2012 NFL Power Rankings: Week 18 ESPN.com

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

Week 17 didn't produce a new No. 1, but it did shake up our top 10.

Even though the Houston Texans won the AFC South, they finished behind the playoff-bound Indianapolis Colts in the final edition of the 2012 rankings. The Colts' victory over Houston in Chuck Pagano's return put them at No. 7, two spots above their main division rival.

Of all the teams playing in this weekend's wild-card round, 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) hold the Seattle Seahawks in the highest regard. Seattle, which finished the regular season on a five-game winning streak, jumped to No. 5 -- its highest mark of the season.

The Green Bay Packers, who moved back into the top five just last week, fell to No. 6.

Up top, the Broncos bucked a recent trend by retaining the No. 1 spot and earning the distinction as our '12 champion (although the Texans had more weeks at No. 1 than anyone). In fact, our entire top three -- Denver, Atlanta and San Francisco -- held serve from a week ago.

Not exactly a drama-filled finish, but the wild-card teams definitely did their part to keep things interesting.

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