Happy Thanksgiving! Here’s to hoping that the Cowboys and Raiders game makes it to halftime before Uncle Frank uses a racial slur worse than “Redskin.”

Think of PFPod’s Rankings as the half-breed love-child of traditional “Power Rankings” and the NFL playoff format: from Best to Worst, we rank the 8 Division Leaders and 2 Wild Card Contenders from each conference. Our Top 12 rankings give you all the fun of a college poll AND a meaningful outlook on the NFL playoff picture!

Top 4: Bye-week bound Divisional Leaders

1. Seattle Seahawks. (10-1). While many Seattle fans will watch Monday Night Football with a bong packed full of legally purchased weed, suspended CB Walter Thurmond will sit a home, another victim of America’s failed war on (non-performance enhancing) drugs #NewJimCrow

2. New Orleans Saints. (9-2). Saints’ fans hope a win over Seattle on Monday will put New Orleans in position to grab home field advantage in the NFC. Too bad the Saints can’t even bank on the NFC South title—with two games remaining against Carolina, New Orleans could be fighting for a wild card spot…

3. New England Patriots. (8-3). Can New England still win home field advantage? If Denver beats KC this weekend, the Pats will need help from one of the Broncos’ sub-.500 opponents in the last four weeks of the NFL season #GoodLuck

4. Denver Broncos. (9-2). The Broncos turned three Pats’ fumbles into 17 points in the first quarter. Then Peyton stunk up his home field in the 4th quarter and OT, completing less than half his passes in final two periods. Manning may be older and wiser these days, but he still can’t close out close games against top contenders #DesperatelySeekingJohnFox

Best of the Rest: NFL Power Rankings 5-12
5. Carolina Panthers. (8-3). The Panthers won narrowly at Miami last week. Carolina has gotta play a lot better to beat the Saints in the Superdome.

6. Cincinnati Bengals. (7-4). The Bengals have a tough road game against the Chargers this week. If Cincinnati loses, the winner of the Ravens-Steelers’ Thursday Night Game will be one game behind the Bengals.

7. Kansas City Chiefs. (9-2). The Chiefs are who we thought they were.

8. Arizona Cardinals. (7-4). The Cards and their 4- game win streak runs into the Eagles, who have also won three games in a row.

9. Indianapolis Colts. (7-4). Since Reggie Wayne suffered a season ending injury in Week 7, opponents have outscored the Colts 93-12 in the first half. Don’t look now, but the Titans can pull within a game of the divisional lead with a win over Indy on Sunday.

10. Detroit Lions. (6-5). Despite back-to-back losses, the Lions still lead the NFC North, thanks to their season sweep of the Bears. This year’s Thanksgiving game against Green Bay should decide the division—if the Packers can just win this one game without Aaron Rodgers, expect Discount Doublecheck to lead his team to another divisional title in December.

11. Philadelphia Eagles. (6-5). The Eagles meet the Cowboys in the last week of the season. Until then, the NFC East remains irrelevant.

12. San Diego Chargers. (5-6). Among the glut of 5-6 teams in the AFC, the Chargers had the most impressive win on Sunday, beating the Chiefs on the road. Look for the winner of the Steelers-Ravens game on Thanksgiving to take over the #6 seed in the AFC…

Spotting the NFL’s “Game of the Week” has gotten a lot easier in November. Last week’s Top 10 matchup between Carolina and New England gave us the best game of the season so far. Now the Pats are looking to bounce back in their Monday Night battle with the AFC-leading Broncos. As for next week, the NFC’s top two teams will duke it out when Seattle hosts the Saints in a regular-season prelude to the NFC Championship Game …

Think of PFPod’s Rankings as the half-breed love-child of traditional “Power Rankings” and the NFL playoff format: from Best to Worst, we rank the 8 Division Leaders and 2 Wild Card Contenders from each conference. Our Top 12 rankings give you all the fun of a college poll AND a meaningful outlook on the NFL playoff picture!

Top 4: Bye-week bound Divisional Leaders

1. Seattle Seahawks. (10-1). The ‘Hawks have their bye this week. If home field didn’t give Seattle a big enough advantage, the Seahawks’ extra week of rest and mental prep will boost their edge over New Orleans even higher come Week 13.

2. Denver Broncos. (9-1). Are the Broncos ready to win a championship? Their next two games will show if Peyton Manning has the gumption to snatch home-field advantage away from AFC rivals New England and Kansas City.

3. New Orleans Saints. (8-2). The 49ers would have beaten New Orleans if Drew Brees were more than five feet tall. Saints’ fans should start praying for San Fran to miss the playoffs.

4. New England Patriots. (7-3). Pats’ fans should be thanking the refs for Monday night’s loss— New England may not lose another game this season #SuperBowlRun #ReturnOfGronk

Best of the Rest: NFL Power Rankings 5-12

5. Carolina Panthers. (7-3). Cam Newton outplayed Tom Brady last week. Now he needs to beat Drew Brees TWICE if the Panthers hope to win the NFC South.

6. Kansas City Chiefs. (9-1).The Chiefs’ defense played admirably versus Peyton Manning in their first meeting of 2013. Look for KC’s front four to get off the block faster at Arrowhead Stadium when Denver comes to town. In the meantime, however, no one should be surprised if Phillip Rivers outplays Alex Smith this week, and if the Chargers upset the Chiefs.

7. Cincinnati Bengals. (7-4). The Bengals move up one spot to #7 after crushing the Browns. The Bengals are only two games ahead of their three AFC North rivals, but their path to the divisional crown is clearer than their record suggests: the Browns and Steelers have yet to play their two head-to-head games, and the Ravens will run a gauntlet of playoff-bound teams in their final three games: at Detroit, vs. New England, and at Cincinnati.

8. Indianapolis Colts. (7-3). Another week, another weak win. Hey, Indy could be worse about playing down to their opponents– see Detroit Lions, infra note 9.

9. Detroit Lions. (6-4). The Lions score 27 points in the second quarter last week. Then Detroit screwed the pooch in the second half at Pittsburgh. Don’t be shocked if the Shutdown-Corner-Formerly-Known-As-Revis-Island has a vintage performance when the Bucs’ secondary takes on Calvin Johnson this week.

10. Chicago Bears. (6-4). Fresh off their OT win against the Ravens, the Bears remain in control of the NFC’s second wild card spot. Bargain bin QB Josh McCown is looking so good right now, Chicago might be wise to cut Cutler and his $14 million price tag next season. The Bears will be better off in the long-term if they pick a QB early in the 2014 draft and then let him develop for a year behind McCown. Frankly, Chicago will be better off in the short term too if they spend more money on pass catchers suited to Trestman’s vertical attack.

11. Philadelphia Eagles. (6-5). During Dallas’ bye-week, Philly got back to a winning record for first time since Week 2. The Eagles eliminated the ‘Skins from the NFC East battle last week, but the Giants’ four-game winning streak means that New York has officially crept into Philly’s rear view mirror …

12. Pittsburgh Steelers. (4-6). The battle for the second AFC Wild Card spot just got pathetic. The Jets, Ravens, Chargers, and Browns all lost last week. The Titans have lost Jake Locker for the season, and the Dolphins have lost 40% of their starting offensive line to an HR dispute (and a PR nightmare). Though the Raiders’ win at Houston has stirred up an intriguing QB controversy, Terrell Pryor and Matt McGloin have played a mere 14 NFL games combined. By default, we have to call the Steelers’ win over Detroit the most impressive performance lately amongst the AFC’s mediocre band of Wild Card Contenders.

Get ready for the last of the Undefeateds to fall in Week 11. Since no one knows how to orchestrate a second-half slide towards the Postseason better than Peyton Manning, #18 is just the right person to push the Kansas City Chiefs down the spiraled staircase of mediocrity…

Think of PFPod’s Rankings as the half-breed love-child of traditional “Power Rankings” and the NFL playoff format: from Best to Worst, we rank the 8 Division Leaders and 2 Wild Card Contenders from each conference. Our Top 12 rankings give you all the fun of a college poll AND a meaningful outlook on the NFL playoff picture!

Top 4: Bye-week bound Divisional Leaders

1. Kansas City Chiefs. (9-0). Talk to us next week about the NFL’s version of the Ohio State Buckeyes #Undefeated #Untested #Overrated

2. Seattle Seahawks. (9-1). If Russell Wilson were a member of the Wu Tang Clan, he’d be Masta Killa: quiet, skillful, and yet considered one of the best among his peers #NoSaidDate

3. New Orleans Saints. (7-2). The Saints probably won’t ratchet up another 40 first downs this week, but New Orleans (-3) remain the home favorite over San Francisco. The 49ers offense has been struggling lately, but Jim Harbaugh’s defense goes into this game 2-0 against Drew Brees.

4. New England Patriots. (7-2). Watch for New England’s Monday Night matchup against NFC Wild Card Contender Carolina. We will learn how the two conferences stack up heading into Thanksgiving…

Best of the Rest: NFL Power Rankings 5-12

5. Denver Broncos. (8-1). If the Broncos beat the Chiefs, KC could fall as far as #10 in next week’s Power Rankings.

6. Detroit Lions. (6-3). After completing the season sweep of the Bears, the Lions enjoy a huge leg up on the NFC North title. Now that Green Bay is looking at a 4-6 week gap in coverage while Discount Double-Check is out of commission, Detroit will watch the health of its divisional lead improve heading into December (ironic, considering that 140,000 policyholders in Michigan will watch their existing health insurance policies disappear before New Year’s). #Obamacare

7. Carolina Panthers. (6-3). Carolina’s Top Ten defense kept Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers out of the end zone on Sunday. So long as Cam Newton is getting decent pocket-protection, the Panthers are consistently winning. Put another way, Carolina is 6-1 this season when Newton is sacked 3 times or fewer in a game.

8. Cincinnati Bengals. (6-4). Stunningly, Cincinnati held onto the #8 spot in our Power Rankings. Bengals fans should thank Indy, Chicago, and San Fran for crapping the bed last week. Half the Ravens’ points came off Marvin Lewis’ mistaken decision to go for it on 4th down on Cincy’s first and last drives. Don’t be surprised to hear rumors of Ed Reed talking to the Bengals in the days and weeks ahead.

9. Indianapolis Colts. (6-3). What happened to the Colts last week? Jeff Fisher, that’s who. Air McNair was smiling from above when he saw the Rams using the classic run-heavy offense, coupled with strategically aggressive downfield passing, which his Titans used to run 10 years ago. Look for Indy to bounce back this week– just don’t expect to see the Colts make it past the Wild Card Round.

10. New York Jets. (5-4). The AFC’s sixth best team remains the Jets this week. More Chris Ivory, please: his season-high 139 yards against the Saints seems to have moved him ahead of Bilal Powell on the RB depth chart.

11. Chicago Bears. (5-4). Chicago is a surprise pick in this week’s Power Rankings. The 49ers have a better record, but the Bears have played far more consistently all season long– not one of Chicago’s losses has been by more than a touchdown (plus 2-pt conversion). Head-to-head, we think the 49ers would probably beat the Bears. But these two wild card wannabes won’t be meeting in the NFC Championship Game this year, unless we hitch a ride with Marty McFly to the ’84 NFC Championship Game

12. Dallas Cowboys. (5-5). 49ers fans, don’t be mad at me. Be mad at the NFC East for stealing the playoff spot you deserve.