0 of 32

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

The date was Nov. 30, 2014. That's the last time the Carolina Panthers lost a regular-season football game.

Since then they've won 17 straight because of quarterback Cam Newton's brilliance. If we hone in on a more recent stretch, over his past five games Newton has accounted for 16 touchdowns while throwing just one interception.

Quarterbacks either rising, falling or breaking was a theme throughout Week 14.

The Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson finished his fourth straight game with a completion percentage above 70.0, a yards-per-attempt average higher than 9.0 and three-plus touchdown passes. Like Newton, he's elevating his team and his offense while peaking at the right time.

Then there's the Broncos' Brock Osweiler, whose red-zone struggles left some in Denver anxiously waiting for Peyton Manning's return from injury. And Andy Dalton, the Bengals quarterback who fractured his thumb. He could miss the remainder of the regular season, leaving his team to struggle offensively while maintaining its hold on a playoff bye.

December is a time when quarterbacks either step up or fizzle fast, along with their teams. Let's use the weekly power rankings to sort through Week 14 and see which teams are rising and which are face-planting.

These rankings aren't the standings. Instead what follows is an analysis of how each team stacks up based on performance, regardless of what its record says. It's subjective, sure, but agreeing on everything (or anything) isn't fun, right?

And remember, I probably hate your favorite team.