Another shakeup this week, as 3 of the top 4 teams lost. The Patriots make their move to the top after a dominant performance against the Steelers, and Buffalo finally gets away from the 32 slot as they grabbed their first win of the year. Be sure you’re following us on Twitter and tweeting along on Sundays.
| Rank | Team | Comment |
| 1 | New England Patriots | After putting together a clunker in Cleveland, the Patriots stormed into Pittsburgh and won a game which had its final score muddied by garbage time in the fourth quarter; 39-26. It was a good return to form for New England as they prepare to return home and renew their rivalry with the Colts. |
| 2 | New York Jets | Despite holding a lead late into the game, the Jets were forced into their second straight road OT game in as many weeks on Sunday against the Browns. And, much like last week, the Jets came out of the game with another win. Next week, New York hosts a shellshocked Houston squad. |
| 3 | Philadelphia Eagles | Mike Vick added to his MVP resume on Monday night with one of the most dominant quarterback performances in recent memory. As long as he can keep it up and stay healthy, the Eagles could be looking at a nice playoff run. |
| 4 | Atlanta Falcons | To say the Falcons win over the Ravens was a big one was probably an understatement. While it didn’t bump them to number one on our power rankings as it did on ESPN, I think it is safe to say that Atlanta can play with anybody. |
| 5 | Baltimore Ravens | On a night when everything seemed to go Atlanta’s way, the Ravens fought back from multiple 13-point deficits to take the lead with a minute left. The last-second loss is disappointing, but there should be no overreaction given that they were a road team on a short-week Thursday game. |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Pittsburgh fell behind early against New England on Sunday night and never really recovered. Issues at kicker, offensive line and in the secondary could become major concerns moving forward. |
| 7 | Green Bay Packers | The Packers were on their bye and come back this week rested with the opportunity to essentially bury the Vikings and get some more shots in on Favre. Green Bay keeps on keepin’ on despite all their injuries. |
| 8 | New Orleans Saints | Not that they needed it, but the Saints had an extra week to prepare for this week’s game against Seattle. Please let the record show that the Saints have been playing much better football as of late BEFORE Reggie Bush returns. ESPN will find some way to attribute their play of late to the return of Reggie Bush. |
| 9 | Indianapolis Colts | Though neither the Colts nor the Bengals put in a solid game, Indianapolis won a game that they were supposed to by a final score of 23-17. The win is key heading into their first visit to Gillette Stadium and the Patriots in years. |
| 10 | New York Giants | The Giants got whooped at home by a once-struggling Cowboys team. They have been receiving buzz as a serious contender in recent weeks, but their best wins are against Chicago and Seattle, so let’s temper our expectations. |
| 11 | Tampa Bay Bucs | Tampa Bay is sticking around in the NFC South division race at 6-3. However, there might be some smoke and mirror action here as Tampa Bay is yet to beat a team with a winning record. |
| 12 | Oakland Raiders | Without playing a single snap, the Raiders jumped to first place in the AFC West thanks to the Broncos win over the Chiefs; next week the Raiders visit the Steelers in a big road game to try and maintain their new division lead. |
| 13 | Miami Dolphins | Many Miami fans wanted to take a shot at Randy Moss when he hit waivers; little did they know that searching for a new QB would be more prudent. The Dolphins beat the Titans 29-17 but appear to have lost both Chad Henne and Chad Pennington for the year. Not good news when the short week looms for a Thursday game hosting the surprising Bears. |
| 14 | San Diego Chargers | While the Chargers were resting for their “Bye” week, the AFC West didn’t make too much movement on them in the meantime. A win by the last place Broncos over former division leader Kansas City keeps San Diego in the hunt; those Broncos will travel to Qualcomm Stadium next Monday for a divisional showdown. |
| 15 | Chicago Bears | Week after week, Chicago is said to be a team not as good as their record shows, but holding Adrian Peterson to just 51 yards isn’t easy. Cutler still is an interception waiting to happen so the defense will need to continue to play at a high level. Here’s a PSA for other teams: Don’t kick to Devin Hester. |
| 16 | Tennessee Titans | Not exactly how Titans fans foresaw their first game with new weapon Randy Moss; Kerry Collins and Vince Young exchanged injury relief in a 29-17 loss to the Dolphins. The Titans will host Washington next week. |
| 17 | Kansas City Chiefs | A promising start to the season has now gotten dicey after the Chiefs lost at Denver by a 49-29 margin; in a virtual tie with Oakland for the AFC West, the Chiefs must rebound hosting Arizona next week. |
| 18 | Jacksonville Jaguars | It doesn’t get much more dramatic than a literal last-second 50-yard touchdown pass to win the game for the Jaguars over division rival Houston, 31-24. With the win, Gus Johnson had a heart attack and the Jaguars move into a tie with Tennessee in the middle of the AFC South. Jacksonville hosts Cleveland next week. |
| 19 | Houston Texans | Honeymoon’s over, Houston; hopes were high after the first winning season last year and a big win over the Colts to begin the year, but the wheels have fallen off somewhat and the Texans own a 4-5 record in the AFC South basement. A tough visit to the Jets awaits. |
| 20 | Seattle Seahawks | Seattle’s up and down season continued, this time with a win over the Cardinals. They have a big test this week against surging New Orleans and are right in the mix of their division. |
| 21 | Denver Broncos | The “Bye” week is a mercurial thing; some teams thrive, others fall. The Broncos fit the former category, winning 49-29 at home against the Chiefs. Another big divisional game waits on Monday Night Football against the Chargers. |
| 22 | St. Louis Rams | The Rams lost the division lead after an overtime loss to the 49ers. It get’s worse this week as they have the Falcons coming to town. Seattle could very well be the best team in this division, but whether or not the final standings will reflect that remains to be seen. |
| 23 | San Francisco 49ers | San Francisco has posted back to back wins and are, like the Cardinals, still in the division race. They seem to be playing better football but it’s probably too little too late after their horrendous start. |
| 24 | Cleveland Browns | The Browns played tough against the Jets and may have stolen another good win if not for a late fumble and 3-and-out. Mike Holmgren and Eric Mangini appear to be turning the Browns into a halfway decent franchise. |
| 25 | Minnesota Vikings | A week ago Vikings fans saw the next two games against the Bears and Packers as a great opportunity to get back into the division race. So, with their fate in their hands, what do the Vikings do? Play one of their worst games of the year. Childress has already hired the moving vans. |
| 26 | Washington Redskins | Just hours after signing QB Donovan McNabb to an extension, the Redskins were in the midst of giving up 28 points in the first quarter en route to a 59-28 beating. This organization still has a long way to go. |
| 27 | Dallas Cowboys | The Cowboys got a good win over their rival Giants in Jason Garrett’s first game as head coach. It remains to be seen whether that level of performance will last. |
| 28 | Cincinnati Bengals | The Bengals hung around against Indy, but failed yet again. It’s hard to imagine that they haven’t given up. |
| 29 | Buffalo Bills | The wait is over; it took nine games to find a win, but the Buffalo Bills are “off the schneid” and will avoid becoming the second team to finish 0-16 after a close 14-12 win over the Lions. Given how the Bengals play, the Bills at least have an outside shot at a second win at Paul Brown Stadium next week. |
| 30 | Detroit Lions | Detroit is allergic to winning close games and it’s becoming a near weekly trend for them. They travel to Dallas this week to face a newly energized Cowboy team and we’ll see if they can keep it close long enough to torture Lion fans even more. |
| 31 | Arizona Cardinals | When your highest offensive or defensive ranking is 27th (pass D), you are not a good team. However, thanks to the NFC West the Cardinals remain just two games out of first place. |
| 32 | Carolina Panthers | Carolina took another beating this week at the hand of Tampa Bay. The Panthers have been outscored by a league high 111 points. It’s a safe bet that they won’t recover much ground this week against the Ravens. |
Commentary breakdown: Alex (AFC North, NFC East), Brian (AFC East/South/West), Pat (NFC North/South/West).
