The Road to XLI (and X)

Just a little thing called "Lombardi/Quinn" to rank the top 10 teams in the National Football League striving for the Super Bowl and the bottom 5 teams jockeying for the first selection in the April 2007 Draft. (Previous Week's Ranking in Parentheses)

Top 10
#1 Chicago (3) - a stellar performance in primetime against the Seahawks, whipping the defending NFC champs in all phases of the game. Next up: A visit from the Bills... game starts at 1pm which should give the players plenty of time to make it to the recording studio by 6pm for "Super Bowl Shuffle 2006."

#2 Indianapolis (2) - a seesaw affair with the Jets ended in a win when Peyton Manning scored his 2nd rushing touchdown of the year. For those of you keeping track, that ties him with former teammate Edgerrin James. Next up: Tennessee comes to town... is it too early for the Titans to be a joke in their own right?

#3 Baltimore (7) - another comeback win, but this time against a quality opponent in the San Diego Chargers. Next up: A road tilt with the Denver Broncos... if the clock runs backward, will the Ravens offense start off on fire?

#4 New England (NR) - a dominant performance over the previously top-ranked Bengals brings the Patriots back onto the list. Pretty impressive to think they haven't lost consecutive games since 2002. Next up: The disappointing Dolphins travel to Foxboro... can Belichick still come up with those innovative schemes to combat a potent offense that put up 15 on the stingy Texans defense?

#5 Philadelphia (10) - after a lackluster first half, the Eagles roared back and overwhelmed Brett Favre and the Packers. Next up: The Cowboys visit the Linc... how will Andy Reid keep his team from looking ahead to the trip down to the Big Easy in Week 6?

#6 Cincinnati (1) - rumor had it that Carson Palmer was the front-runner for the cover of Madden 2008, so the Bengals called a preemptive strike. Next up: a chance to regroup, heal up, and plead out during the bye week.

#7 Seattle (4) - hoping now to not completely fall apart before the Madden Coverboy returns from his foot injury. Next up: a fortuitous bye week... maybe Shaun will fly in T.O.'s chiropractor, massage therapist, and kinesiologist to speed his recovery.

#8 San Diego (5) - quick three step drops kept the Ravens' defensive pressure from getting to Phillip Rivers for the most part, but the defense couldn't stop the vaunted Raven 2-minute drill. Next up: Football Night in America makes an appearance in San Diego as the defending champs come to town... can we petition NBC to cut out the 49ers - Raiders highlights and give us 5 minutes of the pre-game trash talk between Shawne Merriman and Joey Porter?

#9 New Orleans (6) - first loss of the season, but each solid outing makes one believe this could be a magical season for the Saints. Next up: a home divisional matchup with the Bucs... Mike Vick and the Falcons were rattled by the emotional Superdome crowd, but then again, Mike Vick is no Bruce Gradkowski.

#10 Atlanta (NR) - bounced back from loss in return of football to New Orleans with a win over the Cardinals using the formula that worked so well the first two weeks... strong running game and stellar defensive play. Next up: bye week in the A-T-L... did I really just type the A-T-L?

Bottom 5
#28 Tampa Bay (NR) - spent the bye week bringing in quarterbacks to fill the void left by Chris Simms... frontrunner appears to be Major Applewhite

#29 San Francisco (NR) - they did drive into KC territory late in the first half, but alas the field goal was no good... speaking of no good, the Raiders come to town on Sunday.

#30 Detroit (29) - the Red Wings open the regular season on Thursday and the Pistons open training camp this week.

#31 Tennessee (30) - myriad of mistakes left most of the Titans kicking themselves... DT Albert Haynesworth notwithstanding.

#32 Oakland (32) - Montana, Elway, Frye... the NFL quarterback trinity of miraculous comeback victories*
*courtesy Raider PR Department