1) Carolina Panthers (12-0): They're the only unbeaten team in the league, enough said!
2) Arizona Cardinals (10-2): When fully healthy, the Cardinals may have the most explosive offense in the NFC. There defense is also top 5-worthy. If they're even remotely healthy come playoff time, they'll likely be my NFC favorite to reach the Super Bowl.
3) Cincinnati Bengals (10-2): Cincinnati is the most complete team in the AFC. The only question is, will they play like it come the postseason, where they've faltered in recent years?
4) Denver Broncos (10-2): The Broncos could be this year's version of Trent Dilfer's Baltimore Ravens. So long as the man behind center "manages" the game and doesn't turn the ball over, the defense should be able to do enough to pull out victories.
5) New England Patriots (10-2): I don't care how big of apologists ESPN commentators are for the New England Patriots; they're beat up, and unless they get healthy and back into rhythm, not even Bill Belichick and Tom Brady will be able to take this team to the Super Bowl.
6) Green Bay Packers (8-4): If not for a miracle hail mary play, largely aided by a questionable face mask penalty on the Detroit Lions, Green Bay would be sitting at 7-5, a game back of Minnesota in the NFC North, only two up on both Chicago and Detroit, and even with Seattle for the 5th and 6th playoff spots. The Pack may have won the game on Thursday night, but they're far from resolving their problems on both sides of the ball.
7) Seattle Seahawks (7-5): If I were in the NFC, what's the one team I hope to not make the playoffs more than any other? The Seahawks. Seattle's getting hot at the right time, appearing to peak on both offense and defense, and if they keep this up, it's not far-fetched to think they could appear in their third consecutive Super Bowl.
8) Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5): Like I said with Seattle, if I were an AFC team, the one team I wouldn't want to see make the playoffs are the Pittsburgh Steelers. They've battled injury problems all year, especially on the offensive side of the ball. When their offense is even remotely healthy and their defense is even just mediocre, this team has all the capability of making it deep into the playoffs. Just ask the Indianapolis Colts from Sunday night.
9) Minnesota Vikings (8-4): Minnesota appears to be a team on the rise, yet a team a year away from taking that next big step. It's likely they'll make the postseason this year, but unless their offense is able to successfully open up the passing game more and the defense is able to play more consistently against top-of-the-line offenses, I have a difficult time seeing them advance far into the playoffs.
10) Kansas City Chiefs (7-5): After starting the season 1-5, Kansas City has reeled off six consecutive victories, and with that, has to be considered one of, if not the hottest team in all of football right now. Like Arizona's finally found some semblance of a running game, which they've sorely lacked in recent years, with the addition of Jeremy Maclin, Kansas City finally has a vertical passing game, which they've sorely lacked in recent years as well. Overall, this is a fairly well-rounded team, who plays a weak schedule down the stretch, and could be a sleeper pick come playoff time.
11) New York Jets (7-5): It's a shame Kansas City, New York, and Pittsburgh can't all make the playoffs, one substituting the AFC South champion. Like KC, New York is a pretty well-rounded team. However, while Ryan Fitzpatrick is a warrior in the pocket (and out of the pocket), he's still fairly inconsistent, and leaves one wondering whether he'll be able to find that consistency down the stretch to vault his team into the playoffs.
12) Buffalo Bills (6-6): Buffalo will likely need to win at least 3 out of their next 4 in order to even have a chance at the postseason. Game 1 of that four-game stretch is against 5-7 Philadelphia, a team that's in a 3-way tie for the NFC East lead, coming off a big upset in Foxboro against the New England Patriots. If Buffalo wins that game, they'll be right in the thick of the playoff race. If they lose, however, and fall two games back of the final Wild Card spot, they'll likely need to win out in order to give themselves a shot at the postseason in Rex Ryan's first year there.
13) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6): Tampa Bay may not win pretty, but they just seem to find ways to win at the end of games many weeks. If they beat New Orleans this coming weekend, it would be anything but a longshot to suggest they have a chance at making the playoffs. If they lose, however, and likely fall two games back of Seattle for the 6th seed, it'll be quite a difficult task to make up those two games in a 3-game span. In any case, this can't be seen as anything other than a successful year for Lovie Smith, Jameis Winston, and company, a step in the right direction, and reason for optimism going forward.
14) Atlanta Falcons (6-6): I've pretty much given up hope on the Atlanta Falcons making the postseason this year. While their defense has exceeded expectations in Dan Quinn's first season, the offense has significantly underachieved. While Atlanta ranks 5th in total offense and 6th in passing offense, they rank 14th in scoring offense, largely due to their turnover problems inside the red zone. That led to the team playing things cautiously in their game against Tampa a week ago, which resulted in the Falcons losing yet again, this time 23-19. After starting the year 5-0, they've lost 6 of 7, and show no signs of bouncing back anytime soon.
15) Houston Texans (6-6): The AFC South is up for grabs. While Houston's defense is far superior to Indianapolis', their offense is inferior to the Colts', well, so long as Indy is starting Andrew Luck behind center. Flip a coin on who comes out on top in this division.
16) Indianapolis Colts (6-6): Ditto.
17) Washington Redskins (5-7): Yes, this is the highest ranked team in the NFC East. No, none of the teams from this division should be making the playoffs.
18) Miami Dolphins (5-7): The Dolphins will have to win out to have any shot at the postseason, and I just don't see it happening. The consistent inconsistency which hurt this team in each of the past two years has done so again this season. Given that, I expect a 7-9 finish.
19) Philadelphia Eagles (5-7): The Eagles' upset win over the Patriots in Foxboro on Sunday was quite stunning to say the least. However, let's not pretend as though Philly has gotten things completely figured out on either side of the ball. Philly's offense failed to gain even 250 yards against the Pats on Sunday and their defense almost let a 21-point 4th quarter lead slip away. Philly's right in the thick of things in the NFC (l)East, but they'll need to do a lot more than count on special teams' touchdowns week in and week out in order to come out on top and reach the postseason.
20) New York Giants (5-7): If somewhere were to ask me, "Who do you think the best all-around team is in the NFC East?" I'd say the New York Giants. This team may be 5-7, but has let five 4th quarter leads slip away, so they could very well be 10-2 at this very moment. If they don't start closing games out, though, and soon, they'll find themselves on the outside looking in come playoff time.
21) Oakland Raiders (5-7): Like Tampa Bay, I think Oakland is a year away from seriously competing for a playoff spot. There's still a remote chance they can get in this season, but they'll likely need to run the table in order to make that happen, and given how inconsistent both their offense and defense have been in recent weeks, I have a difficult time seeing that occur.
22) Chicago Bears (5-7): No matter the game, this teams seems to win ugly and lose ugly. On Sunday, against a team which has struggled tremendously on the road, Chicago missed a very makeable 4th quarter field goal, and wound up losing in overtime to the then 3-8 San Francisco 49ers. A victory would have kept them just a gave behind Seattle for the final Wild Card spot, but with the upset loss, they're going to be hard-pressed to make up two games on the hot Seahawks in a 4-game span. Like Cubs fans have been notorious for saying, "Maybe next year."
23) Detroit Lions (4-8): What a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night. If the Lions had won that game, they would have swept the Packers this year, been in the midst of a 4-game winning streak, and low and behold, only been two games back of a Wild Card spot. A Wild Card berth is now highly unlikely and the big questions going forward are now: 1) Which direction do we go in the offseason when it comes to players? and 2) Which direction do we go in the offseason when it comes to the coaches?
24) St. Louis Rams (4-8): What happened to Nick Foles? I suppose he doesn't have the likes of DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and LeSean McCoy to work with, but he does have Todd Gurley and Tayvon Austin. Not only is the Rams offense currently missing in action, but the critically-acclaimed defense of the team has also been gashed in recent weeks. Like with the Lions, I have to wonder if the Rams will keep Jeff Fisher and his staff around come next year. One thing is for certain, though, this team needs help at quarterback and receiver.
25) New Orleans Saints (4-8): It seems the only time the Saints can be guaranteed a victory is when their offense puts up more than 50 points. Their defense may be young and inexperienced, but geez...
26) Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8): No, the 4-8 record isn't anything to write home about, but Jacksonville has been competitive in just about every game this season, and that's a definite improvement from last year. Sadly, this team is still in the playoff race, as they're only 2 games back of AFC South-leading Indianapolis and Houston.
27) Dallas Cowboys (4-8): Kudos to the Cowboys for showing some serious fight in their Monday night win against division-rival Washington. Don't look now, but with the victory, Dallas is now just a game back of NFC East-leading Washington, New York, and Philadelphia, who are all 5-7. Yes, a 7-9 record could very well be enough to win this division.
28) San Francisco 49ers (4-8): Like I said with regard to the Cowboys, kudos to the 49ers for continuing to show fight in a lost season. Also, like I've said with multiple teams, I'm curious to see what the Niners do in the offseason. Do they ship Kaepernick elsewhere (Philly perhaps?), keep their coaches, pull a Bill Belichick come draft time and come out with 12 picks, etc.?
29) Baltimore Ravens (4-8): Here's a crazy stat: every single one of the Ravens games this year has been decided by a single possession. Yeah, that's the kind of year it's been for John Harbaugh and company. How that man's hair doesn't look like Anderson Cooper's is beyond me...
30) San Diego Chargers (3-9): Philip Rivers is typically a very efficient quarterback, but like we're seeing with Tom Brady in New England and Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, a quarterback, no matter how good he may be, can't do everything. The Chargers definitely won't be winning the Super Bowl this year, yet I still expect Rivers to tell a cameraperson after Week 17, "I'm going to Disneyworld to f**king relax after this sh*tty season!"
31) Tennessee Titans (3-9): Marcus Mariota appears to definitely be a solid investment for the Tennessee Titans. Now all they need to figure out is what kind of talent to surround him with, because they have next to none right now.
32) Cleveland Browns (2-10): I don't think it really matters whether Josh McCown, Austin Davis, or Johnny Manziel starts at quarterback for this team. The team's appeared to all but give up, stop fighting for their coaches, and teammates, and there are many more questions than answers moving forward for them.
2) Arizona Cardinals (10-2): When fully healthy, the Cardinals may have the most explosive offense in the NFC. There defense is also top 5-worthy. If they're even remotely healthy come playoff time, they'll likely be my NFC favorite to reach the Super Bowl.
3) Cincinnati Bengals (10-2): Cincinnati is the most complete team in the AFC. The only question is, will they play like it come the postseason, where they've faltered in recent years?
4) Denver Broncos (10-2): The Broncos could be this year's version of Trent Dilfer's Baltimore Ravens. So long as the man behind center "manages" the game and doesn't turn the ball over, the defense should be able to do enough to pull out victories.
5) New England Patriots (10-2): I don't care how big of apologists ESPN commentators are for the New England Patriots; they're beat up, and unless they get healthy and back into rhythm, not even Bill Belichick and Tom Brady will be able to take this team to the Super Bowl.
6) Green Bay Packers (8-4): If not for a miracle hail mary play, largely aided by a questionable face mask penalty on the Detroit Lions, Green Bay would be sitting at 7-5, a game back of Minnesota in the NFC North, only two up on both Chicago and Detroit, and even with Seattle for the 5th and 6th playoff spots. The Pack may have won the game on Thursday night, but they're far from resolving their problems on both sides of the ball.
7) Seattle Seahawks (7-5): If I were in the NFC, what's the one team I hope to not make the playoffs more than any other? The Seahawks. Seattle's getting hot at the right time, appearing to peak on both offense and defense, and if they keep this up, it's not far-fetched to think they could appear in their third consecutive Super Bowl.
8) Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5): Like I said with Seattle, if I were an AFC team, the one team I wouldn't want to see make the playoffs are the Pittsburgh Steelers. They've battled injury problems all year, especially on the offensive side of the ball. When their offense is even remotely healthy and their defense is even just mediocre, this team has all the capability of making it deep into the playoffs. Just ask the Indianapolis Colts from Sunday night.
9) Minnesota Vikings (8-4): Minnesota appears to be a team on the rise, yet a team a year away from taking that next big step. It's likely they'll make the postseason this year, but unless their offense is able to successfully open up the passing game more and the defense is able to play more consistently against top-of-the-line offenses, I have a difficult time seeing them advance far into the playoffs.
10) Kansas City Chiefs (7-5): After starting the season 1-5, Kansas City has reeled off six consecutive victories, and with that, has to be considered one of, if not the hottest team in all of football right now. Like Arizona's finally found some semblance of a running game, which they've sorely lacked in recent years, with the addition of Jeremy Maclin, Kansas City finally has a vertical passing game, which they've sorely lacked in recent years as well. Overall, this is a fairly well-rounded team, who plays a weak schedule down the stretch, and could be a sleeper pick come playoff time.
11) New York Jets (7-5): It's a shame Kansas City, New York, and Pittsburgh can't all make the playoffs, one substituting the AFC South champion. Like KC, New York is a pretty well-rounded team. However, while Ryan Fitzpatrick is a warrior in the pocket (and out of the pocket), he's still fairly inconsistent, and leaves one wondering whether he'll be able to find that consistency down the stretch to vault his team into the playoffs.
12) Buffalo Bills (6-6): Buffalo will likely need to win at least 3 out of their next 4 in order to even have a chance at the postseason. Game 1 of that four-game stretch is against 5-7 Philadelphia, a team that's in a 3-way tie for the NFC East lead, coming off a big upset in Foxboro against the New England Patriots. If Buffalo wins that game, they'll be right in the thick of the playoff race. If they lose, however, and fall two games back of the final Wild Card spot, they'll likely need to win out in order to give themselves a shot at the postseason in Rex Ryan's first year there.
13) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6): Tampa Bay may not win pretty, but they just seem to find ways to win at the end of games many weeks. If they beat New Orleans this coming weekend, it would be anything but a longshot to suggest they have a chance at making the playoffs. If they lose, however, and likely fall two games back of Seattle for the 6th seed, it'll be quite a difficult task to make up those two games in a 3-game span. In any case, this can't be seen as anything other than a successful year for Lovie Smith, Jameis Winston, and company, a step in the right direction, and reason for optimism going forward.
14) Atlanta Falcons (6-6): I've pretty much given up hope on the Atlanta Falcons making the postseason this year. While their defense has exceeded expectations in Dan Quinn's first season, the offense has significantly underachieved. While Atlanta ranks 5th in total offense and 6th in passing offense, they rank 14th in scoring offense, largely due to their turnover problems inside the red zone. That led to the team playing things cautiously in their game against Tampa a week ago, which resulted in the Falcons losing yet again, this time 23-19. After starting the year 5-0, they've lost 6 of 7, and show no signs of bouncing back anytime soon.
15) Houston Texans (6-6): The AFC South is up for grabs. While Houston's defense is far superior to Indianapolis', their offense is inferior to the Colts', well, so long as Indy is starting Andrew Luck behind center. Flip a coin on who comes out on top in this division.
16) Indianapolis Colts (6-6): Ditto.
17) Washington Redskins (5-7): Yes, this is the highest ranked team in the NFC East. No, none of the teams from this division should be making the playoffs.
18) Miami Dolphins (5-7): The Dolphins will have to win out to have any shot at the postseason, and I just don't see it happening. The consistent inconsistency which hurt this team in each of the past two years has done so again this season. Given that, I expect a 7-9 finish.
19) Philadelphia Eagles (5-7): The Eagles' upset win over the Patriots in Foxboro on Sunday was quite stunning to say the least. However, let's not pretend as though Philly has gotten things completely figured out on either side of the ball. Philly's offense failed to gain even 250 yards against the Pats on Sunday and their defense almost let a 21-point 4th quarter lead slip away. Philly's right in the thick of things in the NFC (l)East, but they'll need to do a lot more than count on special teams' touchdowns week in and week out in order to come out on top and reach the postseason.
20) New York Giants (5-7): If somewhere were to ask me, "Who do you think the best all-around team is in the NFC East?" I'd say the New York Giants. This team may be 5-7, but has let five 4th quarter leads slip away, so they could very well be 10-2 at this very moment. If they don't start closing games out, though, and soon, they'll find themselves on the outside looking in come playoff time.
21) Oakland Raiders (5-7): Like Tampa Bay, I think Oakland is a year away from seriously competing for a playoff spot. There's still a remote chance they can get in this season, but they'll likely need to run the table in order to make that happen, and given how inconsistent both their offense and defense have been in recent weeks, I have a difficult time seeing that occur.
22) Chicago Bears (5-7): No matter the game, this teams seems to win ugly and lose ugly. On Sunday, against a team which has struggled tremendously on the road, Chicago missed a very makeable 4th quarter field goal, and wound up losing in overtime to the then 3-8 San Francisco 49ers. A victory would have kept them just a gave behind Seattle for the final Wild Card spot, but with the upset loss, they're going to be hard-pressed to make up two games on the hot Seahawks in a 4-game span. Like Cubs fans have been notorious for saying, "Maybe next year."
23) Detroit Lions (4-8): What a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night. If the Lions had won that game, they would have swept the Packers this year, been in the midst of a 4-game winning streak, and low and behold, only been two games back of a Wild Card spot. A Wild Card berth is now highly unlikely and the big questions going forward are now: 1) Which direction do we go in the offseason when it comes to players? and 2) Which direction do we go in the offseason when it comes to the coaches?
24) St. Louis Rams (4-8): What happened to Nick Foles? I suppose he doesn't have the likes of DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and LeSean McCoy to work with, but he does have Todd Gurley and Tayvon Austin. Not only is the Rams offense currently missing in action, but the critically-acclaimed defense of the team has also been gashed in recent weeks. Like with the Lions, I have to wonder if the Rams will keep Jeff Fisher and his staff around come next year. One thing is for certain, though, this team needs help at quarterback and receiver.
25) New Orleans Saints (4-8): It seems the only time the Saints can be guaranteed a victory is when their offense puts up more than 50 points. Their defense may be young and inexperienced, but geez...
26) Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8): No, the 4-8 record isn't anything to write home about, but Jacksonville has been competitive in just about every game this season, and that's a definite improvement from last year. Sadly, this team is still in the playoff race, as they're only 2 games back of AFC South-leading Indianapolis and Houston.
27) Dallas Cowboys (4-8): Kudos to the Cowboys for showing some serious fight in their Monday night win against division-rival Washington. Don't look now, but with the victory, Dallas is now just a game back of NFC East-leading Washington, New York, and Philadelphia, who are all 5-7. Yes, a 7-9 record could very well be enough to win this division.
28) San Francisco 49ers (4-8): Like I said with regard to the Cowboys, kudos to the 49ers for continuing to show fight in a lost season. Also, like I've said with multiple teams, I'm curious to see what the Niners do in the offseason. Do they ship Kaepernick elsewhere (Philly perhaps?), keep their coaches, pull a Bill Belichick come draft time and come out with 12 picks, etc.?
29) Baltimore Ravens (4-8): Here's a crazy stat: every single one of the Ravens games this year has been decided by a single possession. Yeah, that's the kind of year it's been for John Harbaugh and company. How that man's hair doesn't look like Anderson Cooper's is beyond me...
30) San Diego Chargers (3-9): Philip Rivers is typically a very efficient quarterback, but like we're seeing with Tom Brady in New England and Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, a quarterback, no matter how good he may be, can't do everything. The Chargers definitely won't be winning the Super Bowl this year, yet I still expect Rivers to tell a cameraperson after Week 17, "I'm going to Disneyworld to f**king relax after this sh*tty season!"
31) Tennessee Titans (3-9): Marcus Mariota appears to definitely be a solid investment for the Tennessee Titans. Now all they need to figure out is what kind of talent to surround him with, because they have next to none right now.
32) Cleveland Browns (2-10): I don't think it really matters whether Josh McCown, Austin Davis, or Johnny Manziel starts at quarterback for this team. The team's appeared to all but give up, stop fighting for their coaches, and teammates, and there are many more questions than answers moving forward for them.
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