ESPN - 24 (no change) - Cam Newton has taken the Panthers from 32nd to top 10 in yards, first downs, red zone offense and scoring. (Sando). http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2011/week/16

NFL - 23 (+1) - Is there any cooler play in football in the NFL than the fumblerooski? The Panthers pulled off a beauty in Houston. The way the season has gone, you have to figure Denver is the only team that could've pulled that off. Carolina has now won three of four. Considering they're 5-9, what if they had been better closers early on? Carolina has lost five games by one score this season, and with just a couple of breaks, we would be talking playoffs (playoffs?!) right now. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8253e2e2/article/patriots-climb-into-top-three-bears-freefall-continues?module=HP11_cp

SB Nation - 24 (+2) - I love what Carolina is doing. They're going to be a difficult team to beat in the coming years with Cam Newton under center. http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2011/12/20/2648567/nfl-power-rankings-week-16-2011-green-bay-packers

Yahoo - 24 (+1) - Notched first win over a winning team, beat league's best "D," too. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=pfw-20111220_week_16_power_rankings

CBS Sports - 25 (+1) - The offense has been good all season, but the defense showed big-time improvement at Houston. That's progress. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/powerrankings

Pro Football Talk - 22 (+1) Before everyone starts making the Panthers a trendy playoff pick for 2012, keep in mind that they share a division with the Saints and the Falcons. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/20/week-15-power-rankings-2/

Offensive rankings - 5th overall, 10th passing, 5th rushing

Defensive rankings - 23rd overall, 18th passing, 25th rushing

Not very much change after beating a quality opponent, when the Texans won after the injuries everyone celebrated how good they were to keep winning, yet when we beat them it's only because of those injuries. Respect will come with more wins, but at least we have some momentum going into the next season