| Rnk | LW* | Team | Record | Comments |
| 1. | 1. | Houston Texans | 11-1 | Clinched a second straight playoff spot, couldn't clinch the division like the Broncos and Patriots because of the pesky Colts. |
| 2. | 2. | Atlanta Falcons | 11-1 | Intercepted Brees 5 times to basically end the season of their hated division rival. |
| 3. | 4. | Denver Broncos | 9-3 | This is what they envisioned when Peyton was signed. |
| 4. | 5. | New England Patriots | 9-3 | Secured their 12th straight winning season. |
| 5. | 9. | Green Bay Packers | 8-4 | Winners of 10 consecutive games against division opponents. |
| 6. | 3. | Baltimore Ravens | 9-3 | Harbaugh's assertion that the tougher team won 2 weeks ago in Pittsburgh was bullshit then, is bullshit now. |
| 7. | 6. | San Francisco 49ers | 8-3-1 | Will Harbaugh stubbornly sticking with Kaepernick be their downfall? |
| 8. | 7. | Chicago Bears | 8-4 | Lost 3 of their last 4. |
| 9. | 13. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-5 | Batch got it done. All hail Charlie. All hail Heath. |
| 10. | 10. | Cincinnati Bengals | 7-5 | Took the lead with just over 4 minutes remaining and then held on by forcing a pair of Rivers turnovers including an end zone interception. |
| 11. | 11. | Indianapolis Colts | 8-4 | Luck is the first rookie QB selected first overall to win 8 games in his rookie season. |
| 12. | 8. | New York Giants | 7-5 | Seem to want to make things as difficult as possible for themselves. |
| 13. | 14. | Seattle Seahawks | 7-5 | Second road win of the season makes them the clear favorite for the last NFC wild card. |
| 14. | 17. | Washington Redskins | 6-6 | Climbed back to within a game in their division thanks to a 3 game post bye winning streak against their divisional opponents. |
| 15. | 18. | Dallas Cowboys | 6-6 | Staying alive. |
| 16. | 16. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6-6 | Hurt the most by the Seahawks win in Chicago because their only shot at the payoff is a wild card. |
| 17. | 12. | New Orleans Saints | 5-7 | Brees' record streak of games with a TD pass ended at 54. |
| 18. | 15. | Minnesota Vikings | 6-6 | Purple Jesus topped 200 yards in a game for the third time in his career, the first time since his rookie season. Purple Satan (Ponder) let him down miserably. |
| 19. | 21. | St. Louis Rams | 5-6-1 | Fisher appears to have Harbaugh's number. |
| 20. | 19. | Detriot Lions | 4-8 | Dominant defensive front 4 simply can't overcome lack of talent at LB and in the secondary. |
| 21. | 20. | Miami Dolphins | 5-7 | Hung tough with the Patriots but in the end couldn't overcome special teams gaffes and critical penalties. |
| 22. | 23. | Buffalo Bills | 5-7 | Came out on top despite losing 5 starters to injury during the game. |
| 23. | 24. | New York Jets | 5-7 | McElroy replacing the ineffective Dirty Sanchez got them into the end zone once which was all they needed to win. Going back to Sanchez in Jacksonville seems like the right move. |
| 24. | 27. | Cleveland Browns | 4-8 | Snapped 12 game road losing streak in Oakland. |
| 25. | 22. | Tennessee Titans | 4-8 | Firing offensive coordinator Palmer didn't do any good. Not a shocker. |
| 26. | 25. | San Diego Chargers | 4-8 | Rivers has turned the ball over 11 times in the fourth quarter and OT this season. |
| 27. | 32. | Kansas City Chiefs | 2-10 | Overcame unfathomable adversity. |
| 28. | 26. | Carolina Panthers | 3-9 | Rivera's inability to improve the defense likely to cost him his job after only 2 seasons. |
| 29. | 28. | Arizona Cardinals | 4-8 | Decision to rush unready rookie Lindley has been an unmitigated disaster. |
| 30. | 29. | Philadelphia Eagles | 3-9 | Fired defensive line coach Washburn after he complained that the released Babin had been made a scapegoat. The end of the Reid regime is getting messier than Nixon's final days in office. |
| 31. | 30. | Oakland Raiders | 3-9 | First year coach Allen appears to already be on the hot seat after Davis was critical of his laid back nature. |
| 32. | 31. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 2-10 | Mullarkey wasn't triumphant in his return to Buffalo. |
*Last week's ranking