1. San Diego Chargers (-4) Not only did the Colts give up their perfect season and NFL-record 23-game winning streak on Sunday, they also surrendered the #1 spot in our power rankings. The Chargers mean business, and few teams are playing better than Phillip Rivers’ team is right now. They play Jason Campbell and the struggling 4-11 Redskins next week, which should be a piece of cake.

2. Indianapolis Colts In my humble opinion, the Colts should have kept their starters in the game against the Jets on Sunday at least through most of the fourth quarter and tried to win that game. If I were an Indy fan — in the stands or at home — I’d be super pissed about now. Nevertheless, they’re headed to the playoffs with a first-round bye and are sitting at the #2 spot pretty much only because the Bolts are on fire at this point… and cause the Colts are a bunch of quitters.

3. Philadelphia Eagles (+3) The Eagles squeaked past the Broncos by a field goal last week, and now they’re headed to Dallas for all the NFC goodness Sunday afternoon. Should be a pretty good game.

4. New Orleans Saints The Saints may or may not be on a downward spiral, but the road to the Super Bowl will go through Mardi Gras either way.

5. Green Bay Packers (+3) There’s no better way to forget about a last-second loss than to come out and mangle your next opponent. The Packers made work of the Seahawks on Sunday by a score of 45-10, and are going into next week’s game against the Arizona Cardinals as the underdog.

6. Dallas Cowboys (-3) Are Tony Romo and his dimples ready for prime time? We’ll see next week when they take on the cruising Eagles.

7. Minnesota Vikings (-9) Monday night’s overtime loss to the rival Bears was more than an embarrassment to the franchise — it was a loud statement as to what Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson are (and are not) capable of in freezing cold weather, under pressure.

8. New England Patriots (+ 7.5) Tom Brady and friends are playing like champions, easily putting away the Jaguars on Sunday with a 35-7 victory. They’re headed to Houston next Sunday afternoon where they might have their hands full with Matt Shaub and the Texans.

9. Cincinnati Bengals (+10) Finally earning a win among their recent tragedy, the Bengals need to find focus next week for their matchup against the New York Jets, who are officially in control of their own playoff destiny, thanks in large part to the Colts.

10. Arizona Cardinals (-3) The Cardinals took care of the Rams last week, but we’ll see if they’re a true playoff contender next Sunday evening against Aaron Rodgers and his postseason-hungry Pack.

Related posts:

1. Week 14 NFL Betting Power Rankings
2. Week 10 NFL Betting Power Rankings
3. Week 16 NFL Betting Power Rankings
4. Week 13 NFL Betting Power Rankings
5. Week 15 NFL Betting Power Rankings