1. Seahawks (previously No. 1; 5-0): If the Seahawks used the bye week to get even a little better on defense, they may be unstoppable.
2. Titans (No. 5; 5-0): Vastly underrated offense, possibly overrated defense.
3. Steelers (No. 7; 5-0): Perhaps the second most balanced team in the league.
4. Chiefs (No. 3; 5-1): All those running plays called by the Chiefs can mean only one thing -- Andy Reids face shield had fogged up so much that he couldn’t see the call sheet.
5. Ravens (No. 4; 5-1): They can’t screw around with a team like the Eagles and expect to hang with the elite franchises in the AFC.
6. Packers (No. 2; 4-1): When the Matt LaFleur Packers lose, they don’t mess around.
7. Bears (No. 12; 5-1): Winning ugly is better than losing pretty is better than losing ugly is better than being ugly.
8. Buccaneers (No. 15; 4-2): With all the focus on the offense, the Bucs may have their best defense since the days of Sapp, Brooks, Rice, Barber, and Lynch.
9. Saints (No. 10; 3-2): If Michael Thomas returns after the bye, the Saints could start making their move.
10. Bills (No. 8; 4-2): When the Chiefs decide to run all day long, you know you have a really bad run defense.
11. Rams (No. 9; 4-2): The unofficial NFC East champs apparently aren’t ready for the NFC West portion of their schedule.
12. Patriots (No. 6, 2-3): It’s hard to win games without practice, especially with a roster full of new pieces.
13. Raiders (No. 13; 3-2): With Tom Brady coming to town, Derek Carr has a chance to go from beating the best in the quarterback currently in the game to the best who ever played the game.
14. Colts (No. 16; 4-2): Good news, they came back from a 21-0 deficit against the Bengals. Bad news, they had a 21-0 deficit against the Bengals.
15. Cardinals (No. 17; 4-2): Kyler Murray needs more prime-time exposure in order to be fully appreciated.
16. Browns (No. 11; 4-2): If they win the games they should, they’ll still make the playoffs -- despite what happened in Pittsburgh.
17. Panthers (No. 14; 3-3): They’re still overachieving, and laying the foundation for a bright future.
18. Dolphins (No. 18; 3-3): The Bills may have to be more worried about the Dolphins than the Patriots.
19. 49ers (No. 20; 3-3): The win over the Rams won’t mean anything if they can’t keep the momentum going.
20. Broncos (No. 24; 2-3): As coach Vic Fangio said after the win at New England, field goals will not beat the Chiefs on Sunday.
21. Chargers (No. 21; 1-4): The Jaguars a/k/a Shad Khan’s Slump Tonic are coming to town just in time.
22. Eagles (No. 22; 1-4-1): Glass half full, they played the Ravens competitively. Glass half empty, they blew their shot at stealing one.
23. Bengals (No. 23; 1-4-1): See above. Replace Ravens with Colts.
24. Lions (No. 27; 2-3): Built lead? Good. Held lead? Better.
25. Falcons (No. 30; 1-5): Built lead? Good. Held lead? Better.
26. Cowboys (No. 19; 2-4): Nice knowin’ ya, Mike Nolan.
27. Giants (No. 31; 1-5): Another year, another win over Washington that will give Washington a higher spot in the draft order.
28. Vikings (No. 25; 1-5): Kirk Cousins thinks he’ll be benched if he keeps throwing interceptions. He’d have to throw a lot of interceptions to be benched for Sean Mannion.
29. Texans (No. 26; 1-5): I like the Romeo Crennel decision to go for two up seven, even though it didn’t work.
30. Washington (No. 28; 1-5): They need to switch to Alex Smith before the season slips away.
31. Jaguars (No. 29; 1-5): If only the Jaguars could play the Jaguars, they’d begin to turn things around.
32. Jets (No. 32; 0-6): Has there ever been a team worse than the 2020 Jets? And why does it feel like it will keep getting worse?