The Patriots had a bye week, but there was still plenty of activity in the rankings. Top teams tumbled and some supposedly mediocre teams made names for themselves. I'm actually happy enough with how things have turned out 5 weeks into the season that I'm going to leave the rankings as the numbers say.
Some notes from the week:
Biggest Faller: St. Louis Rams, Houston Texans - Both teams fell 9 spots after suffering blow out losses.
Mentions: New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs - Fell 7 spots
Biggest Riser: New York Giants - The Giants rose 9 spots after spanking the Texans.
Mentions: Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders - Rose 6 spots
"Who's the #1 Draft Prospect?" Tier
| 32 | Carolina Panthers | (21.60) |
| 31 | San Francisco 49ers | (20.80) |
| 30 | Buffalo Bills | (19.80) |
"I'll Take Any Kind of Progress!" Tier
| 29 | Cleveland Browns | 26.20 |
| 28 | Detroit Lions | 27.80 |
| 27 | Dallas Cowboys | 28.50 |
| 26 | Minnesota Vikings | 34.00 |
| 25 | Denver Broncos | 37.60 |
| 24 | Cincinnati Bengals | 39.60 |
| 23 | St. Louis Rams | 42.40 |
| 22 | Oakland Raiders | 45.40 |
Read The Rest of the Rankings After the Jump!
"Mediocre Middle" Tier
| 21 | Arizona Cardinals | 50.00 |
| 20 | Miami Dolphins | 53.50 |
| 19 | Houston Texans | 56.40 |
| 18 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 59.00 |
| 17 | Seattle Seahawks | 59.50 |
| 16 | San Diego Chargers | 61.80 |
| 15 | New Orleans Saints | 64.40 |
| 14 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 68.50 |
| 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | 68.80 |
"Missing a Piece or Two" Tier
| 12 | New York Giants | 76.60 |
| 11 | Washington Redskins | 84.40 |
| 10 | Green Bay Packers | 86.00 |
| 9 | Tennessee Titans | 87.40 |
| 8 | Kansas City Chiefs | 90.00 |
| 7 | Indianapolis Colts | 92.00 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 94.00 |
"Playoff Competitor" Tier
| 5 | Baltimore Ravens | 104.00 |
| 4 | Chicago Bears | 108.60 |
| 3 | New England Patriots | 108.75 |
| 2 | Atlanta Falcons | 118.60 |
| 1 | New York Jets | 120.80 |
Here are the rankings! I think these are pretty solid for right now. There are a few things that I would change (Patriots are a little high, the Ravens are a little low, the Texans are a little low), but beyond that, I think they're pretty fair. Keep in mind that the teams that I grouped in tiers are based on their scores- in 25 point increments. I think every team within 25 points of each other can beat one another on any given Sunday, which means that Pittsburgh Steelers can absolutely give the Baltimore Ravens a run for their money, despite being in different tiers. It just means that the Ravens have shown more throughout the season.
Word of Note for Patriots fans: Don't get too excited. The Patriots may rank #3 right now, but they're in for a battle against #5 Baltimore (who is under-ranked, in my opinion). The young defense of the Patriots still has a lot to prove before they gain my confidence and the offense needs to show that it can function without Randy Moss. Just because the Patriots rank higher than the Ravens doesn't mean they're going to win.