| Rnk | LW* | Team | Record | Comments |
| 1. | 1. | New England Patriots | 12-2 | Again clinched a playoff bye. First franchise in league history to win 8 straight division titles. |
| 2. | 2. | Dallas Cowboys | 12-2 | Sunday night should put to rest the ridiculous talk of Romo possibly replacing Dak. |
| 3. | 4. | Oakland Raiders | 11-3 | Earned their first post season berth since '02. |
| 4. | 3. | Kansas City Chiefs | 10-4 | Ultra-conservative play calling after taking a 14 point lead ended up costing Reid. |
| 5. | 6. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 9-5 | AB overtook Hall of Famer Harrison to record the most catches in a 4 year span in league history. |
| 6. | 7. | New York Giants | 10-4 | Defense has allowed only 13 points total in the last 2 weeks against previously red hot Dak and Stafford. |
| 7. | 8. | Seattle Seahawks | 9-4-1 | Clinched the NFC West. |
| 8. | 10. | Atlanta Falcons | 9-5 | Back-to-back games against the Rams and 49ers can make you feel really good about yourselves. |
| 9. | 5. | Detroit Lions | 9-5 | Winless this season when playing outside. |
| 10. | 11. | Green Bay Packers | 8-6 | Lions loss opens the door, they play the final week in Detroit. |
| 11. | 13. | Miami Dolphins | 9-5 | Career backup Moore threw 4 TDs in his first game replacing Tannehill. |
| 12. | 15. | Baltimore Ravens | 8-6 | Season comes down to Christmas day in Pittsburgh. |
| 13. | 18. | Tennessee Titans | 8-6 | Shocked the Chiefs and Broncos in successive weeks. |
| 14. | 9. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 8-6 | No shame losing in Dallas. Need to win their last 2 for a shot at the playoffs. |
| 15. | 12. | Denver Broncos | 8-6 | Defending champs currently on the outside looking in for a wild card. |
| 16. | 17. | Houston Texans | 8-6 | Savage led a comeback from down 9 in the fourth quarter after Osweiler was finally benched. |
| 17. | 14. | Washington Redskins | 7-6-1 | Loss at home to the Panthers means they now need help to return to the playoffs. |
| 18. | 20. | Indianapolis Colts | 7-7 | Announced front office and coaching staff will return thus wasting another year of Luck's career. |
| 19. | 21. | Carolina Panthers | 6-8 | Dug themselves too big a hole. Late season resurgence bodes well for next year. |
| 20. | 23. | Buffalo Bills | 7-7 | Slim playoff hopes kept alive thanks in large part to McCoy's 153 yards rushing (and the Browns' complete ineptitude). |
| 21. | 16. | Minnesota Vikings | 7-7 | Totally dominated by the Colts in Minnesota. Return of Purple Jesus made no difference for moribund offense. Defense seemed to quit on Zimmer which is obviously a bad sign. |
| 22. | 24. | New Orleans Saints | 6-8 | Reportedly willing to trade Payton. Not sure who is going to want a coach coming off 3 losing seasons with a Hall of Fame QB. |
| 23. | 19. | Cincinnati Bengals | 5-8-1 | Officially eliminated. Can Lewis survive? His having never won a playoff game in 14 years at the helm is probably a bigger issue than one bad season (after 4 straight seasons with double digit wins). |
| 24. | 22. | Arizona Cardinals | 5-8-1 | Guaranteed their first losing season under Arians. Palmer reportedly considering retirement which is probably a prudent course given how steeply his performance has declined. |
| 25. | 25. | San Diego Chargers | 5-9 | Basically played a road game in San Diego against the Raiders. Move to Los Angeles appears to be a fait accompli. |
| 26. | 26. | Philadelphia Eagles | 5-9 | Made the correct call going for 2 and the win late in Baltimore. Unfortunately unlike Apollo 13 failure was an option. |
| 27. | 27. | New York Jets | 4-10 | Already lost as many games this year as they won last year. |
| 28. | 28. | Chicago Bears | 3-11 | Barkley wore a wet suit under his uniform last Sunday because game time temperature was so low. |
| 29. | 29. | Los Angeles Rams | 4-10 | Losers of 5 straight. Interim head coach Fassel gets extra time to prepare for his second game at the helm after Fisher was fired on a short work week. |
| 30. | 30. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 2-12 | Lee's kickoff return for a TD was the first for the franchise in over 9 years. Didn't matter. Fired Bradley immediately after blowing a 12 point lead with just over 15 minutes remaining. |
| 31. | 31. | San Francisco 49ers | 1-13 | Hard to evaluate Kaepernick because the coaching and talent level around him is so abysmal. Should be interesting to see this offseason if someone gives him a legitimate chance to be a starter. |
| 32. | 32. | Cleveland Browns | 0-14 | Haven't had a lead in 17 straight quarters. Things are getting worse, not better which has to be a concern. |
*Last week's ranking