This week, not much changed at the top or bottom of the rankings. The big gainers are Carolina, Dallas, and New Orleans while Minnesota and Arizona took a tumble. If you are upset that these rankings don’t look like ESPN’s, you can read about the formula here.
- Green Bay Packers (6-3) no change (last week: 1)
No surprises here. Green Bay stays on top for the fourth straight week.
- San Francisco 49ers (6-2) +3 (last week: 5)
And Bill Barnwell thought they would win no more than 9 games.
- Houston Texans (7-1) no change (last week: 3)
They have a big matchup with the Bears to prove they can actually keep up with the NFC.
- New York Giants (6-2) -2 (last week: 2)
They had a tough loss at home against Pittsburgh, but they’re still elite.
- New England Patriots (5-3) -1 (last week: 4)
They have lost three games by 4 points total. They have won five games by 96 points total.
- Atlanta Falcons (8-0) +1 (last week: 7)
Their remaining schedule is not difficult, but they can’t overlook the bad New Orleans team they face next week.
- Denver Broncos (5-3) -1 (last week: 6)
Peyton Manning looks a lot like Peyton Manning.
- Chicago Bears (7-1) no change (last week: 8)
They will surely rise if they can knock of third-ranked Houston.
- Seattle Seahawks (5-4) no change (last week: 9)
They are undefeated at home. Now they need to win some on the road.
- Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3) no change (last week:10)
Well, they certainly have shown that they are not too old.
- Dallas Cowboys (3-5) +5 (last week: 16)
A win against Atlanta would have been nice, but they still have a shot at reaching ten wins.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4) +3 (last week: 15)
The Bucs are red-hot right now on offense and their defense is not a liability.
- Miami Dolphins (4-4) -2 (last week: 11)
Miami still has a team that can go to the playoffs.
- Baltimore Ravens (6-2) +3 (last week: 17)
Their 10-point win over Cleveland was closer than the score indicates.
- Carolina Panthers (2-6) +6 (last week: 21)
They will be a team that can spoil others’ playoff chances.
- Washington Redskins (3-6) -3 (last week: 13)
The Redskins aren’t giving up yet, and they shouldn’t. They can still win some games.
- Detroit Lions (4-4) +1 (last week: 18)
Are the Lions of last year back?
- Minnesota Vikings (5-4) -6 (last week: 12)
I wonder what Joe Webb thinks of Christian Ponder.
- New Orleans Saints (3-5) +5 (last week: 24)
The Saints have been playing better. The still aren’t great.
- New York Jets (3-5) -1 (last week: 19)
If they don’t win at Seattle, they can kiss their season goodbye.
- Arizona Cardinals (4-5) -7 (last week: 14)
They have a chance at losing out. Without looking it up, I’m confident in saying that they would be the first team to ever start (4-0) and finish (0-12).
- Indianapolis Colts (5-3) +1 (last week: 23)
Did you see Chuck Pagano’s postgame speech? The Colts might be able to ride him all the way to an AFC Championship loss.
- Philadelphia Eagles (3-5) -3 (last week: 20)
I hope Michael Vick has a hobby that he can take up that doesn’t involve dogs.
- St. Louis Rams (3-5) -2 (last week: 22)
At least they have a ton of draft picks the next couple years.
- Cincinnati Bengals (3-5) no change (last week: 25)
Four straight losses and they face the defending champs who are hungry after a loss of their own.
- San Diego Chargers (4-4) +2 (last week: 28)
All four of their wins are against teams ranked below them.
- Cleveland Browns (2-7) -1 (last week: 26)
The Browns get a bye-week to rest up a bit.
- Oakland Raiders (3-5) -1 (last week: 27)
Their run defense was supposed to be able to slow down Doug Martin. It failed.
- Tennessee Titans (3-6) +1 (last week: 30)
They gave up 51 points last week. It’s hard to win like that.
- Buffalo Bills (3-5) -1 (last week: 29)
At Houston last week and now at New England. That’s brutal.
- Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7) no change (last week: 31)
It looks like they can count on a top-3 pick next year.
- Kansas City Chiefs (1-7) no change (last week: 32)
They have been #32 in these rankings every week but one. It is unlikely that they’ll move up anytime soon.
