1. Indianapolis Colts (2) – Back in the driver’s seat this week, leapfrogging the Saints for the first time in a couple of weeks. If they handle the Jags like they handled the Broncos, 16-0 is a lock. If it’s the second string, they might still be able to do it – but I’ll have less faith.
2. New Orleans Saints (1) – A Matt Ryan-less, Michael Turner-less Falcons team stayed in the game, a week after Washington had to miss a chip-shot field goal and cough up an overtime fumble for the Saints to squeak by? It’s going to take a little better effort this week against Dallas to keep the undefeated dream alive.
3. Minnesota Vikings (3) – A week after being taken to task by the Cardinals, purple did some damage to the Bengals. My God, what an NFC championship game it looks to be in the Superdome.
4. San Diego Chargers (5) – What a smokin’ hot team. If they march into Lucas Oil Stadium with the AFC title up for grabs, I see no reason why they couldn’t move on to Miami.
5. Philadelphia Eagles (8) – That was quite a track meet in Giants Stadium. Donovan McNabb is having one of his best seasons, but the defense is going to have to tighten it up if the Iggles expect to go indoors and knock off the Saints or Vikes.
6. Cincinnati Bengals (6) – By the results, it would only be right to dump the Bungalows down a notch, and give the Package a push. No thanks. The Bengals are a much better team than Green Bay, regardless of what happened Sunday.
7. Green Bay Packers (7) – And what happened on Sunday, to me, was that the Packers barely squeaked by a terrible Bears team, and showed that despite their fine record, there just isn’t a whole lot of “there” there.
8. Tennessee Titans (9) – Yep, it was the Rams, and they’re terrible. But 47-7 is still 47-7.
9. Arizona Cardinals (4) – What the hell was that disaster? What the hell is with this team? Beat up the Vikings one week, get taken to the shed by the lowly 49ers? I don’t know how dinged Larry Fitzgerald is, but if it’s serious at all, that’s serious trouble in Zona.
10. New England Patriots (not ranked) – It was a game they really needed, should’ve won, and did win against Carolina. There is nothing at all that feels right about this team. Randy Moss is falling into old behavior patterns, and the defense is lacking… something. Could be one of the more difficult stretches in Bill Belichick’s remarkable career.