1. New England (1): The Jets are in trouble.
2. Dallas (2): Great teams win in difficult situations.
3. Indianapolis (3): Colts are starting to look great again.
4. Green Bay (4): Should Brett Favre rest before the playoffs? Yes. Will he? No.
5. Seattle (7): Seahawks are making Dallas and Green Bay nervous.
6. Jacksonville (8): Jaguars are the AFC’s version of the Seahawks.
7. New York Giants (9): The Giants are on an upswing again.
8. Pittsburgh (5): Steelers can’t hang with the big dogs.
9. San Diego (11): Let’s see how they do without Shawne Merriman and Lorenzo Neal.
10. Cleveland (12): This team just may make the playoffs.
11. Tampa Bay (6): Even after a loss, Bucs are cruising to NFC South title.
12. Minnesota (13): Vikings are one of the hottest teams in league.
13. Buffalo (15): Buffalo-Cleveland in meaningful December game?
14. Tennessee (10): The Titans are slipping out of the playoff mix.
15. Houston (18): Denver South wanted to beat the Broncos bad.
16. Denver (21): And the same goes for Houston North.
17. Washington (22): You gotta root for this team.
18. New Orleans (23): The Saints can look so good sometimes.
19. Arizona (14): This team can still make a run.
20. Detroit (16): What has happened to this team?
21. Cincinnati (25): The best of the worst.
22. Philadelphia (17): It’s been a maddening season for the Eagles.
23. Chicago (19): Welcome back, Kyle Orton.
24. Carolina (20): John Fox still deserves another year.
25. Oakland (24): So much for that hot streak.
26. Baltimore (26): The loss to the Patriots broke the Ravens’ spirit.
27. Kansas City (27): This is the worst Chiefs team in nearly 20 years.
28. St. Louis (28): Rams are still feisty.
29. New York Jets (29): It’s going to be ugly Sunday.
30. San Francisco (27): The season is officially a mess.
31. Atlanta (31): What a sad season.
32. Miami (32): The Dolphins are getting worse.
ON THE MOVE
Washington
Of the six teams to move five spots this week, the Redskins stand out. Their win last Thursday over Chicago was inspiring. The Redskins won on a short week, three days after burying safety Sean Taylor, who was murdered late last month. We saw first- hand how much the Broncos were drained as an organization after burying Darrent Williams and Damien Nash. For the Redskins to do the same thing and win a game three days later is amazing. You have to root for this team to make a late playoff push.
