| Rnk | LW | Team | Record | Comments |
| 1. | 1. | New England Patriots | 14-2 | Proof that depth and team play can overcome a lack of individual stars. Head into the playoffs on a 12 game winning streak. Will be tough to beat in Foxboro. |
| 2. | 4. | Philadelphia Eagles | 12-4 | Got a gift from the Rams and now have home field throughout the playoffs. Lost the NFC Championship game at home last season, but no NFC playoff team looks capable of winning outdoors in Philadelphia in mid-January with the possible exception of the Packers. |
| 3. | 3. | Tennessee Titans | 12-4 | Capable of beating anyone, anywhere except for a Colts team that seems to have their number. |
| 4. | 6. | Indianapolis Colts | 12-4 | Matchup better with the Titans and Patriots than the Chiefs, Broncos and Ravens. Should the Broncos manage to beat them in Indianapolis for the second time in 3 weeks the questions surrounding Dungy and Manning in the playoffs will intensify. |
| 5. | 7. | Kansas City Chiefs | 13-3 | Still dangerous, especially since neither the Patriots nor Titans have the running game to fully exploit their struggling run defense. |
| 6. | 2. | St. Louis Rams | 12-4 | Blowing a 10 point lead in Detriot to lose homefield advantage to the Eagles was inexcusable. At a disadvantage against top competition in close games because of Martz's abysmal clock management skills. |
| 7. | 8. | Carolina Panthers | 11-5 | Have the defense and power running game to surprise. Can not really afford to get behind by more than a single score. |
| 8. | 9. | Green Bay Packers | 10-6 | Cardinals WR Poole has become an unlikely hero in Green Bay. The other NFC playoff competators can't be particularly happy since the Packers have been much more dangerous in the second half of the season than the Vikings. Favre can beat anyone in a big spot, although well documented problems in a dome would make a matchup against the Rams especially difficult. |
| 9. | 5. | Denver Broncos | 10-6 | Rested the skill position starters in what for them was a meaningless game and got blown out in Green Bay. Be interesting to see if the decision will help or hurt. |
| 10. | 11. | Baltimore Ravens | 10-6 | Did the opposite of the Broncos and went all out to win their meaningless season finale. Can't be a good sign that they needed overtime to beat the Steelers in Baltimore. |
| 11. | 13. | Miami Dolphins | 10-6 | Winning 10 games and missing the playoffs is a bitter pill to swallow. Wannstedt managed to save his job, although a GM will be brought in to handle personel decisions. Either Mueller or Modrak would be fine choices and both are expected to be interviewed. |
| 12. | 14. | Seattle Seahawks | 10-6 | Finally won a road game when they needed it most in San Fransisco. Hard to envision them advancing in the playoffs on the road, but getting the relatively young core group of players some playoff experience isn't a bad a first step. |
| 13. | 10. | Dallas Cowboys | 10-6 | Just making the playoffs was a major accomplishment. Winning in the playoffs with Carter and Hambrick seems unlikely. |
| 14. | 18. | New Orleans Saints | 8-8 | Should follow the lead of the Dolphins and hire a personel man for the front office so Haslett can concentrate on coaching. |
| 15. | 12. | Minnesota Vikings | 9-7 | The collapse is complete. Went 2-7 after a 6-0 start. Somehow blew an 11 point lead to the pathetic Cardinals by giving up 4th quarter touchdowns twice on 4th down and failing to cover an onsides kick. The pass from McCown to Poole on 4th and 24 with time expiring was one for the ages. |
| 16. | 15. | Cincinnati Bengals | 8-8 | Kitna proved down the stretch that he is not the answer at QB. If Palmer is the real deal the future is bright. |
| 17. | 16. | San Fransisco 49ers | 7-9 | The decision to fire Mariucci and hire Erickson was a major miscalculation. This looks like a team in serious decline with Garcia, Hearst, and Owens all probably on the way out of town. Should Peterson follow them things could get really ugly. |
| 18. | 17. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 7-9 | Deactivating Keyshawn for the final 6 games did not have the desired effect. Maybe Gruden needs to look in the mirror when assigning blame for his team's failure to qualify for the playoffs. Be interesting to see what direction the franchise takes with McKay off to Atlanta and Gruden in complete control. |
| 19. | 19. | Chicago Bears | 7-9 | Angelo had no intention of bringing back Jauron, a coach he didn't hire and never really wanted around. |
| 20. | 20. | New York Jets | 6-10 | Some questions have started to surface about Pennington. Despite returning early from injury and continuing to show strong leadership skills, Pennington's lack of arm strength and new found penchant for turning over the ball have to be considered reasons for concern. |
| 21. | 21. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-10 | Fell flat on their faces after 3 straight winning seasons and 2 straight playoff appearances. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Maddox's comeback player of the year season in 2002 looks like a fluke. At least his contract was not reworked before the season. Zereoue proved that he isn't a feature back. The offensive line could not overcome Smith's injury and Simmons' illness. The play of Gildon, Alexander, Washington, and Scott continued to deteriorate. To make matters worse instead of planning for the future when all was lost Cowher stubbornly stuck with his fading veterans instead of giving more playing time to youngsters. Already early in the offseason he seems to have his head in the sand saying that major changes are not needed. Unlike some I can sort of understand Rooney bringing back his coach, but still think a change would be best for both Cowher and the franchise. |
| 22. | 26. | Atlanta Falcons | 5-11 | A legitimate playoff contender with Vick on the field. Rarely has the value of a single player been so evident. |
| 23. | 22. | Buffalo Bills | 6-10 | Starting over after a season that began with promise turned sour in a hurry. Need to find a coach that can restore Bledsoe's confidence. |
| 24. | 23. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 5-11 | Came on as Leftwich started to develop. |
| 25. | 25. | Houston Texans | 5-11 | Played tough and generally made life difficult for their opponents in the franchise's second year of existence. Need to find some defensive playmakers in the offseason. |
| 26. | 28. | Cleveland Browns | 5-11 | A franchise in turmoil. Davis is awfully egotistical for a coach that has had such limited success at the pro level. |
| 27. | 29. | San Diego Chargers | 4-12 | Shottenheimer will be back because the owners do not want to pay 2 coaches. Brees and Boston were major disappointments while Tomlinson continued to impress despite getting almost no help. The real key will be getting improvement from a young defense that missed the leadership of Seau and Harrison. |
| 28. | 30. | Detriot Lions | 5-11 | Had an up and down season. On the plus side they were over .500 at home including a playoff impacting victory over the Rams in the final weekend. Of course the failure to win on the road for the 3rd straight year is a continuing embarrasment.
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| 29. | 24. | Washington Redskins | 5-11 | Spurrier decided to call it quits and will probably spend a year golfing before returning to the college game where he can recruit players to fit his system. Not sure what coach will consent to work with Snyder, although it has been proven over and over in pro sports that money talks. |
| 30. | 31. | Arizona Cardinals | 4-12 | For the 2nd time in 6 years the Cards have won a totally meaningless game in week 17 to take themselves out of position to select a Manning to play QB.... Peyton in '97 and now Eli in '04 |
| 31. | 27. | Oakland Raiders | 4-12 | Waited a year too long to start rebuilding after a Super Bowl appearance in 2002 gave them a false sense of their chances in 2003. Callahan and his staff lost control and deserved to get the boot. Still, it seems like Davis has been more concerned with filing lawsuits than building a winner for about the last 15 years. |
| 32. | 32. | New York Giants | 4-12 | Probably the most attractive available head coaching job. A storied franchise in the nation's largest media market with the talent to rebound immediately. |