| Rank |
Up/Down |
Record |
Team |
| 1 |
4 |
3-0 |
Pittsburgh – The plan was to stay afloat until Ben Roethlisberger got back. Instead, the Steelers dominate in his absence. The fact that this team will get better soon is scary. |
| 2 |
1 |
2-1 |
Indianapolis – Worries about the defense after week one have settled down, looking like business as usual in Indy. |
| 3 |
1 |
2-1 |
Green Bay – Complete meltdown of penalties, on the road against a strong division rival, and still only lose by three. Even at their worst, Green Bay can still top half of the league. But they shouldn’t get in the habit of playing at their worst. |
| 4 |
3 |
2-1 |
New Orleans – Should be 3-0 after losing due to a chip-shot field goal attempt. Nothing wrong with losing to a great Atlanta team, but this Saints team hasn’t quite found their 2009 groove yet. |
| 5 |
2 |
2-1 |
NY Jets – Forget the Baltimore game. Mark Sanchez looks great, and wins over New England and Miami show what the Jets are made of. |
| 6 |
8 |
3-0 |
Chicago – Following up beating Dallas in Dallas with beating one of the league’s best (Green Bay) Monday night, it’s difficult to argue that Chicago isn’t a real threat in the NFC North. |
| 7 |
3 |
2-1 |
Atlanta – Pittsburgh really was a brutal draw to start the season. This team is for real, and they’ve shown it since. |
| 8 |
2 |
2-1 |
Baltimore – Not many style points for a close win over Cleveland, but wins are more important than style points. Maybe Anquan Boldin’s huge day will provide the spark this offense has been looking for. |
| 9 |
– |
2-1 |
New England – Giving up 30 points at home to Buffalo a week after giving up 28 to the Jets? We can’t pretend like the defense isn’t a concern. |
| 10 |
6 |
2-1 |
Houston – They had to run out of steam sooner or later after two huge emotional wins. A very winnable game at Oakland should get them back on track. |
| 11 |
3 |
2-1 |
Miami – Also had a nice bounce-back blowout. |
| 12 |
– |
2-1 |
Cincinnati – We STILL haven’t seen what this offense is capable of, but the defense looks top-notch. |
| 13 |
7 |
3-0 |
Kansas City – I’m still not a full blown believer in this team, but their actions speak louder than my words. |
| 14 |
1 |
2-1 |
Tennessee – Vince Young and Chris Johnson both have nice rebound games, and Tennessee looks great on the road in stomping a NY Giants team that really needed a win. |
| 15 |
2 |
2-1 |
Philadelphia – Don’t deserve to fall two spots after their domination over Jacksonville, but KC and Tennessee earned the jumps. The Mike Vick experiment has been a rousing success so far, but it’s only Detroit and Jacksonville. Looking forward to seeing real tests. |
| 16 |
3 |
1-2 |
Dallas – Finally, the Cowboys put it together and look like the contender they are supposed to be. They carry good feelings into the bye, but still need to make plenty of adjustments. |
| 17 |
– |
1-2 |
Minnesota – Took care of business against Detroit. Brutal schedule awaits them on the other side of the bye; they’d better find their 2009 form, and fast. |
| 18 |
7 |
2-1 |
Seattle – If only they could play all 16 games at home. Leon Washington’s two-TD performance in the return game was spectacular. |
| 19 |
8 |
1-2 |
San Diego – Just getting it out of their system, as they always do at the beginning of the season. Return of Marcus McNeill will do wonders. |
| 20 |
4 |
1-2 |
Washington – The Redskins must have been looking ahead to the Donovan VS. Philadelphia game, too, because they forgot to show up against St. Louis. |
| 21 |
3 |
1-2 |
NY Giants – Follow up a blowout loss to Indianapolis with a blowout loss to Tennessee. Can they avoid a blowout loss to Chicago? |
| 22 |
– |
2-1 |
Tampa Bay – Last weeks loss to Pittsburgh may have been a bit closer to this team’s true colors than their 2-0 record was. |
| 23 |
4 |
2-1 |
Arizona – Couldn’t give the game away to Oakland, but they sure did try. Still looks to me like this team is in for a long season. |
| 24 |
1 |
1-2 |
Denver – Not much a team like Denver is going to do against a team like Indianapolis. @Tennessee, @Baltimore, and NY Jets ahead could dig a deep hole. |
| 25 |
5 |
1-2 |
St. Louis – Fought hard against Arizona and Oakland, and won handily against Washington. This is a team that is learning how to win. |
| 26 |
– |
1-2 |
Oakland – Unmissable field goal somehow missed to cost Oakland the game was heartbreaking, but they’d better stop feeling sorry for themselves in a hurry if they want to have a fighting chance against Houston this week. |
| 27 |
6 |
0-3 |
San Francisco – Can’t keep making excuses for this team. They may find “it” as the season carries on, but they quite clearly don’t have “it” now. |
| 28 |
4 |
1-2 |
Jacksonville – Hard to find any positives in last week’s blowout loss to Philadelphia. It will be hard to avoid another this week with Indianapolis coming to town. |
| 29 |
3 |
0-3 |
Cleveland – As bad as Cleveland is (and they are bad), they haven’t lost any of their games by more than a touchdown. Sticking around is a good way to eventually steal one. |
| 30 |
1 |
0-3 |
Buffalo – Played both Miami and New England tough. This is a really bad team, but to their defense, there are plenty of teams around the league that would start off 0-3 to Miami, @Green Bay, and @New England. |
| 31 |
2 |
0-3 |
Detroit – The rest of the NFC North is just too far ahead right now, and another long season looks imminent. |
| 32 |
4 |
0-3 |
Carolina – Three 13-point losses this season, they are the only team in the league that hasn’t even threatened to win a game. Worse yet, they’ve had two at home. |
