With the schedule getting harder and the results getting bigger, it’s time for some blatant homerism … as always, this is a combination of scoring margin and opponents scoring margin.
| Rank | Team | W | L | T | Margin | Sched Rtg | SOS Rank | Last Wk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patriots | 11 | 2 | 0 | 15.224 | 3.455 | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | Steelers | 10 | 3 | 0 | 12.302 | 3.513 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Packers | 8 | 5 | 0 | 11.766 | 1.401 | 23 | 2 |
| 4 | Falcons | 11 | 2 | 0 | 10.898 | 2.167 | 13 | 4 |
| 5 | Chargers | 7 | 6 | 0 | 10.693 | 1.539 | 20 | 6 |
| 6 | Eagles | 9 | 4 | 0 | 9.031 | 2.339 | 12 | 5 |
| 7 | Ravens | 9 | 4 | 0 | 8.652 | 1.767 | 18 | 7 |
| 8 | Saints | 10 | 3 | 0 | 6.786 | -1.484 | 32 | 12 |
| 9 | Giants | 9 | 4 | 0 | 6.529 | -0.528 | 29 | 10 |
| 10 | Jets | 9 | 4 | 0 | 6.426 | 2.022 | 14 | 8 |
| 11 | Colts | 7 | 6 | 0 | 5.951 | 1.836 | 16 | 11 |
| 12 | Titans | 5 | 8 | 0 | 5.491 | 1.971 | 15 | 13 |
| 13 | Bears | 9 | 4 | 0 | 4.108 | 0.8 | 24 | 9 |
| 14 | Dolphins | 7 | 6 | 0 | 3.866 | 3.443 | 4 | 16 |
| 15 | Chiefs | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3.294 | -0.668 | 30 | 14 |
| 16 | Browns | 5 | 8 | 0 | 3.03 | 2.454 | 11 | 15 |
| 17 | Lions | 3 | 10 | 0 | 3.015 | 3.63 | 1 | 18 |
| 18 | Raiders | 6 | 7 | 0 | 2.802 | 1.476 | 21 | 17 |
| 19 | Texans | 5 | 8 | 0 | 1.944 | 3.329 | 5 | 19 |
| 20 | Cowboys | 4 | 9 | 0 | 1.595 | 3.191 | 7 | 21 |
| 21 | Bucs | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1.38 | 0.034 | 27 | 22 |
| 22 | Vikings | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0.988 | 2.757 | 9 | 20 |
| 23 | Jaguars | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0.63 | 1.784 | 17 | 23 |
| 24 | 49ers | 5 | 8 | 0 | -0.834 | 0.397 | 25 | 28 |
| 25 | Rams | 6 | 7 | 0 | -0.843 | -1.208 | 31 | 25 |
| 26 | Bills | 3 | 10 | 0 | -1.264 | 2.87 | 8 | 27 |
| 27 | Redskins | 5 | 8 | 0 | -1.328 | 2.479 | 10 | 24 |
| 28 | Bengals | 2 | 11 | 0 | -2.023 | 3.246 | 6 | 29 |
| 29 | Seahawks | 6 | 7 | 0 | -3.538 | -0.422 | 28 | 30 |
| 30 | Broncos | 3 | 10 | 0 | -4.292 | 1.554 | 19 | 26 |
| 31 | Cardinals | 4 | 9 | 0 | -6.347 | 0.326 | 26 | 31 |
| 32 | Panthers | 1 | 12 | 0 | -10.205 | 1.448 | 22 | 32 |
Some observations?
- Talk about running a gauntlet. The Patriots, since the debacle against Cleveland have beaten the Colts, Steelers, Bears, Jets and the better than their record Lions. This has firmly established them as #1, and perhaps by a margin that will hold the rest of the way. I don’t think they are the favorites, but hey – makes as much sense as any other I suppose.
- The Packers remain in the top 3 – although with Aaron Rodgers going out – their prognosis does not look good – well whatever prognosis Matt Flynn portends.
