By Nick Ferraro
1. New Orleans Saints
The Saints won in convincing fashion on Sunday night. The talk and the pressure of going undefeated will ratchet up a few levels now.
2. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts have the red-hot Titans coming to town. It is their toughest remaining game.
3. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are dominating opponents and have the advantage of not being distracted by the pursuit of perfection. It may work out in their favor in the long run.
4. Cincinnati Bengals A win is a win, but it seemed like the Browns gave the Bengals more trouble than they should have.
5. San Diego Chargers The Chargers are rolling mostly because Tomlinson and the offensive line are playing closer to his old form.
6. New England Patriots The Pats appear to be a good few steps off the pace of the league’s elite.
7. Dallas Cowboys December shapes up as a very difficult month for the Cowboys. The can shelve the late-season collapse talk for good, or ensure that the criticism continues for another year.
8. Philadelphia Eagles The Eagles are the NFC’s second most explosive team.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers This team is much more dangerous than their record indicates and perfectly capable of using a wild-card berth to get back to the Super Bowl.
10. Denver Broncos Denver played their best game of the season on Thanksgiving. There’s little to point to though that would indicate they are much more than an also-ran in the AFC.