1/1

Giants

  4-0  

No Plaxico Burress, not a major problem. Meet Domenik Hixon… The defending champs stayed undefeated with a 38 point blasting of the Seahawks.

2/3

Redskins

  4-1

Back in week 3 before the Redskins beat the Cowboys we had Washington ranked 5th in the power rankings, while other rankings had the skins in the low teens and even the 20’s… In that write up we mentioned we had the Redskins projected to go (11-5) this season even though they might lose their next two games at Dallas and at Philadelphia. The Redskins didn’t do us one better, they did us two better, and lo and behold they’re #2 in the power rankings thanks in part to overcoming a 14 point deficit at Philadelphia in week 5, and of course upsetting the Cowboys in Dallas the week before… Okay so we’re tooting our horn a little, but we’re tooting Washington’s horn more!

Cowboys

  4-1  

The Cowboys got back into the win column with a nine point victory over the Bengals. It’s a rough deal being in third place with a (4-1) record. But that’s what happens when you have three teams in the same division that would probably all win a game on a neutral field against the top team from the opposing conference.

4/2

Titans

5-0

For the second week in a row the Titans won a game in which they were out-yarded by their opponent. Granted those opponents; Minnesota, and this week’s victim Baltimore are no slouches in spite of their records. But the Titans are a little fortunate to still be undefeated. But don’t get us wrong, we are high on the Titans. We had Tennessee ranked 8th in preseason and 6th after week 1… Check out where the major sports news networks had Tennessee ranked back then, LOL!

5/5

Panthers

  4-1  

  The Panthers grabbed sole possession of first place in the NFC South with a 34-0 shutout of the Chiefs. Carolina out-yarded Kansas City by a monstrous 314 yards.

6/9

Bears

3-2

Chicago walloped Detroit and got back over the .500 mark. The Bears could easily be (5-0) if not for close losses to Carolina and Tampa Bay. At any rate, we now have Chicago projected to win the NFC North with a (12-4) record.

7/8

Eagles

2-3

What? The Eagles moving up after a loss when they’re below .500? Yes. These are the power rankings not the standings. Let’s examine the Philly’s losses… A close loss to the number two Redskins, a loss in Dallas where they hung 37 points on the Cowboys, a loss at Chicago, by mere inches. Now, my first inclination was to rank the Steelers in this spot. But the Eagles absolutely demolished the Steelers, so we can’t have that, now can we? At least not without further sinking of the Eagles and further rising of the Steelers this season. And that may very well happen quite soon.

8/12

Steelers

  4-1

  I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been exceptionally hard on the Steelers due to their offensive line woes. But the way Roethlisberger has been playing combined with the strength of Pittsburgh’s defense, there’s no question, the Steelers deserve this spot. I’m not sure how much longer Big Ben will keep maneuvering the Steelers to victory with his tremendous footwork– he is taking some wicked hits, but it sure is incredible to watch.

9/13

Colts

  2-2  

  In looking at the Colts’ miraculous win at Houston and their earlier improbable come back at Minnesota; one can make the case that we’re looking at an (0-4) team. But at (2-2) the Colts may be able to ride out their injury woes long enough to sneak into the playoffs– where they could become quite dangerous.

Buccaneers

3-2

  Tampa Bay dropped a close game at Denver. There were certainly a few positives to take away from this game, including holding Brandon Marshall to just 25 yards on three receptions, and holding Jay Cutler to 227 yards passing. On a neutral field, or in Tampa Bay, or if Brian Griese doesn’t leave the game with an injury, the Buccaneers, probably win.

11/15

Broncos

  4-1  

  In an interesting twist, the Broncos’ air attack was held in check, but they still eeked out a victory over Tampa Bay thanks to some improvement on defense. However, if this game had been in Tampa or on a neutral field it probably goes the other way. Meanwhile, as far as power rankings go the loss to Kansas City is still weighing heavily on the Broncos.

12/6

Chargers

2-3

After barely escaping with a victory against Oakland, the Chargers barely mustered 200 total yards of offense in a loss at Miami which dropped San Diego below .500.

13/10

Packers

2-3

  The Packers dropped their third game in a row as they were upset at home by Atlanta.

14/17

Vikings

2-3

  This season, the Vikings have lost a few games they probably should’ve won. This week, they turned it around by winning a game they probably should’ve lost at New Orleans.

15/14

Saints

2-3

It’s hard to imagine losing a game in which you return 2 punts for touchdowns (Bush). But that’s exactly what happened to the Saints at home on Monday night against the Vikings. Yet another story of a team that could be two games better than their current record.

16/16

Patriots

  3-1  

  The Patriots bounced back from their upset loss to the Dolphins with a victory at San Francisco… Certainly nothing worthy of moving up in the power rankings over.

17/19

Jets

2-2

The Jets had a bye and will get back to action in week six at home versus Cincinnati. To give you an inkling as to how complex, the power rankings can get, the Jets are perfectly situated at number 17. They lost to New England, they crushed Arizona, they beat Miami, and even though Miami crushed New England, Arizona (who got crushed by the Jets) crushed Miami. I can’t wait until week 13 rolls around– he said knowing that Monday nights will be completely sleepless from here on out.
“Eat football, sleep football, drink Coca Cola!” Um, Coke is bad, you shouldn’t drink a lot of it. “Mkay.”

18/21

Cardinals

3-2

  Arizona got back above the .500 mark with a 24 point victory over the Bills. Two stiff opponents are on deck; the Cowboys and the Panthers. If the Cardinals can sneak out one victory, then there is a strong chance they will win the NFC West.

19/11

Bills

4-1

As predicted, based on last week’s writing we got a mild dose of hate mail from Bills’ supporters. As far as this week’s rankings go, Buffalo was without starting quarterback Trent Edwards for most of their blowout loss at Arizona, and that certainly put a dent in Buffalo’s ability to win the game. That said, the Bills surrendered 33 completions to the Cardinals without Boldin in the lineup. Furthermore, earlier wins over Seattle, and Jacksonville aren’t ranking as highly as previously– which doesn’t help Buffalo’s ranking. In fact, Buffalo’s 4 wins have come against teams with an average power ranking of just 27.25, while their 24 point loss came against a team ranked 21st heading into the game. See what you get when you start nitpicking with our rankings? It sets off a chain reaction of nitpicking 🙂 In looking for ways to rank the Bills higher, we discovered why they should be ranked lower! You want standings? Look in the paper. You want power rankings? Come hither my friends!

20/24

Dolphins

  2-2

  Last week we wrote, “the Dolphins will try to make it back to back wins over teams that played in last season’s AFC championship game when they host the Chargers in week 5.” The ‘amazing news’ is that they pulled it off. The ‘you gotta be kidding me news’ is Miami is still in last place! Oh cruel world of football.

21/20

Ravens

  2-2

  For the second week in a row the Ravens’ defense couldn’t close the deal as Baltimore let one get away against Tennessee. Think about it folks, the Ravens could be (4-0).

22/26

Falcons

3-2

  Last week we said, “give em’ a year and they might be winning on the road.” What we meant to say was, give em’ another week! Congrats to the Falcons for getting above the .500 mark with an upset win at Green Bay.

Jaguars

  2-3

  The Jaguars got rolled over by a Steelers team that’s been having difficulty at the offensive line position. Jacksonville’s defense just isn’t what it used to be.

24/22

49ers

2-3

The 49ers looked more like last year’s squad as they failed to eclipse 200 yards of offense at home against New England. However, San Francisco did manage to put up 21 points in the loss.

25/23

Raiders

1-3

  Oakland had a bye and will get back to action in week six at New Orleans.

26/30

Bengals

0-5

The Bengals hung tough and Dallas… When combined with their overtime loss against the Giants a few weeks ago, it’s enough to move them past Cleveland– even though they lost to the Browns– as it was without Carlson Palmer.

27/28

Texans

0-4

  Houston blew a 17 point lead at home to Indianapolis with 4 minutes left as they allowed the Colts to score 21 points in a flash. The Texans could use a little lesson on what plays to call with a big lead and just 4 minutes left in a game… Run, run, run– with your running back not your quarterback.

Chiefs

1-4

  The Chiefs were held to just 127 yards of offense in a shut out at Carolina, 34-0.

29/25

Seahawks

  1-3  

  Seattle was obliterated on the road against the Giants. In order to get their season headed back in the right direction, they’ll have to beat a hungry Packers team that is also below the .500 mark.

30/29

Browns

1-3

  Cleveland had a bye and will get back to action in week six at home versus the Giants.

31/31

Lions

0-4

  Detroit was crushed at home by Chicago in a battle of NFC North teams headed in opposite directions.

32/32

Rams

0-4

  The Rams had a bye in week five, and will get back to action in week six at Washington.