I'm not saying things have come around full turn and that the NFL season is finally starting to make some sense, but at least a few expectations were met this week. Teams started looking like those they were supposed to look like while others continued a downward spiral. It is quickly turning into a very long season for the Packers and Cowboys while the AFC continues to dominate the rankings completely.
The order for the Examiner.com Power Rankings come from a cumulative effort of myself and the rest of the NFL team-specific examiners from around the league. Together we rank them for you enjoyment and just to give professional football at least a little bit of a college feel to it.
1.) Pittsburgh Steelers (2) (4-1) - Big Ben showed he hasn't lost a step and the defense is what makes them really good.
2.) New York Jets (3) (5-1) - Tough times against the Broncos, but the Sanchise found ways to win yet again.
3.) New England Patriots (5) (4-1) - Impressive victory over a very good Ravens' team. Now they've just got to find a defense.
4.) Indianapolis Colts (6) (4-2) - Sure they are looking better now, but a 3-way tie atop the AFC North with Houston and Tennessee and Jacksonville only one game back is not what was expected at all.
5.) Baltimore Ravens (1) (4-2) - It's not like they lost to bad teams for either game this season.
6.) New Orleans Saints (10) (4-2) - Looking much much better and like they did for 90% of last year.
7.) Atlanta Falcons (4) (4-2) - They are still a good team, but Kevin Kolb just handed it to them.
8.) Houston Texans (11) (4-2) - Hard to tell who this team is from week to week, but they are good more often then they are bad.
9.) Tennessee Titans (9) (4-2) - Can they survive any length of time without Vince Young...again?
10.) Philadelphia Eagles (15) (4-2) - So whose your quarterback Andy Reid? Huh...huh...HUH?
11.) Chicago Bears (7) (4-2) - Still finding it hard to believe in this team. They need a brand new offensive line period.
12.) New York Giants (12) (4-2) - Amazing how bad they looked in both losses and have managed to look rather decent in all four victories but you still know they aren't at full speed just yet.
13.) Kansas City Chiefs (8) (3-2) - Just like the Lions, they got cheated out of a win that was theirs. That was a horrible pass interference call and it contributed to their loss.
14.) Washington Redskins (14) (3-3) - Is mediocrity trendy this season?
15.) Miami Dolphins (16) (3-2) - I guess it is...you're good, you're bad, you're good, you're bad.
16.) Green Bay Packers (13) (3-3) - Did NOT see this one coming.
17.) Minnesota Vikings (23) (2-3) - So now they have the ability to dig themselves out of the cellar because they're only two games out of first.
18.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (17) (3-2) - Welcome to last year's harsh reality Raheem Morris.
19.) Arizona Cardinals (19) (3-2) - The first place Cardinals. Yep, you heard that correctly.
20.) St. Louis Rams (28) (3-3) - Sam Bradford is for real and this kid is going to be something special. Imagine what he could do if he actually had decent wide receivers.
21.) Cincinnati Bengals (25) (2-3) - I just can't get excited about apathy.
22.) Seattle Seahawks (26) (3-2) - Charlie Whitehurst who?
23.) Denver Broncos (22) (2-3) - They had more then enough opportunities to win that game against a very good Jets team and they simply gave it away. Not a good sign.
24.) San Diego Chargers (20) (2-3) - Road tested, road failed.
25.) Jacksonville Jaguars (21) (3-3) - Just when you think there is a surprisingly good Monday Night Football game on the horizon, the real Jaguars show up.
26.) San Francisco 49ers (30) (1-5) - Now imagine if they played that way all season? Alex Smith finally showed signs of life and that it was a good decision by Mike Singletary not to bench him.
27.) Dallas Cowboys (18) (1-4) - Houston (?) we have a major MAJOR problem. Jerry Jones saying, "We won't make any coaching changes during the season," should not make you feel any better Wade Philips.
28.) Oakland Raiders (24) (2-4) - Back to life, back to reality.
29.) Detroit Lions (27) (1-5) - And in other related news, Megatron has now taken over at quarterback due to injuries and is catching his own passes.
30.) Cleveland Browns (29) (1-5) - The Steelers and then the defending Super Bowl champs back to back? Sometimes life just isn't fair.
31.) Carolina Panthers (31) (0-5) - Well, at least they didn't lose this week.
32.) Buffalo Bills (32) (0-5) - Ditto.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so be sure to check out all the NFL is doing with their "A Crucial Catch" campaign.
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