Green Bay Packers' Jordy Nelson scores a touchdown in front of New England Patriots' Devin McCourty after a catch during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014, in Green Bay, Wis.We sprint into the final month, and the NFL cliche of teams being what their records say they are is completely correct. Well, in most cases.
We know the Falcons and the Saints are flawed. We also know that one of them will be a playoff team hosting a postseason game.
There's also the view from the Arizona Cardinals, who are certainly among the teams with the best records in the league, but with backup quarterback Drew Stanton now running things, the Cardinals are not as promising or powerful as their 9-3 mark would suggest.
The others, though, are, especially the group comprising the top four.
Here are the top five in the power poll:
1. Green Bay. Yes, home-field was a huge advantage in Sunday's win over New England, but still, a win's a win. How impressive were the Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers? Commander Curmudgeon himself, Bill Belichick, was almost in the locker room before heading back to the field to shake Rodgers' hand. One day some of the kids from the neighborhood carried my mother's groceries all the way home. You know why? It was out of respect.
2. New England. The Patriots are still in the driver's seat in the AFC, and that's a good place to be. That said, New England's lack of perimeter playmakers was apparent late Sunday in Green Bay. Wow, what would Tom Brady's numbers look like if he had more than Rob Gronkowski and a whole lot of intramural all-stars running patterns?
3. Denver. Speaking of scary, how good does the Denver offense look with a legitimate power back in C.J. Anderson? With all that Peyton Manning can do at the line of scrimmage, giving him a serious threat of checking into a running play gives him an almost unfair advantage. Omaha, Omaha.
4. Seattle. Welcome back, Legion of Boom. Wins over Arizona and San Francisco in five days put the Seahawks right back to where we expected them to be. All the distractions and background noise has faded, and Seattle looks the part of contender again.
5. Indianapolis. We give the slight edge to the Colts over the Philadelphia Eagles, who are a game better in the standings, because the Colts have Andrew Luck. And sometimes it's better to have Luck than wins. Trust us.
Bottom five:
28. Tampa Bay. Considering the preseason buzz and the moves heading into the year, the Buccaneers are likely the most disappointing team in the NFL. That said, receiver Mike Evans is a beast. Or as J.J. would say, "Dy-NO-mite."
29. New York Jets. The Florida Gators of the NFL. Defensive-minded head coach who will have no problem finding work after he moves along. Still, Rex Ryan and Co. have left an absolute hot mess. They threw only 13 passes Monday night. In a loss.
30. Tennessee. We asked this Monday on "Press Row," and we still did not get an answer. If you are a Titans fan, what excites you about the future? Anyone? Bueller? Seriously, Tennessee likely will have a top-five pick in next May's draft and have a litany of needs. Is this NFL offseason the equivalent of a college football fan being really stoked about recruiting?
31. Jacksonville. If the Jaguars moved to, say, London, how long would it take for the casual sports fan to notice? What if they changed their name to like the Jacksonville Football Club: Would people even flinch? At least that way their general lack of production could be mildly blamed on soccer, which is a fine start.
32. Oakland. Well, how was that for an encore after the team's first win of the season? Oakland takes its new sense of confidence and purpose to St. Louis and gets pantsed 52-bagel. By the Rams. Egad.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter at @jgreesontfp. Listen to Jay and David Paschall on Press Row every weekday from 3-6 on ESPN 105.1 FM and timesfreepress.com.