1. Chiefs (last week No. 1; 12-1): They returned to Miami in December and left with an increasing likelihood that they’ll be heading to Tampa in February.
2. Bills (No. 4; 10-3): Some teams step up in December. Some teams don’t. The Bills are.
3. Packers (No. 5; 10-3): They have the inside track to the No. 1 seed. But can they win two home playoff games?
4. Saints (No. 2; 10-3): Drew Brees wouldn’t have made a difference on Sunday in Philly, not with the defense giving up 246 rushing yards.
5. Steelers (No. 3; 11-2): The No. 1 seed is evaporating.
6. Rams (No. 6; 9-4): They won’t have to worry about losing to the Patriots in the Super Bowl again.
7. Colts (No. 9; 9-4): Any year in which Philip Rivers has as many wins as kids is a good year.
8. Seahawks (No. 10; 9-4): They needed to re-establish themselves by destroying the Jets, and they did.
9. Browns (No. 8; 9-4): The Browns will be hard to beat in January.
10. Titans (No. 11; 9-4): Derrick Henry has an outside shot at the single-season rushing record, and the MVP.
11. Dolphins (No. 7; 8-5): The playoffs have gone from being a sure thing to a tenuous proposition.
12. Buccaneers (No. 12; 8-5): They tried to give it to the Vikings, but the Vikings didn’t want to take it.
13. Ravens (No. 13; 8-5): They need to run the table or they won’t get a chance to end their postseason losing streak.
14. Cardinals (No. 16; 7-6): Once they develop more consistency, they’ll become an elite team.
15. Vikings (No. 14; 6-7): And now they’ll beat the Bears and then the Saints and then have a chance to get into the playoffs by beating the Lions in Week 17 . . . and lose.
16. Patriots (No. 15; 6-7): This may only be the beginning of an extended run of mediocrity.
17. Washington (No. 20; 6-7): Of all of the NFC East teams, this one is the best suited to turn the automatic home playoff game into a win.
18. Falcons (No. 17; 4-9): Raheem Morris gets a great chance to make his case, with two of his final three games against the Buccaneers.
19. Raiders (No. 18; 7-6): Jon Gruden has begun the process of looking for others to blame for three years of no playoff berths.
20. Eagles (No. 27; 4-8-1): Fortunately, they’re starting to figure things out. Unfortunately, they’ve got two teams to jump in order to win the division.
21. 49ers (No. 21; 5-8): The quarterback position is killing the 49ers.
22. Giants (No. 19; 5-8): Daniel Jones should not have been on the field, and it showed.
23. Bears (No. 24; 6-7): Even if it was only for a day, Mitchell Trubisky got some vindication.
24. Broncos (No. 25; 5-8): There’s still a chance to avoid another losing season.
25. Lions (No. 22; 5-8): There’s still a chance to avoid another losing season.
26. Panthers (No. 23; 4-9): With a losing season guaranteed, they should embrace the chance to enhance their draft standing.
27. Cowboys (No. 28; 4-9): Another season of high expectations, unfulfilled.
28. Texans (No. 26; 4-9): They’re three weeks away from arguably the most important hires the franchise has ever made.
29. Chargers (No. 29; 4-9): The pandemic is saving them from having no fans at their games for the usual reasons.
30. Bengals (No. 30; 2-10-1): In any other city, the seat would be getting hot for the head coach.
31. Jaguars (No. 31; 1-12): With each passing game, their Week One win over the Colts becomes more confusing.
32. Jets (No. 32; 0-13): J-E-T-S, Just-End-The-Season, After-We-Finish-Winless-And-Secure-The-Top-Pick.