Week 14 Power Rankings

WEEI ranks them 12th (-6):  Terrible play-calling, the inability to score in the red zone, and a mediocre pass rush are just a few reasons why the Patriots are clinging to the AFC East lead.

Yahoo! Sports ranks them 11th (-4):  Is the sky falling?

Peter King ranks them 11th (-7):  According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the game against Miami was the third this year in which New England has lost after holding a 10-point lead. The Pats had one of those in the previous seven years. Great line, by the way, from MLB/NFL stat maven Elliott Kalb about the Pats: "They've only won in England, and New England.''

What If Sports ranks them 11th (-6)

The Sporting News ranks them 11th (-5):  Bad on the road, inconsistent on defense and in danger of letting AFC East slip away.

ProFootball Weekly ranks them 11th (-6):  The fourth-quarter blues continue.

ESPN ranks them 11th (-5):  The second halves on the road have been killers for Tom Brady and the Patriots.

Don Banks ranks them 11th (-5):  Despite the Patriots obvious struggles, I still have them winning their final four games -- Carolina, at Buffalo, Jacksonville and Houston -- to finish 11-5 and claim their seventh AFC East title of the decade. The Patriots have had some history with an 11-5 mark, you might recall. Last year, it wasn't good enough for them to even make the playoffs. But in 2001, the 11-5 Pats earned a first-round bye and won the Super Bowl.

CBS Sports ranks them 11th (-4):  The defense can't stop anybody. Tom Brady and the passing game might need to put up 40 each week. Suddenly, they're in a division race.

Cold Hard Football Facts ranks them 10th (-4):  Last week: 22-21 loss at Miami. It’s hard to blame the receivers for New England’s problems; they lead the league with 1,825 yards after the catch, which is only 67 yards less than the Browns have as a team.

USA Today ranks them 10th (-6):  Need to find a way to win on the road.

Fox Sports ranks them 9th (-3):  Right about now would be a great time for Bill Belichick to tap into his "defensive guru" past, as his young defense is one huge exposed wound over the past month. The Pats have given up 300-plus passing yards in three of the past four games, but it's one thing when Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are shredding you to pieces. But Chad Henne? Paging Mr. Bruschi, Mr. Harrison, Mr. Seymour and Mr. Vrabel?

National Football Post ranks them 9th (-3):  Suddenly, the Patriots look vulnerable in the month of December—and that is something new to this franchise.

AVERAGE RANK: 10.62 (-5.27)