| Rnk | LW | Team | Record | Comments |
| 1. | 1. | Kansas City Chiefs | 8-0 | Should be able to avoid a letdown coming off a bye at home against the struggling Browns. |
| 2. | 2. | Indianapolis Colts | 7-1 | Freeney showed the value of speed on the edge of a defense as the Colts impressively manhandled the Dolphins. |
| 3. | 3. | Tennessee Titans | 6-2 | McNair, George, and Kearse are relatively healthy after the bye. If George can provide anything on the ground to help out MVP candidate McNair this will be a very tough team to beat down the stretch. |
| 4. | 7. | New England Patriots | 7-2 | Just keep plugging away despite a rash of injuries on defense. Seymour was the lastest to miss time, not even travelling with his teamates to Denver. I'm not sure how much the upcoming bye will help. It certainly shouldn't hurt. |
| 5. | 10. | Seattle Seahawks | 6-2 | The NFC is very tough to read at this point. Do I really believe the Seahawks are the best team in their conference? Probably not. I am just not a believer in any of the four NFC teams that have won 6 games and don't have a good feel for which 4 or 5 win NFC teams will come on in the second half. |
| 6. | 5. | Carolina Panthers | 6-2 | Looked past the Texans and paid the price. Still have an opportunity to put away division rival Tampa Bay at home this week. |
| 7. | 6. | Minnesota Vikings | 6-2 | Two straight losses have raised some questions. Can not afford to take the Chargers lightly in San Diego. |
| 8. | 11. | Dallas Cowboys | 6-2 | Did not play particularly well in their victory over the fading Redskins. The going gets much tougher against a brutal second half schedule. |
| 9. | 12. | Philadelphia Eagles | 5-3 | McNabb's play has improved in recent weeks and Buckhalter has been a revelation on the ground. Defensive injuries remain a major concern. |
| 10. | 4. | St. Louis Rams | 5-3 | Gave the Niners a glimmer a hope by coming out flat in San Fransisco and getting steamrolled. Holt continued to dominate opposing secondaries even in defeat. His 63 receptions for 978 yards leads the NFL. |
| 11. | 8. | Miami Dolphins | 5-3 | Shaky offensive line play has made it tough for Williams. Without a strong running game the Dolphins are in trouble even with Griese in the lineup over Fiedler. |
| 12. | 9. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 4-4 | Rice has guaranteed a win this week in Carolina. The Bucs better back up his boasts because a loss could be devistating to the playoff hopes of the defending champs. |
| 13. | 19. | Green Bay Packers | 4-4 | The Pack is back. Favre took control Sunday night against the Vikings despite playing with a broken thumb on his throwing hand in a venue that has never been kind to him. That is why he is a first ballot hall of famer. |
| 14. | 15. | Baltimore Ravens | 5-3 | Opened up a two game lead in the worst division in football. Not a threat to win it all, but making the playoffs with a rookie QB after almost completely turning over the roster due to cap issues would be a major accomplishment. |
| 15. | 16. | New York Giants | 4-4 | Tried hard to blow a 28-14 fourth quarter lead before waking up and beating the Jets in OT. |
| 16. | 14. | Buffalo Bills | 4-4 | Rumors that Williams would not survive the bye week proved unfounded. |
| 17. | 18. | New Orleans Saints | 4-5 | Have now beaten the defending champion Buccaneers three straight times. |
| 18. | 13. | Denver Broncos | 5-4 | Three game losing streak has put them in a precarious position. Have been reduced to competing with the Dolphins and Bills for the last AFC widcard spot. |
| 19. | 20. | San Fransisco 49ers | 4-5 | Inconsistent club heads into their bye having sandwiched an inexplicable loss to the Cardinals between impressive beatings of the Bucs and Rams. |
| 20. | 17. | Cincinnati Bengals | 3-5 | I got a bit ahead of myself thinking the Bengals could actually compete for a playoff spot this season. Even in the pathetic AFC North. Lewis still has plenty of work to do, but for the first time in a decade this franchise looks to be headed in the right direction. |
| 21. | 21. | Cleveland Browns | 3-5 | The bye week was a time of turnoil in Cleveland. Green was suspended for a game after being arrested for DUI and marijuana possesion. Johnson was benched in favor of Davis at WR. None of it probably matters with a trip to Kansas City up next. |
| 22. | 26. | Houston Texans | 3-5 | Can not be taken lightly, especially at home. The red uniforms have to go. They were almost as bad as the Browns' bright orange jerseys. |
| 23. | 27. | Chicago Bears | 3-5 | Sitting Kordell seems to have given them a new life. |
| 24. | 28. | Arizona Cardinals | 3-5 | Head to Pittsburgh on a 2 game winning streak. The Steelers better not overlook Blake and Shipp. |
| 25. | 23. | New York Jets | 2-6 | Fought hard behind Pennington only to come up short in a game they had to win to have any hope at a playoff run. |
| 26. | 22. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2-6 | Mired in a 5 game losing streak. Finally made a few adjustments that seemed to help, even in defeat. Maddox found a rhythm in the fourth quarter in the no huddle offense. The defense blited more and got some pressure on Hasselbeck. Of course the pass defense continued to stink. Drops by the Seahawks receivers helped keep the game close. With the Cardinals headed to town a decision has finally been made to shake up the secondary. Washington has been benched with Townsend moving into the starting lineup and Taylor filling the role of 3rd CB. The changes didn't go far enough. Alexander also needs to be benched with Hope and Polamalu getting more playing time.
| 27. | 24. | Washington Redskins | 3-5 | Snyder and Spurrier have turned this once proud franchise into a laughingstock. |
| 28. | 32. | Detriot Lions | 2-6 | Won ugly. For a team struggling as much as the Lions, a win is a win. |
| 29. | 25. | Oakland Raiders | 2-6 | Have fallen farther than the Steelers. I thought heading to Detriot would be a tonic for what ails the Raiders. I was wrong. Callahan has totally lost control. |
| 30. | 29. | Atlanta Falcons | 1-7 | No way Reeves can survive this debacle. |
| 31. | 30. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 1-7 | Rookie QB just making too many mistakes on a team with little margin for error. Nobody said things would be easy for Del Rio. |
| 32. | 31. | San Diego Chargers | 1-7 | At least the wild fires in Southern California have been contained. |
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