1- Denver Broncos - 6-0 (+0) - The Broncos actually looked human this past Sunday as they went into the Jaguars game as a four-touchdown favorite and actually had one of their toughest challenges of the year. Now Peyton will have the chance to go back to Indianapolis and Colts owner Jim Irsay is essentially calling Peyton a disappointment in Indy. If I were Peyton I would be rather ticked at that and want to cream the Colts.
2- Kansas City Chiefs - 6-0 (+1) - There's been a lot of talk about Andy Reid, Alex Smith and the Chiefs offense, but what has really propelled this team this far is that Chiefs defense. They have been playing lights out so far this season. Offenses the rest of the way should be scared.
3- New England Patriots - 5-1 (+3) - Receivers? Bah! Who needs them to win? Not Tom Brady apparently as they still continue to rack up wins with no one but Tom Brady. It's rather impressive actually. If you think of what the term MVP means, Tom Brady definitely deserves to be the first half NFL MVP.
4- New Orleans Saints - 5-1 (-2) - I'm not going to be too harsh on the Saints this week. They went into Foxboro and got knocked out by a surprisingly good Patriots team in the final moments of the game. And the Saints still have more wins than all the other teams in that division combined.
5- Seattle Seahakws - 5-1 (+0) - Seahawks go their first loss last week and almost followed that up with a second loss this past week to the Titans. That AFC South is giving them plenty of troubles. They are going to need to tighten things up because the Niners are right on their tail again.
6- Indianapolis Colts - 4-2 (-2) - Ouch. What on earth was that Monday night? Not only could the Colts' offense not do much as they had tons of dropped balls, but that defense just couldn't get the Chargers off the field. Peyton comes to town Sunday so they need to have a good week at practice if they want to bounce back.
7- San Francisco 49ers - 4-2 (+0) - After a really slow start, the Niners are climbing back into the race as they are only one game behind the Seahawks now. They've rode a fairly easy schedule, but that schedule still provided them with two divisional wins, so no one in San Fran is complaining right now.
8- Detroit Lions - 4-2 (+1) - Not a solid offensive performance, but they were sure glad to see Megatron back on the field, even if he surprisingly didn't do much. It was a good time to play the Cleveland Browns. They have two very winnable games with the Bengals and Cowboys up next before they get their week off.
9- Chicago Bears - 4-2 (+1) - After two straight losses, the Bears were sure glad to see the Giants on the schedule, and even though the Bears didn't play a great game, Eli and company did all they could to make sure the Bears got back on track with a win. It worked.
10- Cincinnati Bengals - 4-2 (+3) - Once again, it was an ugly win for the Bengals as it took overtime for them to knock off the hurt Bills teams, but the Bengals somehow have scratched their way to 4-2. Not bad. They have a pretty clean schedule from here on out, so a division title shouldn't be too hard.
11- Green Bay Packers - 3-2 (-3) - The Packers got the win on Sunday, holding off a Ravens comeback, but I knock them down a few spots because, despite the win, it was a bad day for the Packers as they saw both Randall Cobb and James Jones leave with injuries. Aaron Rodgers will definitely have to make Jordy Nelson an even better friend for them to still play good football through this.
12- Miami Dolphins - 3-2 (-1) - After starting out strong, then sputtering with two straight losses, the bye week came at the perfect time. Now they need buckle up and start building some momentum as four of their next six are in Miami. And in two weeks time, they will have a date in Foxboro with the Patriots. That'll be a key game for them.
13- Tennessee Titans - 3-3 (-1) - You can look at the last two weeks and point out that the Titans are now in trouble because of a two game losing streak. Or you can look at it and realize that they almost knocked off the Chiefs and the Seahawks. What are they capable of when the Niners come to town this week? Upset alert?
14- Baltimore Ravens - 3-3 (+0) - The Ravens were dead for most of the game, but almost pulled off a fourth quarter comeback following Matt Elam's cheap shot that ruined Randall Cobb's season. With the Bengals not looking super impressive despite the wins, the Ravens could easily still pull off the divisional win. Their offense needs to wake up first, though.
15- Dallas Cowboys - 3-3 (+0) - That was actually a very key win for the Cowboys on Sunday night as now we can almost safely say it is a two team race in the NFC Least. I don't really believe in either the Cowboys or the Eagles, but someone's got to win that division.
16- Cleveland Browns - 3-3 (+0) - Brandon Weeden continued to look like the Brandon Weeden we all know. What in the world was he thinking with that backwards pass? It's been a long time since I've seen such an awful through. The Browns are only a game back of the Bengals, but with that type of play, it's hard to bet on them.
17- San Diego Chargers - 3-3 (+6) - Kudos to the Chargers this week for once again showing that they are the most inconsistent team in football, this time being on the positive sign of things. It's really confusing when they get pummeled by the Raiders one week and smash the Colts the next. With the Jags on Sunday, could they actually pull off two wins in a row?
18- Philadelphia Eagles - 3-3 (+3) - Nick Foles looked pretty good in his debut start under Chip Kelly with almost 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. It's not every week, though, that they will get to play the Bucs, so we'll see what he can actually do when the Eagles play a critical game against Tony Choko and the Cowboys on Sunday.
19- Arizona Cardinals - 3-3 (+1) - The Cardinals certainly put up a fight against the Niners, but when push comes to shove, a loss is a loss and the road doesn't get any easier for the Cards as they get to play host to the Seahawks this week followed by a Falcons team the next that will be searching to establish an identity.
20- St. Louis Rams - 3-3 (+4) - The Rams had a hey day against the Texans and now that is two straight games with 30+ points. They get the chance to do it a third time as they visit the Panthers before their schedule starts to get really tricky again.
21- New York Jets - 3-3 (-4) - Just when you think the Jets might be starting to figure something out, they draw a blank and give the Steelers their first win of the season. I guess last week's win against the Falcons may have been more about the Falcons' collapse after all.
22- Buffalo Bills - 2-4 (-4) - No EJ Manuel, almost no problem. But yet they still got a loss and their next three games are going to be against the Dolphins, Saints, and Chiefs. Am I sensing a 2-7 start three weeks from now? I feel bad for this franchise. They are always in the "almost good" category, but always end with a losing season because they are never quite there.
23- Carolina Panthers - 2-3 (+5) - After laying down dead in the Cardinals game, the Panthers again showed some signs of life by destroying a pretty bad Vikings teams. They next three games for them are against the Rams, Bucs, and Falcons, which could turn out to be a very good thing for them.
24- Houston Texans - 2-4 (-5) - What in the Texans is going on in Houston. Most people thought that this would be the Texans year again. Turns that we are six weeks in and the Texans playoff hopes are looking slim at this point. After getting clobbered by the NFC West three weeks in a row, the travel to Arrowhead Stadium to play a Chiefs team that has been relentless on defense.
25- Oakland Raiders - 2-4 (-3) - Don't worry, Raiders. The Chiefs have been doing that to everyone this season. Now the Raiders get a well timed bye week before facing off against the Steelers, Eagles, Giants, and Texans. There are definitely some winnable games in that stretch to give the Raiders their confidence back.
26- Atlanta Falcons - 1-4 (-1) - After getting humiliated by a Jets team that was supposed to be a good break for them on their schedule, they got a week off to think about things. Now they have the Bucs, Cardinals, and Panthers on their upcoming schedule. If they can't pull off at least two wins in that stretch, there will be no hope for them for the rest of the season.
27- Minnesota Vikings - 1-4 (-1) - My heart and prayers go out to Adrian Peterson. No one deserves their two year old son taken away from them, especially not in that way. On a football note, the sixth game of the season for the Vikings will see Josh Freeman as the starting quarterback. That man has had quite the season.
28- Washington Redskins - 1-4 (-1) - A win against the Cowboys Sunday night was a must for the Redskins if they had any hope of fighting for that NFC East title. They did not get that and now they have the Bears, Broncos, and Chargers up next with the Chiefs and Niners later in the season. This season is officially a loss for the Skins.
29- Pittsburgh Steelers - 1-4 (+0) - The bye week worked for the Steelers as they finally left the winless teams club. There's no real hope for them this season, but they host a struggling Ravens team next, and after that get to go on a trip to Oakland. Steeler nation will be playing for pride from here on out after getting that pride seriously damaged. And hey, they could pull off a short winning streak here.
30- New York Giants - 0-6 (+0) - According to the scoreboard, the Giants almost pulled off their first win of the season. But what matters is standings and in that the G-Men are 0-6 and their turnovers aren't slowing down at all. With how they've been playing, I'm struggling to figure out where win number one comes. Vikings, Eagles, and Raiders are up next. Certainly they can come up with in win in that stretch, right?
31- Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 0-5 (+0) - Same story for the Bucs as for the Giants. With Mike Glennon in charge and still no offense in place for this team, wins won't come easy. If they can't pull off a divisional win against either the Falcons or the Panthers up next, I have no idea when their first win is going to come.
32- Jacksonville Jaguars - 0-6 (+0) - Before this week, I was certain that the Jags were headed for 0-16. They looked like a college team that got admitted to the NFL. And now suddenly after that surprise performance in the loss to Denver, I'm actually convinced they may get as high as 1-15 or 2-14 this season. The return of Justin Blackmon has seemed to give them somewhat of a spark. They do host the Chargers next week who have a bad habit of playing awful about every other week. Can they pull it off?
LOL the 49ers had an Easy schedule? They played 5 playoff teams from last year in their first 7 games. Sorry, but that's just not the case. Look that the schedule of the top two teams on your power rankings.
ReplyDelete5 playoff teams from last year in their first 7 games? Packers, Seahawks, Colts, and Texans would be 4, not 5. And last year means nothing when it comes to this year. Texans were great last year, but are awful this year. When I say they've had an easy schedule, I mean they've had it easy in the last three games after starting slow. Their last three games were against the Rams, Texans, and Cardinals
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