1. Indianapolis Colts (2) – A dramatic victory over the Patriots leads them to a tough match-up in Baltimore, where they usually have problems. I am not predicting a loss, but put it this way: if the Colts aren’t going to have a perfect season, I think this is the week it ends.
2. New Orleans Saints (1) – Sorry kids. Just barely pulling out a win in St. Louis is less impressive than just barely pulling out a win against New England.
3. Minnesota Vikings (3) – The Seahawks visit the Horror Dome this week. Prediction: Bret Favre Interceptionfest 2009 officially kicks off this week.
4. Cincinnati Bengals (6) – I was tempted to push them past the Vikes, but there are seven more weeks to do that. The Bengals are clearly the best team in their division after sweeping Pittsburgh and Baltimore, but what happens come playoff time?
5. New England Patriots (5) – They played the best team in football and should’ve won. No downward bump after a loss like that. By the way, circle your calendar: Monday, November 30th: Patriots at Saints.
6. San Diego Chargers (8) – It was rocky early for the Bolts, but the defense has turned it on and is putting quarterbacks on their asses. Not only will the Chargers win their division over the fraudulent Broncos, but they will be a force in the playoffs, if things hold up.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (4) – Just as I start to give them some love – and pick them HUGE to beat the Bengals – the Steelers prove that they’re not quite as good as I thought.
8. Arizona Cardinals (not ranked) – Emphatic exclamation point on their (inevitable) division title with a win in Seattle puts the Cards in the top 10 for the first time in a while. Remember last January? I think they’re starting to remember it too.
9. Dallas Cowboys (8) – I wanted to drop them off the list for losing to the Packers, who are quite bad. But the rest of the league is stinky, so the Boys get a reprieve from my wrath.
10. Atlanta Falcons (9) – Twelve NFL teams have a record of 5-4 or 4-5. The Falcons are one of them, because they laid down and died against Carolina, who – in case you missed it – is bad.