1. Houston Texans (9-1) Last week: 1 The Texans received all they could handle from the Jaguars in last Sunday’s 43-37 overtime win. Houston’s defense could have been much better, but they have the high-powered offense to pick up the slack for when Wade Phillips’ unit has an off-day. 2. Atlanta Falcons (9-1) Last week: 2 Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has 12 interceptions on the season, eight of which have come in (closer than they should have been) wins over the Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals. As the Falcons attempt to position themselves to win their first playoff game of the otherwise wildly successful Thomas Dimitroff/Mike Smith Era, it has to be concerning that Ryan is capable of truly horrific games, at home, against inferior opponents. 3. New England Patriots (7-3) Last week: 6 Losing Rob Gronkowski for perhaps the remainder of the regular season undoubtedly hurts, but the Patriots are fully capable of adapting and should get Aaron Hernandez back for the stretch run . With Tom Brady at quarterback, New England’s offense will be fine and they’ll get Gronk back in January. 4. San Francisco 49ers (7-2-1) Last week: 7 Colin Kaepernick’s incredible performance against the Bears on Monday night has created a quarterback controversy for Jim Harbaugh, but there’s no denying how good this team is right now, regardless of who’s under center. According to Football Outsiders, the 49ers are No. 1 in team DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) with Top 6 rankings in both offense (2) and defense (6). 5. Denver Broncos (7-3) Last week: 4 Losing Willis McGahee for the remainder of the season to a torn MCL in his right knee will hurt, but this offense has run through Peyton Manning and will continue to do so. Denver’s offense and defense currently rank in the Top 5 in Football Outsiders’ offensive and defensive DVOA rankings.
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Week 12 NFL Power Rankings: Texans remain in the top spot (Shutdown Corner)
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