| Rnk | LW* | Team | Record | Comments |
| 1. | 1. | New England Patriots | 12-2 | Seemed vulnerable against Flynn and the Packers which has to give the rest of the league some hope. |
| 2. | 2. | Atlanta Falcons | 12-2 | Lost to the Steelers in the opener in overtime with Roethlisberger suspended. Which just goes to show that the Steelers can beat anybody. |
| 3. | 5. | Philadelphia Eagles | 10-4 | Team speed means they are never out of a game. |
| 4. | 8. | New York Jets | 10-4 | I could have lived without reports of videos of Rex Ryan and his wife on foot fetish web sites I probably could have lived without reports that there are foot fetish web sites. |
| 5. | 4. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 10-4 | No Polamalu. No win. |
| 6. | 6. | Baltimore Ravens | 10-4 | Still need help to win the division because of early season loss to the Bengals. |
| 7. | 3. | New Orleans Saints | 10-4 | Could conceivably win 12 games and still be forced to travel in the first round of the playoffs against a team that will likely finish under .500. |
| 8. | 9. | Chicago Bears | 10-4 | Clinched the division. Thanks to a head-to-head win over the Eagles are likely to have a bye. Hester's 14th career kick/punt return TD set a new league record. |
| 9. | 11. | San Diego Chargers | 8-6 | Need the Chiefs to lose. Desperately. |
| 10. | 12. | Indianapolis Colts | 8-6 | Now control their own destiny. Lost Collie for a the season due to a second concussion. |
| 11. | 15. | Kansas City Chiefs | 9-5 | Charles helped ease Cassel back from his appendectomy. |
| 12. | 7. | New York Giants | 9-5 | Last time the franchise blew a 21 point 4th quarter lead was 1950. |
| 13. | 10. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 8-6 | Loss to the Colts puts a crimp in their playoff aspirations. |
| 14. | 13. | Green Bay Packers | 8-6 | Buoyed by the return of Rodgers in what is basically a playoff game this week against the Giants. |
| 15. | 14. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 8-6 | Home loss in OT to Lions is likely the death knell to their playoff hopes. |
| 16. | 17. | Oakland Raiders | 7-7 | If McFadden can stay healthy they should be a factor in the next couple of seasons. |
| 17. | 16. | Miami Dolphins | 7-7 | Can Spagnola survive only winning a single home game? Or 2 if they beat the Lions this week? Miami or Houston is the likely landing spot for Cowher. The Giants replacing Coughlin despite last week's debacle remains a long shot. |
| 18. | 23. | Dallas Cowboys | 5-9 | Finally placed Romo on IR. There was no reason to bring him back this year. |
| 19. | 29. | Tennessee Titans | 6-8 | Still mathematically alive. |
| 20. | 18. | San Fransisco 49ers | 5-9 | NFC West went 0-4 this week for the 3rd time this season. |
| 21. | 19. | Cleveland Browns | 5-9 | Expect to see Holmgren on the sidelines in Cleveland next year. |
| 22. | 20. | Minnesota Vikings | 5-9 | Favre appears to finally be done. |
| 23. | 21. | St. Louis Rams | 6-8 | I'm rooting for them against the Niners. Not that I mind the Niners. The team I really don't want in the playoffs from this division is the Seahawks. |
| 24. | 22. | Seattle Seahawks | 6-8 | Not competitive against the Falcons in Seattle. |
| 25. | 26. | Buffalo Bills | 4-10 | Keep playing hard. |
| 26. | 28. | Detriot Lions | 4-10 | Snapped their 26 game road losing streak, the longest in league history. |
| 27. | 24. | Houston Texans | 5-9 | Stick a fork in Kubiak. He's done. |
| 28. | 25. | Washington Redskins | 5-9 | Grossman's 322 yards passing and 4 TDs could not overcome his 2 interceptions and lost fumble. Par for the course. |
| 29. | 31. | Cincinnati Bengals | 3-11 | Will Lewis survive? A win over their rivals from Ohio can't hurt. |
| 30. | 27. | Arizona Cardinals | 4-10 | Have to find a QB before next season. |
| 31. | 32. | Carolina Panthers | 2-12 | Benefit more from losing than winning. |
| 32. | 30. | Denver Broncos | 3-11 | Tebow wasn't enough to get them a win. Although he was admittedly not the problem. |
*Last week's ranking