1. Cardinals (9-2, last week No. 1): Their biggest concern during the bye week is whether their coach will bid farewell and return to the Big 12.
2. Patriots (8-4, No. 2): So, who will they play in the Super Bowl?
3. Packers (9-3, No. 4): Broken toe, COVID toe, camel toe. None of those are going to slow down Aaron Rodgers.
4. Buccaneers (8-3, No. 5): A year after Bruce Arians gave Leonard Fournette an ultimatum, Fournette has given Tampa Bay a critical road win.
5. Ravens (8-3, No. 7): Only a great team can overcome four interceptions by its quarterback and win.
6. Chiefs (7-4, No. 8): Can they have the same kind of post-bye surge that the Bucs enjoyed a year ago?
7. Rams (7-4, No. 3): The Greatest Show-offs on Turf may be shown the door early in the 2021 postseason, if they even get there.
8. Cowboys (7-4, No. 6): Since beating the Vikings with Cooper Rush, the Cowboys are 1-3.
9. Bills (7-4, No. 11): If the Bills are going to win the division, they’re going to have to earn it with a couple of games coming up against the Patriots.
10. Titans (8-4, No. 9): Their bye couldn’t come at a better time.
11. Bengals (7-4, No. 12): The Bengals may be the best overall team in the AFC North.
12. Colts (6-6, No. 10): Every other playoff team in the AFC should hope and pray that the Colts don’t qualify.
13. 49ers (6-5, No. 16): Every other playoff team in the NFC should hope and pray that the 49ers don’t qualify
14. Raiders (6-5, No. 21): They’ll possibly win just enough games to barely miss the playoffs.
15. Vikings (5-6, No. 13): They’ll possibly win just enough games to barely miss the playoffs.
16. Broncos (6-5, No. 23): They’ll possibly win just enough games to barely miss the playoffs.
17. Chargers (6-5, No. 14): They’ll possibly win just enough games to barely miss the playoffs.
18. Steelers (5-5-1, No. 15): They definitely won’t win just enough games to barely miss the playoffs.
19. Browns (6-6, No. 17): The Browns is the Browns all over again.
20. Washington (5-6, No. 22): Ron Rivera could be earning his third coach of the year award.
21. Falcons (5-6, No. 24): Cordarrelle Patterson isn’t an MVP candidate, but few players are currently more valuable to their teams.
22. Saints (5-6, No. 18): When “who dat?” becomes “boo dat!”, things are getting a little desperate in the Superdome.
23. Dolphins (5-7, No. 25): Coincidentally (or not), the conclusion of the Deshaun Watson talk has allowed Tua Tagovailoa to reach a higher level of performance.
24. Panthers (5-7, No. 19): Things change fast in the NFL; after beating the Cardinals to get to .500, the Panthers are imploding.
25. Eagles (5-7, No. 20): The table was set. Now? Not.
26. Giants (4-7, No. 27): They finally won a game when retiring the jersey of a Super Bowl-era hero. They won’t have to worry about playing another game like that for a long time.
27. Bears (4-7, No. 28): The institutional mishandling of the Matt Nagy report from last week made his ability to get a Thanksgiving victory even more impressive.
28. Jets (3-8, No. 31): Both New York teams winning in the same window is officially a sign of the apocalypse.
29. Seahawks (3-8, No. 26): Jamal Adams may soon want to be traded back to the Jets.
30. Texans (2-9, No. 29): Will David Culley be one and done?
31. Jaguars (2-9, No. 30): Will Urban Meyer be one and done?
32. Lions (0-10-1, No. 32): Will Dan Campbell be one and done?