1. Patriots (15-0) (1): History is upon us. Pats about to become first team to go 16-0 after becoming first team to go 15-0. Beating Giants will be a layup, considering Big Blue will almost surely rest some players. 
2. Colts (13-2) (2): Are you betting against the Colts in the playoffs? Don’t. At least not yet. They’re playing well enough that you have to think they’ll give the Pats a run in the AFC Championship Game.
3. Cowboys (13-2) (4): Cowboys have homefield advantage for the playoffs, which could mean all the difference in whether or not they make a Super Bowl run.
4. Jaguars (11-4) (5): This is the last team anyone wants to face in the playoffs. Great running game. Great defense. Mistake-free quarterbacking. A terrific combination in January.
5. Packers (12-3) (3): Brett Favre goes belly-up in Chicago, and the Packers lose out on homefield advantage throughout the conference playoffs.
6. Chargers (10-5) (6): Bolts are hot at the right time. They’re one win away from getting the No. 3 seed.
7. Steelers (10-5) (7): They win the division, but they lose Willie Parker for the playoffs. A terrific season all-in-all, but can’t expect much in the playoffs.
8. Seahawks (10-5) (11): Lay-up win over reeling Ravens expected. Even so, problems with the running game will ultimately cause problems in the playoffs.
9. Buccaneers (9-6) (8): All Jon Gruden is thinking about is how to beat the Giants in the first round of the playoffs.
10. Giants (10-5) (13): Giants face unbeaten Pats, but the bigger issue is how Tom Coughlin uses his starters. Memo to Tom: Hardly use them at all.
11. Redskins (8-7) (17): For the first time since Joe Gibbs returned to the sidelines, the Redskins looked like the well-oiled machine they were when he won three Super Bowls on his first go-round. One more win over the Cowboys, and they’re in the tournament.
12. Titans (9-6) (14): With narrow win over Jets, Titans now control playoff fate. A win over a Colts team likely to rest its key players is all that stands in the way of a postseason berth.
13. Vikings (8-7) (9): Minny chokes at home to Redskins, who take Vikings’ playoff fate out of their hands.
14. Browns (9-6) (10): Derek Anderson has had a spectacular season, but he came up small in a big-game scenario with four picks against Cincy.
15. Eagles (7-8) (16): Eagles thump Saints on the road. Too little, too late.
16. Saints (7-8) (12): All Sean Payton wants for Christmas is a defense.
17. Texans (7-8) (15): Maybe next year.
18. Bears (6-9) (22): A rarity in Chicago: Bears actually look like defending conference champs. If they’d played like that the first half of the season, maybe they’d be thinking about another Super Bowl run.
19. Bills (7-8) (18): Loss to Giants was no fun, but seeing Kevin Everett walk into the locker room was all that mattered.
20. Cardinals (7-8) (19): Operative phrase for this franchise for the last half century: Wait til next year.
21. Lions (7-8) (23): Ditto.
22. Bengals (6-9) (24): All that’s left for Bengals is to play role of spoiler. They outlast Cleveland at home to damage Browns’ playoff hopes.
23. Panthers (6-9) (20): Only issue left is whether John Fox returns next year. Gut feeling: He gets 2008 to turn it around.
24. Broncos (6-9) (21): Jay Cutler takes huge step back in listless defeat against streaking Chargers. Sorry, Lance.
25. 49ers (5-10) (29): Niners win meaningless game against Bucs, who yank key starters in first half. Mike Nolan still on hot seat.
26. Ravens (4-11) (27): Former Heisman winner Troy Smith bombs in starting debut.
27. Rams (3-12) (26): Does Scott Linehan come back in 2008?
28. Jets (3-12) (28): Another close loss. Where have we seen this before? Try just about every week.
29. Chiefs (4-11) (30): Herm Edwards returns to New York with seven-game losing streak and questions about his long-term job security.
30. Raiders (4-11) (25): Warren Sapp loses cool with first-half ejection and faces possibility of suspension for bumping an official.
31. Falcons (3-12) (32): Falcons make it interesting against Cardinals before losing in OT.
32. Dolphins (1-14) (31): One more week of work for coach Cam Cameron.
Comments (7)
By the way, if you go to Packers.com you can enter a chance to win 2 tickets to the playoff game.
Hopefully the loss to the Bears will be their wake up call.
I would rank them right where you did. Good job Bob.
Jaguars are overrated. They are the classic 2nd tier team. They beat all the teams they should, but lose to the upper echelon teams.
jellyfish... really? Will you be back here to take your lumps after the Jags upset their first round opponent? Which could even be my Steelers? The Jags are probably the biggest sleeper going into the post season this year!
Jags are the #2 team in the NFL right now, vastly superior to any NFC team, and on the same level with the Colts, just a small notch below the Pats.
IMO they (Jaguars) are the team with the best shot at derailing the Pats this postseason.
I agree with you David. The Jaguars run the ball well, play good defense, and make plays when you need to. That is the formula of a winning team.
Hey Karl... not to take anything away from David, but where are my Props? Wasn't I the first to say the Jags were better than Jellyfish said?(an appropriate name since jellyfish have no backbone :-) )
- Rodney Dangerfield (aka BNG)
Thanks karl, and a shout out to B&G who has the Jags correctly labeled as a threat, and spot on insight to someone with the moniker of jellyfish.