BetUS NFL Week 14 Rankings

The pretenders have been separated from the contenders, as teams such as the Panthers, Bengals and Seahawks clearly established themselves as postseason-bound. For teams such as Dallas, Pittsburgh and Atlanta? They have their backs against the wall and must win in Week 14.

Arizona and Miami were the biggest gainers, mainly because of several teams playing poorly in Week 13. Meanwhile, Buffalo, Atlanta and Pittsburgh dropped the most spots. There was even some shuffling near the top, but you are smart enough to know it didn’t involve the Colts.

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Rank   (LW)                           Team & Reason

32        (32)                              Houston Texans

They keep finding ways to lose and making it easy on the BetUS Staff to keep them in last place.

31        (31)                              New York Jets

Right in the Reggie Bush sweepstakes, now is not the time for the Jets to start putting the wins together. Then again, they couldn’t if they tried.

30        (30)                              San Francisco 49ers

Mike Nolan’s boys look tired and weary. The offseason is still a month away, but they’ve already mentally checked out. Meanwhile, Maurice Hicks is starting to look like their future at running back.

29        (29)                              Green Bay Packers

Mike Sherman takes a lot of flack, but we will say that his team battles hard game in and game out. Green Bay had a legitimate chance at beating the Bears in Chicago. All they needed was Brett Favre to come through in the clutch and it didn’t happen.

28        (28)                              Tennessee Titans

They took a bad beating at the hands of the best team in the league. Someone please tell Steve McNair to retire or at least call it quits for the season. Until they get a decent offensive line, this guy will continue to get the crap kicked out of him every week. It’s too sad to watch.

27        (26)                              Baltimore Ravens

Yes, they won. But it was against the worst team in football. Baltimore couldn’t get anything going versus a Houston squad that was eliminated from contention before Week 1’s coin toss. They should be ashamed of themselves. Ray Lewis or not- Brian Billick does not deserve to be a head coach right now.

26        (27)                              Cleveland Browns

Browns fans had 30 minutes of bliss last week, as Charlie Frye hooked up with Braylan Edwards a couple of times. All was gold until Edwards went down for the season the and Jaguars came roaring back. Still, Frye showed what Browns fans knew all along; he had to be better than Trent Dilfer! 

25        (25)                              New Orleans Saints

A good effort against a desperate team, but just not enough execution on offense. We know Jim Haslett won’t be back as head coach, but what about Aaron Brooks? Maybe this team should be trying to land Leinart.

24        (23)                              Detroit Lions

Dick Jauron’s choice to go back to Jeff Garcia did not go over well with President Matt Millen. Maybe that’s why he chose Garcia over Harrington, as we all know that Millen’s choices have not been wise. As George Costanza knew to do: stick to the opposite!  

23        (20)                              Buffalo Bills

Wow, did anyone think this would happen? Buffalo has officially bottomed out. Ok, so they’re not last on this list, but it’s close enough. Somewhere Warren Moon is smiling a little about that incredible Miami comeback against the Bills in Week 13. Now they are suspending Moulds? Turmoil abounds in Orchard Park.

22        (21)                              St. Louis Rams

We really did not expect St. Louis to lay an egg at home. But that’s what happens when you have a rookie quarterback. It’s never a good idea to get too high after a high, particularly when the defense is really, really bad.

21        (19)                              Oakland Raiders

Kerry Collins has been benched. Shocker. Talk about the crystal ball prediction that we all knew. In any event, nothing is working out this season for the Raiders, further justifying the notion that Norv Turner is no more than a solid offensive coordinator.

20        (24)                              Arizona Cardinals

One of these days the Cardinals are going to get some production out of JJ Arrington and the running game. Then they’ll really have something going offensively. For now, they’re just one-dimensional, as Warner throws up over 300 yards with no short yardage help. But the Arizona story is always one of imbalance, where either defense or offense is the problem from year to year.

19        (17)                              Philadelphia Eagles

It was ugly, absolutely ugly on Monday night. Andy Reid saw another pro bowl player in Brian Westbrook go down for the season. And I don’t care if Koy Detmer is only the third string quarterback, he is not an NFL caliber player. Reid has to seriously question is offensive depth. But somehow we see them bouncing back in 2006.

18        (22)                              Miami Dolphins

So Sage Rosenfels brings them back for an amazing victory in the fourth quarter at home and the Dolphins go back to Gus Frerotte? Am I missing something here? Did Nick Saban realize the team had too many wins and was all of a sudden not going to get a good draft pick?

17        (18)                              Washington Redskins

A very nice win in St. Louis on Sunday. It’s too bad they couldn’t play a full 60 minutes in their last few losses. What a shame to be 6-6 and know that you should be 8-4. This team lives and dies with their defense and it’s LaVar and company that will have to be brilliant from here on in.

16        (13)                              Atlanta Falcons

A devastating loss to a divisional opponent has put the Falcons on the outside looking in. They’ll have to win out in order to have a good shot at the postseason. Michael Vick has been the biggest disappointment of the season. He’s been ok, but he was expected to be unbelievable.

15        (16)                              Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings only needed to play one solid half against the Lions. Nevertheless, BetUS must finally move them up into the top 15 on this list.

14        (15)                              New England Patriots

Shhh….Don’t look now but the Pats are starting to get healthy. This is usually their month, so let’s see how good they look over the next two weeks. I pity their first round opponent.

13        (14)                              Kansas City Chiefs

Dick Vermeil can be proud of his team after beating Denver and moving to within one game of the division lead. However, they must tighten up on defense in order to really contend.

12        (12)                              Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Chris Simms is up and down, but that’s to be expected out of a rookie QB. Defensively, the Bucs are as good as anyone. As long as Monte Kiffen remains in charge of stopping the opposition, this team has a chance of contending.

11        (8)                                Pittsburgh Steelers

Ok. Now it’s getting serious. This week’s game against the Bears is the season. If they lose then they are pretty much done in terms of playoff hopes. Whether his thumb is broken or not, Ben Roethlisberger is not the problem. It’s their once iron curtain defense that now more closely resembles a hole-filled piece of swiss cheese. Memo to Dick LeBeau: Work your magic and magic and stop the bleeding.

10        (9)                                Dallas Cowboys

It was close, but it wasn’t enough. The Cowboys just aren’t doing the things they need to do offensively to play with the big boys. Memo to Tuna: Get back to establishing the run and playing to Bledsoe’s strengths or it’ll be a long offseason.

9          (11)                              Jacksonville Jaguars

Once again they did just enough to win versus Cleveland. We’d like to see whether or not the Jags will elevate their game for the Colts this weekend. We should know by Sunday night if Jacksonville is for real.  

8          (10)                              San Diego Chargers

It was just another impressive Charger win in Week 13. As good as San Diego is right now, they just can’t afford one slip up. However, it shouldn’t happen this week against Miami. The only thing the Chargers need to improve on is their aerial attack. Drew Brees is not a cause for concern yet, but he been a little Harrington lately (our new expression for sub par efforts).

7          (6)                                Chicago Bears

Winning ugly is their mantra, but winning ugly against the Packers? Kyle Orton should ride the pine when Grossman is ready, as their offensive couldn’t look any worse. As long as Grossman doesn’t turn the ball over, he could only help them score more points.

6         (7)                                  Cincinnati Bengals

Holy James Brooks! The Bengals are back in the playoffs people! Believe it. Regardless of their shaky defense, Cincinnati is for real ladies and gentlemen. BetUS strongly believes that the Bengals could be the only team who could take Indy down if they are still undefeated come playoff time.

5          (5)                                New York Giants

Way to go Giants! They won a meaningful December game, staving off a Tom Coughlin freak out for another week. New York must refine their offense in the final few games if they want to keep up with the teams ahead of them on this list.

4          (2)                                Denver Broncos

Another tough road loss and another Jake Plummer costly turnover. Denver has some weak opponents over the next few weeks, a perfect time to get back to what made them the talk of the league a couple of weeks ago.

3          (4)                                Seattle Seahawks

An impressive performance in cold weather on the road and in a hostile environment. Then again, they were facing Division II- caliber quarterbacking talent. Still, Seattle showed they have the secondary and the running game to hang with anyone.

2          (3)                                Carolina Panthers

Now that was a performance worthy of the number two spot on the rankings. Could Steve Smith be a candidate for MVP? Probably not, but where would this team be without him? Carolina is primed for a deep playoff run- provided they continue to give the ball to DeShaun Foster.

1          (1)                                Indianapolis Colts

A very big test for this team in Jacksonville. But, as long as they continue to stick to the gameplan, it should go according to plan for Dungy and the boys. Still, the Jags really get up for the Colts, so it should be a dandy.