One could argue that with Cincinnati holding onto the sixth seed (by the thinnest of threads), they're still the sixth best team in the AFC and shouldn't be ranked lower than 12th. After all what's the point in putting the Tennessee Titans ahead of the Bengals? Both teams have a similar 7-5 record and the Bengals beat the Titans in week nine therefore in every discussion for seeds and orders, the Bengals are better. At the same time the Denver Broncos deserve to be ahead of the Bengals.

Yet the Power Rankings is never about the body of work. What happened through the first eight weeks of the season, where the Bengals won six, barely applies anymore. What matters is what have you done for me lately? And the Bengals have lost three of their past four, even though it was twice against the Steelers and once against the Ravens.