| Rnk | LW | Team | Record | Comments |
| 1. | - | New England Patriots | 2-0 | Have won 17 straight. Enough said..... |
| 2. | - | Philadelphia Eagles | 3-0 | The real deal. Their opponents so far are a combined 6-3, all three losing only to the Eagles. Unfortunately the regular season really means nothing to Philadelphia. Anything less than a Super Bowl appearance is a disapointment. |
| 3. | - | Seattle Seahawks | 3-0 | Head into the bye week firing on all cylinders. They appear to be the Eagles main competition in the NFC. The rest of the NFC West is a combined 1-8 so the path to the playoffs seems relatively clear even at this early date. |
| 4. | - | Indianapolis Colts | 2-1 | Peyton Manning versus the injury riddled Green Bay secondary was a mismatch of epic proportions. Things won't be so easy in Jacksonville next week in what has developed into a very interesting and important early season matchup. |
| 5. | - | Jacksonville Jaguars | 3-0 | Have scored only 35 points and still won three games. Two by scoring touchdowns in the final seconds. Either this is a team embarking on a magical season or a lucky team that isn't as good as their early season record indicates. You make the call. |
| 6. | - | Minnesota Vikings | 2-1 | Daunte Culpepper to Randy Moss gives them a punchers chance against anyone. |
| 7. | - | Denver Broncos | 2-1 | Maybe everyone was a little too quick to anoint Quentin Griffin as the next in a long line of late round RB finds for the Broncos. He has looked tentative and been unable to gain the tough yards between the tackles after a breakout game in week 1. Of course with Tatum Bell waiting in the wings it might not matter whether Griffin can turn things around. |
| 8. | - | Baltimore Ravens | 2-1 | The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Ravens continue to be a team built around solid defense and the running game. The loss in Cleveland remains unexplainable, but divisional wins over the Steelers and Bengals have them back on the right track. |
| 9. | - | Carolina Panthers | 1-1 | A hard team to read. Victory in Arrowhead Stadium looks less impressive than it did a week ago and loss at home to Green Bay looks worse now on paper than at the time it happened. Their defensive front four and the memories of last year's improbable Super Bowl run keep them in the top 10 for the time being. |
| 10. | - | New York Jets | 2-0 | Chad Pennington and Paul Hackett appear to share the same brain. Hackett has been an abject failure both as a head coach at the collegiate level and as an offensive coordinator in the pros with any other QB than Pennington. Pennington lacks athleticism and arm strength. Yet together they make a dynamic pair. |
| 11. | - | Tennessee Titans | 1-2 | Two home losses against divisional foes in the first three weeks has put them behind the eight ball. Should Steve McNair be forced to miss any time with a bruised sternum things could get worse before they get better. |
| 12. | - | Dallas Cowboys | 2-1 | I'm not sure if a team has ever counted on a 40 year old skill position player more than the Cowboys are counting on Vinnie Testervde. The injury to Julius Jones and the complete ineffectiveness of Eddie George has left the running game in a shambles. But Vinnie has been up to the task. With Tony Romo and a very rusty Drew Henson in reserve the Cowboys had better hope Testeverde manages to stay on the field all season. |
| 13. | - | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2-1 | Fought through a first half deluge and the ensuing muddy quagmire to win the kind of road game against an inferior opponent that they need to win to be considered legitimate contenders. Add in that Ben Roethlisberger was a rookie QB making his first start on the road against a pretty decent defense and it's hard not to start feeling a bit optimistic. |
| 14. | - | Atlanta Falcons | 3-0 | The defense has been a pleasant surprise as Michael Vick struggles to learn the west coast offense. This is still a tough team to take seriously with wins over teams with a combined record of 1-8 including the two teams rated 31st and 32nd in this list. |
| 15. | - | New Orleans Saints | 2-1 | Won the kind of game they normally lose with a miraculous comeback in St. Louis. Even without Duece McAllister this is a talented team that has seemingly been held back by the coaching of Jim Haslett. Be interesting to see if Haslett can finally change that perception this season. If he can't it will most likely cost him his job. |
| 16. | - | Oakland Raiders | 2-1 | Rarely does a team benefit from losing their starting QB to injury. The Raiders seem like an exception to the rule with Kerry Collins taking over for Rich Gannon. |
| 17. | - | Green Bay Packers | 1-2 | Need help on defense, especially in the secondary. The Packers tried to improve the defense by hiring a new coordinator instead of improving the talent level. The Chiefs tried the same thing. So far the results are not encouraging for either team. Coaching and schemes are important, but you can't win without talent. |
| 18. | - | St. Louis Rams | 1-2 | Talent drain caused by normal attrition and a string of poor drafts is catching up to them. Mike Martz appears to be a better offensive coordinator than head coach or talent evaluator. |
| 19. | - | New York Giants | 2-1 | Tom Coughlin is trying to prove that hard work and discipline can be beneficial even with today's pampered athlete. So far, so good. Although it will be interesting to see if a few losses cause the Giants players to start bitching again. |
| 20. | - | Detriot Lions | 2-1 | The good news.... They won their first road game in 25 tries at Chicago to start the season on a high note. The bad news.... Even though this is a team on the rise, the home loss to the Eagles shows they are clearly not yet a legitimate contender. |
| 21. | - | Cincinnati Bengals | 1-2 | Currenlty suffering through the growing pains of Carson Palmer. |
| 22. | - | Washington Redskins | 1-2 | Joe Gibbs ia a living legend and deserving Hall of Famer, but his clock management so far this season has rivaled Mike Martz for futility. Second half timeouts were wasted against Dallas on a replay challenge that had no chance of winning and for the second time in three weeks because of problems getting the play in on time to Mark Brunell. That the clock ran out with the Redskins trailing by 3 after a 46 yard pass completion to the Cowboys' 21 has to be a bitter pill to swallow. Rome wasn't built in a day and no one said it would be easy for Gibbs in his second go around in the Nation's capital. Still, that he has repeatedly shot himself in the foot with poor gameday management comes as a bit of a shock. |
| 23. | - | Houston Texans | 1-2 | I am still having trouble digesting the Texans win at Arrowhead. Stuffing Priest Holmes on a 4th and 2 from the 6 yard line in the first half. Returning an interception 102 yards for a TD and converting a 2 point conversion to tie the game at 14. Two long drives in the fourth quarter to put up 10 unanswered points and win the game after the offense could only put up 6 points in the first 3 quarters. Simply amazing. |
| 24. | - | Kansas City Chiefs | 0-3 | Remember back less than a year ago when the Chiefs were 9-0 and the toast of the NFL. Things have certainly changed. Going 4-3 down the stretch last season and losing their playoff opener was just a prelude of bad things to come. The next three games are against teams with a combined record of 8-1. Two are on the road. The Chiefs may have already dug themselves a hole that is too deep to escape. |
| 25. | - | Buffalo Bills | 0-2 | Nothing has changed from last year except the head coach. They remain an awful offensive football team. Mike Mullarkey will most likely have to wait another couple of weeks to get his first win with the Patriots coming to town followed by a trip to the swamps of Jersey to face the Jets. |
| 26. | - | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 0-3 | Gruden won a Super Bowl with a team put together by Rich McKay and Tony Dungy. By trying to put his own stamp on the roster he has turned it into an also ran in only 2 short years. |
| 27. | - | Chicago Bears | 1-2 | Decimated by injuries. The latest season ender to Rex Grossman has to extinguish any optimism in Chicago. Especially considering Jonathon Quinn inherits the starting QB job. |
| 28. | - | San Diego Chargers | 1-2 | Philip Rivers was promoted to second string. With the way Drew Brees has been throwing the ball it shouldn't be long before Rivers is starting. The sooner the better for the future of a franchise with very little to look forward to in the present. |
| 29. | - | Cleveland Browns | 1-2 | Fell apart quickly after shocking opening week win over the Ravens. Garcia and Winslow were supposed to jump start the offense. Garcia looks shot. Winslow is out for the year with a broken leg. |
| 30. | - | Miami Dolphins | 0-3 | Meet the coach of the 2005 University of Pittsburgh Panthers.... Dave Wannstedt. Seem far fetched? Neither Walt Harris nor Wannstedt have much job security. Plus Wannstedt is a local boy that went to Baldwin High School and was a co-captain of the '73 Panthers. |
| 31. | - | Arizona Cardinals | 0-3 | Surprisingly solid defense combined with absolutely no offensive production. Not exactly what was expected out of a Denny Green coached team. Of course it is hard to expect miracles with Josh McCown and Emmitt Smith in the starting backfield. |
| 32. | - | San Fransisco 49ers | 0-3 | Shut out for the first time since '77. This is a poorly coached team with very limitted talent. Not a good combination. |