1. GIANTS (6-2, No. 4)
Go ahead, call it a stretch. But New York deserves to be here after completely demolishing the Seahawks on Sunday. The season started a bit sketchy in the Meadowlands, but a five-game winning streak (and Eli Manning playing like a Pro Bowler) has us bullish about the boys in blue.
2. STEELERS (6-2, No. 5)
Pittsburgh bounced back from a loss at New Orleans by beating Cincinnati on the big stage.
Another prime-time showdown Sunday at New England will decide an awful lot.
3. RAVENS (6-2, No. 3)
Baltimore protects its house with the best of them?(4-0 at home), but it’s just 2-2 away from “Wire”-ville. Its matchup atAtlanta tonight might be the game of the week.
4. FALCONS (6-2, No. 7)
Meanwhile, in Atlanta, star WR Roddy White (58 catches, 796 yards, five TDs this season) is questionable, but should play. If he doesn’t, the Falcons are in big trouble.
5. PACKERS (6-3, No. 10)
A three-game winning streak, combined with the Patriots and Colts faltering, has Green Bay flying up the rankings. The Packers have outscored their last two opponents by a total of 54-7.
6. SAINTS (6-3, No. 12)
They’ve played down to their opposition too often this year, but you can’t count out New Orleans — one of four NFC teams with more than 200 points going into this weekend’s games.
7. COLTS (5-3, No. 2)
We’re not going to overreact to a two-point loss against a good team in Philadelphia, but it was enough to drop Indy five spots. WR Austin Collie is out this week with a concussion.
8. PATRIOTS (6-2, No. 1)
Another No. 1 in Metro’s Power Rankings bites the dust. Like the Saints, Packers and Steelers before them, the Pats suffered an ugly fate after earning the top slot. We’re like SI here.
9. JETS (6-2, No. 6)
This fall isn’t so much an indictment of New York as it is congratulations to teams that jumped it, like Green Bay and New?Orleans. But we wouldn’t say they’re near the top of the AFC.
10. EAGLES (5-3, No. 11)
Philadelphia has given up nearly as many points (181) as it’s scored (198), but they’re absolutely dangerous with Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson on the field. Indy is a signature win for 2010.
11. TITANS (5-3, No. 9)
What can Randy Moss offer Tennessee??Titans fans had better hope it’s going to be a lot after the team managed just 18 completions in last Sunday’s loss to the San Diego Chargers.
12. RAIDERS (5-4, No. 17)
Oakland is in the top half of the league! This is like “Hoosiers,” “Rudy” and Butler’s Final Four run rolled into one. Time to change “Raiders” in the punch line of your jokes to “Cowboys.”
13. CHIEFS (5-3, No. 8)
K.C.’s impossible dream of a division title looks like it’s slipping away after three losses in five games. On the plus side, the Chiefs should hammer Denver and Arizona the next two weeks.
14. BEARS (5-3, No. 15)
Sad story out of Chicago this week: Jim McMahon told the Tribune his memory is “pretty much gone” after suffering years of hits at QB. “It’s a very serious thing, man,” the visored one said.
15. CHARGERS (4-5, No. 20)
Out of nowhere, the AFC West is shaping up to be a solid, balanced division. We’re going to go ahead and guess you didn’t see that one coming back in preseason.
16. BUCS (5-3, No. 14)
Perhaps more than any other team in the league, Tampa Bay has won the games it should have won and lost the games it should have lost — Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Atlanta.
17. JAGUARS (4-4, No. 22)
Jacksonville is better than we figured they’d be, mostly thanks to David Garrard. Unfortunately for them, their Achilles’ heel is well exposed:?a defense that can’t hold a fourth-quarter lead.
18. DOLPHINS (4-4, No. 13)
Miami is about as mysterious as Dexter Morgan this season. Its last four outings:?quality win, tight loss, mediocre win, blowout loss. Will the real Dolphins please stand up?
19. RAMS (4-4, No. 18)
St. Louis is a young team on the rise. We’ll find out a lot about them the next two weeks, when they play the 49ers (who are better than their 2-6 record) and the Falcons.
20. TEXANS (4-4, No. 16)
Without a doubt, the Texans are the best last-place team in the NFL. Brian Cushing moving back to?OLB could give their subpar defense a boost in the second half of the season.
21. BROWNS (3-5, No. 24)
Colt McCoy should make his fourth straight start this week. He deserves it after three strong outings as a rookie. Cleveland, you’ve finally found the guy who will turn this team around.
22. REDSKINS (4-4, No. 21)
Donovan McNabb’s hamstrings are reportedly still hurting going into Washington’s Monday nighter against Philadelphia. We’d fake an injury too if we had to throw to that receiving corps.
23. VIKINGS (3-5, No. 27)
Expect more wins if Brett Favre stays healthy and happy. The Vikings are playing for themselves the rest of the way, as at least six players said they would like to see Brad Childress fired.
24. SEAHAWKS (4-4, No. 19)
Seattle suffered a humiliating loss to our top-ranked team its last time out, but they received good news yesterday:?QB Matt Hasselbeck is OK to practice after his concussion.
25. 49ERS (2-6, NO. 23)
You know what??San Francisco isn’t horrible. Its total of 137 points is ugly when you stack it up next to teams like Oakland?(235) and Green Bay?(201), but it’s right on line with the NFC West.
26. DETROIT (2-6, NO. 25)
The Lions are a year away from being respectable again, but it’s mostly the fault of injuries.?You’re simply not going to win many games when you’re starting Shaun?Hill.
27. BENGALS (2-6, No. 26)
Horrible, horrible, horrible. Coming into the season, we figured Cincinnati would at least be entertaining, given their slapstick WR duo. As it turns out, they’re not only bad but relatively boring.
28. CARDINALS (3-5, No. 28)
Arizona has given up more points?(225) than any NFC team that isn’t owned by Jerry Jones. Since we no longer consider the Cowboys a real NFL franchise, the Cardinals are the worst.
29. BRONCOS (2-6, No. 29)
Looking into the crystal ball, we’re seeing a 2-10 start here. Denver has had problems with emerging teams, and it has Kansas City (twice), San Diego and St. Louis on the slate.
30. PANTHERS (1-7, No. 31)
John Fox started preparing his résumé in September. The loss of Julius Peppers, the decline of an aging Steve Smith and the immaturity of Jimmy Clausen has been too much to overcome.
31. BILLS (0-8, No. 32)
You can take pleasure in Minnesota, Carolina and Dallas all taking nosedives. But at least the Bills never signed Brett Favre, drafted Jimmy Clausen or existed as the Dallas Cowboys.
32. COWBOYS (1-7, No. 30)
Jerry Jones fired one of the most clueless coaches in the league, now if only he’d can the most clueless general manager — himself. Jason Garrett should be just as miserable as a head coach as he was as O-coordinator. Cheerleaders and lap dances in the stands are the only thing the Cowboys have going for them.
