- Cleveland Browns – Still the Browns.
- San Francisco 49ers – Chip Kelly is still the head coach, surprisingly.
- Jacksonville Jaguars – A continued descent down the rankings. The Jags are destined to not be good at football.
- LA Rams – Jared Gawful was not so Gawful this game. He just could not keep up. It’ll be interesting to see if he can keep this going, as if LA has a good passing game, it opens everything up for Gurley.
- Chicago Bears – No Jay, no Alshon, no Zach Miller. Most of their offense is gone, and now this is a hodgepodge.
- New York Jets – The Jets managed to keep up with the Patriots, right up until the end. Fitzpatrick managed to avoid going full Sitzpatrick (no turnovers), but ultimately Brady had the comeback.
- Cincinnati Bengals – Similar to the Bears, the Bengals are missing 50% of their offense (AJ Green & Gio Bernard), and don’t exactly have a good defense to assist.
- Houston Texans – Brock needs to be benched. Immediately.
- Indianapolis Colts – We’ll give the Colts some slack this week – having Scott Tolzien in would give any team a loss.
- Arizona Cardinals – WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU, ARIZONA?!
- Philadelphia Eagles – Philadelphia experienced the wrath of an angry Aaron Rodgers. The rest of their schedule is even harder, leaving me to believe the days of Wentzslyvania being a feared team are numbered.
- Buffalo Bills – The Bills have not necessarily had an “easy” schedule like the Dolphins, but lately their wins have come against far inferior opponents. They have an extremely tough test against the Raiders this week.
- Miami Dolphins – A very cushy schedule has lofted Miami to 7-4. Their next opponent is Baltimore, whose defense has played been opportunistic. Tannehill will have to play lights out to avoid any momentum losses.
- Tennessee Titans – Mariota is absolutely shredding defenses. If he keeps this up, Tennessee will be in the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
- Green Bay Packers – Aaron Rodgers might be back, but that doesn’t mean his defense is.
- Minnesota Vikings – I’m not quite sure any of the teams in the NFC North actually want to win their division. This might be the most confusing one of them all.
- Detroit Lions – The Lions are, somehow, in the lead of the NFC North. The rest of their schedule is going to be a rough one, sans this week (Chicago). After that, they play @ NYG, @ Dallas, and Vs. Green Bay.
- Carolina Panthers – The Panthers rallied for a comeback, but the flame was snuffed out in the 4th quarter. This Panthers team is one of the best worst teams in the NFL.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – If you would’ve told me Tampa Bay would absolutely dominate Seattle, I would have laughed in your face, yet here we are. Tampa got Doug Martin back, and Mike Evans is playing on God mode.
- San Diego Chargers – The Chargers managed to pinpoint Houston’s weakness (hint: it’s 6 foot 7 inches tall), and come away with a W. They’re not going to win the AFC West, but they’re still fighting for a wild card spot.
- New York Giants – They beat the Browns, so that’s… something.
- Pittsburgh Steelers – Beating a team who rolls Scott Tolzien out 28-7 is like tripping a kid with crutches: No one’s proud of you, even if they laugh.
- Washington Redskins – After beating a Green Bay defense that ranks last in the league (yes even worse than Cleveland), they were heralded as an incredible offense. The Cowboys managed to hold on, and slow that momentum by quelling a 4th quarter comeback.
- Baltimore Ravens – This is one of the more surprising revelations, as Baltimore sits atop the AFC North. I don’t think they’ll be able to hold onto it (as they play the Dolphins, Patriots, Eagles, and Steelers), but if the Steelers stumble, it’s still a possibility.
- New Orleans Saints – The Saints have had quite possibly the hardest schedule of anyone in the league.
- Seattle Seahawks – Losing to a Tampa Bay team on the rise isn’t embarrassing. Being lucky enough to score even 5 points, is.
- Atlanta Falcons – Still in charge of the NFC South, the Falcons handled the Cardinals with ease. The rest of their schedule is going to be interesting, as they close out the season against the Panthers and Saints.
- Denver Broncos – A 60 yard field goal attempt was the deciding factor between these two powerhouses.
- Kansas City Chiefs – The Chiefs held on, and have now taken over 2nd place in possibly the hardest division in the league.
- Oakland Raiders – Oakland continues their impressive performances and now are tied (9-2) with New England for the most wins in the AFC.
- New England Patriots – They came back in the 4th quarter to seal a victory against the Jets, who for some reason usually play up against them.
- Dallas Cowboys – Dak, Zeek and the best O-Line in the league continue to embarrass defenses. They’re only a couple games away from clinching home field advantage in the playoffs.