| Rnk | LW | Team | Record | Comments |
| 1. | 1. | New England Patriots | 5-0 | Streak will be tested in the next three weeks against teams with a combined record of 14 wins and 3 losses. |
| 2. | 2. | Philadelphia Eagles | 5-0 | Dominating the opposition. So far all their wins have come by double digits. |
| 3. | 3. | Indianapolis Colts | 4-1 | Come off the bye with the opportunity to take complete control of the AFC South against the Jaguars. |
| 4. | 4. | Denver Broncos | 5-1 | Rueben Droughns has gained 369 rushing yards in the last two weeks after totaling 97 yards on the ground in his first four season. |
| 5. | 6. | Minnesota Vikings | 4-1 | Lead the NFL with an average of 477 yards of total offense per game. That is 88 yard per game more than second rated Indianapolis. |
| 6. | 7. | New York Jets | 5-0 | Have yet to be tested against competition that has a combined record of 6 wins and 22 losses. That changes this week in Foxboro. |
| 7. | 8. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 5-1 | Head into the bye on a high note thanks in part to Vinnie Testeverde. Rookie Ben Roethlisberger has been a revelation. Roethlisberger upped his record as a starter to 4-0 to tie Phil Simms for the second best rookie start since the 1970 merger. Mike Kruczek of the 1976 Steelers won his first 6 starts. Roethlisberger is second among AFC quarterbacks with a 100.1 passer rating behind only Peyton Manning. His 127.6 rating in the fourth quarter is the best in the NFL and his 114.8 rating on third downs leads the AFC. |
| 8. | 10. | Atlanta Falcons | 5-1 | Maybe there is something to the mystique of Michael Vick. The Falcons are 8-2 in his last ten starts and 2-8 the last ten times he missed a game due to injury. |
| 9. | 9. | New York Giants | 4-1 | Return from the bye with an interesting matchup in the Meadowlands against a Lions team that suddenly finds it easier to win on the road than at home. |
| 10. | 11. | St. Louis Rams | 4-2 | Talk of their demise was a bit premature. |
| 11. | 5. | Seattle Seahawks | 3-2 | Gave up 63 points in two straight losses after holding opponents to only 13 points during their season opening three game winning streak. |
| 12. | 12. | Baltimore Ravens | 3-2 | Defense needs to step up with Jamal Lewis on the sideline. |
| 13. | 14. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 4-2 | Took the lead in three of their four wins in the final minute and won the fourth game by a single point. Sometimes fate just picks a team and smiles upon them. |
| 14. | 13. | Detriot Lions | 3-2 | Joey Harrington remains maddeningly inconsistent. |
| 15. | 21. | Houston Texans | 3-3 | David Carr's development has been impressive. Especially considering the beating he took with an expansion team in his first two seasons. |
| 16. | 15. | Tennessee Titans | 2-4 | A wide gulf has opened between the haves and the have nots... The Titans do not deserve to be ranked this high. Then again neither do any of the teams ranked below them. |
| 17. | 16. | Dallas Cowboys | 2-3 | Parcells continues to make the team older and arguably less talented. I understand Antonio Bryant caused some trouble, but he is a 23 year old with considerable football skills that still has solid upside. Quincy Morgan is an athletic 27 year old that has repeatedly proven he is simply not a very good football player. |
| 18. | 17. | San Diego Chargers | 3-3 | Trade for Keenan McCardell should help ease the blow of losing Reche Caldwell for the season. |
| 19. | 24. | Green Bay Packers | 2-4 | Refuse to go away. The second wildcard in the NFC remains wide open so the Packers have some hope. |
| 20. | 25. | Cleveland Browns | 3-3 | Undefeated at home. Winless on the road. |
| 21. | 18. | Carolina Panthers | 1-4 | Unable to overcome injuries that have stripped them of their offensive playmakers. |
| 22. | 19. | New Orleans Saints | 2-4 | The trade of a second round pick for Mike McKenzie did not pay immediate dividends. McKenzie was burnt badly on a 43 yard touchndown pass to Randy Moss and ended up getting benched in the second quarter. |
| 23. | 20. | Oakland Raiders | 2-4 | Managed a pathetic 145 yards of total offense at home against divisional rival Denver. The players have already quit on their second coach in two years. The problem seems to be a collection of veterans that no longer care. Or maybe the problem is the man that assembled the team.... Al Davis. |
| 24. | 27. | Washington Redskins | 2-4 | Mark Brunnell was abysmal even in victory. Joe Gibbs must not have any faith in Patrick Ramsay. |
| 25. | 22. | Kansas City Chiefs | 1-4 | Failed to build on the momentum they seemed to gain by beating the Ravens on Monday night before the bye. Overcoming a 1-4 start in the utra-competative AFC will not be an easy task. |
| 26. | 26. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1-5 | Have won only 8 of 22 games since winning the Super Bowl. |
| 27. | 30. | Buffalo Bills | 1-4 | Willis McGahee had a breakout second half as the Dolphins' defense was pounded into submission. The going will not be as easy in Baltimore. |
| 28. | 23. | Cincinnati Bengals | 1-4 | How bad is Marvin Lewis' defense? Going into last week Jeff Garcia was averaging 167 yards passing per game. He lit up the Bengals for 310 yards. The 99 yard touchdown pass to Andre Davis was 28 yards more than Garcia's total output through the air against the Cowboys. |
| 29. | 28. | San Fransisco 49ers | 1-5 | Get a week off to regroup. They can use it.... |
| 30. | 29. | Arizona Cardinals | 1-4 | Anquin Boldin will be back in a couple of weeks. Having him line up opposite Larry Fitzgerald should at least add a little excitement. |
| 31. | 31. | Chicago Bears | 1-4 | Perhaps general manager Jerry Angelo shouldn't have listened to offensive coordinator Terry Shea when he suggested that Jonathon Quinn would make a good backup for Rex Grossman. |
| 32. | 32. | Miami Dolphins | 0-6 | Jay Fiedler and AJ Feeley have thrown as many touchdowns as interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. Four. |