I’ve divided the rankings in to 5 classes of teams. The “Elite” are the best of the best right now. The “Contenders” are easy to see going on a long playoff run. Those in the “Meh-zo-sphere” wouldn’t surprise me if they made or missed the playoffs. The “Pretenders” cling to wild dreams of making a run and making the playoffs somehow, and once mathematically eliminated are shooting for 8-8. The “Suh-didly-uckleheads” are already looking forward to ruining their draft position with a week 17 win over a playoff team resting all of their starters.
The Elite
1. Atlanta Falcons (11-1): Best win: @Philadelphia. Bad losses: None. Change: 0.
2. Houston Texans (11-1): Best wins: @Chicago, Baltimore. Bad losses: None. Change: 0.
3. New England Patriots (9-3): Best win: Denver. Bad losses: Arizona. Change: +2
The Contenders
4. Baltimore Ravens (9-3): Best win: New England. Bad losses: None. Change: 0.
5. Denver Broncos (9-3): Best win: Pittsburgh. Bad losses: None. Change: +4
6. Green Bay Packers (8-4): Best wins: Chicago, @Houston. Bad loss: @Indianapolis. Change: +2
7. San Francisco 49ers (8-3-1): Best wins: @Green Bay, Chicago. Bad losses: @St. Louis None; Bad tie: St. Louis. Change: -4. 49ers thanking their creator the Rams will miss the playoffs.
8. Indianapolis Colts (8-4): Best win: Green Bay. Bad losses: @Jacksonville, @New York Jets. Change: +2
9. Chicago Bears (8-4): Best win: stomping @Dallas. Bad losses: None. Change: -2
10. New York Giants (7-5): Best wins: stomping Green Bay, @San Francisco. Bad loss: Dallas, @Cincinnati. Change: -2
The Meh-zo-sphere
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5): Best wins: @Baltimore, @New York Giants. Bad losses: @Cleveland, @Oakland, @Tennessee. Change: 0.
12. Seattle Seahawks (7-5): Best wins: @Chicago Green Bay, New England. Bad losses: @Arizona, @St. Louis. Change: +3
13. Cincinnati Bengals (7-5) Best win: New York Giants. Bad losses: @Cleveland Change: -1
14. Washington Snyders (6-6) Best win: New York Giants. Bad losses: Carolina, @St. Louis, Cincinnati. Change: +2
15. Tampa Bay Bucs (6-6) Best win: @Minnesota. Bad losses: Washington. Change: -2
16. Minnesota Vikings (6-6): Best win: San Francisco. Bad loss: @Washington. Change: -2
The Pretenders
17. Dallas Cowboys (6-6) Best win: @New York Giants. Bad losses: None. Change: +1
18. New Orleans Saints (5-7) Best win: Atlanta. Bad losses: Washington, Kansas City, @Carolina Change: -2 In my rankings, those early losses really are a lead weight around the necks of the Saints.
19. St. Louis Rams (5-6-1) Best win: San Francisco. Bad losses: None. Best tie: @San Francisco Change: +2
20. Miami Dolphins (5-7) Best win: None. Bad losses: crushed by Tenn, New York Jets, @Arizona Change: -1
21. Buffalo Bills (5-7) Best win: Bad losses: @New York Jets, Tennessee. Change: +2
22. New York Jets (5-7) Best win: None. Bad losses: crushed by Miami. Change: +4
23. Detroit Lions (4-8) Best win: None. Bad losses: @Tennessee. Change: -3
24. San Diego Chargers (4-8) Best win: None. Bad loss: @Cleveland. Change: -2
The Suh-diddly-uckleheads
25. Arizona Cardinals (4-8) Best win: @New England. Bad losses: @New York Jets, @St. Louis, @Buffalo Change: -1
26. Tennessee Titans (4-8) Best win: Pittsburgh. Bad losses: @Jacksonville. Change: -1
27. Cleveland Browns (4-8) Best win: Pittsburgh. Bad losses: None. Change: 0
28. Carolina Panthers (3-9) Best win: None. Bad losses: None. Change: 0
29. Philadelphia Eagles (3-9) Best win: Baltimore. Bad losses: Carolina, @Arizona, @Washington Change: 0
30. Oakland Raiders (3-9) Best win: Pittsburgh. Bad losses: None. Change: 0
31. Kansas City Chiefs (2-10) Best win: None. Bad losses: None. Change: +1
32. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-10) Best win: None. Bad losses: crushed @Buffalo. Change: -1
Now, go ahead and tell me how I misplaced your favorite team in the comments section below.
