NFL Rankings: New No. 1

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TW	LW	Team	Our Take
1	2	(9-0)	Peyton Manning has taken his game to such a level that even if he has a bit of time left on the clock, there’s a good chance the Colts will win the game. So imagine how happy Manning must have felt when he found himself 1st and 10 at the Patriots 29-yard line with two minutes left to play. Manning made Belichick pay for his sins as he his Reggie Wayne for the game winning touchdown and went over 300 yards for the eighth time in his last nine games. Special praise has to go out to Colts safety Melvin Bullitt (freaking awesome name, BTW). Filling in for the injured Bob Sanders, Bullitt was the player who made the perfect tackle on Kevin Faulk on the Pats ill-fated fourth down gamble. The Colts are now 9-0 and have won 18 straight regular season games.
2	1	(-)	Yes, the Saints are still undefeated; however, its win over the Rams exposed a few cracks in the Cajun armour. The Saints were able to get away with it against a team like the Rams. No way will the Saints get away with three turnovers against the Patriots. But that being said, the Saints' offence is still good enough to survive a game where Drew Brees throws two picks. The big challenge for Sean Payton and the Saints is to keep winning -- the longer the season wears on, it’s looking more and more like it will come down between them and the Vikings as to who has home field advantage in the NFC playoffs. Up next, the Bucs.
3	3	(8-1)	Add Sidney Rice to the long list of players and coaches who are thrilled to have Brett Favre wearing the Viking purple. In the two seasons before Favre’s arrival, Rice had a total of 537 yards receiving. In the Vikings win over the Lions, Rice caught seven passes for 201 yards. That gives rice 553 yards receiving in his last four games. When the Lions weren’t busy trying to shut down Rice, they were getting pummeled by Adrian Peterson and the Vikings running game. Making his 300th consecutive start at quarterback, Favre threw for 344 yards and now has an impressive 17:3 touchdown to interception ratio. Up next, the Seahawks.
4	6	(7-2)	When you start doing the math, the Bengals season is even more impressive than their 7-2 record would indicate. The Bengals are 4-0 on the road. The Bengals swept both the Ravens and the Steelers to improve to a perfect 5-0 in the AFC North. If it wasn’t for a flukey last second touchdown by Brandon Stokley, the Bengals would be 8-1. Playing on the road, in an extremely hostile environment, it was the Bengals who were the tougher team. That speaks volumes about the Bengals and about the job Marvin Lewis and his coaching staff have done this year. Up next, they get the Raiders.
5	4	(6-3)	Bill Belichick, what exactly where you thinking? That’s the burning question every NFL fan across North America is dying to know. Why would you ever go for it on a 4th and 2 when you are on your own 28-yard line? Why would go for it on a 4th and 2 when you know that Peyton Manning is playing quarterback for the Colts? Tom Brady and the Pats players said all the right things afterwards; however, I am inclined to agree with former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi: He said if was still playing; he would have taken it as a huge insult that Belichick didn’t trust the defence to stop Manning after punting the ball away.
6	5	(6-3)	Losing all-pro safety Troy Polamalu hurt the Steelers. But his injury doesn’t explain the Steelers struggles on offence. Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers could not get anything going against the Bengals. It’s bad enough that the Steelers lost to the Bengals at Heinz Field, but it’s even worse when you consider that the Bengals swept the season series with the two bitter AFC North rivals. The Steelers will attempt to rebound from that tough loss when they take on the Chiefs in Kansas City.
7	9	(6-3)	It’s like déjà vu all over again: The Broncos struggle while the Chargers get hot. Philip Rivers threw two touchdowns against the Eagles as the Chargers won its fourth straight game and moved into a tie with the Broncos for first place in the AFC West. Hours before the start of the game, LT opened up a package from his wife. In it, there was a positive pregnancy test and the news that the couple is expecting their first child. Suitably motivated, Tomlinson ran for 96 yards and two touchdowns. I am not sure there is anyone who would like to face the Chargers right about now.
8	7	(6-3)	It was just one of those games for the Cowboys. Roy Williams had his best game of the season, but was stripped off the ball by Charles Woodson after a long reception. In total, Tony Romo and the Cowboys threw an interception, lost two fumbles and allowed five sacks. Even worse, they lost starting offensive tackle Marc Colombo with a broken leg. All they can do is get back to work and start preparing to host the Redskins on Sunday.
9	12	(6-3)	Last year during the playoffs, the Cardinals made it all the way to the Super Bowl on the strength of the Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald show. Well, the two of them are up to their old tricks. Thanks in a large part to Warner and Fitzgerald, the Cards have won two straight and five of their last six games. In the last two games, the Cards have scored 72 points and Warner as been incredible; throwing seven touchdowns, no picks and has a quarterback rating of 126.7. Up next, Warner and Fitzgerald will try to keep racking up the big numbers and stretch the Cards winning streak to three games when they take on the Rams.
10	8	(6-3)	Josh McDaniels must sit in his office at the Broncos facility and wonder to himself, “Why me?” After a story book start to the season, the Broncos have now lost three straight. The latest lost was especially painful. Not only did the Broncos lose to the Redskins, they lost starting quarterback Kyle Orton with an ankle injury. Chris Simms took over for Orton and went 3 for 13 and 13 yards and an interception. Up next, the Broncos host the Chargers with the winner taking over first place in the AFC West. If Orton can’t go, that means McDaniels and the Broncos will go into its biggest game of the season with Chris Simms at quarterback.
11	10	(-)	I am at the point now that I wonder if it’s time for Brian Westbrook to seriously considering retiring from the NFL. It pains me to say that because I think Westbrook is the kind of player that’s worth the price of admission, but two concussions within a month is a sign from above that maybe it’s time to get out. I know one thing: with Westbrook out, Donovan McNabb had to attempt 55 passes against the Chargers' defence. The Eagles really missed Westbrook in the red zone. Three times the Eagles had the ball inside the Chargers 10-yard line, and three times they had to settle for a field goal.
12	NR	(5-4)	That win over the Cowboys and that performance by the Packers defence saved Green Bay's season. Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews, Nick Barnett and the entire packers defence played a magnificent game as they shut down the Cowboys high powered offence. I liked the fact the Packers ran the ball more with Ryan Grant. The one thing that concerns men, and I am sure concerns the Packers coaching staff is the fact Aaron Rodgers was sacked four more times against Dallas. That being said, the Packers have four tough (but winnable) games coming up against the 49ers, Lions, Ravens and Bears.

Packers cornerback Charles Woodson gets a lot of consideration after he nearly shut out the Cowboys all by himself. Woodson had nine tackles, two forced fumbles, one sack and an interception in Green Bay’s decisive win over Dallas. To me, the star of the week has to go to Peyton Manning. Down 31-14 in the fourth quarter, the incomparable Colts quarterback was at very his best.

This one is easy: Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Now, if the Patriots were playing the Chiefs, or the Browns or the Raiders you go for it on 4th and 2 on your own 28-yard line. But against Peyton Manning and the Colts? Not a chance. The poor decision cost the Pats home field advantage in the AFC playoffs.

This is a two-part man up: the Bears and their starting quarterback Jay Cutler. Peter King, the Sports Illustrated hall of fame writer even went so far as to pick the Bears to represent the NFC at the Super Bowl. I am no expert Peter, but I just don’t see that happening this season. Cutler threw five interceptions against the 49ers and now leads the NFL with 17. With the season slipping away from them, Cutler and the Bears will face the Eagles and the Vikings the next two weeks.

The Titans have won two-straight games and Chris Johnson is a major reason as to why. The NFL’s leading running back has rushed for 363 yards and four touchdowns in the modest two game winning streak. Not only does Johnson lead the league in rushing, he’s averaging an unheard of 6.7 yards per carry. It was fascinating to see NFL players around the league on their bye week 'tweeting' on Sunday about how in awe they are of Johnson’s raw speed.

- Week 10: Complete scores & stats

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