NFL Week 13 Power Rankings

December in the NFL makes for plenty of drama and suspense, but I really want to skip ahead to January and the first round of the playoffs right now. If we could keep everything exactly the way it stands at the moment, the postseason would open with a spectacular quadruple-header straight out of the league's wildest TV-ratings fantasy:

In the AFC, we'd have No. 6-seeded Pittsburgh at No. 3 Baltimore, the rubber match between the two bitter AFC North rivals, and their third meeting in the span of eight weeks; and No. 5 Indianapolis at No. 4 Denver, with Peyton Manning vs. Andrew Luck and all the multi-layered history that surrounds that particular pairing. Nothing to chew on there.

In the NFC, it'd be the Karma Bowl, No. 6 Seattle at No. 3 Green Bay, in a Lambeau Field rematch of that replacement-ref-inspired Week 3 Monday night fiasco of a finish; and No. 5 Chicago at the No. 4 Giants, in a showdown of traditional NFL rivals and two of the league's monster TV markets. Where do we sign?

How much fun would that first round be? Then we'd get coast-to-coast divisional-round games hosted by New England and San Francisco, with Houston and Atlanta also kick-starting their playoff drives to meet in the middle, meaning in New Orleans' Superdome in early February.

December is fun, but the playoffs this season could be fantastic. Waiting another four weeks might be the hardest part. Now on to this week's rankings...

NFL Power Rankings