| Rnk | LW | Team | Record | Comments |
| 1. | 1. | New England Patriots | 6-0 | Just keep on truckin'.... Won another close game that they refused to let slip out of their grasp. Now travel to Pittsburgh for what shapes up as their toughest test of a season quickly approaching the halfway point. |
| 2. | 2. | Philadelphia Eagles | 6-0 | The offense showed they can win a close game after blowing out their earlier opponents. The question is how did the defense let Cleveland take them into overtime in the first place. |
| 3. | 5. | Minnesota Vikings | 5-1 | Proved they can hold their own without Randy Moss. |
| 4. | 13. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 5-2 | Another week, another impressive buzzer beater win for this season's cardiac kids. |
| 5. | 3. | Indianapolis Colts | 4-2 | Sunday's last minute loss at home perfectly illustrated the main problem with the Colts. In a close game against a tough opponent the defense is simply not good enough to win. |
| 6. | 4. | Denver Broncos | 5-2 | Got buzzsawed in a trap game against a struggling opponent playing their first home Monday night contest in 13 years. Probably deserve a bit of a pass considering the circumstances, but they need to regroup quickly with the Chargers and Chiefs approaching in the rear view mirror. |
| 7. | 7. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 5-1 | I was a bit reticent about moving them up coming off a bye despite the losses suffered by teams ranked above them. They need to prove on the field that they belong in the upper eschelon. A win over New England would do just that and clearly vault them over the two loss teams currently ranked fourth through sixth. |
| 8. | 6. | New York Jets | 5-1 | Really need Santana Moss to get healthy to inject a big play element into the offense. |
| 9. | 12. | Baltimore Ravens | 4-2 | Watching the Ravens play is like watching paint dry. This week the offense managed an abysmal 160 total yards while the defense pummelled poor, poor, pitiful Drew Bledsoe. |
| 10. | 14. | Detriot Lions | 4-2 | Can go to 4-0 on the road with a winnable game in Dallas. Hard to believe considering they hadn't won a road game in the 3 previous years. |
| 11. | 8. | Atlanta Falcons | 5-2 | Went to Kansas City with the number 1 rated run defense in the NFL. Left with the number 9 rated run defense after giving up a mind boggling 271 yards and 8 touchdowns on the ground. |
| 12. | 9. | New York Giants | 4-2 | Franchise record coming off a bye dropped to 3-13. |
| 13. | 10. | St. Louis Rams | 4-3 | Mike Martz brain cramp of the week.... Score tied at 7. Dolphins have the ball on the Rams 32 yard line. Holding was called on a 3rd and 18. Declining the penalty means a 49 yard field goal attempt by Matt Bryant, a kicker already cut twice this season that was picked up off the street 2 weeks ago because of an injury to Olindo Mare. Martz accepts the penalty. Next play.... A 42 yard touchdown pass from Jay Fiedler to a wide open Randy McMichael. The Rams never regained the momentum against the previously winless 'Phins. |
| 14. | 18. | San Diego Chargers | 4-3 | For all the grief that Marty Shottenheimer takes for his playoff record, he is a master at turning around losing programs and winning regular season games. |
| 15. | 15. | Houston Texans | 3-3 | Have a chance to become players in the AFC South with the Jaguars coming to town. |
| 16. | 19. | Green Bay Packers | 3-4 | Embarrassing Monday night loss at home to Tennessee seemed to knock them out of their doldrums. Still have little room for error because of their 3 home losses. |
| 17. | 11. | Seattle Seahawks | 3-3 | Fourth quarter collapse against the Rams has sent them into a tailspin. |
| 18. | 25. | Kansas City Chiefs | 2-4 | Opened up a can of whoop-ass on the Falcons. |
| 19. | 22. | New Orleans Saints | 3-4 | Rumors were swirling that Jim Haslett would get fired if the Saints failed to win in Oakland. The Falcons blowout loss in Kansas City gives them a glimmer of hope in what is shaping up as a very weak division and conference. |
| 20. | 20. | Cleveland Browns | 3-4 | Gained a measure of respect in defeat. |
| 21. | 26. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2-5 | Head into the bye on a high note. Keeping the momentum going could be difficult with a trip to Kansas City against the suddenly resurgent Chiefs up next in week 9. |
| 22. | 16. | Tennessee Titans | 2-5 | Free agent losses and nagging injuries to Steve McNair appear to have finally caught up to them. |
| 23. | 17. | Dallas Cowboys | 2-4 | Bill Parcells looked lost on the sidelines in Green Bay. Neither his nor Joe Gibbs' return from retirement is going as well as expected. |
| 24. | 24. | Washington Redskins | 2-4 | Will they show improvement in the passing game coming of a bye? Doubtful with Mark Brunell still at the helm. |
| 25. | 28. | Cincinnati Bengals | 2-4 | Woke up and smacked down the Broncos as the city of Cincinnati celebrated their return to the prime time spotlight. Remember, last year's Bengals also started out 1-4 before they turned around their season. |
| 26. | 30. | Arizona Cardinals | 2-4 | Emmitt Smith rushed for over 100 yards for the second time in three games. Think maybe Dallas could use his services? |
| 27. | 21. | Carolina Panthers | 1-5 | You know things have gone bad when Stephen Davis, DeShaun Foster, Steve Smith and Kris Jenkins are all on the sidelines watching Brad Hoover, Mushin Muhammed and Omari Jordan. |
| 28. | 23. | Oakland Raiders | 2-5 | Kerry Collins seems to be settling in and playing a bit better. The same can't be said for the defense. |
| 29. | 29. | San Fransisco 49ers | 1-5 | Hard to believe this Sunday night's prime time matchup features the Niners in Chicago. Oh the humanity. |
| 30. | 27. | Buffalo Bills | 1-5 | Still haven't scored a rushing touchdown. |
| 31. | 32. | Miami Dolphins | 1-6 | Kudos to Dave Wannstedt for getting his team to play hard and pull off a shocking upset. It is easy to forget sometimes that the decline of the Dolphins was really parcipitated by a string of events that were out of Wannstedt's control. |
| 32. | 31. | Chicago Bears | 1-5 | Jonathan Quinn and Craig Krenzel have no business doing anything on an NFL field at this point beyond carrying a clipboard. How bad is Tim Couch that the Bears decided not to sign him? |