Heading into this season the AFC looked like the dominant conference, but the NFC has narrowed the gap with the emergence of the Falcons and the Eagles.
The Patriots (11-2) still hands down have the number-one spot in the rankings. They've made it look easy over the past few weeks.
In fact, the Patriots haven't scored less than 31 points during their current five-game winning streak.
Coming in a distant second is the Steelers (10-3). These guys will be tough to beat in the playoffs whether they win the AFC North or not.
That defense makes this team a contender for the Super Bowl no matter how they look doing it. If the NFL counted for style points then the Steelers wouldn't be as high, but it doesn't.
In third sits the Eagles (9-4). Now I know what you're thinking. How can you put the Eagles ahead of the Falcons, who are 11-2? For the simple fact that the Falcons don't have Michael Vick. This guy single handily makes the Eagles a playoff team. That defense isn't so bad either.
They also lost to Philly head-to-head in Week 6.
As for the Falcons, who come in fourth on the list, they're a product of their schedule in my opinion. I need more from them.
Six wins over the likes of Carolina, San Francisco, Arizona, Cincy, and Cleveland just doesn't make me a believer of them being any higher that No. 4.
With that said, they will be tough to beat at home.
Rounding out the top five list is the Saints (10-3). They've quietly won six in a row after looking like another ordinary NFC team early in the season.
I don't think a 10-3 defending Super Bowl champion has ever received this little of attention, but they're not getting talked about as much.
A huge showdown with the Falcons in Atlanta comes next week. That game is sandwiched between Baltimore and Tampa Bay, which will be no picnic.
Will found out real quick through these final three games if New Orleans is capable of defending their Super Bowl title.
With the dominating win for the Chargers over the Niners tonight, they are as close as you can get to getting in the Top 5.
I still have trouble putting a team in the top five who needs help from other teams to get in the playoffs. If not for their horrible special teams play, they might be No.1 on this list.
The Ravens join them in knocking on the door of the Top 5 after losing a tough game to Steelers the previous week. They'll most likely finish with one of the AFC wildcards.
Bottom Five
28. Detroit (3-10): This team has played tough football all year and they're so much better than the record. They could easily be 5-8 if not for a questionable call in Week 1, and Ndamukong Suh being forced to kick an extra point. Godspeed Detroit.
29. Arizona (4-9): Decimated by injuries, but they have a manageable remaining schedule to try to save face.
30. Denver (3-10): A later coaching change means this team is going nowhere fast. The Broncos have one win since starting 2-2. Enough said.
31. Cincy (2-11): Really wanted to put this team dead last because they have zero heart at this point. However, I couldn't because they defeated Carolina head-to-head and managed to hang with the Steelers this past week. Still a horrible team, and T.O. needs his bottle now.
32. Carolina (1-12): We all seen this coming heading into the season. No experienced quarterbacks and no help for Steve Smith. This week against Arizona will probably be their last real opportunity to avoid a one-loss season. The other two come against Pittsburgh and Atlanta.
No comments:
Post a Comment