in NFL Articles

Week 10 revealed the flaws in teams like Washington and Atlanta. But, it also saw playoff contenders like the Jaguars and the Panthers assert themselves. Green Bay finally won another game, forcing us to upgrade them. Meanwhile, there were a few winners who were less than impressive. Give our rankings a gander, as we believe they are dead on this week.

The Eagles dropped the most spots, with Atlanta closely behind them. Jacksonville made the biggest climb, followed by the Cowboys, Bills and Packers.

All comments concerning the rankings can be sent to FaceOff@BetUS.com and we’ll post them in the Face Off section.

Rank   (LW)                           Team & Reason

32        (28)                          Arizona Cardinals

They have made the drop to last a lot faster than we had anticipated. Nevertheless, it is well earned. A lot of talent, but they sure play like a team without any.

31        (30)                       San Francisco 49ers

Yes, they only lost by eight points on the road to a division leader. But, this is more the product of the Bears not playing well. Wow, we have not seen an offense this bad since we took in a last place Pop Warner football team’s game.

30        (31)                           Tennessee Titans

A bye week moved them up a place. Hey, this team will take it any way they can get it right now.

29        (29)                           Houston Texans

They played one good half versus Indy. Someone apparently forgot to tell them to play well for both halves. Oh well, they are comfortable and familiar with this slot on our list.

28        (32)                           Green Bay Packers

On the shoulders of Samkon Gado, Green Bay powers out of the 30’s and into 28th place on our list. Now why couldn’t they play this well all season long? The Pack have a chance to play spoiler to Minnesota’s playoff hopes this weekend.

27        (27)                           Cleveland Browns

Oh Cleveland. It’s not your fault you lost to the Steelers. It’s clearly Dilfer’s fault for forgetting to play well in two straight games for the first time in several seasons.

26        (26)                           New Orleans Saints

A bye week gave these guys a chance to go home and forget the fact that they are the most underachieving team on these rankings.

25        (24)                           New York Jets

There’s no joy in Jetsville, as mighty Brooks has struck out. Bollinger will be in the Arena league in 2006 and Pennington will back up whomever the Jets draft in the first round.

24        (25)                           Miami Dolphins

If nothing else, the Dolphins are playing hard for Nick Saban. There’s plenty of reason for optimism here, just not for this season. How could some guy name Heath Evans out-rush Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined?

23        (23)                           Baltimore Ravens

Can you say apathetic? The players don’t look any more thrilled about having Kyle Boller back than the fans do. Playing out the string at the halfway mark means Billick should probably put the house on the market ASAP.

22        (22)                           Oakland Raiders

Kerry Collins finally made the mistakes we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from him. Meanwhile, their ranking is suffering just as Randy Moss is. He can’t be anywhere near healthy based on his stats this season, can he?

21        (21)                           Detroit Lions

An underwhelming win over Arizona means Joey Harrington should not be proud of a season-best day and this win. In fact, he was so impressive (not), that the Lions will probably start Jeff Garcia in week 11. Thanks for the win Joey, now take a seat.

20        (11)                           Philadelphia Eagles

It’s a harsh drop, but one that is merited. We gave them the benefit of the doubt after the Redskin loss. But, losing to Dallas and losing McNabb means this team is not a top team anymore- at least for this season.

19        (20)                           Minnesota Vikings

It’ll be a long road back, but they got off to a nice start in New York. It was all special teams and defense for the Vikes. Add in the fact that Brad Johnson has not made any major mistakes, and you have a recipe for success.

18        (15)                           St. Louis Rams

They blew it. Their last chance to make something of the season was there for the taking in Seattle. With Bulger, Bruce and Holt back, they were anything but explosive. Shame on the Rams for not stepping up.

17        (17)                           Washington Redskins

For those of you who were puzzled as to how we had the Skins so low, now what do you say? They choked in Tampa Bay and made Chris Simms look more like his Dad. Not a good sign for a team that wants to contend for the postseason.

16        (16)                            Kansas City Chiefs

Tough loss in Buffalo. This team turned the ball over too often against the Bills and now must sweep the two games remaining with Denver. As well, losing Priest Holmes was clearly like a punch in the stomach prior to Week 10.

15        (19)                            Buffalo Bills

The resurrection of J. P. Losman. Who would have thought? Definitely not the team, the coaches or the fans. Nevertheless, this club is only one game out of first place people.

14        (14)                            Chicago Bears

Not a very good performance, but that’s how this team wins. They are really good at ugly ball. If Chicago can use their top notch defense to continue drawing teams into ugly ball, then they are going to be ok.

13        (18)                            Jacksonville Jaguars

Domination without Fred Taylor; now that’s cause for upgrading. Jacksonville is playing well, but they have to from here on in. It’ll be tough to make the postseason in the AFC, but the Jags have a shot, so look for more inspired play. We like their four-man rotation at wideout.

12        (13)                            Tampa Bay Buccaneers

We’re not totally sold on them as a complete team with Chris Simms at QB. But, they did take a big step in the right direction in Week 10. Their matchup in Atlanta this week will make or break the season.

We had to demote them on a bye week, kind of harsh, but certainly necessary. However, the Chargers can reclaim their spot and more with a win vs. Buffalo this week. A week without LaDanian is just not the same in the NFL.

10        (4)                              Atlanta Falcons

Embarrassing. That performance against Green Bay put them in a bind, one that means their game against the Bucs in Week 11 is a MUST win. Vick has got to show leadership and take this team on his back.

9          (10)                            Cincinnati Bengals

A nice bye week enabled them to move up. But Cincy now faces Indy, so if they ever wanted to move up on this list, it would be after Week 11. 

8          (12)                            Dallas Cowboys

A big win in Philly. It cemented them as division contenders and a major threat. If their defense can continue to play like that, then they are going to be really dangerous. Roy Williams is put on a pedestal in Dallas- and rightfully so!

7          (9)                              New England Patriots

Now that was a gutsy performance in Miami versus a hungry team. Brady lead the way as usual. He has as much fire in his eyes as we have ever seen. Look out NFL, the Pats are very deadly.

6          (6)                              New York Giants

We wonder if Tom Coughlin has managed to stop the smoke from coming out of his ears. Short of Michael Strahan and Eli Manning playing special teams, there’s not a lot these two guys can do to prevent another punt/kick return nightmare from happening again.

5          (7)                              Seattle Seahawks

They clinched their division with seven games remaining. It isn’t official, but you know we’re right. Seattle could be a fraud being listed in the top five. But, they have to lose a game to be dropped.

4          (5)                              Pittsburgh Steelers

If Ben Roethlisberger is not 100% this week, we would not start him. The Bengals will start losing to quality opponents and the Steelers can certainly handle the Ravens in Week 11 without him. Heck, Tommy Maddox, Charlie Batch, Antwan Randel El, Mike Tomzack, it doesn’t matter who is playing quarterback for this team right now.  

3          (3)                               Denver Broncos

Another strong start versus Oakland, but this time they clamped down in the second half when the opponent made some noise. Everything is clicking now in Denver. Their only concern is having to play the Colts come playoff time.

2          (2)                               Carolina Panthers

Another week and another reason to like this squad. Carolina is in steamroll mode, so if you are a Bears fan you might not want to watch Week 11 from Soldier Field.

1          (1)                                Indianapolis Colts

Indianapolis is garnering some undefeated attention and we can’t really refute it right now. If they win in Cincinnati this week, the ’72 Dolphins will be on the edges of their vintage seats.