| Rnk | LW* | Team | Record | Comments |
| 1. | 1. | Atlanta Falcons | 6-0 | Will be judged on playoff results, not how many games they win in the regular season. |
| 2. | 2. | New York Giants | 5-2 | Cruz got behind the defense in the final 2 minutes and stole victory from the jaws of defeat. |
| 3. | 5. | Houston Texans | 6-1 | Defeated the Ravens for the first time in franchise history. |
| 4. | 4. | Green Bay Packers | 4-3 | Cobb has already topped 1000 yards combined from scrimmage and on returns. Only other player in franchise history to accomplish the same feat in the first 7 games was Grimes in 1950. |
| 5. | 6. | San Francisco 49ers | 5-2 | Held 3 of their last 4 opponents to under 7 points. |
| 6. | 7. | Chicago Bears | 5-1 | Cutler showed his toughness in a street brawl returning after being body slammed by Suh. |
| 7. | 3. | Baltimore Ravens | 5-2 | Rushing Suggs back from injury proved meaningless in blowout loss. |
| 8. | 9. | New England Patriots | 4-3 | In first place and losses are by a combined 4 points. The glass is half full. |
| 9. | 10. | Minnesota Vikings | 5-2 | The continuing recovery of Purple Jesus makes them all the more dangerous. |
| 10. | 11. | Denver Broncos | 3-3 | Hard to envision Fox/Manning not winning the division over Turner/Rivers with the Raiders and Chiefs clearly not in the discussion. |
| 11. | 12. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 3-3 | Finally won on the road. Still haunted by losses in Tennessee and especially Oakland. |
| 12. | 8. | Seattle Seahawks | 4-3 | Undefeated outside the division and winless inside the division. Tie breakers will not be kind to them. |
| 13. | 13. | Philadelphia Eagles | 3-3 | Reid in 12 tries has never lost after a bye. |
| 14. | 20. | New Orleans Saints | 2-4 | Kromer's stint as head coach ends on a high note. |
| 15. | 15. | Miami Dolphins | 3-3 | Legitimate contender if they can win in the swamps of Jersey thanks in part to a fairly easy remaining schedule. |
| 16. | 21. | Dallas Cowboys | 3-3 | Need a second win over the Giants to turn around their season. |
| 17. | 14. | Arizona Cardinals | 4-3 | Fast start proving to be a mirage. How did they win in Foxboro? |
| 18. | 16. | Cincinnati Bengals | 3-3 | Dalton joined Palmer as the only QBs in franchise history to throw picks in each of the first 7 games to start a season. |
| 19. | 17. | Washington Redskins | 3-4 | Turned the ball over 4 times in the second half after committing only 5 turnovers previously all season. |
| 20. | 19. | New York Jets | 3-4 | At least they are playing hard for Ryan after loss of Revis, Holmes. |
| 21. | 26. | Tennessee Titans | 3-4 | Suddenly dangerous thanks in large part to resurrection of CJ2K. |
| 22. | 18. | Detriot Lions | 2-4 | Doomed by 3 red zone turnovers. |
| 23. | 23. | San Diego Chargers | 3-3 | Reportedly spent the bye week being investigated for using an illegal stickum-like substance in loss to Broncos. Turner needs to take lessons from Belichick on how to effectively cheat. |
| 24. | 22. | St. Louis Rams | 3-4 | Done no favors by having to travel to London for a home game. |
| 25. | 29. | Indianapolis Colts | 3-3 | Win overshadowed by Pagano being released from the hospital. |
| 26. | 24. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2-4 | Penalty on the final play cost them a game tying TD. Jinxed by the creamsicle throwbacks. |
| 27. | 25. | Buffalo Bills | 3-4 | Not getting their money's worth out of highly paid defense. |
| 28. | 27. | Oakland Raiders | 2-4 | Needed OT to beat a 1 win team that had lost their QB and feature RB after travelling cross country. About as hollow a victory as imaginable. |
| 29. | 28. | Carolina Panthers | 1-5 | Steady decline justifiably cost Hurney his job. Can Rivera survive? |
| 30. | 30. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 1-5 | MJD's injury illustrates why he was holding out (and why Khan/Smith didn't want to pay him). |
| 31. | 31. | Cleveland Browns | 1-6 | Haslam/Banner have their work cut out for them. |
| 32. | 32. | Kansas City Chiefs | 1-5 | Turning to Quinn is the height of desperation. |
*Last week's ranking