| Rnk | LY* | Team | Record+ | Comments |
| 1. | 2. | Cincinnati Bengals | 3-0 | Regular season domination is not enough, need to win playoff games. |
| 2. | 3. | Seattle Seahawks | 2-1 | Wilson came up big in OT. Blowing a 14 point fourth quarter lead at home almost unfathomable. Need to win at home. Have to win at home. Can't afford a road playoff game. |
| 3. | 1. | Denver Broncos | 2-1 | Manning not getting to touch the ball after forcing OT against the 12th man in Seattle had to be a bitter pill to swallow. |
| 4. | 4. | Philadelphia Eagles | 3-0 | Undefeated after 3 weeks for the first time in a decade. |
| 5. | 8. | Arizona Cardinals | 3-0 | Outscored the Niners 17-0 in the second half. |
| 6. | 7. | New England Patriots | 2-1 | Currently dead last in yards per play. Needed a questionable holding call on what would have been a McFadden game tying TD and a subsequent Wilfork interception with 51 seconds remaining to hold off the Raiders. |
| 7. | 9. | San Diego Chargers | 2-1 | Pressure is on Rivers at least in the short term with injuries to Mathews and Woodhead. |
| 8. | 10. | Baltimore Ravens | 2-1 | Players and coaches doing a good job of tuning out the Rice fiasco. |
| 9. | 15. | Atlanta Falcons | 2-1 | Scored the second most points in franchise history on Thursday night behind only the 62 points put up against the Aints in '73. Hester broke Neon Deion's record for return touchdowns. |
| 10. | 12. | Chicago Bears | 2-1 | First rounder Fuller has been a revelation. |
| 11. | 16. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2-1 | Had a pair of 100 yard rushers in the same game for the first time in 28 years. |
| 12. | 17. | Dallas Cowboys | 2-1 | Last time they rallied from a 21 point deficit to win was 1999 against the Saints. |
| 13. | 19. | Indianapolis Colts | 1-2 | Bradshaw continues to outplay Richardson. |
| 14. | 5. | Carolina Panthers | 2-1 | Benching of Hardy wasn't really the problem with the interior run defense getting savaged. |
| 15. | 18. | New Orleans Saints | 1-2 | Need to figure out a way to win some games on the road starting this week in Dallas. |
| 16. | 20. | Detriot Lions | 2-1 | A different team at home. |
| 17. | 13. | San Francisco 49ers | 1-2 | Rumors of Harbaugh to Michigan already starting to heat up. |
| 18. | 6. | Green Bay Packers | 1-2 | Rodgers seems to be having trouble adjusting to the losses of Jones and Dietrich-Smith in free agency. |
| 19. | 11. | Buffalo Bills | 2-1 | Inducted Reed into their ring of honor at halftime, could have used him on the field. |
| 20. | 14. | Houston Texans | 2-1 | Fitzpatrick threw 3 interceptions after not turning the ball over in their 2 season opening victories. |
| 21. | 28. | Kansas City Chiefs | 1-2 | Nice to have a backup like Davis for Charles. |
| 22. | 29. | New York Giants | 1-2 | Snapped a 7 game September losing streak, Cruz got into the end zone for the first time in 357 days. |
| 23. | 23. | Washington Redskins | 1-2 | Loss of Hall to a torn Achilles' tendon only makes things worse for an already struggling secondary. |
| 24. | 22. | New York Jets | 1-2 | Tone set early with a Geno pick 6 on the first offensive snap of the game. When will Vick get an opportunity? |
| 25. | 21. | Miami Dolphins | 1-2 | Hard to envision Philbin surviving the season. |
| 26. | 24. | Cleveland Browns | 1-2 | Had numerous chances to put away the Ravens. Missed a pair of FGs then went 3 and out twice in the final 5 minutes. |
| 27. | 25. | Tennessee Titans | 1-2 | Finally scored their first rushing TD of the season in the fourth quarter, alas they were trailing by 33 at the time. |
| 28. | 26. | Minnesota Vikings | 1-2 | Cassell injury gives Bridgewater an opportunity. |
| 29. | 27. | St. Louis Rams | 1-2 | Blew a 21 point first half lead at home. |
| 30. | 30. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 0-3 | Embarrassed in prime time. Who thought signing McCown and handing him the starting job was a good idea? |
| 31. | 31. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 0-3 | Finally turning to Bortles. |
| 32. | 32. | Oakland Raiders | 0-3 | Actually held their own in trip east to Foxboro, now get to go further east for a home game in London. |
*Last week's ranking