*Originally Posted November 3 on a different site
1. Green Bay (7-0) LW: 1 – The bulls eye on the Packers has only amplified as they look to put distance between themselves and the rest of the NFC North. This weekend the Packers travel to San Diego to play a dangerous Chargers team coming off a demoralizing MNF loss.
2. San Francisco (6-1) LW: 3 – Wait, what? Its true, San Francisco checks in this week a #2 following their 5th consecutive W, this time a 20-10 victory over visiting Cleveland. Prior to the Browns, the 49ers had defeated CIN, PHI, TB and DET (3 on the road). The most important factor is that SF has 5 division games left in the otherwise weak NFC West. Next up for the 49ers are the reeling Redskins.
3. Pittsburgh (6-2) LW: 7 – The biggest mover in the Top 10, Pittsburgh jumps to #3 after handing the Patriots their 2nd loss on the season. The game ended in controversial fashion, as Polamalu punched the ball through the endzone on a Tom Brady fumble, but even without that play, New England was facing 81 yards with less than 15 seconds on the clock. Next week, the inside track to AFC homefield advantage will be on the line, as the Steelers and Ravens meet on Sunday Night Football.
4. New York Giants (5-2) LW: 5 – The Giants survived the trap game against Miami, and can now begin preparing for a daunting 6 game stretch, including 4 teams with at least a share of their division lead and 2 division rivals, that will test this team’s resolve. Up first is a trip to Foxboro to take on the Patriots.
5. Buffalo (5-2) LW: 6 – The Bills accomplished something that had not been done in 267 previous games; shut out a Mike Shanahan-coached team. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Fred Jackson are no longer anonymous stars, as Jackson ranks 2nd in yards from scrimmage and Fitzpatrick ranks 6th in passer rating with 14 TDs and 7 INTs.
6. New England (5-2) LW: 2 – Despite Pittsburgh being seemingly in control for the most part, the Patriots still gave themselves a chance to win with Tom Brady TD pass to Aaron Hernandez with just over 2 minutes left to cut the deficit to 23-17. The resilience of this team and their ability to keep the pressure on opposing teams is what makes the Patriots so dangerous and difficult to put away. The Patriots host the Giants this week before a Sunday Night matchup with division rival Jets in two weeks.
7. Baltimore (5-2) LW: 8 – The Ravens offense finally started showing signs of life during the 2nd half of the Cardinals game. Ray Rice exploded for 3 TDs and Anquan Boldin gave the defense fits, drawing pass interference on three separate occasions to set up all three of Rice’s TD plunges from the 1 yard line. The Ravens will hope they maintain their offensive rhythm this weekend as they try for a sweep of Pittsburgh on SNF.
8. Detroit (6-2) LW: 9 – The Lions ended their 2 game losing streak and enter their bye week in style with a 45-10 trouncing of the Broncos in Denver. The game was every bit as lopsided as the score indicates, and the Lions now get a week off before traveling to Chicago in a matchup with important playoff implications.
9. New Orleans (5-3) LW: 4 – From the highest of the highs to the lowest of the lows. Much was made of the fact that the Saints scored more points against Miami than St. Louis had all season. But that is why games aren’t played on paper. An ill-timed Drew Brees interception in St. Louis territory during the 2 minute drill allowed the Rams to extend their lead to 17-0 just before halftime. New Orleans will need to rebound in a hurry, as they play both division contenders (Tampa Bay and Atlanta) in consecutive weeks before their Week 11 bye.
10. Chicago (4-3) LW: 11 – The Bears exit their bye week with a MNF matchup against Philadelphia. Matt Forte will play a critical role as usual, but TOs or lack thereof may be the tipping point in this matchup.
11. Houston (5-3) LW: 12 – The Texans quietly defeated AFC South foe Jacksonville this weekend as they look to keep their lead in the AFC South. Arian Foster is getting back to his 2010 Rushing Title form and Andre Johnson is expected back this weekend for the Browns game.
12. Cincinnati (5-2) LW: 13 – Many are not sold on the Bengals thus far, but a lot can be said for beating the teams you’re supposed to, especially when many predicted the Bengals to finish among the league’s worst. This weekend’s Bengals – Titans matchup will have unexpected playoff implications.
13. Atlanta (4-3) LW: 14 – Bad news for the Colts, they host Atlanta this weekend following their bye week. The Falcons will be carrying the momentum of a 2 game winning streak into this game, as they try to get Matt Ryan and Roddy White on track, as the two have struggled to find their 2010 swagger. All told, their first 7 games came against CHI, PHI, TB, SEA, GB, CAR and DET. Despite playing the Saints twice, the Falcons 2nd half of their schedule is noticeably easier.
14. New York Jets (4-3) LW: 15 – The Jets are entering a Make or Break portion of their schedule, with 3 of their next 4 games against Buffalo and New England. As they’ve already lost to the Patriots, winning at least 2 of those division games is a must if they are to stay in the playoff race.
15. Kansas City (4-3) LW: 20 – The Chiefs are riding the NFL’s 3rd longest current winning streak at 4 games (along with Pittsburgh and Cincinnati). Their last two wins, 28-0 over Oakland and the 23-20 OT win over SD, give them the leg up in the division. They have the opportunity to remain the pace setters in the AFC West with Miami and Denver next up on the schedule.
16. San Diego (4-3) LW: 10 – An unbelievable turn of events killed the Chargers chances of holding the sole lead in the AFC West, as Philip Rivers’ fumbled snap late in the 4th quarter in Nick Novak’s field goal range cost the Chargers an opportunity to win the game in regulation. As it stands, the Chargers have lost two straight games following their bye week with 4th quarter collapses. Rivers continues to struggle with 7 TDs to 11 INTs.
17. Oakland (4-3) LW: 17 – This weekend’s game with Denver will speak volumes about where the Raiders are headed this year with Carson Palmer at QB. While its generally accepted that he wasn’t prepared to enter the KC game a week ago, the Raiders will need Palmer to show significant signs of improvement if they’re going to contend for the playoffs this year.
18. Tampa Bay (4-3) LW: 18 – Fresh from their bye week rest, the young Buccaneers will have to run the gauntlet of 3 consecutive division leaders (@NO, HOU, @GB). A sweep over New Orleans would give this Tampa Bay team some much needed confidence that they can finish the season strongly.
19. Philadelphia (3-4) LW: 22 – What we seen on display Sunday Night was a glimpse of the dream team that Philadelphia was originally expected to be at the beginning of the season. The win improved Andy Reid’s record following a bye week to 13-0, as the Eagles look to continue digging themselves out of the hole they dug themselves into with their 4 game losing streak. Hosting the Bears on MNF will likely be a much stiffer test than the Cowboys were this past weekend.
20. Dallas (3-4) LW: 16 – The Cowboys up and down season continued Sunday Night with their toughest loss this season, 34-7 at Philadelphia. Welcoming Seattle this weekend should help the Cowboys get back on track as they try to dig themselves out of the 2 game deficit to the Giants.
21. Tennessee (4-3) LW: 23 – The Titans won fairly easily this weekend, holding a 20-0 lead by halftime. Chris Johnson’s troubling season continued this weekend, as he was held to 34 yards on 14 carries. This weekend, Cincinnati comes to town as the Titans look to keep pace in the AFC South and WC races.
22. Cleveland (3-4) LW: 21 – The Browns will once again be looking for the upset as they travel to Houston this week. At 3-4, Cleveland has a chance to get to 5-5 before they finish the season with 5 of 6 against division foes.
23. Minnesota (2-6) LW: 28 – The Vikings were a bit fortunate to avoid OT against the Panthers as Olindo Mare hooked a potential 31 yard game tying FG wide left in the final minute of the game. As it stands, the Vikings will the the momentum of this win into the bye week as they prepare for the Packers on MNF in two weeks.
24. Washington (3-4) LW: 19 – The Redskins are 0-2 with Beck as the starter, and Head Coach Mike Shanahan was shut out for the first time in his career. The decision to switch starters may not have been the best choice for the then 3-1 Redskins, who play host to NFC West leading San Francisco this weekend.
25. Carolina (2-6) LW: 24 – Despite losing to the Panthers, Cam Newton once again had an impressive game and led the Panthers down the field nicely in the 2 min offense to set up a game tying FG. 5 of Carolina’s 6 losses have come by one possession or less. The Panthers will undoubtedly be using this bye week to focus on finishing games and host the Titans in two weeks.
26. St. Louis (1-6) LW: 30 – Not only did the Rams upset the Saints this past weekend, they controlled the game from the outset, as Jackson erupted for 191 total yards and 2 TDs. A quick glance at the schedule shows 4 very winnable games (ARI 2x, CLE, SEA) for St. Louis to get back on track.
27. Jacksonville (2-6) LW: 25 – The Jaguars are experiencing the full effects of their Rookie QB’s growing pains as they suffered another loss, this time to Houston. Sunday may have been Gabbert’s worst performance thus far (10-30, 97 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT). The Jags will follow their bye this week with a trip to Indianapolis in one of the last chances to get a W this year.
28. Denver (2-5) LW: 26 – The Broncos were trounced on Sunday by the Lions. While Tebow had a bad game, it’s worth pointing out to Tebow critics that the entire Broncos team was outplayed, and that the result shouldn’t solely rest on Tebow’s shoulders. Coach Fox has announced that he is sticking with Tebow again for this weekend’s divisional matchup with the Raiders, who will have Carson Palmer starting for the first time.
29. Seattle (2-5) LW: 27 – A trip to Dallas is looming for Seattle, as the Seahawks are coming off consecutive losses to Cleveland and Cincinnati.
30. Arizona (1-6) LW: 29 – The Cardinals are now the owners of the NFL’s 3rd longest active losing streak this season. What should have been a great opportunity for a W with St. Louis visiting this weekend will now be tougher with Kevin Kolb unlikely to play due to turf toe.
31. Miami (0-7) LW: 31 – Sunday was the Dolphins 3rd squandered 4th quarter lead so far this season. 0-16 is beginning to look like a real possibility with Miami playing 8 of its final 9 games against teams with winning records.
32. Indianapolis (0-8) LW: 32 – The Colts are looking to get into the Win column in these next two weeks before the upcoming bye. This weekend they will be looking for the upset as they welcome the Falcons.
MVP Watch:
1. Aaron Rodgers – Rodgers is off to a fantastic start as he’s leading the NFL in QB Rating by a ridiculous 20 points to go along a 71.5 completion percentage and 20 TDs to 3 INTs.
2. Matt Forte – Forte has accounted for nearly half of the Bears total yards from scrimmage so far this year and has kept opposing defenses from pressuring Cutler into costly mistakes.
3. Tom Brady – Brady is off to another excellent season with 18 TDs and a 104.4 QB rating. Even in the Patriots two losses, Brady helped put the Patriots in a position to win in games late in the 4th quarter.
4. Ray Rice – Rice occupies virtually the same role for the Ravens as Forte does for the Bears. In the Ravens 5 wins, Rice averages 140.6 total yards and has 6 TDs. In the two losses, Rice has averaged 79.5 and just 1 TD.
5. Calvin Johnson – Johnson already has a ridiculous 11 TDs through 8 games to go with his 47 rec and 804 yards. Not only is Johnson capable breaking free on any play, his mere presence has opened up the field for the Lions offense.
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