| Rank |
Up/Down |
Record |
Team |
| 1 |
2 |
6-1 |
New England – A few weeks ago, we were all questioning the Randy Moss trade; now the Patriots look brilliant, and have the best record in football. |
| 2 |
2 |
5-2 |
Baltimore – Not a bad weekend for Baltimore to take off while Pittsburgh and New York lost. Two tough games ahead against Miami and at Atlanta. |
| 3 |
1 |
5-2 |
Pittsburgh – Loss on the road to New Orleans is excusable, but with games at Cincinnati and at home against New England ahead, the Steelers need to avoid falling into a skid. |
| 4 |
3 |
5-2 |
NY Jets – Beat up Green Bay, at home, coming off of a bye week needed to be a win; a shutout loss? Worrisome, but off-weeks happen. |
| 5 |
1 |
5-2 |
Indianapolis – The Colts are back in their normal spot atop the AFC South. Can they overcome their slew of injuries and hang on to it? |
| 6 |
1 |
5-2 |
Atlanta – Atlanta playing for first place in the NFC South doesn’t surprise me too much; the fact that it is this week’s opponent (Tampa Bay) that they are tied with does. |
| 7 |
1 |
5-2 |
NY Giants – Winnable games at Seattle and at home against Dallas could give the Giants a strangle hold on a playoff spot. |
| 8 |
2 |
5-2 |
Kansas City – It wasn’t pretty against Buffalo, but it didn’t have to be. Ending Oakland’s red-hot streak this week would go a huge way in keeping this dream season a reality. |
| 9 |
3 |
5-3 |
Green Bay – Don’t look now, but the injury-riddled Packers are still very relevant in the NFC playoff picture. |
| 10 |
4 |
5-3 |
New Orleans – Win over Pittsburgh shows us that New Orleans can still beat anyone; they just have to start doing so more consistently. |
| 11 |
4 |
5-3 |
Tennessee – Minor setback with loss at San Diego, but the Chargers were due for one. Bye week to get Vince Young healthy and incorporate Randy Moss into the playbook. |
| 12 |
1 |
4-3 |
Philadelphia – Michael Vick makes his return, and gets an immediate shot to make a statement at home against Indianapolis. |
| 13 |
5 |
5-2 |
Tampa Bay – Statistics don’t add up, but you can’t ignore Tampa Bay being tied for the best record in the NFC with Atlanta and New York. |
| 14 |
5 |
4-3 |
Houston – Had a chance to make a huge statement in Indianapolis and fell flat. Defense is a concern, and it gets no easier to defend this week with San Diego coming to town. |
| 15 |
1 |
4-3 |
Miami – Road game at Baltimore should be scary, but 4-0 on the road compared to 0-3 at home… maybe Miami has them where they want them. |
| 16 |
1 |
4-3 |
Chicago – Early season success makes recent struggles more bearable, but a loss to Buffalo this week would be crippling. |
| 17 |
6 |
4-4 |
Oakland – With two huge blowout wins in a row, Oakland has hit some radar screens; need to beat Kansas City this week to stay on them. |
| 18 |
4 |
4-4 |
St. Louis – Win over St. Louis last week gives the Bucs more wins than they had in all of 2009, and they haven’t even hit the halfway point yet. |
| 19 |
6 |
4-4 |
Washington – Losses to St. Louis and Detroit this season, quarterback drama… looking less and less like a playoff team. |
| 20 |
4 |
4-4 |
Jacksonville – Dallas may be a disaster this season, but Jacksonville’s complete dominance on the road was impressive all the same. Nice way to enter a bye. |
| 21 |
4 |
4-3 |
Seattle – Were never really in the game against Oakland. Home game against the New York Giants this week serves as a real gut check. |
| 22 |
3 |
3-5 |
San Diego – Win over Tennessee could spark their annual playoff run, but they haven’t left themselves much wiggle room. |
| 23 |
4 |
2-5 |
Minnesota – Randy Moss fiasco and Brett Favre status updates dominate the headlines, but the real news is that Minnesota is in trouble. |
| 24 |
4 |
2-5 |
Cincinnati – Clearly don’t have “it” this season; hard to believe they’ll find it against an angry Pittsburgh team Monday night. |
| 25 |
4 |
3-4 |
Arizona – Crazy shootout game against Tampa Bay, but newsflash; Derek Anderson still isn’t a big-league quarterback. |
| 26 |
– |
2-5 |
Cleveland – Shocked the football world with win at New Orleans before the bye; can they shock it again with a win over New England coming off of the bye? |
| 27 |
2 |
2-5 |
Detroit – Matt Stafford was outstanding in his return and earned the win, but must face one of the league’s best defenses against the NY Jets this week. |
| 28 |
3 |
2-6 |
San Francisco – Sure, it was against lowly Denver, but at least it was a win; and shockingly, that is wins in two of their last three games. |
| 29 |
2 |
2-6 |
Denver – Flight to London must have been long after huge loss to Raiders; loss in London meant another long flight home. |
| 30 |
2 |
1-6 |
Dallas – To get beat handily on both sides of the ball at home is embarrassing. To have it happen against Jacksonville? Yikes. |
| 31 |
1 |
1-6 |
Carolina – Still can’t score; but thanks to San Francisco, at least they won’t end the season winless. |
| 32 |
– |
0-7 |
Buffalo – Two straight overtime games, and great effort by the defense last week; but can’t get out of the 32-spot without a win. |
