1. New England Patriots (Last week: 1)

It has become boring and repetitive, but here are the Patriots…again. This week they made very quick work of an underwhelming Redskins team. Maybe their winning streak will be ended again by the Giants. The last time New England lost a game that Tom Brady played in? It was last season at Lambeau Field. 

2. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: 3)

The Bengals took care of business on Thursday night and moved to 8-0 for the first time in franchise history. As great as this start has been, there are numerous people writing this team off because they haven’t won a playoff game, despite making the playoffs each of the last four years.

3. Carolina Panthers (Last week: 4)

A big statement win for the Panthers as they take care of the kings of the NFC. The Panthers played a better game, and looked like the better team. This team rarely wins pretty, but they will hit you hard for 60 minutes and make that one extra play that will win them the game.

4. Denver Broncos (Last week: 2)

One might say that we were all a little too quick to jump on the Denver Broncos bandwagon. With that being said, it is interesting how Peyton has been unable to beat Indianapolis since he left. Denver will look to get back on track at home against the Chiefs this weekend.

5. Arizona Cardinals (Last week: 6)

The Cardinals had a bye this week, and will travel to Seattle to play on Sunday Night.

6. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: 7)

The Minnesota Vikings are 6-2 and tied for the division lead. While many expected the Vikings to make a run at the playoffs this season, I don’t think anyone expected them to be tied with the Packers for the division lead halfway through the season. Here’s to hoping Teddy Bridgewater has a speedy recovery from that vicious hit.

7. Green Bay Packers (Last week: 5)

If you’re a Packers fan, then you know this is no time to panic. They just went on the road and played to teams that were undefeated at the time. It’s not concerning that those games were lost, but more so how those games were lost. Carolina and Denver looked like top-5 NFL offenses against the Green Bay defense.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: 9)

The Steelers won a game that they absolutely had to have; however, every week it seems like another major injury happens for the Steelers. Regardless of whether or not Ben plays next week against the Browns, the Steelers should win that game and enter their bye at 6-4 on a two game winning streak.

9. Seattle Seahawks (Last week: 10)

The Seahawks has a bye this week as well in preparation for their SNF battle with the Cardinals.

10. New York Jets (Last week: 13)

It wasn’t easy or pretty, but the Jets took care of business against an underrated Jaguars team. For the Jets, the health of Ryan Fitzpatrick is the biggest questions mark moving forward. He’s considering left thumb surgery (non-throwing hand) and they play on Thursday night this week.

11. New York Giants (Last week: 15)

The Giants are looking to separate themselves from the rest of the mediocre NFC East pack. As seamless as their matchup with Tampa Bay was this past weekend, the opposite is going to be true this upcoming weekend when they welcome Tom Brady and the New England Patriots to town.

12. Atlanta Falcons (Last week: 8)

The bye for this team could not be coming at a better time. As good as Atlanta has look throughout the beginning stages of the year, it has been the opposite ever since. The Falcons have lost to the 49ers, Buccaneers, Saints, and beat the Titans by only three points over the last four weeks.

13. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: 16)

Winnings solves all of your problems in the NFL. Last week the Colts were sitting at 3-5 (while still leading the division) and appeared to have a lost season on their hands. All they’ve done since then is fire their offensive coordinator, beat the best defense in football, and head into their bye week in a position to make some noise in the second half of the season.

14. St. Louis Rams (Last week: 11)

It is hard to fault the Rams for losing that game, but that is why this team isn’t better than good right now. This year, Nick Foles has three games with no touchdown passes, and one game with multiple touchdown passes. As good as Gurley is, this team just isn’t offensively gifted.

15. Buffalo Bills (Last week: 18)

The Buffalo Ryans head into week 10 with a huge matchup on Thursday night against the Jets. Now that the Bills had a chance to rest and get healthy, they seem to operating very efficiently again on offense. It helps when your starting quarterback, top running back, and best receiver are all healthy.

16. Oakland Raiders (Last week: 12)

Oakland has had two games this year on the road where they really had a chance to make a HUGE statement with a win. The other was against Chicago in Week 4 when they had a chance to go 3-1. Either way, the Raiders played a great game in Pittsburgh, only losing since the Steelers ended up with the ball last.

17. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: 17)

Philadelphia won a trilling Sunday night OT game, albeit over a struggling Cowboys team. Regardless, this team is still very much alive for this division title. They will be battling it out with the Giants for the rest of the season to see who has the unearned privilege of a playoff berth from this division.

18. New Orleans Saints (Last week: 14)

Some teams were starting to project the Saints to make a run to the playoffs. While some expected that, their defense has been historically bad over the past few seasons. Some thought the signing of Jarius Byrd would help mask some of these problems, but it hasn’t made a difference.

19. Chicago Bears (Last week: 24)

On the Monday Night Countdown show on ESPN last night, Mike Ditka was the only one of about 10 analysts to pick the Bears to win. The Bears are now 3-2 since Cutler has come back from his injury. When they went 0-2 in the first two games, it was to Arizona and Green Bay. Maybe the Bears aren’t that bad?

20. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: 20)

A bye week for Kansas City leads into a matchup with Broncos in Denver this time.

21. Miami Dolphins (Last week: 19)

Whether you like it or not, the Dolphins have (not surprisingly) plummeted back to earth. As good as they were in beating Houston and Tennessee (both listed below Miami), they looked equally as bad against teams like New England and Buffalo. Miami travels to Philly next Sunday.

22. Washington Redskins (Last week: 21)

You can’t blame Washington for going into New England and getting outplayed in every way imaginable. The touchdown in the last minute made the final score look bearable. When all is set and done, this game doesn’t signify anything about this team, and they’ll try to get back on track against New Orleans next weekend.

23. Houston Texans (Last week: 23)

The Texans had a bye this week and will square off with the Bengals on Monday night.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 28)

Jacksonville only moves up this week because of the poor play of teams initially above them. Even though they lost to the Jets, the Jaguars played a pretty good game. Blake Bortles threw for 300 yards on the Jets defense, which not many people have been able to do this year.

25. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: 30)

Colin who? 49ers fans must have been stunned when watching the game this weekend. Regardless of who was starting at quarterback, the 49ers put together an impressive game without their starting quarterback, a lot of receivers, and their top two running backs.

26. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 22)

A six game losing streak has not happened since Troy Aikman was a rookie. For Cowboys fans, this season has been miserably painful to watch. This marks the second time this season that the Cowboys lost a game on a walk-off touchdown in overtime.

27. Tennessee Titans (Last week: 32)

Alright, I will be the first to admit that I have not spoken highly of the Titans. The good news, Marcus Mariota became only the second rookie EVER to have two games of four touchdowns and zero interceptions. The bad news: the only other rookie to ever do that is Robert Griffin III.

28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last week: 27)

Tampa Bay played a late game at home against the New York Giants this weekend and just fell flat. The Giants were clearly the better team on the field this Sunday. Two things of note for the Buccaneers offensively: Doug Martin has come back down to earth, and Jameis Winston has a QBR over 70 over the last four games!

29. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: 29)

Baltimore has a bye week this week and will host the Jaguars next weekend.

30. Cleveland Browns (Last week: 25)

Cleveland is now 2-7, has lost four games in a row, and the only two teams they have beaten this season are Tennessee and Baltimore. It’s clear that the Browns are not going to be great with or without McCown, so giving Johnny Football a chance to play seems like the best option.

31. San Diego Chargers (Last week: 26)

The Chargers have been really bad this year, but the injury bug is largely to blame. Outside of the quarterback position, every other positional group has been decimated with injuries. Based on the way things are going, this would be a terrible way for the Chargers to wrap up their time in San Diego

32. Detroit Lions (Last week: 31)

The Lions were on a bye this week and became the only team in the NFL yet to reach two wins. Next week in Green Bay is not much easier.

Image: Newton