And then there were two. Only the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans remain undefeated after the Buffalo Bills fell in dramatic fashion to the Arizona Cardinals 41-17. The Giants cemented themselves at #1 in my first official rankings because of their 44-6 pasting of a once proud Seahawks team. The Titans kept rolling with a close 13-10 win over the Ravens and are the first team to reach five wins in ’08… even without Vince Young.
Houston, Detroit, Cincy and St.Louis remain winless after week five. Who will be the first to get that “W”? Houston and Detroit square off on October 19th, one of them has to win, right?
1. New York Giants (4-0) – 127 points for and only 49 against. The G-men are getting it done on both sides of the ball and that’s just plain scary for everyone else.
2. Tennessee Titans (5-0) – Where’s Vince Young? Who cares?
3. Dallas Cowboys (4-1) – Terrell Owens still isn’t happy, but the ‘Boys keep winning. How long until he becomes a problem?
4. Carolina Panthers (4-1) – DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart have combined for 593 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns.
5. Washington Redskins (4-1) – The ‘Skins are 6th in total offense and Jason Campbell has yet to throw an interception in 153 pass attempts.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1) – Mewelde Moore had 99 yards rushing in week five against the Jags, I guess we don’t have to wonder if the Steelers will look into signing Shaun Alexander. Will anyone?
7. Chicago Bears (3-2) – The Bears defense is as good as ever and Kyle Orton is making people wonder how history would have been different if Chicago had given up on Rex Grossman a long time ago.
8. Buffalo Bills (4-1) – Will Trent Edwards play in the Bills next game on October 19th? If not, can J.P. Losman limit mistakes and not stand in the pocket for ten minutes?
9. Denver Broncos (4-1) – The Broncos have the #2 offense, but the #29 defense. OUCH.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2) – Good thing the Bucs have one of the best runningback duos in the NFL (664 rushing yards), because Brian Griese is terrible
11. New England Patriots (3-1) – How good are the Patriots without Tom Brady? No, tell me, because I have no idea.
12. Arizona Cardinals (3-2) – Kurt Warner looked 27 instead of 37 during his dismantling of the Buffalo Bills Terrence McGee and Marcus Stroud-less defense.
13. Baltimore Ravens (2-2) – Is Joe Flacco ready to be the starter? This defense looks so good the Ravens might want to see if Trent Dilfer will come out of retirement for one last hurrah.
14. New Orleans Saints (2-3) – Two Punt return touchdowns by Reggie Bush and the Saints still lose? Wowza.
15. Indianapolis Colts (2-2) – Dramatic come from behind win over Houston reminds us that Peyton Manning is still great.
16. Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) – Philly is #9 in offense and #6 in defense yet they are 2-3. The NFC East looks like the NFL’s version of MLB’s AL East.
17. Green Bay Packers (2-3) – 0-3 after 2-0 start. Miss Brett Favre yet?
18. San Diego Chargers (2-3) – The Chargers defense is really bad.
19. New York Jets (2-2) – The Jets are 20th in both offense and defense. Other than Brett Favre, they are below average. It remains to be seen what they are with him.
20. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-3) – What happened to the ‘Jags running game?
21. San Francisco 49ers (2-3) – Look up nasty in the dictionary and you’ll see a picture of Frank Gore (603 total yards).
22. Atlanta Falcons (3-2) – Think the Chargers are mad they let Michael Turner get away right about now?
23. Miami Dolphins (2-2) – A win over each of last season’s AFC championship game teams. Can the ‘Fins win the east? Probably not, but they increased their ’07 win total by 100% already.
24. Minnesota Vikings (2-3) – The Vikes are better than 2-3, look for Adrian Peterson to carry them up the rankings on his back.
25. Cleveland Browns (1-3) – Was ’07 a fluke? When will Brady Quinn become the starter? Where’s Braylon Edwards? Oh wait, he’s here, it just seems like he isn’t.
26. Seattle Seahawks (1-3) – The Seahawks are falling down the rankings faster than the Dow.
27. Oakland Raiders (1-3) – No more Lane Kiffin. Too bad fans still have to listen to the crypt keeper….er Al Davis flap his gums.
28. Kansas City Chiefs (1-4) – Brodie Croyle! Brodie Croyle! Hey, it’s worth a try.
T32. Houston Texans (0-4) – Wow. Up 27-10 with just over eight minutes left to play and the Texans managed to lose. Double wow.
T32. Cincinnati Bengals (0-5) – Remember when power rankings would call them the Bungles instead of the Bengals? Well, that time has returned.
T32. Detroit Lions (0-4) – 28th offense + 32nd defense = More time to watch the Red Wings.
T32. St. Louis Rams (0-4) – Steven Jackson is the leading receiver…there’s nothing else to say.
Chris Osburn is a 26 year old freelance writer and The Father Life‘s resident beer columnist. On top of that, he writes about professional lacrosse for insidelacrosse.com. He’s also written for Genesee Valley Parenting Magazine, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, and ESPN.com. “Osburn on Tap” appears monthly in THE FATHER LIFE. For questions, comments, or if you have a story idea for Chris, visit his website http://www.chrisosburnwrites.com.
Article image by: Paige Foster, SXC
30 year old freelance writer and The Father Life‘s resident beer columnist and sports editor. He also writes about fine beverages for drinkingmadeeasy.com and Chilled Magazine. On top of that, he writes about college and professional lacrosse for insidelacrosse.com. He’s also written for Genesee Valley Parenting Magazine, the Democrat and Chronicle Newspaper and ESPN.com. “Osburn on Tap” appears monthly in THE FATHER LIFE. For questions, comments, or if you have a story idea for Chris, throw him an email cosburn@thefatherlife.com. Also, follow him on twitter http://www.twitter.com/chrisosburn