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Fans of the San Francisco 49ers may cry foul. After all, they're the only one-loss team in the NFL and are second overall in record behind the Green Bay Packers. Some famous person said one time rather famously that you are what your record says you are or something like that. But let's be honest: the 49ers are not the second best team in the NFL.
Look, the Niners have a better team than most thought. They're running away with the NFL's worst division. They have a solid defense and new head coach Jim Harbaugh has done a nice job with the offense... wait, why am I even defending this? This is common knowledge unless you're wearing your Roger Craig jersey today. The 49ers aren't even a top five team in the NFL.
As stressful as it is to make these lists (and start to write out of paranoia), here's our attempt at this week's NFL Power Rankings:
1. Green Bay Packers - No one can deny the incredible season that Aaron Rodgers and company are having in 2011, and this Packers team seems destined for historical greatness.
2. New York Giants - The New York freakin' Giants are 6-2 and No. 2 in the NFL? Yes, this is a crazy season. Giants had horrific injuries on defense preseason, so kudos to their coaching staff.
3. Baltimore Ravens - They've laid a couple of eggs this season, but this defense is championship caliber and I still believe Joe Flacco can get the job done when it's time.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers - Yep, they're not even tops in their division, but the defense will continue to get healthier and they're 6-3 through a tough schedule and thin roster.
5. New Orleans Saints - This defense still needs to come around, but Drew Brees is quietly having a great year.
6. New England Patriots - Something's definitely off with New England the last two weeks, but would you bet against them come playoff time? Didn't think so either.
7. San Francisco 49ers - Frank Gore's resurgence and dominant young linebackers are great stories, but the question is whether you trust Alex Smith to do anything in postseason.
8. Detroit Lions - Will be interesting to see how such a young team responds down the stretch with a division lead.
9. Cincinnati Bengals - Tied for first in division, but the offense is too green to believe they'll continue at such a clip.
10. Atlanta Falcons - Turning their season around at right time and Matt Ryan has an incredible amount of weapons. They'll be very dangerous down the stretch.