1*/1*

Patriots

18-0†

The Patriots grabbed an AFC championship game win over the LT-less Chargers and will meet the Giants in Super Bowl XLII, putting a whole new twist on the Boston/New England vs. New York/Jersey/Connecticut sports rivalry.

With the victory the Patriots improved to (8-0) against playoff qualifying teams this season including wins over the Colts, Jaguars, Cowboys, Redskins, Giants, Steelers, and 2 wins over the Chargers. The Patriots won those games by a combined score of 252-148; equating to an average win of 13 points which just happens to be the current Las Vegas point spread for the Super Bowl (as of Monday morning), which causes me to raise my right eyebrow like Mr. Spock.

*For our new readers, the asterisk denotes that the Patriots will remain #1 in the power rankings even if they don't win the Super Bowl, because as we pointed out after week 17 going undefeated in the regular season at (16-0) carries much longer odds than actually winning the Super Bowl... The Super Bowl has been won 41 times.

2/7

Giants

13-6†

After entering the playoffs with a record of (1-5) versus playoff qualifying teams, the Giants improved to (4-5) against playoff caliber competition and will meet the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII thanks to winning their 3rd straight playoff game; an overtime victory in the NFC title game at Green Bay.

Additionally, the Giants are on a 10 game road win streak that includes the following wins (in reverse order);

• At Green Bay
• At Dallas
• At Tampa Bay
• At Buffalo
• At Philadelphia
• At Chicago
• At Detroit
• At Miami in London (I have no problem counting this as a road game for the Giants, but as a home game for the Dolphins? My right eyebrow pulls another Mr. Spock on that one).
• At Atlanta
• At Washington
• And while we're trumpeting the Giants' accomplishments, throw in a 3 point home loss to the Patriots in week 17.

3/2

Packers

14-4†

Green Bay had an incredible season, shocking the NFL by playing dominant football right out of the gate, and amassing 14 total wins. However, the Packers fell at home in overtime in the NFC championship game to the Giants... Overall the Packers finished (4-2) against playoff qualifying teams including an NFC title game loss to the Giants, a loss to the Cowboys, and wins over the Chargers, the Redskins, the Seahawks, and the Giants (week 2).

4/4

Chargers

13-6†

With LT on the sidelines the Chargers were unable to get in the end zone against the Patriots. LT's injury was extremely tough luck for a Chargers' team that peaked down the home stretch of the season.

Overall the Chargers finished (4-4) against playoff qualifying teams including 2 wins over the Colts (defending champs), 2 wins over the Titans, 2 losses to the Patriots, and losses against the Packers and Jaguars.