Gruden and the Bucs is that their next two games are at home against the Chargers and the Raiders. That has to be a good thing for Tampa. Doesn't it?