We’re nearly halfway through the NFL season and we’re starting to develop a pretty good idea of the teams that will be around in January, though there are still a few teams that haven’t quite proven their legitimacy.
| Rank | Team | Comment |
| 1 | New England Patriots | It might not have been a very pretty win, but the Patriots will take a 28-18 win over Brett Favre and Randy Moss to become the first 6-1 team in the NFL this season. Next week is a “trap” game with a visit to a rested Browns team in Cleveland. |
| 2 | Baltimore Ravens | Despite being on a bye week, the Ravens advanced in the rankings due to lackluster performances by the Jets and Steelers. |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Pittsburgh was not able to move the ball effectively against New Orleans and, as a result, were handed their first loss since the return of Ben Roethlisberger. A team that we expected to cruise after their 4 weeks without Big Ben would be on a 2-game losing streak if not for a blown call in Miami. |
| 4 | New York Giants | The Giants will have to hope that the bye week didn’t kill the momentum of their 4-game winning streak. They should remain an NFC East contender down the stretch. |
| 5 | Indianapolis Colts | There is a certain inevitability involved with the Colts and the AFC South lead; even though the 2010 squad has already matched last year’s loss total, a Monday Night Football win over the Texans puts Indianapolis back atop the division. With the Bengals up next, expect Peyton to lead the Colts to an extended lead in the division. |
| 6 | New York Jets | While many thought the Jets would benefit from a “Bye” week before hosting the Green Bay Packers, a 9-0 loss would speak otherwise. The Jets now fall to 2nd in the AFC East and travel to play the Lions next week; a Lions team that got a big win this week. |
| 7 | Atlanta Falcons | Atlanta is coming off the bye week to face surprising division rival, Tampa Bay. The winner of this game will hold first place in the NFC South. |
| 8 | New Orleans Saints | Which Saints team represents the real Saints team: the one that got embarrassed at home by Cleveland or the one that took out Pittsburgh? Time will tell. |
| 9 | Kansas City Chiefs | Despite being pushed to OT by the winless Bills, the Chiefs maintained their home-field advantage by kicking a FG with only 5 seconds left in the extra period. Kansas City remains atop the AFC West and travels to Oakland for a huge divisional game next week. |
| 10 | Tennessee Titans | The Titans got Vince Young back from injury, but lost him again before the game was over in a 33-25 loss to the Chargers. Luckily for Tennessee, next week is their “Bye” week and they can figure out their QB situation; and oh yeah, get that Randy Moss guy trained on the offense in the meantime. |
| 11 | Green Bay Packers | Not sure how many people had the Packers over the Jets, but I would bet that even less had Green Bay holding the Jets scoreless. A game this week against Dallas should allow them to maintain or build on their NFC North division lead. |
| 12 | Miami Dolphins | Good win for the Dolphins against a monumentally-underachieving Cincinnati Bengals squad. Once again Miami wins on the road despite being winless at home; next week is another road game, but the opponent is Baltimore. |
| 13 | Tampa Bay Bucs | Tampa Bay has a big game this week and has the opportunity to prove that they are the team to beat in the NFC like their head coach says. Love the confidence, now lets see if they can continue to back it up with wins. |
| 14 | Philadelphia Eagles | Philladelphians are hoping that the returns of Mike Vick and DeSean Jackson will bring back some of the explosiveness this offense had, and that it will propel them into a battle with the Giants for the NFC East title. |
| 15 | Houston Texans | The honeymoon is over; after all the celebration for a Week 1 Houston win over the Colts, the 30-17 loss in Indianapolis on Monday Night Football is a reality check. The Texans drop to 3rd in the AFC South and have to play a refocused San Diego team next week. |
| 16 | St. Louis Rams | Not many people would have guessed that Saint Louis would be in the talk for the playoff race at week 9, but as they go into their bye week there is some buzz surrounding this team. Steven Jackson is probably the happiest man in the NFL right now. |
| 17 | Oakland Raiders | After a blowout win over the Broncos last week, the Raiders made it two big wins in a row with a 33-3 victory over the Seahawks. Next week is a huge match-up with division rival Kansas City. |
| 18 | San Diego Chargers | One week removed from a close loss at home to the Patriots, the Chargers bounced back and defeated a tough Titans team by a final of 33-25. San Diego travels to Houston to play a Texans team which will be on short rest after a Monday Night Football showdown with the Colts. |
| 19 | Washington Redskins | The Redskins made headlines this week when coach Mike Shanahan benched quarterback Donovan McNabb in the closing minutes of a loss to Detroit. QB-coach relationship issues are not going to help a 4-4 team get over the hump. |
| 20 | Jacksonville Jaguars | It couldn’t have been a better situation for Jacksonville, heading to Dallas to play the Cowboys without Tony Romo. David Garrard took advantage of a listless Dallas team, winning 35-17; next week the Jaguars have their “Bye” week. |
| 21 | Seattle Seahawks | Seattle is heading into week 9 with a division lead yet they still haven’t played well against a good team. They have the opportunity to do so this week against the Giants, but I don’t like their chances. |
| 22 | Chicago Bears | Chicago’s bye week came at a good time after their two game skid. They get to ease back into things against the Bills as long as they don’t copy the Ravens game plan from a few weeks ago. |
| 23 | Detroit Lions | Matthew Stafford came back from his injury with a bang tossing 4 TDs in a big win over the Redskins. They will need him to be on top of his game once again (and then some) when they take on the Jets this week. |
| 24 | Denver Broncos | Poor Kyle Orton; despite a game in which he passed for 369 yards in London, the 49ers still beat Denver by a final score of 24-16. Denver gets a “Bye” week to regroup next week. |
| 25 | Arizona Cardinals | An interesting upcoming week for Arizona. They are taking on a Vikings team that is reeling and full of turmoil…but you know what they say about a cornered animal. |
| 26 | Cincinnati Bengals | The Bengals offense continues to struggle and it does not look like they will come even remotely close to defending their AFC North title. |
| 27 | Minnesota Vikings | After dropping Randy Moss this week, the Vikings have looked into signing the one receiver from the Wrangler jeans commercial that Favre connected with for some TDs. Ok, that’s not true, but would you really be surprised if it was considering the circus surrounding this team? |
| 28 | San Francisco 49ers | Even though it was just their second win of the season, getting a win heading into the bye week has to be a mental boost for this team that is vastly underachieving. |
| 29 | Cleveland Browns | The Browns have a tough schedule down the stretch, and although making the playoffs would be nearly impossible, they are improving and will hope to play a spoiler roll in the AFC playoff picture. |
| 30 | Dallas Cowboys | The Cowboys disastrous season continues as they allowed 5 total TDs from David Garrard and fell to a mediocre Jacksonville team 35-17. You’ve got to start wondering how long Wade Phillips will last in Dallas. |
| 31 | Carolina Panthers | It’s probably safe to say Carolina got it’s one win for the year out of the way. The rest of their schedule would be rough for a good team too. |
| 32 | Buffalo Bills | Nothing more to see here. Another week, another loss in Buffalo. The Bills made a true game of it, forcing a second consecutive OT game on the road against a better team, but lost on a Chiefs FG with 5 seconds left in overtime. As the final winless team, Buffalo hosts a rested Bears team next weekend; in Toronto for the Bills Toronto Series, that is. |
Commentary breakdown: Alex (AFC North, NFC East), Brian (AFC East/South/West), Pat (NFC North/South/West).
