1. New England Patriots (7-2, +3)
We didn’t want to drop the Pats too far down the list after their loss to the Browns, assuming it was a hiccup. They proved it was nothing but by going into Heinz Field and dominating the Steelers. Tom Brady picked a great time to have his best game of the year and their young defense got after Ben Roethlisberger.
2. New York Jets (7-2, +3)
You could argue the Jets have barely squeaked by mediocre teams the past two weeks, but they’ve done it on the road and it’s safe to say the Browns aren’t what they used to be. Squeezing out back-to-back overtime wins on the road proves that Rex Ryan’s team has enough toughness to make a deep run.
3. Atlanta Falcons (7-2, +4)
There we go. The Falcons have finally grabbed a win that doesn’t leave room for any “yeah, but…” skeptics. One of Atlanta’s two losses was against the Steelers week one on the road. Other than that, they’ve won seven of their last eight. With the Giants losing to Dallas, they become the clear-cut NFC favorite.
4. Philadelphia Eagles (6-3, +5)
How are teams going to stop Michael Vick? He looks better now than he ever had in Atlanta and is emerging as an MVP candidate. Not only is Vick making plays with his legs, he’s standing in the pocket and throwing the ball downfield. He makes the Eagles the most dangerous offense in football.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3, -4)
The Steelers’ offense is looking less and less scary by the week. If teams can do to their defense what New England did on Sunday night, the end result will be the same. Their offense with Ben Roethlisberger is designed around playing with a lead. Pittsburgh could be leaning on its defense too heavily.
6. Baltimore Ravens (6-3, -4)
The Ravens brought the season’s first Thursday night game right down to the wire in Atlanta. They may have even won if Roddy White was called for pushing off on the game-winning touchdown. A match-up with Carolina this weekend should get Baltimore back on track.
7. Green Bay Packers (6-3, -1)
The Packers travel to Minnesota after enjoying the week off. The Vikings looked sad against the Bears on Sunday and, with an extra week to prepare, Green Bay should be able to walk all over a team that is without Randy Moss and will soon be without Brad Childress.
8. New Orleans Saints (6-3, –)
The bye week should have done the Saints a lot of good in terms of getting healthy. Their offense was getting back on track before the week off and they should dominate the Seahawks at home with Reggie Bush likely to return and Pierre Thomas not far behind.
9. New York Giants (6-3, -6)
It was only a matter of time before a team paid too much attention to the Cowboys record and not enough to the talent on their roster. The Giants did just that and Dallas left them in the dust. They better find a way to stop Michael Vick or Philly will do the same this Sunday.
10. Indianapolis Colts (6-3, +1)
If not for five turnovers, the Bengals would have beaten Indianapolis. The Colts were lucky they ran into one of the least disciplined teams in football or they would have a ton of pressure on them heading into New England. A game on the road against one of the Patriots will be a great indicator of where they stand.
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3, +2)
The Bucs have beaten the teams they needed to in order to keep them in the playoff hunt. That being said, it’s still tough to tell where they stand. They face the 49ers this weekend before traveling to Baltimore then hosting Atlanta. If they win two of those three, it will be tough to argue that they’re legit.
12. Miami Dolphins (5-4, +4)
The Dolphins are 1-0 since Brandon Marshall’s guarantee, but they may not have a quarterback. Tyler Thigpen got it done against the Titans, but with Chad Pennington and Chad Henne out and Jake Long hurting, they could be headed for a free fall.
13. Oakland Raiders (5-4, -1)
The Oakland Raiders are in first place in the AFC West. That’s right, I said first place. With only AFC opponents on their schedule the rest of the way, I guess you could say they control their own playoff destiny. Darren McFadden has been a huge difference maker.
14. San Diego Chargers (4-5, –)
The return of Malcolm Floyd this week and Vincent Jackson the following week will be huge for the Chargers passing game. If Gates can continue to fight through injuries, this team should win the AFC West with ease. They have by far the most talent of any team in their division.
15. Tennessee Titans (5-4, -4)
The Dolphins lost Chad Pennington immediately and Chad Henne shortly thereafter, yet the Titans somehow lost the game. Randy Moss caught only one pass and appeared to be pouting on the bench by himself toward the end of the game. Sound familiar?
16. Chicago Bears (6-3, –)
We didn’t understand how the Bears were 5-3, so you can imagine how we feel about them being 6-3. Either we aren’t giving them enough credit or they’re complete pretenders with a 6-3 record. When they face teams like Green Bay, Philadelphia, New England, and the Jets — we’ll know.
17. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4, +2)
The Jaguars won with an unbelievable Hail Mary from David Garrard to Mike Thomas as time expired. The game was tied, however, so that’s not to say they wouldn’t have won in overtime. They’ve won two straight and have a meeting with the Browns this weekend, which is no longer an easy draw.
18. Cleveland Browns (3-6, +4)
The Browns’ 3-6 record is a poor indicator of the type of team they are. Colt McCoy led a fourth quarter comeback on Sunday but Cleveland fell short in overtime. Had Chansi Stuckey not fumbled in OT, they could be looking at three straight wins over the Saints, Patriots, and Jets.
19. Houston Texans (4-5, -1)
The Texans learned a lesson in defending the Hail Mary — catch the ball if you can, don’t knock it down. Their pass defense continues to kill them and Matt Schaub’s inconsistency hasn’t helped. It won’t get any easier with a road game against the Jets this weekend.
20. Kansas City Chiefs (5-4, -5)
The only thing worse than getting absolutely torched is getting absolutely torched by a poor team that’s in your division. The Chiefs were the front-runners in the AFC West at the beginning of the season. It’s amazing how quickly things can change in the NFL.
21. Seattle Seahawks (5-4, +3)
Seattle is now 5-4 overall and 3-1 in the NFC West. Considering the West is by far the worst division in football, they have to like their chances for making the playoffs. The Seahawks do not have an overly difficult schedule the rest of the way.
22. St.Louis Rams (4-5, -2)
Although the NFC West is a horrendous division, games like these are ones the Rams need to win. They lost a tough one in overtime to the 49ers in San Francisco thanks to a dumb penalty in the secondary. A win over the Falcons in Atlanta this weekend would be huge.
23. Washington Redskins (4-5, –)
The Redskins were absolutely embarrassed by the Eagles on their own turf. If Monday’s game was an indicator of whats to come for Washington in 2010, it will be interesting to see if they take advantage of the out clause they have with Donovan McNabb’s new contract.
24. Denver Broncos (3-6, +4)
The Broncos surprised everyone by doing to the Chiefs what the Raiders did to them a couple weeks ago. I still think it was a fluke. Denver has a date with San Diego on Monday night this week. Expect the big win over Kansas City to be forgotten by next week.
25. Dallas Cowboys (2-7, +5)
The Cowboys may only be 2-7, but they’re a lot better than most of the teams at the bottom of this list. Jason Garrett passed his first test as head coach and it was a big one. Jon Kitna is more than capable of putting up big numbers with Dallas’ talented passing attack.
26. Minnesota Vikings (3-6, -4)
Why the Vikings have yet to fire Brad Childress is beyond me. When the only significant news surrounding your franchise has to do with anonymous quotes from players bashing the head coach, you have a major problem. Brett Favre would be wise to just retire mid-season.
27. San Francisco 49ers (3-6, +3)
The NFC West is so terrible that the 49ers actually remain in the hunt. Troy Smith has been an upgrade over Alex Smith thus far. Like the other NFC West teams, their schedule is pretty friendly the rest of the way.
28. Arizona Cardinals (3-6, -3)
The Seahawks handled the Cardinals both times they played them this season. The Seahawks aren’t very good. It seems like Kurt Warner’s departure left Arizona in disarray, but their issues run much deeper than Derek Anderson.
29. Cincinnati Bengals (2-7, -2)
A win over the Colts may have given the Bengals enough confidence to finish the season on a bit of a run. Instead, they shot themselves in the foot with five turnovers and proved that they are one of the least disciplined teams in football. What has happened to Carson Palmer?
30. Detroit Lions (2-7, -4)
The Bills were getting closer and closer to victory every week and somehow we could just sense they’d get on the board against Shaun Hill and the Lions. Detroit had a chance to send the game into overtime but instead turned in a horrible effort on a two-point conversion attempt.
31. Buffalo Bills (1-8, +1)
Congratulations to the Bills. Not only did they grab their first win of the season, they made their way out of the No. 32 spot in our weekly power rankings. They had lost several close games in a row leading up to the victory. That’s more than the Panthers can say for themselves.
32. Carolina Panthers (1-8, -1)
Carolina drafted Jimmy Clausen in the second round of the 2010 Draft. if they finish last in the NFL this season, they’ll likely take a quarterback again in 2011.
