| Rnk | LW* | Team | Record | Comments |
| 1. | 1. | Denver Broncos | 11-3 | Winners of 9 straight look like the most complete team in the league. |
| 2. | 3. | Green Bay Packers | 10-4 | Clinched the NFC North with their 12th straight victory against divisional foes. |
| 3. | 4. | Houston Texans | 12-2 | Division champions for the second straight season. |
| 4. | 5. | San Francisco 49ers | 10-3-1 | Impressively overcame blowing a 28 point second half lead to rally and beat the Patriots. |
| 5. | 6. | Atlanta Falcons | 12-2 | Handed the Giants their first regular season shutout since '96. |
| 6. | 2. | New England Patriots | 10-4 | Welker has caught 100 passed in a season for the fifth time, a league record. |
| 7. | 10. | Seattle Seahawks | 9-5 | Scored 50 for a second consecutive week. |
| 8. | 7. | Baltimore Ravens | 9-5 | Clinched a playoff spot despite 3 straight losses. Nobody seems to want to claim the sixth seed in the AFC. |
| 9. | 8. | Indianapolis Colts | 9-5 | Luck trails Newton's rookie passing record of 4051 yards by only 73 yards. |
| 10. | 12. | Washington Redskins | 8-6 | Widely panned decision to take a second rookie QB after RGIII looks brilliant in hindsight. |
| 11. | 13. | Dallas Cowboys | 8-6 | Winners of 5 of the last 6 now in a 3 way tie atop the division. |
| 12. | 15. | Cincinnati Bengals | 8-6 | Had a long work week to focus on the upcoming critical matchup in Pittsburgh. |
| 13. | 9. | New York Giants | 8-6 | Tie breakers mean they could win out and still not get to defend their title. |
| 14. | 16. | Minnesota Vikings | 8-6 | Purple Jesus is only 294 yards shy of breaking the single season rushing record of 2,105 yards held by Dickerson. |
| 15. | 11. | Chicago Bears | 8-6 | In serious jeopardy of missing the playoffs after beginning the season at 7-1. |
| 16. | 14. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-7 | Still control their own destiny. |
| 17. | 22. | New Orleans Saints | 6-8 | Last time they shut out an opponent in New Orleans was '91. |
| 18. | 24. | Miami Dolphins | 6-8 | Overachievers have something to build upon. |
| 19. | 26. | Carolina Panthers | 5-9 | Newton trying hard to save Rivera's job. |
| 20. | 17. | St. Louis Rams | 6-7-1 | Bradford has been sacked in 30 straight games, the longest active streak in the league. |
| 21. | 19. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6-8 | Freeman threw 4 interceptions in New Orleans after throwing 8 previously for the entire season. |
| 22. | 28. | Tennessee Titans | 5-9 | CJ's 94 yard TD run was the longest in franchise history and the longest in the league since '06. |
| 23. | 18. | New York Jets | 6-8 | Mercifully eliminated thanks in large part to 5 more turnovers by Dirty Sanchez. |
| 24. | 29. | Arizona Cardinals | 5-9 | Ended their 9 game losing streak because of the defense and turnover prone Stafford despite Lindley throwing for only 104 yards. |
| 25. | 20. | Cleveland Browns | 5-9 | Reaching for the 28 year old Weeden in the first round looks even worse after losing to fourth round backup Cousins. |
| 26. | 21. | San Diego Chargers | 5-9 | Norv and Smith are dead men walking. |
| 27. | 23. | Detriot Lions | 4-10 | Appear to have quit on Schwartz. |
| 28. | 25. | Buffalo Bills | 5-9 | Fell into a tie for last in scoring defense with Raiders. How can Gailey survive this debacle? |
| 29. | 27. | Philadelphia Eagles | 4-10 | Youngsters simply not prepared for short work week late in the season. Mercifully the Thursday night games are done for the year. |
| 30. | 31. | Oakland Raiders | 4-10 | If only they could play the Chiefs every week. |
| 31. | 30. | Kansas City Chiefs | 2-12 | Shut out by the most scored upon defense in the league. |
| 32. | 32. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 2-12 | Need to win the final 2 to avoid the worst season in franchise history. |
*Last week's ranking