*Originally Posted October 26 on a different site
1. Green Bay (7-0) LW: 1 – The Packers hold on #1 has not come without its trials. This past week, another of Green Bay’s weaknesses was on display as Adrian Peterson ran for 175 yards. Charles Woodson’s two INTs moved the Packers into a 3 way tie for most takeaways on the year, with 16.
2. New England (5-1) LW: 2 – The Patriots emerge from their bye week with one of their toughest games on the schedule, a road trip to Pittsburgh. Following an offseason rule change which mandates that teams with a bye week receive 4 consecutive days off from practice, teams are currently 3-9 following their bye week this season. The Patriots will undoubtedly be looking to buck this trend.
3. San Francisco (5-1) LW: 4 – The surprising 49ers will host Cleveland this weekend, as they look to maintain their current 3 game lead in the NFC West.
4. New Orleans (5-2) LW: 7 – Nawlins climbs back into the top 5 on the strength of a 62-7 beat down of Indianapolis. Drew Brees continued his hot start with 325 yards and 5 TDs through just 3 quarters of work.
5. New York Giants (4-2) LW: 8 – The NFC East leading Giants welcome winless Miami as a warm up before traveling to New England in a matchup of division leaders. This has all of the makings of a trap game, and it’s up to Coughlin to make sure his Giants are ready for Miami.
6. Buffalo (4-2) LW: 9 – Buffalo, another team returning from their bye week, faces a reeling Redskins team who has changed their QB and lost their starting RB for the season. Fred Jackson looks to pick up right where he left off two weeks ago, averaging 146.7 yards from scrimmage per game.
7. Pittsburgh (5-2) LW: 10 – Who are the Pittsburgh Steelers? Are they the team that has lost to teams with winning records 52-17, or are they the team that is 5-0 against teams with records .500 or lower? Their next two games might answer these questions, as they host New England and Baltimore in consecutive weeks.
8. Baltimore (4-2) LW: 3 – The Monday Night game was a brutal display of how reliant the Ravens offense is on Ray Rice. Rice was limited to 63 total yards on 13 touches, as Jacksonville forced the ball into Joe Flacco’s hands. The result was 21 of 38 passing, for 137 yards, just 3.61 YPA. The Ravens host Arizona this weekend while they prepare for Pittsburgh in two weeks.
9. Detroit (5-2) LW: 5 – The Lions have hit a rough patch with consecutive home losses to teams with playoff potential. Have teams figured out a formula to beat the Lions D? They’ve allowed 335 rushing yards in their two losses.
10. San Diego (4-2) LW: 6 – What the hell has happened to Philip Rivers? Last year Rivers was an MVP candidate for carrying an injury plagued Chargers team to the league’s #1 offense. This year, San Diego has slipped to 7th in passing yards per game and Rivers has thrown just 7 TDs to 9 INTs and the NFL’s 20th ranked QB rating. More importantly, San Diego is 0-2 against teams with a .500 record or better (NYJ and NE) and have 4 consecutive opponents that are .500 or better.
11. Chicago (4-3) LW: 13 – Chicago enters their bye week fresh from a win over Tampa Bay in London. The Bears have positioned themselves very well for a future playoff run, with wins over potential wildcard contenders, Atlanta and Tampa Bay. Matt Forte became the fastest player to 1000 total yards since 2004, when Tiki Barber and Priest Holmes both reached 1000 total yards in 7 games.
12. Houston (4-3) LW: 16 – The Texans staked their claim to 1st place in the AFC South with an emphatic 41-7 victory in Nashville. Arian Foster led the way with one of the most impressive games by a RB this season with 30 touches (25 rush, 5 rec) for 234 total yards (115 rush, 119 rec) and 3 TDs. The defense also performed well, holding CJ to 45 yards and Hasselbeck to 104 yards on 14 of 30 passing with 2 INTs.
13. Cincinnati (4-2) LW: 15 – The Bengals will be without the services of Cedric Benson, as he serves his suspension this week. On the bright side, the length of the suspension was reduced from 3 games to 1 game, and that one game is against 2-4 Seattle. Cincinnati is in a great position to make a run at the playoffs, with Baltimore’s offense struggling and Pittsburgh win-less against teams with winning records.
14. Atlanta (4-3) LW: 18 – Falcons fans were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief when Matt Ryan returned after a seemingly devastating ankle injury. An MRI on Monday revealed no damage to the ankle. As it stands, the Falcons only three losses have come against Chicago, Tampa Bay, and Green Bay. The problem is that the Falcons may be competing against all three for a potential playoff spot.
15. New York Jets (4-3) LW: 19 – After that daunting 3 game road losing streak, the Jets enter their bye week winners of two straight, including a 4th quarter comeback against the Chargers. Plaxico Burress provided the Red Zone target he was signed to be, as he caught TD passes of 3, 4, and 3 yards in the 27-21 victory. Following the bye week, the Jets have division foes Buffalo and New England, as the top three teams in the AFC East race are separated by just 1.5 games.
16. Dallas (3-3) LW: 20 – Rookie DeMarco Murray set a franchise high 253 yards on Sunday for the Cowboys as they cruised to a 34-7 win against St. Louis. The win got Dallas back to .500 and just one game back of division leading New York. Dallas travels to Philadelphia next week to take on a rested Eagles team looking to get back into the division race.
17. Oakland (4-3) LW: 11 – The Raiders had a tumultuous week; starting with the news that starter Jason Campbell would miss the rest of the season. After the blockbuster trade everyone has heard about, the Raiders lost Darren McFadden to injury early in the game as both Boller and Palmer struggled to find any rhythm, combining for 6 INTs in the 28-0 loss. The bye week couldn’t come soon enough, as Oakland tries to keep their once promising playoff hopes afloat.
18. Tampa Bay (4-3) LW: 12 – The Buccaneers were far more unprepared for their trip to London than the veteran-laden Bears were, and it showed. The offense struggled finding any sort of groove until it was almost too late. Compounding the misery for Tampa Bay is the fact that the London game counted as a home game, meaning the Bucs in reality are playing 9 road games to 7 home games in the deep NFC South.
19. Washington (3-3) LW: 14 – One of the early season surprises, the Redskins have lost two straight following their bye week to fall to 3-3 and one game out of the NFC East lead. Shanahan is changing QBs by the week, and after losing to the Panthers, must travel to Buffalo to face a rested Bills team looking to keep pace with the Patriots in the AFC East.
20. Kansas City (3-3) LW: 23 – Following their 0-3 start in which they were outscored 89-10 in the first two games; the Chiefs have run off 3 straight wins, including Sunday’s 28-0 win over rival Oakland. Next Monday Night, the Chiefs will be playing for first place in the AFC West as they host 4-2 San Diego.
21. Cleveland (3-3) LW: 24 – Cleveland gets back to .500 following a 6-3 victory over Seattle. The Browns resolve will be put to the test in the next two weeks, as they travel to San Francisco and Houston to take on a pair of division leading teams.
22. Philadelphia (2-4) LW: 21 – The Eagles will be hosting Dallas in a very important divisional game, as Philadelphia tries to climb out of the 2-4 hole they dug themselves into to start the season. The Eagles are 12-0 under Andy Reid following bye weeks, a trend Eagles fans hope can continue.
23. Tennessee (3-3) LW: 17 – Possibly more shocking than the 62-7 NO-INDY game, the Titans were dominated, 41-7 at home, following their bye week. Chris Johnson continues to underperform following his blockbuster deal signed in preseason, and the whispers about whose fault it is grow louder.
24. Carolina (2-5) LW: 25 – The Panthers continue to move in the right direction, with Cam Newton leading the Panthers to a 33-20 win over the Redskins on Sunday. Next week is a matchup of Rookie QBs, as Minnesota travels to Carolina.
25. Jacksonville (2-5) LW: 29 – An absolutely dominating defensive performance, the Jaguars stifled Ray Rice and Joe Flacco en route to a 12-7 upset on Monday Night Football. Maurice Jones Drew is getting plenty of carries this year while Gabbert adjusts to the NFL game, and currently ranks 2nd in rushing yards and 3rd in rushing yards per game.
26. Denver (2-4) LW: 27 – Adam Schefter reported on a Broncos message board that aptly describes starting QB Tim Tebow. To paraphrase, “Tim Tebow is everything his critics say he is, and everything his fans say he is.” We all pretty much know that Tebow isn’t the most polished QB, but he finds a way to lead his team to victory, which is the most important thing.
27. Seattle (2-4) LW: 22 – Charlie Whitehurst’s numbers from this weekend’s 3-6 loss to Cleveland: 12-30, 97 yards, 1 INT, 35.0 QB rating. The scary thing for the Seahawks is that Whitehurst may start again next week against Cincinnati if Tavaris Jackson isn’t healthy.
28. Minnesota (1-6) LW: 26 – The Vikings gave defending champion Green Bay all they could handle in Christian Ponder’s first career start. Despite the fact that he’s the only constant weapon for Minnesota, Adrian Peterson leads the league in rushing and has contributed 6 rushing TDs.
29. Arizona (1-5) LW: 28 – That week 1 victory over Carolina must feel oh-so-long ago for Arizona, as they’ve rattled off 5 consecutive losses and will be traveling to Baltimore to face an energized defense. Expect the losing streak to extend to 6 games
30. St. Louis (0-6) LW: 30 – Newly acquired Brandon Lloyd stepped in and lead the Rams in receiving, with 6 rec, 74 yards, and 12 targets, with AJ Feeley stepping in for injured Sam Bradford last week.
31. Miami (0-7) LW: 31 – The loss to Denver was the first time in NFL history that a team with a 15 point lead with 3 minutes to go lost. DT Kendall Langford has expressed to the media that the Dolphins ran the wrong defense on the 2 point conversion by Tebow, and that “everyone knew what play was coming”
32. Indianapolis (0-7) LW: 32 – It’s not every day that an NFL team allows 62 points, but it’s not every day that a team as hapless as the Colts take on a high-powered offensive machine like New Orleans. The Colts continue to hold the inside track on the No. 1 pick.
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