With only four teams from last week’s Top 12 having “convincing” games, there’s some major shakeups in the rankings. Only one team held firm in their position, and that was last week’s top team, the New York Jets. Big risers include New England and Baltimore, who both walked away with key divisional wins on the road. Plummeting is Indy, who choked away another divisional game against Jacksonville. We also have two new teams breaking through, replacing Cincinnati and Miami who both suffered embarrassingly bad defeats.
| Ranking | Team | Last Week | Change | Record | Next Game |
| 1 |  |
1 | N/A | 3-1 | vs. Vikings |
| Was my placing the Jets at the top of the rankings last week a feeble attempt to jinx them against Buffalo? I’m not telling. What I will tell you though is that the Jets romped Buffalo and gave me no reason to knock them down a peg. No other team rose to the occasion enough to overtake them. That makes Jets the first team in five editions of the Top 12 to occupy the #1 spot for consecutive weeks. |
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| Ranking | Team | Last Week | Change | Record | Next Game |
| 2 |  |
7 |  5 |
3-1 | Bye Week |
|
It ended up as a blowout, but let’s not forget that the Patriots were trailing 6-7 at halftime. I normally wouldn’t raise a team this many spots after such a strange win, but other than the Jets, each of the other five teams above the Patriots last week deserve to drop at least a spot. The only way to make that happen is to put the Pats at #2. Also worth noting is the fact that everyone is down on the Patriots for their less-than-stellar defense. Why does nobody remember that they are the #1 scoring team in the league? I don’t remember anyone being this tough on Indy early in the 00’s. |
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| Ranking | Team | Last Week | Change | Record | Next Game |
| 3 |  |
11 | 8 |
3-1 | vs. Broncos |
| The Ravens went into Pittsburgh and pulled out yet another close win. That makes them this week’s big riser, soaring up 8 spots. To be fair, I was probably a bit harsh on Baltimore last week after their “close” win over Cleveland. |
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| Ranking | Team | Last Week | Change | Record | Next Game |
| 4 |  |
3 |  1 |
3-1 | @ Browns |
| The Falcons beat the Niners because a San Fran defender didn’t have enough wherewithall to realize he could ice the game by falling on the floor. A win is a win, but against the 0-4 49ers, you need to do better than surviving due to your opponent’s stupidity. Thus the 1 spot drop. |
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| Ranking | Team | Last Week | Change | Record | Next Game |
| 5 |  |
4 | 1 |
3-1 | @ Redskins |
| The Pack bounced back from their loss to the Bears by letting the Lions come too close for comfort. Again, a team in the Top 12 shouldn’t be escaping by the skin of their teeth from an 0-4 team. |
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| Ranking | Team | Last Week | Change | Record | Next Game |
| 6 |  |
5 | 1 |
3-1 | @ Cardinals |
| And the theme continues as another top tier team barely gets by the 0-4 Panths. Shame, shame, shame. |
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| Ranking | Team | Last Week | Change | Record | Next Game |
| 7 |  |
6 | 1 |
3-1 | Bye Week |
| The Steelers were a mere minute away from starting their Rapistbergerless quarter of the season at 4-0. A close loss to Baltimore is nothing to get down about, and I would have considered keeping them pat at #6. However, the six teams above Pittsburgh all won last week, so they get the #7 slot. |
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| Ranking | Team | Last Week | Change | Record | Next Game |
| 8 |  |
9 | 1 |
3-1 | vs Giants |
| Unlike some of the other teams above them, Houston actually beat up their basement dwelling opponent by a touchdown and are rewarded with a move upward. |
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| Ranking | Team | Last Week | Change | Record | Next Game |
| 9 |  |
2 | 7 |
2-2 | vs. Chiefs |
| It seems strange dropping a powerhouse team like Indy seven slots, but that’s what happens when you lose half your games, including one to the lowly Jaguars. | |||||
| Ranking | Team | Last Week | Change | Record | Next Game |
| 10 |  |
N/A | N/A | 3-0 | @ Colts |
| I’m not a big believer in KC, but they manage to find themselves in the Top 12 for the first time ever, without even playing a game this week! That’s what happens when only 4 teams from last week’s Top 12 had a good outing in Week 4. |
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| Ranking | Team | Last Week | Change | Record | Next Game |
| 11 |  |
N/A | N/A | 2-2 | @ Raiders |
| San Diego continues their maddening ways, smoking Arizona after stumbling against Seattle. They absolutely must take care of business against Oakland. A 2-3 start with KC, TEN, SEA, ARZ, and OAK on the menu would be absolutely pathetic. |
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| Ranking | Team | Last Week | Change | Record | Next Game |
| 12 |  |
8 | 4 |
3-1 | @ Panthers |
| As good as Chicago has looked at times this season, they looked that bad against the G-Men. It’s going to be interesting to see if they can keep up their early momentum or ultimately fizzle out. | |||||
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