1. Green Bay Packers (6-0): Aaron Rodgers and the Packers had the most deceiving 24-3 victory last week against the Rams. Rodgers threw for 300+ yards for the fourth time this season, but the defense gave up 424 total yards from St. Louis. Green Bay goes into week 7 as the best team in the league right now, gearing up for the 1-5 Minnesota Vikings, where rookie Christian Ponder makes his first pro start.
Last Week: #1
2. Baltimore Ravens (4-1): Baltimore came out of their bye week and defeated the Houston Texans 29-14. Joe Flacco threw for 304 yards and Ray Rice rushed for another 101 yards, but the offense only put up one touchdown along with five field goals courtesy of Billy Cundiff. The Baltimore defense held Houston, who was without Andre Johnson again this week, to only 293 yards of total offense. The Baltimore defense remains the strong point of the team, and with the Patriots and Saints looking decent at best this week, the Ravens have leapfrogged back into the top-2.
Last Week: #4
3. New England Patriots (5-1): If it weren’t for the most vanilla play calling on the Cowboys second to last offensive drive of the game, the Patriots may have suffered their second loss of the season. The New England defense looked spotty again this week, giving up 300 yards passing to Tony Romo. However, just as in years past, the Patriots won the battle in the two-minute drill, with Tom Brady driving the team down field before connecting with Aaron Hernandez on the game winning 8 yard touchdown pass. Dallas proved again that if you can knock down Brady and apply pressure, the Patriots are not as dominant as they seem. Unfortunately, that needs to happen for 60 minutes of play not 58, because if you put the Pats in position to win the game in the last two minutes, they’ll beat you every time.
Last Week: #3
4. New Orleans Saints (4-2): How devastating could it be to lose your head coach in the first quarter to an MCL injury? In the case of the Saints, pretty devastating. Coach Sean Payton is the head signal caller for the Saints offense, and when he left the game the offense faltered. He was not responsible for the fourth down end zone interception Drew Brees threw into the arms of safety Quincy Black, but losing your head coach and play caller really does affect the performance of a team. The Saints loss to Tampa Bay was brutal, as now the two teams stand atop the NFC South at 4-2.
Last Week: #2
5. San Francisco 49ers (5-1): I’m not even going to get into the post-game shouting match between Jim Harbuagh and Jim Schwartz, just know that I would not want to go toe-to-toe with Harbaugh. The 49ers defense was spectacular on Sunday, holding Calvin Johnson to zero touchdown catches, and the Lions never even looked his way on their last two drives when it mattered most. When losing 10-0 early, the 49ers stuck to their guns and ran Frank Gore up and down the field. If the defense and running game can remain dominant and Alex Smith continue to play smart football, the 49ers could be on their way to a first round bye in the playoffs.
Last Week: #9
6. Detroit Lions (5-1): How badly does America want to see the Lions and 49ers meet up again in the playoffs? The game was not pretty, sloppy play on offense by Matt Stafford and the rest of the Lions, but these two teams are good. The 49ers proved that if you can take Calvin Johnson out of the game, the Lions aren’t going to dominate you. If Johnson and Stafford can get back in a groove for the rest of the year, the Lions will be able to walk into the playoffs.
Last Week: #5
7. San Diego Chargers (4-1): Week 7 will prove whether or not the Chargers are overrated. On the season, the San Diego four victories came against teams with a combined win total of four (Denver, Miami, Minnesota, and Kansas City). The Chargers were only able to beat those teams by an average margin of 6 points. This Sunday against the Jets could expose San Diego, especially if Vincent Jackson is on Revis Island and tight end Antonio Gates still nurses his toe injury.
Last Week: #6
8. Oakland Raiders (4-2): The Raiders were so devastated by the collarbone injury to starting quarterback Jason Campbell that they traded away two first round picks to Cincinnati for Carson Palmer this morning. What this shows is that Hue Jackson and the silver and black are fighting to make the playoffs this season. If Palmer can come in and be accurate enough to make some plays when the Raiders aren’t running it with Darren McFadden, then they’ll be able to do just that.
Last Week: #10
9. New York Giants (4-2): The Giants were able to bounce back nicely this week with a 27-24 victory over the Buffalo Bills after losing to Seattle last week. The emergence of Jason Pierre-Paul on the defensive line as allowed Giants fans to forget about all the injuries the unit has had this year. They now find themselves atop the mediocre NFC East at 4-2, with key games against New England and San Francisco on the horizon.
Last Week: Not Ranked
10. Buffalo Bills (4-2): The slipper may be falling off the foot of the Bills this year. The defense got exposed Sunday against the Giants. All year we’ve seen them make big plays on interception returns for touchdowns in key moments, but the Buffalo defense just is not that good. They enter an extremely tough stretch in the coming weeks that could determine their playoff fates, with games against Washington, the Jets, Dallas, Miami and then the Jets again.
Last Week: #8
Honorable Mentions: Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2, beat Jacksonville 17-10), Washington Redskins (3-2, lost to Philadelphia 20-13), New York Jets (3-3, beat Miami 24-6) Cincinnati Bengals (4-2, beat Indianapolis 27-17)
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