Also interesting is that all four of the top teams have a top four defense. Defense seems to be rulling the season despite the usual suspects slinging all day long. Also note that the top offenses are Denver, New Orleans, and New England. Philadelphia is the only team of top ten offenses that isn't lead by an accepted number one QB. Although there is still hot debate about Andy Daulton in Cincinnati, I would still argue that he is in the top half of the league and unquestionably a starting NFL QB at this time with a still undetermined ceiling. Anyway, the really strange thing about Philly is that while they are the number four offense thus far, they were shut out offensively in two consecutive weeks this season. Talk about Jeckle and Hyde.
| RANK W/OUT WEIGHT | OFFENSE RANK | DEFENSE RANK | RECORD | SS | ||||
| 1 | SEATTLE | 1 | 9 | 1 | 12-3-0 | 18 | ||
| 2 | CAROLINA | 2 | 13 | 2 | 11-4-0 | 14 | ||
| 3 | CINCINNATI | 4 | 10 | 4 | 10-5-0 | 25 | ||
| 4 | SAN FRANCISCO | 5 | 16 | 3 | 11-4-0 | 15 | ||
| 5 | DENVER | 3 | 1 | 26 | 12-3-0 | 25 | ||
| 6 | NEW ORLEANS | 7 | 2 | 10 | 10-5-0 | 7 | ||
| 7 | NEW ENGLAND | 6 | 3 | 24 | 11-4-0 | 20 | ||
| 8 | KANSAS CITY | 8 | 21 | 5 | 11-4-0 | 32 | ||
| 9 | ARIZONA | 10 | 18 | 7 | 10-5-0 | 9 | ||
| 10 | INDIANAPOLIS | 9 | 5 | 14 | 10-5-0 | 11 | ||
| 11 | PHILADELPHIA | 11 | 4 | 21 | 9-6-0 | 30 | ||
| 12 | SAN DIEGO | 12 | 7 | 22 | 8-7-0 | 24 | ||
| 13 | MIAMI | 15 | 25 | 12 | 8-7-0 | 5 | ||
| 14 | PITTSBURGH | 16 | 17 | 16 | 7-8-0 | 21 | ||
| 15 | CHICAGO | 13 | 6 | 28 | 8-7-0 | 29 | ||
| 16 | BALTIMORE | 20 | 30 | 8 | 8-7-0 | 27 | ||
| 17 | GREEN BAY | 14 | 8 | 27 | 7-7-1 | 31 | ||
| 18 | DETROIT | 17 | 12 | 17 | 7-8-0 | 28 | ||
| 19 | ST LOUIS | 19 | 20 | 11 | 7-8-0 | 4 | ||
| 20 | BUFFALO | 18 | 22 | 13 | 6-9-0 | 17 | ||
| 21 | TENNESSEE | 21 | 15 | 23 | 6-9-0 | 13 | ||
| 22 | NY GIANTS | 23 | 32 | 6 | 6-9-0 | 8 | ||
| 23 | DALLAS | 22 | 14 | 29 | 8-7-0 | 23 | ||
| 24 | WASHINGTON | 26 | 23 | 15 | 3-12-0 | 19 | ||
| 25 | TAMPA BAY | 27 | 29 | 9 | 4-11-0 | 1 | ||
| 26 | NY JETS | 25 | 28 | 20 | 7-8-0 | 12 | ||
| 27 | CLEVELAND | 24 | 26 | 19 | 4-11-0 | 10 | ||
| 28 | OAKLAND | 29 | 27 | 18 | 4-11-0 | 21 | ||
| 29 | MINNESOTA | 30 | 19 | 32 | 4-10-1 | 5 | ||
| 30 | ATLANTA | 28 | 11 | 31 | 4-11-0 | 2 | ||
| 31 | HOUSTON | 31 | 24 | 25 | 2-13-0 | 3 | ||
| 32 | JACKSONVILLE | 32 | 31 | 30 | 4-11-0 | 15 |
The Browns seem to want to join Houston in a plummet to end the season. After peaking in the low 20's the Browns are now at 27 and threatening to finish in the bottom five.
If the season ended this week the playoff teams include:
Denver (#5)
New England (#7)
Cincinnati (#3)
Indianapolis (#10)
Kansas City (#8)
Miami (#13)
Seattle (#1)
Carolina (#2)
Philadelphia (# 11)
Chicago (# 15)
San Francisco (#4)
New Orleans (#6)
Since there are only twelve teams in the playoffs that means Miami (#13) and Chicago (#15) are taking a spot from a more deserving team. At this time these teams include Arizona (#9) and San Diego (#12)
With a strong performance Miami will move up, Pittsburgh and Baltimore (both still alive) have a far longer shot at finishing in the top twelve should they slip into the playoffs.
The potential travesty brewing is a sudden Dallas win and in scenario out of the woeful NFC East. I think the NFL would try to tilt the game to the Eagles this weekend just to avoid a team as bad as the Cowboys in the playoffs. Currently " 'dem cowboys" with an average offense and abysmal defense stand to go down with such esteemed teams as the 2012 Colts (#20), 2011 Broncos (#23), 2010 Seahawks (#30), 2009 Bengals (#19), 2009 Cardinals (#20) as the worst teams to make the playoffs in the last six years.
Well one more weekend and that will end up another season. Merry Christmas.
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