(Last week’s ratings in parentheses)
1. New England (1): Patriots ran up the score on their kids in the backyard during the bye.
2. Dallas (3): This is the highest an NFC team has been all season.
3. Green Bay (4): Packers have one of the leagues’ best defenses.
4. Pittsburgh (6): Comeback win vs. Browns will go a long way.
5. Indianapolis (2): Peyton Manning put the screws to the Broncos again, this time by losing to the Chargers.
6. Jacksonville (9): Big drop-off in rankings from No. 5 to No. 6.
7. New York Giants (5): Eli Manning must show he can come through in the clutch.
8. Tennessee (7): Titans need to run to be successful.
9. Detroit (8): Lions must step up for schedule’s challenge.
10. Buffalo (14): Bills have won four straight, but can they hang with Pats?
11. San Diego (15): Chargers were extremely lucky to beat Colts.
12. Tampa Bay (12): Buccaneers gained ground in the division on their bye week. That’s a good weekend.
13. Seattle (16): Can Seahawks stay consistent?
14. Cleveland (11): Browns gain respect in loss at Pittsburgh.
15. Washington (10): Redskins just aren’t very good.
16. Houston (20): Texans moved up during bye. League is that lousy.
17. Philadelphia (22): Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb needed that win Sunday.
18. Denver (23): Composite record of final seven opponents: 28-35.
19. Arizona (24): Cardinals are team to watch in the second half.
20. Chicago (25): Will Broncos face Brian Griese or Rex Grossman?
21. New Orleans (13): Saints will rue that loss to the Rams.
22. Carolina (17): Panthers are done.
23. Baltimore (18): Brian Billick might be, too.
24. Kansas City (19): Chiefs really are lousy.
25. Atlanta (26): Falcons deserve a little good fortune.
26. Cincinnati (27): Maybe the Bengals are finally waking up.
27. Minnesota (21): Team needs to get Adrian Peterson back now.
28. San Francisco (28): Pathetic, really.
29. Oakland (29): Whispers about Lane Kiffin’s job in Bay Area.
30. St. Louis (31): Rams are red hot.
31. N.Y. Jets (30): Jets officially worse than the Rams. Bad times.
32. Miami (32): Dolphins just good enough to get hearts broken.
ON THE MOVE
New Orleans
This was very disappointing. The Saints finally got their stuff together by winning four straight games after starting 0-4. They were very much alive in the mediocre NFC South. So how do they celebrate the .500 mark? By losing to the 0-8 Rams at home. That’s a killer. This team ruined everything it worked so hard for and deserves to tumble back down the rankings because of it.
