2012 NFL Power Rankings: Week 11 ESPN.com

Week: Select Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Earlier in the season (Week 7 to be exact), the Atlanta Falcons supplanted the Houston Texans at No. 1 following Houston's first loss of the season.

Now the roles are reversed.

Coming off a weekend that saw Atlanta lose for the first time and Houston prevail in a grudge match against Chicago, our voters (ESPN.com's John Clayton, ESPN.com's Ashley Fox, NFC East blogger Dan Graziano, AFC North blogger Jamison Hensley and NFC West blogger Mike Sando) had no choice but to hand the top spot back to the Texans, now winners of three straight.

Is Houston a lock for the long haul, or is it only a matter of time before Atlanta regains control? No matter which team you favor, don't expect an immediate shakeup.

The Texans host the one-win Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 11, while the Falcons host the reeling Arizona Cardinals. So barring unlikely upsets, the top two spots will remain the same until at least Week 12. Beyond that is anyone's guess, with neither team having a huge advantage in terms of schedule difficulty.

Is there anyone else in the mix as a future No. 1? Anything's possible (such as the Green Bay Packers continuing their recent tear), but most signs point to a two-horse race to the finish.

And chances are Houston and Atlanta aren't done trading places.

• How they voted | Bloggers | Rank 'Em | Playoffs Predictor | Bettors' Poll | Mike & Mike | Team Power Rankings charts since 2002