| Rnk | LW | Team | Record | Comments |
| 1. | 1. | New England Patriots | 13-2 | Eleven wins in a row and counting. |
| 2. | 4. | St. Louis Rams | 12-3 | Finished the regular season undefeated at home. Tough to envision them losing in the playoffs on the turf of the Edward Jones Dome. |
| 3. | 6. | Tennessee Titans | 11-4 | McNair overcame bone spurs in his ankle to lead a final drive that resulted in the game winning TD with 15 seconds remaining. Going forward his injury has to be considered a major concern. |
| 4. | 2. | Philadelphia Eagles | 11-4 | Probable loss of home field advantage in the NFC Championship game could just be the start of their problems. A loss in Washington on Saturday night could actually cost them the division and a first round bye. |
| 5. | 7. | Denver Broncos | 10-5 | Continue to pull RBs out of a hat. This time rookie 4th rounder Griffin from Oklahoma rushed for 136 yards on 28 carries. |
| 6. | 3. | Indianapolis Colts | 11-4 | Completely manhandled at home by the Broncos. Inability to stop the run has to raise questions about their potential to go far in the playoffs. |
| 7. | 5. | Kansas City Chiefs | 12-3 | Defense continues to struggle. |
| 8. | 8. | Carolina Panthers | 10-5 | Held the Lions to 8 first downs and 106 yards of total offense. Were able to rest 5 starters including Davis which should help come playoff time. |
| 9. | 9. | Green Bay Packers | 9-6 | Favre's performance following the untimely death of his father was another amazing chapter in his storied career. |
| 10. | 10. | Dallas Cowboys | 10-5 | Still hard to fathom this team being able to beat a really tough competitor on the road in the playoffs. |
| 11. | 13. | Baltimore Ravens | 9-6 | Need either a victory at home against the Steelers or a loss by the Bengals in Cincinnati against the Browns to clinch the division. It would be sweet if the Steelers could knock them out of the playoffs in Modell's last year as owner. |
| 12. | 17. | Minnesota Vikings | 9-6 | A win in Arizona gets them into the playoffs. Hard to believe they would choke against the Cardinals, although their 3-4 road record is not impressive. |
| 13. | 14. | Miami Dolphins | 9-6 | Eliminated from wild card contention despite winning their first game in December. |
| 14. | 16. | Seattle Seahawks | 9-6 | Even a win in San Fransisco does not guarantee them a playoff spot. |
| 15. | 11. | Cincinnati Bengals | 8-7 | Failed to become the first visitor to win in St. Louis in the last 14 tries. Now need help from the Steelers to get into the playoffs. |
| 16. | 20. | San Fransisco 49ers | 7-8 | Impressive win in Philadelphia was their first on the road this season. |
| 17. | 12. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 7-8 | Be interesting to see if McKay in Atlanta or Gruden in Tampa ends up having the last laugh. McKay got to celebrate first when his new team knocked his old team out of the playoffs. |
| 18. | 15. | New Orleans Saints | 7-8 | All that was missing was the Stanford band. Scored a touchdown as time ran out to get to within one point of the Jaguars on a wild play that included three laterals, then the normally reliable Carney missed his first extra point of the season. |
| 19. | 21. | Chicago Bears | 7-8 | Grossman looks like the real deal. Whether Jauron remains is still in question, but his solid work will probably get him another head job immediately if Angelo decides to pull the plug. |
| 20. | 18. | New York Jets | 6-9 | Have to be concerned that Pennington has not thrown a TD pass in the past 3 weeks in the bad December weather of the Northeast. His 5 interceptions against Belichek's defense last week can't be very comforting either. |
| 21. | 22. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-9 | Need a win over the Ravens to avoid the 5th double digit loss season in the 71 year history of the franchise. |
| 22. | 19. | Buffalo Bills | 6-9 | Bledsoe failed to top 200 yards passing for the 8th time in 15 tries this season. |
| 23. | 25. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 5-10 | Taylor is only 68 yards shy of topping 2000 total yards from scrimmage on the season. |
| 24. | 23. | Washington Redskins | 5-10 | After posting a 122-27-1 record in 12 years at Florida, Spurrier is a disappointing 12-19 in Washington. |
| 25. | 24. | Houston Texans | 5-10 | Fell to 0-4 against the franchise that abandoned Houston for Tennessee. |
| 26. | 28. | Atlanta Falcons | 4-11 | Vick makes all the difference. |
| 27. | 26. | Oakland Raiders | 4-11 | Callahan's fall from the Super Bowl to the unemployment line was swift and painful. |
| 28. | 27. | Cleveland Browns | 4-11 | Have completely collapsed, losing 5 straight and 8 of their last 9. |
| 29. | 29. | San Diego Chargers | 3-12 | Brees got pulled for Flutie after turning the ball over 6 times since returning to the starting lineup 2 weeks ago. Eli Manning could be next year's starter. |
| 30. | 30. | Detriot Lions | 4-11 | Have not won a road game in 3 years. Moved past the 1981-84 Houston Oilers for the all-time record with 24th successive road loss. |
| 31. | 31. | Arizona Cardinals | 3-12 | Boldin set a rookie record with 96 receptions. He was the only rookie elected to the Pro Bowl. |
| 32. | 32. | New York Giants | 4-11 | The players that quit on Fassel may wish they played harder for him if Coughlin gets the job as rumored. Fassel is a players coach that treated them like men. Coughlin has a well earned reputation for kicking ass and taking names. |