The 2012 NFC playoff brackets have the Atlanta Falcons running away with the No. 1 seed, but Sunday's games (Dec. 9) could certainly throw a wrench into how things are playing out. Every team still in the race for the NFC Playoffs has four games left and they all play on Sunday.

The 11-1 Falcons have won the NFC South and are in line for the No. 1 seed and a first round bye still. As the Week 14 games get ready to begin, the 8-3-1 San Francisco 49ers cling to the No. 2 seed. They are just barely ahead of the 8-4 green Bay Packers, making every game important for the rest of the regular season.

As it stands, the NFC North leading Packers are the No. 3 seed and the NFC East leading 7-5 New York Giants would be the No. 4 seed. The two NFC wild card teams are the 8-4 Chicago Bears and 7-5 Seattle Seahawks, but there are also several teams waiting outside to try to crash the party.

The Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Minnesota Vikings are all 6-6, giving them each a chance at nabbing one of the wild card slots. The Cowboys and Redskins are also just one game behind the Giants in the NFC East, setting up some very interesting scenarios over the next few weeks.

Every game is important from here on out, with the 2012 NFC playoff brackets likely to shift with every win or loss from the top 10 seeded teams. The only team that seems to have an easy route is the Atlanta Falcons, as they are just one win from clinching the No. 1 seed in the NFC Playoffs.

If the playoffs started today, it would be the Green Bay Packers vs. Seattle Seahawks and New York Giants vs. Chicago Bears in the first round. Those are great match-ups on paper, giving Aaron Rodgers a second chance to take down Seattle.

Do you think that the two wild card teams will shift in the NFC before the season ends? Can the 49ers really hold on to the No. 2 seed?

The 2012 NFL power rankings have to give added respect to the Denver Broncos for what the team has been able to accomplish recently. Though the Broncos don't have the best record in the AFC, the team has been taking care of opponents on both offense and defense recently.

Denver has now won five straight games, pushing their conference record to 5-2 and their record against the AFC West to 3-0. That reveals that the Broncos get three more games against the West, in addition to a couple of tough games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens.

The Broncos are sitting at 7-3, but every game was winnable for them this season. They lost to the Atlanta Falcons by just six points in Week 2, the Houston Texans by just six points in Week 3, and to Tom Brady in Week 5. They also beat a healthy Pittsburgh Steelers team, a tough Cincinnati Bengals team, and the hot New Orleans Saints.

With Peyton Manning leading the offense and Von Miller leading the defense, it is clear that the Denver Broncos could be competing for an AFC title this season. Every elite team in the conference is dealing with injuries, so why couldn't a team led by a four-time MVP win it all?

Do you think that the 2012 NFL power rankings should have the Broncos near the top? Are the Broncos better than the Texans?

The Week 12 NFL power rankings see the Green Bay Packers moving up while the Chicago Bears take a step back. It has made the NFC North even more exciting, as the two teams are tied atop the division with 7-3 records.

The Packers are looking really strong after winning five consecutive games, and the Bears are looking equally beatable after losing two straight. It is now becoming very clear that Aaron Rodgers could have his team on track to win another Super Bowl.

If that fateful Monday night game had gone differently, the Packers would be 8-2 and just one game behind the Atlanta Falcons for the best record in the NFC. As it currently stands, the Packers aren't too far off that pace, trailing the San Francisco 49ers by just half a game for that No. 2 seed.

The Packers are one of the hottest teams in football and have to be included in the top 5 teams for the Week 12 NFL power rankings. The team has a tough game coming up against the New York Giants (November 25), but if they can win it, the Packers will definitely have that statement game moving forward.

Having already beaten the Houston Texans and Chicago, the only real blemish for the Packers is a Week 1 loss to the 49ers. That would have cost them if the season came down to tie-breakers, but since the 49ers now have a tie on their record, it seems like a pretty far-fetched scenario.

The Green Bay Packers have become a team that nobody wants to play, and now they are just six games from another playoff run. Do you think that the Green Bay roster has enough talent to win another Super Bowl? Would you rank the Packers as one of the top three teams in the NFL right now?

Plaxico Burress is ready for the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns game on Sunday (November 25) after signing a contract with the injury-prone Steelers. ESPN reported that Jerricho Cotchery and Antonio Brown are likely to miss the Week 12 game, raising a need for someone like Burress.

It is surprising that it took a team so long to sign Burress, especially after he put up respectable numbers in the 2011 NFL season. Playing for the New York Jets, Burress caught 45 passes for 612 yards and 8 touchdowns. It was a positive return to the league, but he apparently didn't earn many new friends.

Pittsburgh is probably hoping that Burress can put up stats like he did in the 2001 and 2002 season. Back in 2002, he caught 78 passes for 1,325 yards and 7 touchdowns for the Steelers. If he can just provide a nice target for the replacement quarterbacks, it should end up being a very nice signing for the team.

The Steelers have to get something going on offense, especially because of how important this game against the Browns is going to be in the AFC North standings. Do you think that the Plaxico Burress signing is good enough to put the team over the top? Any predictions on a final score for the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns Week 12 game?