NFL power rankings, Week 12: Where exactly do the 49ers fit in at the bottom?

Week 11 of the 2015 NFL season is officially a wrap following a close Monday Night Football affair. The unbeaten New England Patriots held off the Buffalo Bills in a tough contest. The Bills hung close, but enough mistakes kept them from getting over the hump and springing the upset. They drop to 5-5, while the Patriots improve to 10-0. The Patriots join the Carolina Panthers as the only unbeaten teams in the NFL.

The San Francisco 49ers dropped a 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, falling to 3-7. In looking through the bottom of the power rankings, I think you could probably justify putting them anywhere in that bottom ten. I dropped them one spot, but the final six weeks provide plenty of opportunities for further slippage. They face the Arizona Cardinals, and a competitive performance would likely not drop them much at all. And yes, we've reached the point of just wondering if the 49ers can remain sufficiently competitive in games.

The biggest risers for me this week are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys. Consider it a complete re-evaluation of their positions in the league. The Cowboys get the bump entirely because of Tony Romo. His return makes them a significant better team than they were with Matt Cassel as their starting quarterback. I don't know if they'll beat unbeaten Carolina on Thanksgiving, but Romo gives them a significantly better chance.

As for the Bucs, they beat a not so good Philadelphia Eagles team, but Jameis Winston is emerging as an impressive rookie quarterback. They face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 12, in a pretty big inter-conference matchup. The Colts are tied for first with the Houston Texans, and hold the tiebreaker. The Bucs are a game back of the Atlanta Falcons for the final wild card spot, and these teams are trending in opposite directions.