1. New England (1): Watch the Patriots take out their pain on the Ravens. Pain of what? Beating the Eagles by only three points last weekend.
2. Dallas (2): Game against Green Bay makes the Cowboys’ season.
3. Green Bay (3): Game against Dallas makes the Packers’ season.
4. Indianapolis (4): Still not firing on all cylinders.
5. Jacksonville (5): But the Jaguars are.
6. Pittsburgh (7): Steelers have some kinks to work out for the stretch run.
7. Tampa Bay (8): Bucs defense looks like it’s playing in 2003 again.
8. Seattle (9): The Seahawks are a very fortunate bunch.
9. Cleveland (10): The Browns just might make it into the playoffs.
10. New York Giants (6): Perhaps Eli Manning is colorblind?
11. Tennessee (11): The Titans are blowing their playoff chances.
12. Detroit (12): Same goes for the Lions.
13. San Diego (18): Still can’t trust this team.
14. Philadelphia (14): The Eagles deserve kudos for almost bringing down the Patriots.
15. Minnesota (20): Vikings aren’t good, but neither is the NFC.
16. Houston (13): The Texans can’t get on a roll.
17. Chicago (21): Hope the Bears enjoy their gift.
18. Denver (15): The Broncos have to realize that dominating opponents and losing isn’t going to cut it.
19. New Orleans (22): Is this the start of another win streak?
20. Arizona (16): Cardinals’ breakdown was worse than Broncos’.
21. Buffalo (17): Dick Jauron, please just pick one quarterback and stick with him.
22. Washington (19): Saddened Redskins have more to worry about than a three-game skid.
23. Cincinnati (27): The Bengals show they still are dangerous.
24. Carolina (23): And Panthers show they are not so dangerous.
25. Baltimore (24): Good luck on Monday night.
26. Kansas City (25): Losing at home to Raiders Now, that hurts.
27. San Francisco (30): A safety in overtime gives 49ers a heartbeat.
28. Oakland (31): Oakland wins its first division game in three years.
29. Atlanta (26): Falcons stayed with Colts for a half. That’s all they have.
30. St. Louis (28): The magic is over.
31. New York Jets (29): That win over the Steelers was a fluke.
32. Miami (32): Plenty of good seats available for Dolphins-Jets tussle.
ON THE MOVE
Vikings starting to show some life
No, the Vikings can’t be considered a team to watch during the stretch run, not quite yet. But this team is showing some life and is likely doing enough to give coach Brad Childress a third season in Minnesota. Once rookie running back Adrian Peterson returns, the Vikings’ momentum should pick up.
