| Rank |
Up/Down |
Record |
Team |
| 1 |
– |
5-1 |
NY Jets – Not at their best Sunday, but they showed they can come from behind too, which is important. |
| 2 |
1 |
4-1 |
Pittsburgh – With Roethlisberger back and the defense still clicking, this team looks extremely dangerous. |
| 3 |
2 |
4-1 |
New England – Randy Moss who? If they can beat Baltimore, they can clearly compete with anyone. But can they win on the road? Nice test this week in San Diego. |
| 4 |
2 |
4-2 |
Baltimore – Tough loss in New England, but nothing to be too concerned about. Easy one this week at home against Buffalo. |
| 5 |
1 |
4-2 |
Indianapolis – Head into the bye week with an impressive road win over Washington. Will try to get healthy over the break. |
| 6 |
3 |
4-2 |
New Orleans – Finally, the Saints show up on both sides of the ball and win big. Should have another chance to do that against Cleveland this week. |
| 7 |
3 |
4-2 |
Atlanta – Big loss at Philadelphia, but road losses happen. Important to bounce back this week against a tricky Cincinnati team. |
| 8 |
6 |
4-2 |
Philadelphia – Huge win over Atlanta, the Eagles clearly have two quarterbacks capable of winning games. Nice to have depth at such a key position. |
| 9 |
3 |
4-2 |
Tennessee – Another convincing victory, when Tennessee shows up to play, they tend to impress. |
| 10 |
3 |
4-2 |
NY Giants – Took care of Detroit last week, and can all but end rival Dallas’s season with a win this Monday night. |
| 11 |
4 |
4-2 |
Houston – Great come from behind win over a tough Kansas City team. Will have the bye week to work out some kinks on defense. |
| 12 |
5 |
4-2 |
Chicago – Home loss to Seattle casts a bit of doubt on how legitimate of a contender this team is. They’ll get a chance for redemption this week against Washington. |
| 13 |
3 |
3-2 |
Kansas City – No shame in a losing a great game to Houston, but missed out on an extremely valuable chance to add to their AFC West lead. |
| 14 |
2 |
3-2 |
Miami – Overtime win over beat up Green Bay was huge for Miami, who will have their hands full with Pittsburgh this week. |
| 15 |
7 |
3-3 |
Green Bay – Clay Matthews’ return this Sunday could provide a big spark for a team on the slide. |
| 16 |
5 |
3-3 |
Washington – Kept it close against Indianapolis, but couldn’t make the big play to get over the top. |
| 17 |
4 |
2-3 |
Minnesota – Sure, it is just Dallas, but the close game against the Jets and now the win over Dallas could be a momentum builder. |
| 18 |
4 |
2-3 |
Cincinnati – Had the bye week to sort out their issues on offense, but most of those issues are mental. Can those be remedied in two weeks? |
| 19 |
4 |
3-2 |
Arizona – Key NFC West meeting this week at Seattle, where the Seahawks have played very tough this season. |
| 20 |
6 |
3-3 |
St. Louis – Completely blown out by Detroit, and then a win over San Diego. Consistency isn’t among their strengths, but this team has looked good more often than not. |
| 21 |
6 |
3-2 |
Seattle – Huge road win over Chicago. So much for rebuilding; in the wide open NFC West, Seattle is right in the thick of things. |
| 22 |
5 |
3-2 |
Tampa Bay – I’m thinking the Bucs’ hot start was a flash in the pan, and they didn’t do much to change my mind this week. |
| 23 |
5 |
3-3 |
Jacksonville – When they aren’t winning, they are getting completely blown out. Road trip to Kansas City this week could spell another big loss. |
| 24 |
1 |
2-4 |
Denver – Played the Jets hard, but couldn’t close the deal in the end. Should be a bit easier this week against Oakland. |
| 25 |
6 |
2-4 |
San Diego – So much for magically turning things around. A win over New England this week would be huge, but wouldn’t answer for the road woes. |
| 26 |
6 |
1-4 |
Dallas – Jerry Jones says he won’t fire Wade Phillips mid-season. By my count, that gives him 11 more games as the Cowboys’ head coach. |
| 27 |
3 |
1-5 |
San Francisco – Finally, a win! Oakland served it up on a silver platter, and another one should come this week at Carolina. |
| 28 |
4 |
2-4 |
Oakland – Jason Campbell did his best JaMarcus Russell impression, leaving Raiders fans HOPING that Kyle Boller starts this week. Yikes. |
| 29 |
1 |
1-5 |
Detroit – Matt Stafford will return after the bye, which could spark Detroit to a few upsets down the stretch. |
| 30 |
1 |
1-5 |
Cleveland – Colt McCoy had a decent debut against a very tough Pittsburgh defense. Another tough one ahead at New Orleans. |
| 31 |
– |
0-5 |
Buffalo – Unless the defense has done a complete 180 over the bye week, Baltimore could be the fifth straight team to put up 30 or more points on the Bills. |
| 32 |
– |
0-5 |
Carolina – If Carolina can muster up 10 points this week against the 49ers, it will be only the third time they’ve done so this season. |
