Rank

Change

Team

Record

1

-

8-1

2

-

8-0

3

3

6-2

A big move for the Packers above Seattle as the best team in the NFC. Green Bay once again looked imperious after their week 8 flub against the Vikings. What is great about this year's NFL is that all of the teams look kind of flawed, but on their day look unstoppable. The good news for the Packers? The NFC North is almost certainly going to give them an easy playoff spot.

4

2

6-2

Finally a decisive victory against a winning team for Baltimore. They did it in a strange way, throwing for their second least passing total all year, and their second least rushing yards too. On their day, the Ravens can beat anyone, but they will need to get that offense firing if they want to compete in the playoffs.

5

2

6-2

The way the NFC West is shaking out is working in Seattle's favor, which is a good thing because they have serious defensive problems. They gave up just 34 rushing yards to the Bills, but 386 through the air. For many that would be a season-high, but for Seattle? It's their 4th highest. Seattle have given up less than 300 yards just twice this season, and one of those was 299...

6

1

  6-2

The Titans stopped the bleeding against the Bears and it wasn't that close, even if the final score was within a touchdown. The Titans were as-expected against the Bears running offense and they looked slightly closer to their early season form. Three decisive playoff weeks loom, with two Colts games sandwiched by Baltimore on the road.

7

4

7-2

That was refreshingly good. The Bills had spluttered over recent weeks against the Jets and Patriots, which didn't exactly bode well against the league's best passing attack, Seattle. Well the Bills forced a re-evaluation of what this team can do, capitalizing heavily on the weakness of the Seahawks. There's a lot to like about Buffalo when they play like this, a more stern all-round challenge awaits in Arizona this week.

8

5

6-2

SIGH. I don't want the Saints this high but how can we ignore that evisceration of the Bucs on Sunday night? We can't, is the answer. Perhaps my 8-8 preseason prediction was wrong, the Saints now have a tie-breaker over the Bucs too, which could be critical in January. Did you even see how Drew Brees threw a few intermediate routes on Sunday? Outrageous.

9

1

5-3

Clunk. The Colts offense hit a brick wall against the Ravens, a critical loss given that the Colts figure to be one of the teams needing tie-breakers against other second placed teams in the playoff race. They've also lost to the Browns and share the same 5-3 record. All of a sudden, the next three games (TEN road, GB home, TEN home) take on critical significance for Indy.

10

3

5-3

In a lot of respects, the Raiders are still the Raiders. They're not winning many games comfortably, but where they differe from past iterations of this team is that they're actually winning a few of the nail-biters. Chalk off that terrible last second PI call in Buffalo in week 4, and the Raiders would be 6-3 and leading the Wild Card race.

11

7

6-3

The Bucs have a problem with a 1D offense. An NFL record low of 4 rushing attempts (we don't count kneeldowns) tells you part of the story, but also keep in mind that Tampa Bay's much-vaunted defense has a weakness against the pass (ranked 14th going into that game) so it's not completely amazing that they were torn apart through the air. The scarce NFC wild card race helps their cause, but the week 11 Rams matchup looks critical.

12

2

5-3

They're still a good team, and arguably they came up against one of the other good teams against Miami. That's why I'm loath to wade in with a hugely critical assessment of a team scoring 4 offensive TD's and giving up 221 passing yards and less than 100 yards rushing. Ultimately, if that game is played 100 times, the Cards win over 80 of them and I think they're still the second best team in the NFC West.

13

3

5-3

YES HERE WE GO MIAMI. I have backed the Dolphins since preseason and now they're finally paying off. Sure, it isn't pretty, but two wins for Tua Tagovaiola in games where he is really just feeling out his place in the NFL is encouraging. I had earmarked the Denver-Jets-Cinci streak of games (beginning week 11) as the most likely starting points for him, but the prospect of him hitting those games with momentum could be huge for the Dolphins' chances of a wild card spot in a super-competitive AFC.

14

-

5-3

No change for the Rams during their bye week. The good news was that everyone else in the NFC West lost, so their 5-3 record keeps them equally one game from top spot, and one game from the bottom.

15

-

5-3

The Browns also had a bye week, they'll be less happy with the Ravens managing to pull slightly ahead of them in the wild card race, but WHAT'S THIS? The owners want a 16 team playoff field? The Browns join a crowded group including Miami, Indy, Baltimore and Las Vegas fighting for 3 or 4 spots. Nobody else is realistically likely to bridge the gap between bad and good.

16

4

4-5

The 49ers will be most disappointed in their defensive efforts against the Packers, even if the offense will take the most criticism. With a difficult schedule and no starting QB, the 49ers are all but done despite only being 2 games off the top of the NFC West.

17

2

3-5

Using the term 'unconvincing' doesn't really do justice to the team that nearly lost to the Jets, but there were positives. The Pats got the ball moving through the air for the first time since week 2 against Seattle, and also had 3 rushing touchdowns on 159 yards. IF (and it's a big 'if') New England has a balanced attack, they can still play a role in the playoff race, if only as a spoiler.

18

-

3-5

The Vikes make a late surge? It's not completely impossible that the 3-5 Vikes may end up taking the second place spot in the NFC North , particularly if they can win on the road this week in Chicago. The Vikes have finally figured out that they are a true early 00's team in spirit, running the ball well and managing the game via Kirk Cousins. There's no shame in that, even if they signed Cousins to do a lot more than that.

19

-

3-5 

 The way the Broncos hang around in games and their moxy in fighting during a clearly losing season without their best player should be a huge fillup for any Denver fan. They had a chance against the Falcons and it didn't work out, but that they're in these positions is encouraging. 

20

3

3-6

leaping up the rankings after a loss? It makes sense after a narrow loss to the Chiefs in which the Panthers showed just how good they can be on offense, playing largely mistake free football and hanging in there with the best the NFL has to offer. Defensively they are still not quite there, but the future is very bright.

21

1

 5-4

A 5-3 team below multiple teams with losing records? Yup. The Bears can't win with Nick Foles and they seem reluctant to make the somewhat inevitable switch back to Mitchell Trubisky as starting QB. Matt Nagy will know that although they have a good score in the clubhouse, the chasing pack will almost certainly overhaul them, and as things stand, this could be the last week with that winning record in 2020.

22

1

2-5-1

Like the other teams in this bracket, there's a lot to like in the future for Cinci. They are firmly above the worst in the NFL at this stage, but not quite in the playoff chatter after their bye week. How they handle the NFC East teams during the next 5 weeks will tell us more than how they handle Pittsburgh this week.

23

3

3-6

Well the good news is they're not throwing in the towel. With 3 wins in their last 4 since Dan Quinn was fired, the Falcons have probably left it too late to mount a playoff run, but there may be interesting questions for the Falcons if the team's star players continue playing well. The assumption that the Falcons will move on from Matt Ryan soon may be premature on current form.

24

3

3-5

25

2

2-7

26

2

 2-6

27

-3

2-6

28

2

1-7

The Jags move up after a spirited showing on Sunday that - if representative - makes Jake Luton at least worth a chance of another start. I am a Gardner Minshew fan, but understanding Luton will be crucial. That said, Luton will likely get the same short leash as Minshew, rendering the entire process pointless.

29

2

3-4-1

30

1

2-7

31

1

2-6

Oh Kyle Allen, you just can't catch a break. As nice as it is to see Alex Smith playing again, it's not only nerve-wracking, but also limiting to the WFT's chances. Without Allen for potentially the rest of the season, the TEAM will struggle mightily to get another win on the board.

32

 

-

0-9

Well, it wasn't the worst performance of the season. I picked the Jets to win and was crushed that they didn't finish off the Pats after their first 250yd game in 2020. Yes, in week 9. The Jets also threw multiple TD's for the first time in a game this season. Again, these aren't compliments, but I suppose the least we can do is give them credit for trying.