| Rnk | LW* | Team | Record | Comments |
| 1. | 6. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 11-5 | Defending Super Bowl champions get the top spot. Return 19 of 22 starters. Did a solid job of replacing Randle El, Hope and von Olhoeffen. Ability to bring back Townsend, Keisel, Haynes and even Tuman has to be considered a plus. Extending the contracts of Parker and Taylor shows their commitment to keeping young talent. Roethlisberger's appendectomy is of course a concern with a tough opening schedule. Have proven they can overcome adversity and win when their backs are against the wall. |
| 2. | 1. | Indianapolis Colts | 14-2 | The regular season is not the issue. Expect Addai and Rhodes to be good enough on the ground to provide some balance for the explosive passing game. Where Dungy and Manning need to prove themselves is in the playoffs. |
| 3. | 12. | Carolina Panthers | 11-5 | Addition of rookie Williams and free agent Johnson give them more weapons. Keeping Foster and especially Smith healthy remains the key. |
| 4. | 2. | Seattle Seahawks | 13-3 | Will they fall apart like other recent Super Bowl losers? That is hard to envision in one of the worst divisions in the league against a ridiculously easy schedule. |
| 5. | 3. | Denver Broncos | 13-3 | Can they get to the next level with Plummer? Cutler might make the question moot. |
| 6. | 4. | New England Patriots | 10-6 | Belicheck and Brady remain the best coach/quarterback combination in the league. Need Maroney and Watson to provide explosiveness on offense. Trade for Gabriel adds some depth to a recevier corps decimated by the holdout of Branch and loss of Givens. The main focus though is keeping the defense healthy. Injuries on that side of the ball have been a major problem for the last couple of seasons. |
| 7. | 7. | Cincinnati Bengals | 11-5 | Palmer's successful preseason return has raised expectations even higher. The offense will score. The defense needs to prove they can stop somebody. |
| 8. | 16. | Miami Dolphins | 9-7 | Brown has to show he can handle a full workload for the first time in his college or pro career with Williams in Canada. |
| 9. | 5. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 12-4 | Last year's 12 win season came against the easiest schedule in the league. Defense should continue to be stellar. Losing Smith to retirement and Jones to a torn ACL does not help an offense trying to find playmakers. |
| 10. | 14. | Dallas Cowboys | 9-7 | The Parcells/Owens soap opera has already gotten out of hand. Need to win early to keep the egos in check or the season could turn ugly in a hurry. |
| 11. | 9. | New York Giants | 11-5 | Brutal schedule and tough division will make it difficult to repeat last season's 11 wins. |
| 12. | 10. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 11-5 | Flying a bit below the radar. Gruden has done a solid job rebuilding on the fly. Now he needs Simms to take the next step. |
| 13. | 23. | Philadelphia Eagles | 6-10 | Shouldn't be written off. Still have the best quarterback and lines in the division. Stallworth gives them a vertical threat to compliment Brown and Smith. Return of Buckhalter should help Westbrook. |
| 14. | 15. | San Diego Chargers | 9-7 | Tomlinson and Gates will help ease the transition from Brees to Rivers. Last year the excuse for missing the playoffs was a tough schedule. This year there are no excuses. |
| 15. | 8. | Chicago Bears | 11-5 | Griese provides them with a legitimate backup plan for the inevitable injury to Grosssman. It is about time. Defense was exposed by the Panthers in the playoffs. Luckily not every team has a playmaker like Smith. Especially in the pathetic NFC North. |
| 16. | 11. | Washington Redskins | 10-6 | Well coached team with Gibbs, Saunders and Williams. Questions about Brunell and Portis need to answered positively for them to compete at the highest level. |
| 17. | 18. | Atlanta Falcons | 8-8 | Abraham, Jackson and Milloy were brought in to improve the defense. The trade for Gandy bolsters the offensive line. The unsung Dunn and Norwood are likely the keys to a playoff run. Vick still seems miscast in the WCO. |
| 18. | 13. | Kansas City Chiefs | 10-6 | Loss of Vermeil, Saunders, Richardson, Welbourn and probably Holmes was bad enough for the offense. Now Roaf has retired. Green is 35 and there is no viable short term backup. The receiving corps was unfathomably not upgraded in the offseason. Edwards is a conservative coach that would prefer to win 17-13 instead of 35-31. The defense just isn't that good. LJ will get a ton of work and could be the league MVP. Even so a winning record may be hard to acheive in a tough division. |
| 19. | 17. | Minnesota Vikings | 9-7 | Replacing Tice with Childress should eventually pay off. Likely to take a step back in the short term after replacing Culpepper with Johnson and Burleson with Williamson. Robinson getting himself arrested again for a DUI and subsequently released was a blow. |
| 20. | 21. | Baltimore Ravens | 6-10 | McNair will help as long as he can stay healthy. The offensive skill postion talent continues to improve. Age and free agent losses have taken a toll on the offensive line and defense. |
| 21. | 22. | Arizona Cardinals | 5-11 | Green had another good draft. Signing James should help balance the offense. A new state of the art stadium and increased season ticket base doesn't hurt. Can this translate into on the field success? Your guess is as good as mine. |
| 22. | 20. | St. Louis Rams | 6-10 | Jackson gets his chance to be a workhorse back with Linehan replacing Martz. Davis was signed as insurance. |
| 23. | 26. | Detriot Lions | 5-11 | How Millen keeps his job remains a mystery. Marinelli has his work cut out for him trying to change the country club atmosphere of the Mariucci regime. |
| 24. | 25. | Tennessee Titans | 4-12 | Decision to sign Collins to replace Volek only a week before the regular season was baffling. |
| 25. | 19. | Cleveland Browns | 6-10 | Savage and Crennel need more time. Having first day draft picks and prime free agent signings stay healthy wouldn't hurt. Trading for Fraley as a stopgap at the injury riddled center position makes life a bit easier for Frye and Droughns. |
| 26. | 30. | Oakland Raiders | 4-12 | Shell adds much needed stability to a franchise that has been in decline since Gruden was forced out. Having Walter show enough to eventually take over for the maddeningly inconsistent Brooks or ending up with a poor enough record to be in a position to draft Brady Quinn is more important in the big picture than winning a few extra games. |
| 27. | 24. | Buffalo Bills | 5-11 | Return of Spikes is a boost for what looks like a solid defense. Unfortunately the defense could be on the field far too often due to the lack of talent on the offensive line and Losman's tendency to make mistakes. McGahee will need to carry the load for them to have any success. |
| 28. | 27. | Green Bay Packers | 4-12 | Favre could have saved himself a lot of grief and punishment by simply retiring. |
| 29. | 32. | New Orleans Saints | 3-13 | Addition of Brees and Bush will at least make them more exciting. |
| 30. | 31. | Houston Texans | 2-14 | Decision to pass on Bush looks even worse with Davis sidelined for the year. |
| 31. | 28. | New York Jets | 4-12 | Defense should keep them in games. Lack of explosive offensive skill position talent makes their margin of error very thin. |
| 32. | 29. | San Fransisco 49ers | 4-12 | Donahue and Erickson left them in shambles. Nolan needs time to add and develop talent. Whether Smith is a good start to building the franchise is still an open question. |
*Ratings from Last Week of 2005 regular season.