1. Saints (7-1; last week No. 2): It may finally be time for an MVP award for Drew Brees.
2. Rams (8-1; No. 1): Defense wins championships. Which will make it harder for the Rams to win a championship.
3. Patriots (7-2; No. 3): They may not lose again, playoffs included.
4. Chiefs (8-1; No. 4): That 17-point spread against the Cardinals may not be big enough.
5. Chargers (6-2; No. 5): An all-L.A. Super Bowl isn’t out of the question.
6. Steelers (5-2-1; No. 6): FOX can bring the “now it’s a game” motto out of mothballs for Thursday night, when Pittsburgh hosts Carolina.
7. Panthers (6-2; No. 8): And the folks at WFNZ will still say they should be higher than this.
8. Vikings (5-3-1; No. 9): The Purple People Eaters Part III could be the thing that propels Minnesota to an Atlanta Super Bowl.
9. Eagles (4-4; No. 10): Philly’s best week arguably came while on a bye, given the implosion of both Washington and Dallas.
10. Texans (6-3; No. 11): Bill O’Brien didn’t say that thing that every Broncos fan was thinking.
11. Bears (5-3; No. 14): The record could/should be better, but 5-3 is better than anyone could have expected in August.
12. Bengals (5-3; No. 12): If A.J. Green misses extensive time, the Bengals won’t get a chance to extend their streak of playoff losses.
13. Washington (5-3; No. 7): Sunday went as badly as it could have for a team that is still in first place in the NFC East, somehow.
14. Packers (3-4-1; No. 13): Mike McCarthy’s ability to continue to be bailed out by Aaron Rodgers in 2019 hinges on whether Aaron Rodgers can bail out Mike McCarthy in 2018.
15. Falcons (4-4; No. 19): The team that will be hosting the Super Bowl still has a chance to play in it.
16. Seahawks (4-4; No. 15): The season may hinge on their ability to upset the Rams on Sunday.
17. Ravens (4-5; No. 16): Joe Flacco might look good in silver and black.
18. Dolphins (5-4; No. 18): Having Darnold-Osweiler as the undercard to Rodgers-Brady II was like pulling a couple of schmoes out of the crowd before Creed-Balboa II.
19. Titans (4-4; No. 25): With a win in the bank over the Texans, the Titans could still win the division.
20. Lions (3-5; No. 17): The window is quickly closing.
21. Buccaneers (3-5; No. 20): The window is quickly closing.
22. Cowboys (3-5; No. 21): The window is quickly closing.
23. Jaguars (3-5; No. 22): The window is quickly closing.
24. Browns (2-6-1; No. 23): The window is nailed shut.
25. Broncos (3-6; No. 24): The Broncos need to go 5-2 to avoid the franchise’s first back-to-back losing seasons since 1971-72. In other words, the Broncos will have their first back-to-back losing seasons since 1971-72.
26. Colts (3-5; No. 26): Captain Andrew Luck returns from R&R with three straight winnable battles at home.
27. Jets (3-6; No. 27): Todd Bowles is rocketing toward his next defensive coordinator gig.
28. Cardinals (2-6; No. 28): The Sam Bradford debacle could result in the reset button being pressed in Arizona.
29. 49ers (2-7; No. 30): When Nick Mullens is the best thing about the 2018 49ers, it’s been a long 2018 for the 49ers.
30. Bills (2-7; No. 29): Nathan Peterman isn’t snakebit; he’s snake-swallowed.
31. Giants (1-7; No. 32): With a one-spot bump during the bye, maybe the Giants should take more weekends off.
32. Raiders (1-7; No. 31): Las Vegas wants to know if it can have the Chargers instead.
