Foxboro Blog Top 12: Week 8

Week 8 was rather crazy, well, at least for some teams.  Other than Green Bay, who was on the bye, the other Top 4 teams from last week all put up rather putrid performances, opening the door for two new teams to rise to the occasion and steal spots 2 and 3.  We also lost the Chargers after their two month long battle with mediocrity.  Replacing them are the Bengals.  No matter how you spin it, this is certainly not the Top 12 that anyone could have expected at the season’s mid-point.
 

Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
1		1	0	7-0	@ Chargers
		As was pretty much guaranteed, the Packers come off of their bye week hanging onto their top spot.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
2		8	+6	5-2	vs. Ravens
		I think that you can take the teams in spots 2-8 and put them in any order without much argument.  The Steelers get to hold the top spot because they had the best win of these seven teams this week by far.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
3		5	+2	6-1	@ Redskins
		Given the remaining schedule, it’s not completely unthinkable that the Niners could dethrone the Packers for the top spot in the NFC.  Unlikely, but not unthinkable.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
4		2	-2	5-2	vs. Giants
		The last time New England had a stinker @ Pittsburgh, they won the Super Bowl.  Hopefully this loss can be last year’s “Cleveland game” and spur the team onto a big winning streak.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
5		4	-1	5-2	@ Steelers
		The Ravens may have won, but it was an ugly win.  They have a huge challenge coming up that will likely determine which team takes the NFC North and gets a bye week.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
6		6	0	6-2	Bye Week
		The Lions get back on track by steamrolling Tim Tebow and the Broncos.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
7		7	0	5-2	vs. Jets
		The Bills were dominant this week against a bad team.  Let’s see how they fare in a big division game against a mediocre one.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
8		3	-5	5-3	vs. Buccaneers
		And out of the teams ranked 2-8, New Orleans had the worst loss, which drops them to spot #8.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
9		9	0	5-3	vs. Browns
		The Texans took care of business to keep pace in the AFC South.  This team is looking like they may taste the playoffs for the first time.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
10		11	+1	5-2	@ Patriots
		And now the schedule gets brutally tough.  @ New England who’s coming off a loss…  It’s a tall order.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
11		12	+1	4-3	@ Colts
		Atlanta benefits from San Diego’s fall and jumps up a spot during their bye week.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
12		N/A	N/A	5-2	@ Titans
		And we have a new team on the board!  Making their debut are the surprising Bengals who are actually tied with Pittsburgh and Baltimore for the AFC North lead.  Everyone counts them out, but so far, there’s no reason to discount Cincy’s ability to take the division.