1. Saints (8-1; last week No. 1): Plenty of teams have delivered a defeat embarrassing enough to get a coach fired; the Saints actually beat the Bengals so badly that they reacted by hiring Hue Jackson.
2. Rams (9-1; No. 2): Sean McVay should get coach of the year votes simply for emerging with a win after one of the toughest weeks any team will face.
3. Chiefs (9-1; No. 4): Tyreek Hill‘s camera-commandeering celebration will be worth every penny of the inevitable fine.
4. Chargers (7-2; No. 5): The second best team in the AFC is also the second best team in the AFC West.
5. Patriots (7-3; No. 3): The bye week will force the Pats to keep the bad taste in their mouths a lot longer than usual.
6. Steelers (6-2-1; No. 6): After Thursday night’s performance against the Panthers, the cool kids are calling the quarterback Ben Fiftyberger.
7. Bears (6-3; No. 11): A dark horse Super Bowl contender is emerging in the NFC.
8. Vikings (5-3-1; No. 8): A dark horse Super Bowl contender still lingers in the NFC.
9. Texans (6-3; No. 10): The AFC South could be a jumbled mess down the stretch, if the Texans can’t keep winning.
10. Washington (6-3; No. 13): One brother could be the best coach in the league this year, and the other brother could be the exact opposite.
11. Panthers (6-3; No. 7): About those complaints that the Panthers weren’t ranked higher. . . .
12. Titans (5-4; No. 19): If the Titans could consistently play like they did on Sunday, they could beat anyone.
13. Packers (4-4-1; No. 14): Postseason chances, and Mike McCarthy’s employment, could be hinging on the next two games, at Seattle and at Minnesota.
14. Cowboys (4-5; No. 22): Just when we thought they were out, they pushed themselves back in.
15. Eagles (4-5; No. 9): Just when we thought they were in, they pushed themselves back out.
16. Seahawks (4-5; No. 16): The sixth seed is still realistic, and the Rams should be fretting about a third round with their division rivals.
17. Ravens (4-5; No. 17): The Lamar Jackson era could be starting, which will end the Joe Flacco era, the John Harbaugh era, or both.
18. Bengals (5-4; No. 12): All jokes and criticisms aside, Hue Jackson is a great assistant coach. But not great enough to get another team to forget about 3-36-1.
19. Browns (3-6-1; No. 24): Cleveland is getting a glimpse of how good the team could be with a different head coach than the one it had for 2016, 2017, and half of 2018.
20. Falcons (4-5; No. 15): The Falcons aren’t back is back.
21. Dolphins (5-5; No. 18): They’re doing a better job of dealing with adversity this year, but there’s still plenty of adversity to deal with.
22. Colts (4-5; No. 26): An inevitably trendy playoff pick in 2019, they still may make it in 2018.
23. Lions (3-6; No. 20): It may not be time to panic yet. After the next two games, it could be.
24. Buccaneers (3-6; No. 21): The deck chairs officially have been rearranged.
25. Broncos (3-6; No. 25): A 5-2 finish is needed to avoid consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1971-72.
26. Bills (3-7; No. 30): Welcome to the AAF, Nathan Peterman.
27. Jaguars (3-6; No. 23): Welcome to the AFC South basement, Jaguars.
28. Jets (3-7; No. 27): Welcome to hell, Jets fans.
29. Giants (2-7; No. 31): They can’t even tank successfully.
30. Cardinals (2-7; No. 28): A strong draft or two, and the Cardinals could return to prominence.
31. 49ers (2-8; No. 29): Don’t blow your shot at Nick Bosa with another late-season run.
32. Raiders (1-8; No. 32): It’s very brave of Mark Davis to continue to support the guy to whom Davis previously gave a 10-year, $100 million contract.