| Record | Best | Worst | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dal | 7-4 | 1 | 30 | From consistently mediocre to totally unpredictable settling into NFC East front-runners with only a flip of the QB switch. |
| 2 | Mia | 5-6 | 2 | 32 | Four straight weeks at #2. This is the Dolphin team we expected ... it's not the starting QB we expected, though. |
| 3 | NE | 8-3 | 3 | 26 | Two clear in an improving division. Maybe next year the Pats will be dethroned. |
| 4 | Bal | 9-2 | 4 | 20 | Five weeks in a row at number 4 and three clear in the AFC North. Think Jim Fassel's beating away suitors with a stick? |
| 5 | NYJ | 6-5 | 5 | 29 | They've scored fewer points than they've allowed — only team in the AFC with a winning record that can claim that distinction — but they're right in the thick of the playoff hunt, especially with the QB situation in Denver. |
| 6 | StL | 5-6 | 4 | 27 | The Rams are in the hunt ... their remaining games are against Arizona, Oakland, Minnesota, Washington and Chicago. With the struggles of the Eagles and Giants, it's hard to think 9-7 wouldn't earn the Rams a post-season berth (that would be 4-1 the rest of the way for those of you who are math impaired). |
| 7 | Min | 5-6 | 7 | 29 | From 29th to 7th with a win over the Cardinals. The Vikes have Chicago, Detroit, GB and the NY Jets before a week 17 showdown against the Rams. Might the Rams-Vikings game determine the final NFC wildcard team? |
| 8 | Buf | 5-6 | 8 | 29 | Still irrelevant at 5-6 and #8 in the rankings. |
| 9 | KC | 7-4 | 9 | 22 | Six weeks in a row standing firm at #9. They took two steps forward on Turkey Day. First, they beat the Broncos. Second, they convinced Shanahan to go with a rookie (Jay Cutler) in place of Jake the Snake. |
| 10 | SD | 9-2 | 9 | 19 | Just give LT the MVP right now. Sorry Peyton, Tomlinson has kept the Chargers moving ahead without key defensive components and with a first-year starting QB. |
| 11 | Den | 7-4 | 4 | 22 | Speaking of consistency, since knocking off the Chiefs week 2 to move up in the rankings, Denver has been between 10th and 13th the rest of the season. |
| 12 | Pit | 4-7 | 1 | 27 | The Steelers' season is in worse condition than Michael Richards' (Kramer) career. It's over for the defending champs. Big Ben is leading QB's in a couple categories ... INT (19) and INT % (5.5). He's almost a full percentage point above the next worst current starter (Charlie Frye: 4.6%). Who's the best QB from that draft class now? |
| 13 | Was | 4-7 | 3 | 30 | The 'Skins knocked off the Panthers thanks in large part to some hideous tackling on Cooley's 66-yard TD. Other than that pass, Jason Campbell had 52 yards on 10-22. That's mind-bogglingly bad. Should fans in the nation's capital be encouraged or discouraged? |
| 14 | Cin | 6-5 | 5 | 20 | The Bengals are the new Cowboys. They're hovering around .500 and have been holding down the 14th spot the last five weeks. |
| 15 | Ten | 4-7 | 8 | 30 | Titan fans had to be thrilled by the 4th quarter comeback from a 21-0 deficit. Titans fans should be equally dismayed that the win will cost them come draft day. |
| 16 | Jax | 6-5 | 1 | 25 | This marks Jacksonville's 2nd three-week run at #16. Hard to feel bad for a team with four bad losses out of five total: Houston (2), Washington and Buffalo. |
| 17 | Cle | 3-8 | 11 | 31 | If I told Cleveland fans before the season that they'd be 1 back of the Steelers 12 weeks in, they'd probably take it. Well, Browns fans, you've got it! |
| 18 | Ind | 10-1 | 1 | 30 | The three QB's who have a lower INT % than #18 Peyton Manning ... you guessed it: Huard, Bulger and Brunell. Two of them have been benched. Think Peyton is next? |
| 19 | NO | 7-4 | 4 | 31 | Week 17 match-up with Carolina could be interesting. Maybe by then, Reggie Bush will have more rushing and receiving TD's than fumbles lost (he's currently at 2 and 1, respectively). |
| 20 | TB | 3-8 | 10 | 20 | The Bucs have 8 weeks in this spot in two stints. They also have the 19th leading rusher in the NFL in Cadillac Williams. |
| 21 | Sea | 7-4 | 2 | 28 | In his 2nd game back after being sidelined with a foot injury, Shaun Alexander carried the ball 40 times. Who's running the asylum in Seattle? |
| 22 | Chi | 9-2 | 2 | 32 | Why isn't there serious talk of benching Rex Grossman? He's 21st in QB rating and horribly inconsistent. And, NEWSFLASH!, the Bears struggle when Grossman doesn't play well. They have 6 wins by 18 points or more (his passer rating in those games ranges from 98.6 - 148.0). They beat the Jets 10-0 and he posted a rating of 81.4. They are 2-2 in the other four games, with losses to NE and Miami and squeakers against Minnesota and Arizona. His ratings in those games are: 23.6 , 36.8, 64.9 and 10.2, respectively. He's not struggling against just the top teams, he is, as I said previously, inconsistent. And inconsistency is a good way to get bounced from the playoffs early. |
| 23 | SF | 5-6 | 4 | 27 | Frank Gore is 2nd in the league in rushing yards and Alex Smith is doing a respectable job at QB. The 49ers are mediocre, but that's light years ahead of their cross bay rivals. |
| 24 | Hou | 3-8 | 8 | 32 | I'm not sure what's more surprising, that Houston's leading rusher in their loss to the Jets was Wali Lundy with 11 yards on 8 carries or that the leading rusher in the game, Leon Washington, ran for only 17 yards. It must be rare, too, that a game doesn't include a run of 10 or more yards. |
| 25 | Car | 6-5 | 6 | 25 | Just when you think Carolina is poised for a late-season run, they go and choke one away to Washington. As bad as Jason Campbell was, Jake Delhomme managed just 4.4 yards per attempt and Steve Smith had only 34 yards. |
| 26 | GB | 4-7 | 22 | 29 | Favre isn't getting a lot of help, but he had to recognize when to take chances. You can't just write off his two INTs late. He made bad decisions — not bad throws — that cost his team any chance of coming back in the game. If Favre isn't committed to doing things the right way for his team, and perhaps modifying his game a little bit until they get more weapons, maybe he should hang it up. That being said, the officials didn't do them any favors prolonging the drive that put the Seahawks up 10 in the 4th quarter. They should have had to punt, but a GB player had his arm come in contact with Matt Hasselbeck's helmet. That was one of the worst calls I've seen all year ... and I've seen a lot of bad calls. |
| 27 | Atl | 5-6 | 6 | 27 | Maybe the Falcons should take a look at how Arkansas is using Darren McFadden and implement something similar with Vick. Let him run and throw while still allowing a conventional QB (Schaub would fill the role for the Falcons) to split time taking snaps. |
| 28 | Oak | 2-9 | 21 | 31 | Oakland tops the 2-win teams fighting for the 1st draft pick. |
| 29 | Ari | 2-9 | 7 | 31 | They're followed closely by the Cardinals, who couldn't win despite 400+ yards passing from Matt Leinart. Actually, Leinart probably threw for 400+ because they were losing, but why think about the stats intelligently (a lot of the "experts" don't)? |
| 30 | Phi | 5-6 | 4 | 30 | The Eagles belong down here. It's interesting that the Eagles are considering replacing Jeff Garcia at QB to give A.J. Feeley a chance. This must be a move for next season, but don't you want to keep both of them around if you don't know what McNabb will be able to contribute? |
| 31 | Det | 2-9 | 6 | 31 | Detroit scared me a little on Thanksgiving Day. I'd just finished bashing them in last week's rankings and they jumped out to a 10-0 lead. Fortunately, they reverted to the form that has earned them the 31st place in the rankings and allowed Joey Harrington to dominate the rest of the way in a 27-10 Dolphins win. |
| 32 | NYG | 6-5 | 3 | 32 | Three weeks in a row at #32. It's a Giant mess in NY right now. Shockey gets hurt during warm-ups, Mathias Kiwanuka lets go of Titans QB Vince Young on a crucial 4th and 10, and they blow a 21-0 4th quarter lead to Tennessee. What are the odds on Coughlin being back next year? |
Week 11
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