The halfway point of the season has arrived. Well, for some teams. Bye weeks are stupid that way.
What have we learned? Well, there probably are not any great teams in the NFL this year, and the last undefeated , the Minnesota Vikings, has fallen in Philly. If they don’t get their offensive line right soon, surprise revelation Sam Bradford may not finish the season.
If any team is great, it is probably the Patriots. Big surprise. Meanwhile their top rivals in the AFC appear to be out west as the Raiders, Broncos, and Chiefs all have only two losses.
Back in the NFC, the the East remains surprisingly strong after the Eagles’ big win and a London stinker that saw the Giants get over .500. But don’t sleep on the NFC North with three winning teams, and a new MVP candidate in Matt Stafford (yes, I am going to keep saying it).
On the other hand, with division leader Atlanta falling, the NFC South needs a hero. They’re holding on for a hero ’til the end of the night. He’s gotta be strong, he’s gotta be fast, and he’s really gotta know fresh crab legs from those that have been sitting out too long. Its an important skill.
RANKINGS
| RANK | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New England Patriots | Bigly good team. Bigly. |
| 2 | Minnesota Vikings | Every team has problems this year, and for the Vikings its an atrocious offensive line. |
| 3 | Dallas Cowboys | Thanks to another Falcons loss and a debacle by Seattle, they gain a spot while sitting at home |
| 4 | Seattle Seahawks | Holding strong at 4 despite one ugly tie. |
| 5 | Oakland Raiders | The preseason darling that might actually live up to the hype. We need to see some wins over good competition, though. |
| 6 | Denver Broncos | Back on track after whipping Houston and a certain (very handsome) quarterback. |
| 7 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Ben will be back. For real. |
| 8 | Philadelphia Eagles | Knocking off the last undefeated team is worth five upward mobility points. |
| 9 | Green Bay Packers | Hanging around in the top ten despite a janky offensive start. Thanks Bears! |
| 10 | Kansas City Chiefs | Three AFCW teams in the top ten. |
| 11 | Buffalo Bills | One of a couple disappointing week 7 teams. Just when you think they are on to something, they lose to Miami. |
| 12 | Atlanta Falcons | I could forgive a loss in Seattle, but flopping to the most inventive losers in modern times was bad. |
| 13 | Arizona Cardinals | Signs of life have been noted in the desert, but its still a tough life out there. |
| 14 | Detroit Lions | Slowly but surely rising up the rankings. Hey, did you notice that Matt Stafford is in the MVP conversation? |
| 15 | Washington Redskins | They continue to be almost perfectly mediocre. With a chance to try and keep up with Philadelphia and Dallas, they blow a game in hand. |
| 16 | Houston Texans | Any buyer's remorse, Brock? |
| 17 | New York Giants | Ugly win in London is ugly. |
| 18 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | The division is back in play as Atlanta slides down the leaderboard. |
| 19 | Cincinnati Bengals | The ship is slowly righting. |
| 20 | San Diego Chargers | Philip Rivers can still play the footballs. |
| 21 | Miami Dolphins | Don't look now, but Miami has back-to-back wins over Pittsburgh and Buffalo. |
| 22 | Indianapolis Colts | Still in the race in the worst division in football thanks to Denver. |
| 23 | Tennessee Titans | Sucked to luck. |
| 24 | Los Angeles Rams | After a decent start, it appears they are who we thought they were. |
| 25 | Baltimore Ravens | After a decent start it appears they may be worse than we thought they were. |
| 26 | New York Jets | Matt Forte got 100 yards. |
| 27 | New Orleans Saints | Couldn't follow up on a win from a week ago, and stay in the dregs. |
| 28 | Carolina Panthers | Lose a spot to the Jets while sitting at home. |
| 29 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Bortles may simply never be good. |
| 30 | San Fransisco 49ers | So, Kaepernick then? |
| 31 | Chicago Bears | Not the worst! Again! Its amazing? |
| 32 | Cleveland Browns | Good lord. I think this team is going to join the Lions at 0-16. |