Week 12 NFL Power Rankings are in, as is one mid-November ballot for the MVP ...That debate will be heating up soon, so we thought we would get a jump-start on it before . And while the are our certifiable No. 1 for the third week in a row, would you hand his third MVP trophy?Here's how I see the candidates stacking up for the league's most prestigious award:3) Run me until my wheels fall off. 2) No, my career is not winding down -- tell that rookie to sit tight. 1) Rob Blake Jersey Chillax.In other words: 3) ; 2) ; 1) . For a more thorough explanation, .On to other battles ... mostly in Mi souri.Is " Kingdom" a thing? I've always hated the tag "Red Sox Nation." Then again, us Texas Rangers fans don't really have a thing. #NoWorldSeriesRings #CatchTheBallNelsonCruz I can't wait to see you eat those words about the Rams from your predictions last week in this week's rankings ? Aleks (@maliboomboum) Don't ever say the Power Rankings ignores its female fans. #Shirtle sTweetsByAleksInteresting way to state Kansas City's case: by citing . But I can't disagree.The are indeed one of this week's big movers. As are those pesky . Check out the entire rankings below and feel free to share your take: is the place.Let the di sension commence!(Note: Arrows reflect change in standings from .)PREVIOUS RANKINGS: | | | | | | | | | | New England certainly made its case for being the top dog on this chart of greatne s. How about that ? Who expected that? No one -- save for his Uncle Poindexter, who started him on his fantasy team. have rushed for more than Gray's 201 yards in a single game: Jim Nance, who had 208 yards in 1966 for the team then known as the Boston , and Tony Collins, who ran for 212 in 1983. ***Power Rankings side note:*** When I first got the notification that Collins was following me on Twitter, my initial thought was, *"Does anybody remember what a good little all-around back he was?"* One thing Collins could do well was catch the ball (77 receptions in 1986). It remains to be seen if Gray can be that kind of player; but then, with (35 catches for 305 yards and three scores this season) also in the backfield, he might not have to be. ... /content:power-ranking How in the world are the 9-1? Well, a defense that really tightens up when it counts is a big part of their succe s. The have allowed a grand total of 34 points in the fourth quarter -- including a big, fat, lovely zero on Sunday. ! , who are starting to look awfully *2010-ish*. Speaking of history, ? I love 'em. They represent the 1929 squad, which was a pretty good undefeated team (12-0-1). *Pretty good*, as in outscoring its opponents 198-22. /content:power-ranking was pretty significant, and not merely because of . The have now lost three games on the season, same as the . Those two teams will for a game that looms very large with regard to both and . I still think Kansas City ends up as the fifth seed. A bye week for Dallas brought about the contract situation of , who is in the final year of his rookie deal. More interesting to me is the affordable pact the this past spring. If you add sacks, quarterback hits, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, interceptions and tackles for lo s together and divide that total -- which can basically be labled "disruptive plays" -- by the total number of plays, Melton was the seventh-most-impactful defensive player in the NFL heading into Week 11, one spot above slightly-le s-affordable former Cowboy . for the , who, at 7-3, are one of the hottest teams in the NFL. Kansas City has won five in a row -- and if you think about it, the team's last two lo ses were tight ballgames on the road . That's saying something. defensive coordinator Billy Davis might want to throw out the game tape from Why ruin his players' confidence heading into the stretch run? Even when the members of Philly's D played their a signments correctly, busted the containment for a few big runs. At least the secondary made up for it by not tackling . Sure, much will be made of 's play, but I saw a quarterback pre sing to keep his team in a game with an opposing offense that couldn't be stopped. fans were undoubtedly anticipating a freefall, because they think I hate their team. Truth is, I feel Detroit is a strong candidate for the fifth or Mike Cammalleri Men Jersey sixth seed in the NFC, and the don't deserve to drop at all, as they fought hard on the road . What does deserve the equivalent of a 31-spot plummet is the decision to not use on third-and-1 or fourth-and-short late in the second half of the lo s to the . Bell was in the midst of his first productive performance in a month, and and his staff made the bruising back a bystander on the two critical downs of the game. If I were a fan in Detroit -- or one of the many fans I know in Los Angeles -- I wouldn't have been happy with some of the officiating, either. If the are to do anything come January, they have to come up with some stops. The run defense was an abomination in and can't be expected to put up 30 points every game. He's not for crying out loud. Anyway, at this juncture, the defense merely needs to be or ... keep Indy from getting into Trevor Lewis Kids Jersey track meets. Say what you want about and , but we just saw how relevant defensive tackle -- -- is in terms of team MVP conversation. Well, that is if you consider keeping opponents from to be valuable. Where the heck did come from? Even the most ardent member of Who Dey Nation (can't believe I just typed that) had to be freaking shocked by a) how effectively played, b) the fact that the in New Orleans and c) please read "a" again. Hot. Cold. Hot hot. Cold cold. What's next for this group? Sure, the are 7-4, but it's getting increasingly difficult to trust them on the road. Exhibit A: , who has an 18:1 TD-to-INT ratio at Heinz and a 6:5 figure everywhere else. It's not often that the team with the plus-four turnover differential in the game has to hang tough until the end. at the New Meadowlands on Sunday. While it was great for the Niners to from his nine-game suspension, we can't forget about rookie LB , who continues to make plays. How does 13 total tackles, three pa ses defensed and two interceptions -- in one afternoon -- sound? He's better than Charles Haley in Tecmo . The were in control of for more than a half. But we all got a le son in how important red-zone defense -- or simply bending without breaking -- can be. Buffalo was forced to settle for field goals time and again, while Miami scored a couple of touchdowns in the second half and ultimately pulled away. shook off some sacks and an ill-timed fumble to post a decent game, as well. All that being what it is, it's difficult to not be impre sed with , who was quietly effective again with 98 yards from scrimmage. The ' bye week came in time for them to gear up for the stretch run. Next up: and the challenge of stopping both and a pretty consistent -led running game. Baltimore's defense has been solid all season; the goal now is to stay within striking distance in the AFC North. The host the . That was although with and against the , Houston's clutch performance flew somewhat under the radar. At 5-5, 's outfit is still in this . If ' weren't doing as well as they are, methinks O'Brien would be the subject of some Coach of the Year talk. Thought would come up big Sunday -- call it a football hunch, which is maybe kind of like football intelligence . Speaking of the FBI, we could use that agency to find the ' mi sing offense. After scoring 27.3 points per game over the first six weeks, the Bolts have averaged just 13.5 points over the past four games, including And San Diego is averaging just 248.7 yards per game during that 1-3 stretch. I love , but 20-for-50 is thisclose to awful. Of course, you gotta have help from the ground game -- and (3.8 yards per carry combined) weren't exactly Mack and Byner out there in . At least (who Tuesday) made up for it with negative-9 yards rushing. A lot of big plays were left out on the field and you better believe the know it. Dropped interceptions, mi sed receivers and a couple of close calls that went the ' way come to mind. We recommended that fans hit up but after Thursday's lo s, I would advise grabbing a refreshment at That place was around 100 years before fans were getting depre sed about the "same old ." Last Wednesday night, if anyone thought St. Louis could upend the . Not a single person said they thought it would happen. #Fail -- but in a good way. A big part of has to do with a football oddity the 2014 recently discovered -- I believe it's known in some circles as a "pa s rush." Word is, it takes place when one of your guys tackles or hurries the other guys' quarterback, sometimes with the ball still in his hand. So 4-6 is Jake Muzzin Jersey the new 10-0. Or something like that. You have to hand it to coach , who has kept his team focused after what could have been in Week 8. There were some -- and I'm not exaggerating here -- who thought Smith would get fired on the plane ride back. Maybe Smith kept walking the aisles, so that general manager Thomas Dimitroff couldn't do it (and, of course, because it's a good way to prevent varicose veins). Maybe Dimitroff was slinking down in his seat and hoping owner Arthur Blank didn't see him for a similar reason. Hey, in the NFC South, guys. Not bad. by the there. Maybe defensive coordinator Rob Ryan should just forget about this one. How did New Orleans blow out the -- who are currently Lambeau-leaping their way to 40-point wins -- and then get smacked by a team that had just allowed three average running backs to score like it was nothing ? The NFL is so weird these days. Nice to see the get it together and Unfortunately for them, at 4-6, they still have almost no shot at making any kind of playoff run. I feel OK about typing this kind of blurb for fans in Chicago. After all, they've had as their quarterback for more than five years. They're used to living with depre sion. Thought the had a shot to pick up another victory Sunday, even though Yet, despite facing a terribly ineffective defense, Minnesota's pa sing game didn't get one play of 25-plus yards, and the - combo platter carried the ball all of nine times. Bear in mind the fact that this was a one-score game. " hasn't been turning the ball over this season." -- Me, on 's "Football Scott Wedgewood Kids Jersey Diehards" Sunday morning. How New York stayed in despite Manning to sing five picks is anyone's gue s, but you have to give the ' defense a lot of credit for holding the fort when the offense kept giving it back. for the , who, at 3-7-1, are watching their season slip away. They've won once in their past nine games. The defense faltered late (again). The offense usually stinks. Carolina has been flat-out terrible. Oh, and the are a game out of first in the NFC South. Give props ... a Buc-ket load of props. After all, he was a guy whose career in Tampa darn -neer went up in flames before it ever got going. OK, we'll stop with the puns -- and no more pirating sports cliches, either. I would say a 137.5 pa ser rating for a player many fans had written off is worth the focus of a blurb. to to seal the deal was a beaut. Too bad the weren't playing last week, considering they were fresh off They can't even get the timing of their bye week right. Next up: who've gone from being wild-card hopefuls to standing at the back of the AFC playoff pack thanks to two straight lo ses. However, 's presence means won't be going a Herculean 2-for-8 with three interceptions, like he did Hey, you don't want to me s with a guy's legacy. Evidently, is the second coming of Sammy Baugh, Sonny Jurgensen and Doug Williams in the ... at least, the mighty-friendly secondary Meanwhile, continues to be just good enough to get Washington beat. Not losing faith, though. We can talk all day long, but it sure would be nice to see rev it up down the stretch. The Monday night coverage made it sound like he was the lovechild of Earl Campbell and Eddie George -- can't say really did it for me. That rookie quarterback could have used more third-and-shorts late. No football last week in Jacksonville, which was devastating. No one wants to sit in fantasy. At least the haven't lost 10 games yet. Loved these comments from Howie Long on Fox's postgame Sunday: " is a dominant young player, and he doesn't even know what he's doing (yet)." Mack, the fifth overall pick in the , has been a real bright spot for a team that hasn't won a game in more than a calendar year. Follow Elliot Harrison on Twitter .