1- Kansas City Chiefs - 8-0 (+0) - Say what you want about the Chiefs' schedule, 8-0 is 8-0. They received another scare from the Browns, who played surprisingly well on Sunday with Jason Campbell, but they still found a way to win. And as long as the Chiefs remain undefeated, this is where they will stay.
2- Denver Broncos - 7-1 (+0) - For a second there, it looked like the Broncos were going to sport a two-game losing streak, but someone forgot to tell the Redskins that they actually had to play two complete halves of football, and the Broncos took advantage of that by scoring 38 straight points starting in the end of the third quarter. That's insane!
3- New Orleans Saints - 6-1 (+0) - Kenny Stills anyone? Drew Brees is always good at finding new weapons as the rookie lit it up on Sunday against the Bills. The NFC has several good teams right now, but the Saints have more than proven that they are the current best in the NFC.
4- Seattle Seahawks - 7-1 (+0) - Now I'm going to cut the Seahawks a little bit of slack due to all the injuries on the offensive line they are dealing with, but they have to hope that those guys get back awfully fast or else they will be in trouble when they play opponents not named the St. Louis Rams. The Seahawks had no offense on Monday and especially no offensive line as Russell Wilson got sacked seven times.
5- Indianapolis Colts - 5-2 (+0) - The Colts had a week off to celebrate their big win over the Broncos, but now they need to come back and make sure to ride that momentum in an important divisional game against the Texans. This one looks like a lock on paper, but the don't sleep on the Texans. Case Keenum played great against the Chiefs and they are going to be looking to save their season on Sunday night against the Colts.
6- San Francisco 49ers - 6-2 (+0) - Like I mentioned last week, that game against the Jaguars was the first of two bye weeks for the Niners. No competition at all in that one. Now they will have their actual bye week before they get to host the surging Panthers.
7- Green Bay Packers - 6-2 (+0) - I'm sure Aaron Rodgers misses all his injured receivers, but you wouldn't know it as the Packers have not missed a beat at all. Jordy Nelson has especially been huge and is now set up for a fantastic ending to the season.
8- Cincinnati Bengals - 6-2 (+0) - The Bengals have had lots of games this season where they played bad and won anyway. This past Sunday was their first game where they just outright lit it up. Perfect time for them to catch fire. If they play like that every week, then I will gladly jump on the Bengals bandwagon and move them up in the rankings.
9- New England Patriots - 6-2 (+0) - For one half of play, we all thought that the Patriots were going to be in bad shape with two straight divisional losses. Fortunately, the Dolphins went into the locker room and forgot to come out, so the Pats were able to make up for things and keep them right on track to cruise to a divisional title once again.
10- Detroit Lions - 5-3 (+0) - Holy Megatron! I have no words to describe that performance outside asking Dez if he wants to take his comments back. But outside that, how 'bout that final drive for the Lions? And that final play by Matt Stafford was pure genius. If the Lions continue to make clutch plays like that, they won't be a fun team to play come playoff time.
11- Chicago Bears - 4-3 (+0) - That bye week came at a good time for the Bears. But now they have back to back games against the Packers and the Lions and with no Cutler, they could be in big trouble. Only two teams can make wild card spots and unless they can pull off a miracle in the next two weeks, it looks like they will be the team left out.
12- San Diego Chargers - 4-3 (+1) - The Chargers haven't been very consistent at all, but lucky for them there is a huge gap between the top tier teams in the AFC and the rest of the gang, and the Chargers find themselves right in between that gap. They've had a week off and now Phillip Rivers and gang go for their third in a row against the defenseless Redskins.
13- Carolina Panthers - 4-3 (+4) - Yes, it's true that the Panthers haven't played tough competition in their four wins this season, but what impresses me most is the play of Cam Newton in those four wins. With all the competition in the NFC, the playoffs still seem like a reach, but at least Panther fans can brag that their team is currently above .500.
14- Dallas Cowboys - 4-4 (-2) - A lot of people are bashing Dez Bryant for all his antics. Personally I am on his side, especially after hearing parts of the actual sound bites. It seems like he is talking big to motivate his team to play with a high level of intensity. And he's backing it up on the field. No, he's no Megatron, but he's still on the top of his game and if every Cowboy had his level of intensity, the Cowboys would be winning more games.
15- Arizona Cardinals - 4-4 (+5) - It seems like I have underestimated the Cardinals this season because that win over the Falcons was super impressive. Unfortunately, the Cardinals are in the same position as the Panthers this year. There's just too much competition in the NFC this year for them to actually do much of anything. But teams better not sleep on them when they come up on the schedule.
16- New York Jets - 4-4 (-2) - Yikes. The second you think the Jets might have things put together, they get trounced by the Bengals in embarrassing fashion. Fortunately, like the Chargers situation, it's not over. They do host the Saints next week and that could get ugly, but after that they have a pretty smooth schedule from there on out.
17- Buffalo Bills - 3-5 (-2) - The Bills didn't play awful on Sunday. In fact, Thad Lewis has played surprisingly well as the Bills starter. The problem on Sunday I would put as purely the opponent they were playing. The Saints were just too much.
18- Tennessee Titans - 3-4 (-2) - Tough stretch for the Titans recently with their last three losses. The good news is that they have been playing well enough that they still have time to turn things around. The bye week came at a good time, and now they have things easier as their next two opponents are the Rams and the Jaguars. Although Jeff Fisher the Rams match-up won't be a walk in the park because Jeff Fisher is sure to make this emotional playing his old team.
19- Cleveland Browns - 3-5 (+2) - Turning away from Weeden and to Jason Campbell was a very good decision as the Browns got close to pulling off the huge upset against the Chiefs. Now they get a three game stretch against their division and I would say all three are must wins for this team.
20- Baltimore Ravens - 3-4 (-2) - With the Bengals continuing to run away with the division, it's looking like a lost cause for the Ravens to repeat as divisional champs. There is still a chance for the wild card spot, but they are going to need to remember how they won so many games last year, because they seem to have forgotten.
21- Miami Dolphins - 3-4 (-2) - It's been a very slippery road for the Dolphins as Sunday's meltdown led to their fourth straight loss. It's not going to get any better for them as the red-hot Bengals come to town on Halloween night. They are going to need to pull off some crazy tricks while all the little kids are out collecting treats because five straight losses will pretty much settle their fate if that happens.
22- Oakland Raiders - 3-4 (+2) - All hail Terrelle Pryor as the new record-holder for the longest run ever for a quarterback in the NFL. Check out the upcoming Raiders schedule: Eagles, Giants, Texans, Titans, Cowboys, and Jets. Is it time to look out for the Raiders? I would say no right now, but don't sleep on them.
23- Philadelphia Eagles - 3-5 (-1) - Michael Vick continues to prove to the Eagles that he can't stay healthy. How much more patience are the Eagles going to have with him? Unfortunately if he gets healthy, the Eagles have no choice but to go with him because Foles is hurt as well and Barkley is looking like his huge fall in the draft was well deserved.
24- Houston Texans - 2-5 (-1) - It appears that Matt Shaub is healthy again, but after a week of rest, the Texans have decided to stick with Case Keenum. Good choice in my opinion. Shaub has been awful this season and Keenum had a really good first outing. It's time to see what more he can do.
25- Atlanta Falcons - 2-5 (+0) - Ouch. I've been really harsh on the Falcons this season, but not even I saw that ugly performance against the Cardinals coming. The last three games was supposed to be their easy stretch and yet they have gone 1-2. That tells me that it's going to get even worse in Atlanta before it gets better. They have a trip to Carolina coming up next.
26- St. Louis Rams - 3-5 (+0) - The Rams proved against the Seahawks that their defense is still top-notch. Unfortunately they have no offense to go along with that. Although, to be fair, their running game actually looked decent against a random off-week for the Seahawks defense. Jeff Fisher gets to play his old team, the Titans, next week for the first time since they fired him. That should be interesting.
27- Washington Redskins - 2-5 (+0) - Someone apparently forgot to tell the Redskins that they need to actually play in the fourth quarter if they want to win more football games, especially when they are up against a team like the Broncos. 31 points in the fourth quarter is unacceptable. I can't remember the last time I even saw a defensive meltdown like that.
28- New York Giants - 2-6 (+1) - Two in a row for the G-Men! Unfortunately that doesn't look that impressive as they won their second straight ugly game. There were zero offensive touchdowns in that Giants/Eagles game. The Giants somehow won by only scoring five field goals. That won't happen too often.
29- Pittsburgh Steelers - 2-5 (-1) - Someone forgot to tell the Steelers that Terrelle Pryor knows how to run the ball. After two straight wins, all the progress the Steelers made seems to have just been erased. Now they get the Patriots, Bills, and Lions next. Back to their losing ways?
30- Minnesota Vikings - 1-6 (+0) - Not a bad effort against the Packers actually. Just not good enough. Ponder didn't play great, but if I'm the Vikings I would make sure to stick with him once Freeman gets better because putting Freeman back in would just be asking for trouble.
31- Tampa Bay Buccaneeers - 0-7 (+0) - Another week, another non-existent performance for the Bucs. You gotta wonder how much longer Greg Schiano has as head coach of this team. I'd be shocked if he lasted the rest of the season.
32- Jacksonville Jaguars - 0-8 (+0) - Not much to say here. The Jaguars have forgotten how to play football and this week against the Niners made it seem like they are just going backwards as a team.
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