Athlon Sports' weekly rankings of NFL teams. The Atlanta Falcons have flown back into the top spot after locking up home-field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs remain the on the bottom of the totem pole.

Here are our NFL Power Rankings following Week 16 of the season:

Athlon Sports' weekly rankings of NFL teams. The San Francisco 49ers have moved into the top spot after knocking off the previous No. 1 New England Patriots, while no team is playing worse than the Kansas City Chiefs, who were blanked by the Oakland Raiders for the second time in history this weekend.

Here are our NFL Power Rankings following Week 15 of the season:

As 2012 comes to a close, Athlon will count down the top individual performances in each major sport from the year, culminating with a full list of the top 50 performances of the year.

It is important to remember that for the NFL, 2012 started with the end of the 2011 regular season and the playoffs, in addition to the first 15 weeks of the current season. That’s why Tom Brady’s record-tying performance against Denver in last season’s AFC Divisional Round comes in at No. 1 on this list, even though the game was played back in January.

NFL football is the greatest reality TV program of all time. The Giants and Colts made sure of that back in 1958. Each NFL fall weekend is a completely new and original experience for every player, fan and coach alike. New stories, new personalities, new winners and new losers. And new statistics.

Here are the most important, most intriguing and most bizarre statistics from Week 15 of NFL play:

A betting preview of every game (against the spread) on Sunday and Monday in Week 15.


Locks of the Week
Rematches of heated rivalries, a neutral site home game in Canada and a nine-game losing streak all look good to go this week.


Packers (-2.5) at Bears

NFL Week 15 previews and predictions for every game on the schedule:

Bengals (7-6) at Eagles (4-9)
Philadelphia ended its eight-game losing streak — the team’s longest run of futility in 42 years — on a last-second TD at Tampa Bay. Now the Eagles look to end a four-game losing streak at home. If they do, the game will be a close one; Philly’s four wins this season have come by a combined six points.
Bengals by 3

Athlon Sports' weekly rankings of NFL teams. The New England Patriots have moved into the top spot after knocking out previous the No. 1 Houston Texans, while no team is playing worse than the recently humiliated Arizona Cardinals.

Here are our NFL Power Rankings following Week 14 of the season:

The players and coaches may hog the spotlight, but success in sports usually starts from the top. Those owners who sign the checks and make the right hires have the ability to not only change the fate of their respective teams, but to significantly improve their sport and, in some cases, impact the course of history. These are 10 of the best examples of the greatest owners in sports history.

The Detroit Lions will try and play spoiler when they take on the Green Bay Packers tonight at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC. The Lions (4-8) are looking to end a four-game losing streak and do something they haven’t done in more than 20 years – win at Lambeau Field. The Packers (8-4) are aiming to stay atop the NFC North standings by beating the Lions for the second time in less than a month.

A betting preview of every game (against the spread) on Sunday and Monday in Week 14.


Locks of the Week
Three of the worst teams in the league will be flown over by the sputtering J-E-T-S, soaring Dirty Birds and upstart Hawks.