We’re coming down the home stretch of the 2010 NFL season. A couple big matchups this week (Ravens-Steelers & Patriots-Jets) will go a long way in determining the AFC playoff picture. Until next week:
| Rank | Team | Commentary |
| 1 | New England Patriots | With a 17-10 deficit at halftime on Thanksgiving, it took a huge performance from Tom Brady–who posted a perfect QB rating–to put the game out of hand for a Patriots blowout 45-24 against the Lions. Next week is a Monday Night Football showdown with the Jets for control of the AFC East. |
| 2 | Atlanta Falcons | The Falcons took out another good team beating the Packers by three last week. Matt Ryan is almost unbeatable at home (11-1 for his career) and the Falcons are playing really good football right now. Easily the best team in the NFC. |
| 3 | New York Jets | After last week’s last-minute heroics against Houston, the Jets had a considerably easier time handling Cincinnati on Thanksgiving night once the second half began; the game ended in a 26-10 home win. Next week the AFC East lead is on the line when New York visits the Patriots on Monday Night Football. |
| 4 | Baltimore Ravens | A late TD by Tampa made Sunday’s Ravens-Bucs game look closer than it really was. The real concern was the injuries to Le’Ron McClain, Michael Oher & Dawan Landry. This Sunday’s game between the Ravens and Steelers is huge for both teams. |
| 5 | New Orleans Saints | The Saints jumped out to a big early lead against the Cowboys but let them back into the game and squeaked out a 3 point win. The Saints aren’t as intimidating this year as they were at this time last year, but they will still be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time. |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Pittsburgh was fortunate to get a win on Sunday in overtime against the Bills. Perhaps they were looking ahead to this weekend’s huge and likely division-deciding matchup with their rival Ravens. |
| 7 | Chicago Bears | The Bears continue to prove people wrong, this time by holding the Eagles in check with a win at home. The Bears are currently one game behind Atlanta for the best record in the NFC and there are a lot of teams who won’t want to play outdoors in Chicago in January. |
| 8 | San Diego Chargers | On a night where Peyton Manning’s INTs were the story, Philip Rivers did just enough to manage his Chargers to a big road win at Lucas Oil Stadium despite not throwing for a TD. The surging San Diego squad hosts Oakland next week. |
| 9 | Philadelphia Eagles | The Eagles fell victim to the emerging Bears this weekend. No shame in a tough road loss though, so Philly should still be considered the favorite in the NFC East. |
| 10 | Green Bay Packers | Can’t fault Green Bay for losing by just 3 at Atlanta where the Falcons haven’t lost yet. The Packers have two very winnable upcoming games and they’ll hope Chicago stumbles so they can regain the NFC North lead. |
| 11 | New York Giants | The Giants haven’t looked great the last few games. They’ll need to get healthy in order to meet their potential. |
| 12 | Kansas City Chiefs | Sure, a 42-24 win over the Seahawks doesn’t prove too much, but the Chiefs road win helps them stay one win ahead of the surging San Diego Chargers; next week the Chiefs get to host their divisional rival Broncos. |
| 13 | Indianapolis Colts | One week after throwing a game-losing INT in New England, Peyton Manning threw four picks–two which were returned for touchdowns–in an ugly 36-14 loss to the Chargers at home. The Colts will hope for a better result when they host Dallas next week. |
| 14 | Tampa Bay Bucs | Tampa Bay struggled to get any offense going against the Ravens and fell another game behind the Falcons and Saints in the NFC South. A loss against Atlanta this week will put a big dent in their playoff hopes. |
| 15 | Miami Dolphins | The return of Chad Henne saw a return to the win column for the Dolphins, who took a 33-17 road result over the Raiders. Next week promises to be a tougher challenge as the Browns come to Sun Life Stadium. |
| 16 | Houston Texans | A week removed from gifting a win to the Jets, the Texans came out strong and beat up on a Titans team which has imploded in recent weeks. If Houston wants any chance at the playoffs, they’ll need to continue to win with a Thursday night visit to Philadelphia this coming week. |
| 17 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Somehow the Jaguars managed to keep a share of the AFC South lead despite losing 24-20 to the Giants on the road. A win may be in the cards as Jacksonville prepares to visit a Titans team in disarray. |
| 18 | Oakland Raiders | Another ugly game for Oakland resulted in a 33-17 beating at the hands of the Dolphins, pushing the Raiders down to 3rd place in the AFC West. Next week won’t be much easier as Oakland travels to Qualcomm Stadium trying to win an improbable second game over San Diego this season. |
| 19 | Tennessee Titans | The Vince Young situation has clearly had an effect on a Titans squad which was badly beaten–in more ways than one–by a final score of 20-0 against divisional rival Houston. A visit from Jacksonville at LP Field awaits, and the game will be important. |
| 20 | St. Louis Rams | At 5-6 the Rams are leading their division (not a typo). We could be headed for an epic (sarcasm) week 17 matchup between the Rams and Seahawks that could very well result in a team with a losing record winning the division. |
| 21 | Cleveland Browns | The Browns have won 3 of their last 5 games, and against pretty good competition at that. While a 6 or 7 win season only represents a small improvement in the wins column, Cleveland has lost only 1 game by more than 10 points, a far cry from last year’s squad, and with Colt McCoy playing solid ball when healthy and Peyton Hillis looking like more of a monster every week, the Browns can say for certain that they’re headed in the right direction. |
| 22 | Washington Redskins | The Redskins continued their run of mediocre play with a 17-13 loss to the Vikings, eliminating any outside chances of a playoff appearance. Shanahan still has work to do in D.C. |
| 23 | Seattle Seahawks | Seattle has been better at home this year, but got embarrassed at home by the Chiefs this past week. They share the division lead with the Rams, but currently the Rams hold the tie-breaker. |
| 24 | Minnesota Vikings | The Vikings are 1-0 in the post-Childress era. It wasn’t an overly impressive performance and AP left the game early with a ankle injury. His health status will determine how the rest of the season will go for the Vikings as a winning season isn’t out of the question yet. |
| 25 | Dallas Cowboys | The Cowboys had a huge opportunity to upset the Saints, but a late Roy Williams fumble gave Drew Brees the ball down 4 with 3 minutes to go and the defense was unable to hold up. |
| 26 | San Francisco 49ers | The 49ers, despite their incredibly disappointing season, are somehow just one game out of first place in their division. Unfortunately for them their remaining two non-conference games are against other playoff teams. |
| 27 | Denver Broncos | In the same week that word got out about Denver illegally taping San Francisco’s practices before a game that they lost, the Broncos came oh-so-close to pulling off a comeback before falling 36-33 at home to the Rams. Denver’s season is unraveling quickly, and a visit to Arrowhead Stadium might not help that any. |
| 28 | Buffalo Bills | Brutal season in Buffalo; despite taking the Steelers to OT in yet another example of the Bills playing tough against teams that should blow them out, a wide-open game-winning TD pass was dropped and Pittsburgh emerged with a 19-16 victory. The Bills visit the Vikings next week. |
| 29 | Arizona Cardinals | The Cardinals continue to fall down in our power rankings as they got stomped by the 49ers last week. If we were ranking starting QB post-game tirades, the Cardinals would be at the other end of this list. |
| 30 | Detroit Lions | Detroit kept things interesting on Thanksgiving for a half before getting throttled by Tom Brady and the Patriots in the second half. At what point will Detroit unofficially give up and play for a number one draft pick by losing? |
| 31 | Cincinnati Bengals | The Bengals have now lost 8 games in a row, and with games against New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland and San Diego to close out the season, its possible they’ll end the season on a dreadful 13-game skid. |
| 32 | Carolina Panthers | Carolina hung tough against the upstart Browns but wound up with a one point loss when things were said and done. With just 140 points scored this year, they are on pace to be the only team in the NFL not to score at least 200 points in a season. |
Commentary breakdown: Alex (AFC North, NFC East), Brian (AFC East/South/West), Pat (NFC North/South/West).
