| Rnk | Team (Lst Wk) | Record | Comment |
| 1. | Oakland Raiders (2) | 8-4 | The last 3 weeks my top ranked team has lost. That could easily happen again with the Raiders travelling to San Diego for a showdown to determine first place in the NFC West. |
| 2. | Philadelphia Eagles (4) | 9-3 | OK, the Eagles have proven that Donovan McNabb was not a one man team. |
| 3. | Green Bay Packers (3) | 9-3 | The Packers have won as many games as the rest of the teams in their division combined. Seriously. |
| 4. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1) | 9-3 | The Buccaneers are ranked 24th in offense and 1st in defense. Not exactly the results they were looking for after giving up alot of money and draft picks to pry Jon Gruden away from the Raiders. |
| 5. | Atlanta Falcons (6) | 8-3-1 | NFL MVP Micheal Vick. Sounds strange, but with apologies to Priest Holmes and Brett Favre I am not sure any player is more valuable to his team. |
| 6. | San Fransisco 49ers (8) | 8-4 | Garrison Hearst proved he could still handle the load with Kevan Barlow out due to injury. |
| 7. | Indianapolis Colts (9) | 8-4 | The Colts have quietly won 4 straight and improved their defensive ranking to 2nd in the NFL. Tony Dungy seems to have made quite an impact. |
| 8. | New Orleans Saints (14) | 8-4 | Last of 3 teams in the top 8 from the surprisingly competative NFC South. |
| 9. | New England Patriots (10) | 7-5 | The Super Bowl champions continue to sleepwalk against subpar competition. |
| 10. | Pittsburgh Steelers (11) | 7-4-1 | The Steelers are 6-1-1 after a 1-3 start. Cowher is 73-1-1 when leading by 10 points or more. That is all well and good, but after a 13 win season and disapointing loss in the AFC Championship game this team was put together with the single goal of winning a Super Bowl. Who honestly believes after watching the Steelers continue to barely eek out wins against inferior opponents that they can somehow win the necessary 3 or more likely 4 games in a row against playoff caliber competition? I wish I did..... |
| 11. | San Diego Chargers (15) | 8-4 | Marty Shottenheimer has always been able to squeeze an extra regular season win or two out of a borderline playoff team. His legacy will be determined by whether he can develop the Chargers into a champion, something he failed to do in Cleveland and Kansas City. |
| 12. | Miami Dolphins (5) | 7-5 | Annual December swoon began despite 200+ yards rushing from Ricky Williams. |
| 13. | Denver Broncos (7) | 7-5 | Can the Broncos rebound from 2 straight overtime losses? |
| 14. | Tennesee Titans (17) | 7-5 | Amazing come from behind overtime victory in the Meadowlands adds luster to their upcoming AFC South showdown with the Colts. |
| 15. | New York Jets (12) | 6-6 | How much parity is there at the top of the NFL? The 15th ranked Jets basically played on even terms with the top ranked Raiders in Oakland. The bad news for the Jets is that the end of their 4 game winning streak means they are just another five-hundred team that needs to run the table for a legitimate chance at a playoff berth. |
| 16. | Kansas City Chiefs (19) | 6-6 | Priest Holmes scored two touchdowns and had 169 total yards, personally eclipsing the 122 net yards of the Cardinals. By the way, Holmes did not touch the field after the Chiefs' first possession of the second half. |
| 17. | Buffalo Bills (20) | 6-6 | Trailing 14-3 with 5 minutes remaining in the first half, the Bills scored 2 quick touchdowns completely changing the momentum of the game. Obviously someone explained to the Bills that the Dolphins are not permitted to win a game in December. |
| 18. | Cleveland Browns (13) | 6-6 | Tim Couch threw for 130 yards and 3 interceptions at home against an opponent mired in an 8 game losing streak. Ouch. |
| 19. | St. Louis Rams (16) | 5-7 | Stick a fork in the Rams, they're done. |
| 20. | Baltimore Ravens (22) | 6-6 | Somehow in the post Marvin Lewis era with Ray Lewis sidelined due to injury the Ravens keep scoring defensive touchdowns and beating opponents despite an anemic offense. |
| 21. | New York Giants (21) | 6-6 | The Giants blew a 12 point 4th quarter lead against a QB that needed a painkilling injection in his ribs just to take the field. Wait, it gets worse. The Titans tied the score with 9 seconds remaining on a 2 point conversion because the Giants foolishly decided to go for 2 points at the very start of the 4th quarter after taking their aforementioned 12 point lead. The conversion failed and although they didn't know it at the time the Giants had unnecessarily left the door open for the Titans. The result was a brutal overtime loss at home a week after a brutal road loss in Houston. |
| 22. | Dallas Cowboys (25) | 5-7 | Apparently the reports of Emmitt Smith's demise were a bit premature. |
| 23. | Washington Redskins (18) | 5-7 | After committing to the run and beating the Rams, Steve Spurrier could not control himself in front of a national TV audience on Thanksgiving. The result was 37 passes, 25 rushes, a blown 10 point 3rd quarter lead and the predictable loss. |
| 24. | Jacksonville Jaguars (23) | 5-7 | Must have been sweet for Jeff Reed to kick 6 FGs against a coach that bypassed him for retread Tim Seder. To add insult to injury, after the game the Jaguars cut Seder's replacement Richie Cunningham and are now looking for their 4th kicker of the season. |
| 25. | Seattle Seahawks (24) | 4-8 | Although their frantic comeback attempt fell short, the Seahawks seem to have found a QB. This development might have occured to late to save Mike Holmgren's job. |
| 26. | Carolina Panthers (31) | 4-8 | I was frankly shocked the Panthers rose up and finally ended their 8 game losing streak. Couldn't have happened in a better place than Cleveland. |
| 27. | Minnesota Vikings (27) | 3-9 | There is really no shame in being victimized in overtime by the electric Micheal Vick. |
| 28. | Chicago Bears (28) | 3-9 | Who thought it was a good idea to schedule the Bears on Monday night at Miami in week 13? |
| 29. | Detriot Lions (29) | 3-9 | The Lions hung around and kept their Thanksgiving day matchup with the Patriots relatively close. Still, I got the feeling watching the game that regardless of the score the Lions never had a legitimate chance to win. |
| 30. | Houston Texans (30) | 3-9 | An early fumble by Jonathon Wells seemed to take the life out of the Texans. Note to Steelers. Do not let the Texans hang around this coming week. Put them away early because although the Texans are not good, they are more dangerous than the average expansion team. |
| 31. | Arizona Cardinals (26) | 4-8 | I know the Cardinals have been ravaged by injuries, but their 49 to nothing loss in Kansas City was a flat out embarassment. |
| 32. | Cincinnati Bengals (32) | 1-11 | This weeks creative way to lose involved giving up a 98 yard interception return for a touchdown with 19 seconds remaining in the first half and blowing a 9 point 4th quarter lead. |