1. (1) Green Bay Packers (11-0) – Green Bay may have possibly overcome their biggest threat to perfection on Thanksgiving night facing a good Lions team on a short week in Detroit. They see the Bears and Lions both again, but the Bears are without Jay Cutler and the last game of the year will be against in the Lions at Lambeau Field.
3. (4) New Orleans Saints (8-3) – The Saints looked healthy and rested coming off their bye. Drew Brees has this team rolling and the defense is playing better. This team could be very dangerous down the stretch.
4. (5) New England Patriots (8-3) – Despite their defense allowing Vince Young to throw for 400 yards, they managed to handily win in Philadelphia. Tom Brady renewed his relationship with Wes Welker and the Patriot offense looked of old.
5. (3) Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3) – Big Ben looked decent with that right thumb injury and managed to lead the Steelers to a close win on Sunday night. Their defense will keep them in every game and the offense will only get better. (Hopefully Troy Polamalu is okay.)
6. (2) San Francisco 49ers (9-2) – The 49ers ran into the wrong team on their short week Thanksgiving night and paid the price as the Ravens sacked Alex Smith 9 times! If the offensive line cannot protect Smith, they could have some serious issues down the road come playoff time.
7. (8) Houston Texans (8-3) – So much for the Matt Lienart show in Houston, he may be gone for the year as well. Luckily though the Texans escaped with a close win thanks in part to their defense and strong running game. I’m not sure how good this team will be with C.J Yates at QB heading into the future.
8. (9) Atlanta Falcons (7-4) – Matt Ryan continued his dominance at home as the Falcons took care of business against the seemingly dead Minnesota Vikings. If Ryan can continue to stay hot, this team could be very dangerous down the stretch.9. (10) Dallas Cowboys (7-4) – The Cowboys escaped with a win on Thanksgiving with a last second win against the Dolphins. Tony Romo looked good but not as great as the past few weeks. This team goes as far as Tony Romo goes, plain and simple.
10. (13) Oakland Raiders (7-4) – The Raiders matchup with the Bears couldn’t have come at a better time as they took full advantage of QB Caleb Hanie. The defense was forcing turnovers and looked great. The one thing the offense needs to do is punch the ball into the endzone and not kick so many field goals.
11. (14) Cincinnati Bengals (7-4) – The Bengals did not look good for three quarters against the Browns but came up with the win in the end. Good teams find ways to win, and that’s what I am seeing from this young Bengals team.
12. (7) Chicago Bears (7-4) – The Bears clearly struggled with Caleb Haine at QB. He made some bad decisions and ultimately cost them the game. You can’t turn the ball over and expect to win games; no matter how good your RB and defense are.
13. (11) Detroit Lions (7-4) – The Lions were just the next victim of the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Day. I still am disappointed in the way this team loses whether it be Jim Schwartz or now Ndamukong Suh stomping an opposing player. This team has a lot of potential, but they need to mature before they win big time games.
14. (12) New York Giants (6-5) – The Giants are banged up all across their offense and it showed on Monday night. They especially miss the heart and soul of their offense Ahmad Bradshaw. This is a good football team that hasn’t gotten any breaks. It won’t get any easier for them with a very tough schedule ahead.
15. (16) Denver Broncos (6-5) – Tebow is now 5-1 this year as the Broncos starting QB and he has beaten every single team in his division ON THE ROAD! The Broncos defense has been outstanding and Tebow continues to make good things happen by not turning the ball over. 16. (17) New York Jets (6-5) – The Jets came very close to losing this game but found a way to win despite Mark Sanchez once again throwing interceptions at crucial points in the game. This team will not go far if this trend continues.
17. (18) Tennessee Titans (6-5) – It seems as if CJ2K has woken up from his nap and has decided to run all over the place. He nearly rushed for 200 yards which helped the Titans secure a nice win against the Buccaneers. They could make a run at the division title with Houston losing another starting QB.
18. (15) Philadelphia Eagles (4-7) – I am not sure what is going on with the Eagles. Their defense had no answer for the New England offense and they couldn’t find ways to put the ball into the end zone. How does your QB throw for 400 yards and only come away with 20 points? Whatever bad can happen is happening to the Eagles at this point. Andy Reid is on the hot seat!
19. (25) Washington Redskins (4-7) – This time around the Redskins successfully pull off an upset in a close game against the Seahawks. This team seems to be playing better with Rex Grossman under center; if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!
20. (19) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7) – The Buccaneers stuck to their guns and pounded Blount as he literally ran over and hurdled defenders. But Josh Freeman continues to throw balls he didn’t a year ago and he is costing this team big time.
21. (20) San Diego Chargers (4-7) – The Chargers hopes for making the playoffs are all but gone. The QB play is inconsistent, the effort on the field is embarrassing and the coaching decisions are even worse. Something big needs to change soon for this franchise.
22. (21) Seattle Seahawks (4-7) – Just as the Seahawks seemingly began to hit their stride, they were shut down by the Redskins. Their defense played good but the offense just isn’t scoring enough points consistently for this team to win football games win in and week out.
23. (23) Buffalo Bills (5-6) – The Bills didn’t look as bad as they have the past few weeks but they still aren’t back to the football they were playing early in the year. Fitzpatrick seems to be back on track but the defense is giving up way too many yards and is not forcing any turnovers.
25. (22) Miami Dolphins (3-8) – The Dolphins nearly racked up their 4th straight win but lost a heartbreaker to the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. I like what I see from this team and expect them to keep up the pace.
26. (26) Kansas City Chiefs (4-7) – The Chiefs looked very solid against the Steelers on Sunday night, especially their defense. But they won’t win games with Tyler Palko under center just giving the ball away, get Kyle Orton in their ASAP!
27. (24) Cleveland Browns (4-7) – The Browns have been in very tight games the past three weeks. If the Jaguars wouldn’t have handed the Browns the win last week, the Browns would’ve lost all three. Good teams find ways to win, bad teams find ways to lose
28. (30) Carolina Panthers (3-8) – The Panthers looked hot and cold against the NFL’s worst team this Sunday. We all know Carolina can run the ball with Newton-Stewart-Williams, but they certainly cannot stop the run on defense. Carolina nearly handed Curtis Painter and the Colts their first win of the season, nothing to brag about.29. (28) Jacksonville Jaguars (3-8) – The Jaguars are at a desperation point now where they end up benching Blaine Gabbert in the middle of a game in which they had a chance to win. McCown showed some good things, but he is not the long term solution.
30. (29) Minnesota Vikings (2-9) – The Vikings offense clearly struggled without having Adrian Peterson in the game. Toby Gerhart and Percy Harvin played well, but that is about all. This is another classic case of bad teams finding ways to lose close games.
31. (31) St. Louis Rams (2-9) – The Rams came up short once again this week against the division foe Arizona Cardinals. St. Louis showed no ability to stop the run as they allowed Beanie Wells to rush for over 200 yards on his own, that will be a huge problem as the season progresses on if it isn’t fixed soon.
32. (32) Indianapolis Colts (0-11) – The Colts were oh so close to getting their first win this weekend. Painter was hot and cold again which will continue to leave the Colts chances of winning a game in the balance. Indy has a tough road ahead, but I believe they will find a way to win at least 1 game.
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