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Week 12 power rankings

Drew Brees

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) cheers with the team before the first half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

John Bazemore

1. Seahawks (10-1; last week No. 1): Now that Percy Harvin is back, maybe he can play cornerback.

2. Saints (9-2; No. 4): Forget the playoffs. The NFC’s berth in the Super Bowl hinges on whether the Saints can win next Monday night in Seattle.

3. Panthers (8-3; No. 5): Ryan Kalil may have been only one year too early with that ad he bought before last season.

4. Patriots (8-3; No. 6): Wes Welker is so much better than Danny Amendola that, even when playing for a different team, Welker did more to help the Pats win on Sunday night.

5. Broncos (9-2; No. 2): Maybe Jim Irsay was right.

6. Chiefs (9-2; No. 3): The paperwork may say Clark Hunt, but the Chargers own the Chiefs.

7. Bengals (7-4; No. 8): The team that has gone 23 years since its last playoff win may soon have a new streak that lasts only a week.

8. 49ers (7-4; No. 9): Aldon Smith returned a few weeks ago, but he’s finally back.

9. Cardinals (7-4; No. 10): It’s quite possible that the Steelers “retired” a two-time coach of the year.

10. Cowboys (6-5; No. 15): Believe it or not, the Cowboys could be on track to winning the division.

11. Eagles (6-5; No. 12): Believe it or not, the Eagles may make the playoffs without winning the division.

12. Packers (5-5-1; No. 14): At least Ted Thompson won’t be wasting time next month coming up with a New Year’s resolution.

13. Colts (7-4; No. 7): Jim Irsay will eventually blow his stack.

14. Lions (6-5; No. 11): Bill Ford will eventually will blow his stack.

15. Chargers (5-6; No. 19): Philip Rivers seems to play better after he blows his stack.

16. Rams (5-6; No. 23): Sam Bradford should have done that new deal when the team wanted to.

17. Bears (6-5; No. 13): Unless Jay Cutler can tackle running backs, it won’t matter when he returns.

18. Titans (5-6; No. 20): Somewhere, Bud Adams is giving Al Davis a middle finger, or two.

19. Steelers (5-6; No. 21): The playoffs start Thursday night in Baltimore.

20. Ravens (5-6; No. 25): I said, “The playoffs start Thursday night in Baltimore.”

21. Jets (5-6; No. 16): The playoffs ended Sunday in Baltimore.

22. Dolphins (5-6; No. 17): After Sunday’s woulda-shoulda-coulda catch in the final minute, Mike Wallace probably won’t be complaining about a perceived lack of deep balls for the rest of the season.

23. Giants (4-7; No. 18): Maybe Tom Coughlin should have talked to his players about not talking too much.

24. Bills (4-7; No. 24): I wonder if any of the Bills players made a bye-week trip to Dave & Buster’s?

25. Browns (4-7; No. 22): Every time Browns fans think Brandon Weeden is out, injuries pull him back in.

26. Buccaneers (3-8; No. 28): The most stunning in-season turnaround in years continues.

27. Raiders (4-7; No. 26): Terrelle Pryor guaranteed earlier in the season that the Raiders would eventually get a fourth win. No one is guaranteeing a fifth.

28. Vikings (2-8-1; No. 31): Cordarelle Patterson became the first Vikings player since Randy Moss to put his butt on the goal post at Lambeau Field, but under slightly different circumstances.

29. Redskins (3-8; No. 27): Thanks to the RGIII trade, the Redskins are helping the Rams get a very high draft pick in 2014.

30. Jaguars (2-9; No. 32): Yep, they’re screwing up their shot at the first pick in the draft.

31. Falcons (2-9; No. 29): Has any quarterback ever accomplished less with more money?

32. Texans (2-9; No. 30): Case Keenum is one of the best young quarterbacks in league history to never win a game.