This year, we switched formats in our Power Rankings and stopped highlighting the “Dominant Dozen” meant to give extra importance to the top 12 teams in the league – the squads that would be most deserving of the 12 playoff spots in any given week.

 

But it’s a shame we can’t bring it back for the “Not-So-Dominant Dozen.” With five unbeaten teams, there’s excitement at the top … not so much at the bottom. Reading our always accurate list, there are an awful lot of solid teams in the lower end of top 20. The Pats and Jets are 12-13, the Dolphins sure looked great for a No. 17 team, and the defending champion Cardinals are no slouches at No. 20.

 

And then you have the Washington Redskins. The gap between the Cardinals – legitimate contenders – and Redskins – clearly pretty terrible – is Cumberland-sized. If the two teams were playing, you’d probably figure the Cards to win by 10-14 points.

 

The bottom 12 teams might as well separate from the NFL and play the rest of their games with the soon-to-fold UFL. By this point in the season, the bottom 10 or so are usually longshots to turn it around, but longshot doesn’t do these bums justice.

 

In good news, the Giants and Saints stayed 1-2, heading to their showdown Sunday that will settle once and for all who’s No. 1.

 

For this week, anyway …

 

1. N.Y. GIANTS (5-0). Last week: 44-7 win vs. Oakland. Against the Bucs, Chiefs and Raiders the past three weeks, the Giants have outgained the other guys 819-175 in the first half. That is as dominant as you can be in the NFL. Now if they can just figure out how to score in the red zone (29th, 33% TD rate).

 

2. NEW ORLEANS (4-0). Last week: bye. The Saints are putting up nearly the identical stat line this year that the Patriots did in 2007. Saints: 36 PPG, 16.1 PPGA, 6.2 YPP, 4.7 YPPA. Patriots: 36.8 PPG, 17.1 PPGA, 6.2 YPP, 4.9 YPPA.

 

3. INDIANAPOLIS (5-0). Last week: 31-9 win at Tennessee. Reggie Wayne is like Marvin Harrison without the gunplay and sullen silence, yet the guy gets no credit. Over his career, 48 percent of all passes targeted to  Wayne have gone for first downs. Compare that to the 40-42 percent numbers of Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Isaac Bruce, Larry Fitzgerald, Hines Ward and old teammate Harrison (42 percent), and maybe it’s time to start giving this guy some due as the greatest chain mover of his generation.

 

4. DENVER (5-0). Last week: 20-17 win vs. Patriots (OT). The Broncos have allowed 17 or fewer points in all five games this year. Over the previous two seasons, they allowed 17 or fewer only seven times in 32 tries. Bonus note: the Broncos had a similar defensive start in 2006, allowing just 7.3 PPG over their first six games. Why has that season been long forgotten? Because they lost six of their last 10 and allowed 26.1 PPG the rest of the way.

 

5. MINNESOTA (5-0). Last week: 38-10 win at St. Louis. With all due respect to Peter King’s time, effort and history as it regards the NFL, how in the name of BrettFavre could he consider the Vikings to be the No. 1 team in the league. The Saints, Colts and Giants have all been more dominant by any measurement, and the Vikings have played an extremely soft schedule (combined record: 7-17; one Quality Opponent). They are kings of the red zone, however, 2nd on offense (70.6 percent TDs) and 1st on defense (30.8 percent TDs allowed).

 

6. PHILADELPHIA (3-1). Last week: 33-14 win vs. Tampa Bay. The Eagles are at Oakland this week and Washington next week, but after that they close with eight of 10 against teams currently sporting winning records; five of those games against Quality Teams are on the road.

 

7. ATLANTA (3-1).  Last week: 45-10 win at San Francisco. Falcons QB Matt Ryan hasn’t been sacked since the early third quarter of the opener against Miami and, as a result, the Falcons trail only the Giants in negative pass plays on offense. Over his last 12 regular-season games, Ryan has been sacked only seven times.

 

8. CINCINNATI (4-1). Last week: 17-14 win at Baltimore. Cincy is No. 1 on the Lovability Index after their inspiring win over the Ravens last week for defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. The Bengals are looking to add some positives to some incredibly bad history; of the 41 seasons in franchise history, only three featured playoff victories.

 

9. CHICAGO (3-1). Last week: bye. The Bears traded out of the top two rounds of the draft this year, but found some late gold. No. 140 overall pick, WR/KR Johnny Knox, is on pace for 760 receiving yards and 8 TDs and has a kick return for a TD, while No. 190 overall pick Al Afalava is starting at free safety.

 

10. BALTIMORE (3-2). Last week: 17-14 loss vs. Cincinnati. The Ravens have some brutal games left – they go to Cincy, Pittsburgh, Green Bay and Minnesota (this Sunday), and host Chicago, Denver, Indy and Pittsburgh. That's not good news for a club that's already 0-2 against Quality Teams.

 

11. PITTSBURGH (3-2). Last week: 28-20 win at Detroit. For the second straight week, the Steelers took their foot off the gas and let an inferior team make a game of it. The Steelers have outscored opponents 97-43 through three quarters, but have been outscored 55-13 in the fourth.

 

12. NEW ENGLAND (3-2). Last week: 20-17 loss at Denver. In their last eight full games together, going back to the 2007 playoffs, Randy Moss and Tom Brady have hooked up for just two touchdowns and 461 yards.

 

13. N.Y. JETS (3-2). Last week: 31-27 loss at Miami. The Jets have played some tough games, but the fact is that they generate 4.9 yards per play on offense and give up 4.9 yards per play on defense – and that’s mediocrity. New York has shown flashes of greatness in all phases of the game, but has yet to put them all together.

 

14. GREEN BAY (2-2). Last week: Bye. The Packers spent their off week listening to their Vince Lombardi motivational cassettes, preparing lavish fondue plates and generally wondering when they’re going to start winning consistently again. Their longest win streak was two in 2008, and they’ve gone win-loss-win-loss in 2009.

 

15. DALLAS (3-2). Last week: 26-20 win at Kansas City (OT): The Cowboys are the target of much mockery, but they still have talent. They lead the NFL with 6.8 yards per play, and were a couple of yards away from beating the Giants and Broncos.

 

16. SAN FRANCISCO (3-2).  Last week: 45-10 loss vs. Atlanta. The Niners followed a 35-point win with a 35-point loss, which might suggest that there’s still some work to do by the Bay.

 

17. MIAMI (2-3). Last week: 31-27 win vs. NY Jets. Chad Henne did what Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Matt Schaub couldn’t do against the Jets – he passed the ball with success. Not only did he turn in a 130.4 passer rating against a team that was No. 2 in Defensive Passer Rating coming into the game (and No. 5 today), but he hit nine different receivers.

 

18. SAN DIEGO (2-2). Last week: bye. The Chargers used to be gold once they got inside the 10. This year? Not so much. They have a league-high seven field goals of 20-29 yards.

 

19. SEATTLE (2-3). Last week: 41-0 win vs. Jacksonville. At home and with Matt Hasselbeck, the Seahawks are 2-0 with two shutouts and 69 points. On the road, and/or with Seneca Wallace at QB, they’re 0-3 and getting outscored by 12 PPG. In other words, the Seahawks should probably try to keep Hasselbeck upright and continue encouraging fans to yell really loud.

 

20. ARIZONA (2-2). Last week: 28-21 win vs. Houston. The Cardinals are completely dependent on Kurt Warner. Since 2008, they’re 14-2 when he has a passer rating of 85+, 0-8 when he dips below it.

 

21. WASHINGTON (2-3). Last week: 20-17 loss at Carolina. The Redskins are the only non-winning team that’s averaging more yards per play (5.2 yards) than their opponents (4.8).

 

22. JACKSONVILLE (2-3). Last week: 41-0 loss at Seattle. The Jags’ offensive line is 9th on the Hog Index, a return to form for the No. 1 line of 2007. But the Jags aren’t good anywhere else – they aren’t in the top half of the league in any other Quality Stat, and are 20th or worse in yards per game and points per game on both sides of the ball.

 

23. HOUSTON (2-3). Last week: 28-21 loss at Arizona. The Texans aren’t looked on as a bad team because they put up big passing numbers, but they are very bad in the other three phases of the game. They’re averaging 2.99 yards a rush on offense and have the No. 32 Defensive Hogs on defense. 

 

24. TENNESSEE (0-5). Last week: 31-9 loss vs. Indianapolis. Yes, there are eight teams in the NFL worse than the winless Titans, who are second in the league in yards per rush (5.27) and first in yards per rush allowed (2.77) .

 

25. BUFFALO (1-4). Last week: 6-3 loss vs. Cleveland. The Bills are the only team in the top 10 in Defensive Passer Rating (75.3 against) with a losing record.  

 

26. CAROLINA (1-3). Last week: 20-17 win vs. Washington. Who would have thought that the Panthers’ WR would end up being the “other Steve Smith”? He’s got two TDs in his last 12 games while the Giants’ version is leading the NFL in yards and TDs. And that’s without bringing former Journey drummer Steve Smith into the argument.

 

27. DETROIT (1-4). Last week: 28-20 loss to Pittsburgh. We hate to beat a dead horse, but the Lions are still plenty bad, folks. Just because they’re not getting blown out doesn’t mean much – they covered seven of 16 spreads last year while going 0-16. (Last year’s worst team against the spread was Denver at 4-11-1).

 

28. CLEVELAND (1-4). Last week: 6-3 win at Buffalo. There’s debate over who was most to blame for Derek Anderson’s epic 2-for-17 (winning) performance in Buffalo, the QB, his receivers, or a decent Bills  defense. How about management? The Browns have traded QB Mark Sanchez (essentially, sending the No. 5 pick to the Jets), WR Braylon Edwards and TE Kellen Winslow over the last six months.   

 

29. KANSAS CITY (0-5). Last week, 26-20 loss vs. Dallas (OT): Until the Chiefs get a win, each week will be an update of this remarkable stat: the Chiefs have now lost 28 of their last 30 games, 13 of them by a touchdown or less.

 

30. TAMPA BAY (0-5). Last week: 33-14 loss at Philadelphia. Just so we get this straight, Jon Gruden went 9-7 with essentially this same team last year … AND GOT FIRED. That’s good stuff.

 

31. OAKLAND (1-4). Last week: 44-7 loss at N.Y. Giants. The Raiders just plain gave up last week, waving the white flag and passing the ball five times in the second half against the Giants. Pathetic.

 

32. ST. LOUIS (0-5). Last week: 38-10 loss vs. Minnesota. No. 2 pick in the 2008 draft Chris Long is looking like a bust. He’s coming off the bench at defensive end for the worst team in the league, and hasn’t had a sack in 14 games.