| Rnk | LW* | Team | Record+ | Comments |
| 1. | 1. | New England Patriots | 12-3 | Clinched home field in the AFC. |
| 2. | 3. | Seattle Seahawks | 11-4 | A win this week and the NFC playoffs go through Seattle. |
| 3. | 5. | Green Bay Packers | 11-4 | Calf injury unlikely to keep Rodgers out for battle against Lions for the division crown. |
| 4. | 7. | Detriot Lions | 11-4 | Bush 41 was president the last time they won in Green Bay. |
| 5. | 8. | Dallas Cowboys | 11-4 | Romo can change his legacy with playoff success. |
| 6. | 10. | Cincinnati Bengals | 10-4-1 | Making a franchise record fourth straight playoff appearance, now they need to win a playoff game. |
| 7. | 2. | Denver Broncos | 11-4 | Peyton looked miserable in the rain, had his sixth career 4 interception game, late pick 6 ended comeback hope. |
| 8. | 9. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 10-5 | Arguably only the Cowboys have a better QB, RB, WR combo in the league. Can the defense hold up. |
| 9. | 6. | Indianapolis Colts | 10-5 | Nothing to play for last week and it showed. |
| 10. | 4. | Arizona Cardinals | 11-4 | Lindley was not up to the task, not that anyone should have expected anything different. |
| 11. | 15. | San Diego Chargers | 9-6 | Control their own destiny for the last spot in the AFC playoffs. |
| 12. | 11. | Philadelphia Eagles | 9-6 | Sanchized! Not too many teams that win 9 of their first 12 end up missing the playoffs. |
| 13. | 12. | Baltimore Ravens | 9-6 | Only path to the playoffs requires a win, Chargers loss. |
| 14. | 16. | Miami Dolphins | 8-7 | Ross has surprisingly already announced Philbin will be back. |
| 15. | 17. | Houston Texans | 8-7 | Need a win plus losses by the Chargers and Ravens to make the playoffs. Pretty impressive given their injuries at QB. |
| 16. | 13. | Kansas City Chiefs | 8-7 | Still barely alive. Need to beat the Chargers and have both the Ravens and Texans lose. |
| 17. | 14. | Buffalo Bills | 8-7 | Eliminated by crushing loss in Oakland. |
| 18. | 22. | Carolina Panthers | 6-8-1 | Winner in Atlanta takes the pathetic NFC South, gets a home game likely against an 11 win team. |
| 19. | 18. | Cleveland Browns | 7-8 | May have to turn to Shaw at QB for their finale with Manziel out and Hoyer questionable. |
| 20. | 19. | San Francisco 49ers | 7-8 | Continue to spiral downwards, things could get worse next year without Harbaugh. |
| 21. | 24. | New York Giants | 6-9 | Beckham Jr. continues to amaze. What might have been if he had been healthy to start the season. |
| 22. | 25. | Atlanta Falcons | 6-9 | Jones if healthy gives them a punchers chance against anybody. |
| 23. | 20. | St. Louis Rams | 6-9 | Can they count on Bradford next season? |
| 24. | 21. | Minnesota Vikings | 6-9 | Bridgewater gives them some hope for the future. |
| 25. | 23. | New Orleans Saints | 6-9 | What happened? Suddenly stopped winning at home. The most disappointing team of the season. |
| 26. | 26. | Chicago Bears | 5-10 | Injury to Claussen puts Cutler back on the field for what is likely his last game in Chicago. |
| 27. | 27. | New York Jets | 3-12 | Still playing hard for Ryan as his tenure comes to a bitter end. |
| 28. | 28. | Oakland Raiders | 3-12 | Ruined the Bills season. Sparano has done a decent job making them competitive most weeks. |
| 29. | 30. | Washington Redskins | 4-11 | RGIII ruined the Eagles season, might he have a future in the Nation's capital after all? |
| 30. | 31. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 3-12 | Playing .500 ball in their last 4 games, can end the Texans season in Houston. |
| 31. | 29. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2-13 | Maybe they should have stuck with Schiano. |
| 32. | 32. | Tennessee Titans | 2-13 | Did Whisenhunt simply step into an untenable situation or is he a big part of the problem? |
*Last week's ranking