It should come as no surprise when you find the New England Patriots holding steady as the league’s best team, after rallying from 3rd and 4th quarter deficit against Green Bay to eventually get their 6th straight win. They can’t all be blowouts, and with Matt Flynn filling in for Aaron Rodgers, that’s what many people were counting on. However, Matt Flynn played an outstanding game and kept New England’s defense on their heels. In the end, the Patriots were too much though. Tom Brady hooked up with rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez for the 2nd touchdown of the night with less than 3 minutes left, in what would prove to be the game-winning score. Atlanta remains the runner-up after an easy 34-18 win over a Seattle team that simply isn’t on their level. After that is where it begins to get interesting this week. Lots of jostling around for position as the regular season begins to dwindle down. An AFC West team riding a hot streak rejoins the ranks after Green Bay drops out of the top 10, despite their best efforts against the Patriots with a backup quarterback. Their playoff future begins to look in doubt to say the least.  

There’s also plenty of movement this week among the bottom dwellers of the NFL. Although Carolina may have the league’s worst record, in my mind that doesn’t make them the worst team. We’ll see who has the distinct displeasure of taking that title away from the Panthers. We also welcome a newcomer to this list who hasn’t ranked among the league’s worst since much earlier in the season. This team has some impressive victories this season, but lately have regressed to their usual losing ways. That’s got rumors swirling about their head coach being on the hot seat when the season ends in just 2 short weeks.

Finally, in the MVP race, we also see one new face. Aaron Rodgers’ absence has left me with no choice but to drop his name from contention, but his replacement has proven himself as one of the league’s most dangerous players. If there was anyone he didn’t prove it to after last week, he most certainly did with one of the most memorable finishes to a game in recent history this past Sunday.

Here are your top 10 teams, worst 10 teams, and top 10 MVP candidates after 15 weeks.

Bottom of the Barrel

  1. Buffalo (6) A 2nd straight impressive victory for the Bills, this one coming on the road against Miami. After defeating them 17-14, the division rival dolphins are now eliminated from playoff contention. Record: 4-10

  2. Cleveland (NR) It seemed like only a matter of time before the Browns came back down to Earth, and sure enough they did. Losing to Buffalo last week, and now helping Cincinnati end a 10-game losing streak. Colt McCoy was back as starting quarterback and looked good, but it wasn’t enough to get the win. Eric Mangini’s future as the Browns’ head coach is definitely in question after these types of losses. Could Jon Gruden be next in line, given his long history with team president Mike Holmgren? Record: 5-9

  3. Detroit (5) Another long losing streak came to an end Sunday. This one was an NFL record. The consecutive road loss streak for the Lions finally ended at 26, after beating the Bucs at Raymond James Stadium 23-20 in overtime. Calvin Johnson had a big day, racking up 150 yards receiving while 3rd string quarterback Drew Stanton filled in well. Detroit goes to Miami next to try and accomplish an unthinkable 3-game winning streak. Record: 4-10

  4. Minnesota (9) A 2nd straight tough Monday night loss, this week it came against Chicago. Brett Favre’s shoulder surprising felt good enough for him to get the start, but he eventually left afte taking another paintful hit on the University of Minnesota’s hard playing surface. A 40-14 loss drops them 2 spots this week. Record: 5-9

  5. Washington (7) Rex Grossman did play well, being plugged in as the starter in Donovan McNabb’s place by head coach Mike Shanahan. However, it wasn’t enough to beat Dallas as they lost a 2nd straight close one, 33-30. Record: 5-9

  6. San Francisco (8) Luckily for the Niners, St. Louis and Seattle both lost too, keeping them just one game behind for the NFC West lead. But they just happened to be in the way of a San Diego freight train that wasn’t going to slow down for anyone, and took a 34-7 loss on the chin. Next week is their chance to pull even as they play St. Louis head on and Seattle heads to Tampa. Record: 5-9

  7. Cincinnati (2) Even without Terrell Owens for much of the game, the Bengals came back from a 7-0 deficit to Cleveland and never looked back, winning 19-17. After 10 straight losses, they’d better enjoy this one while it lasts because they have San Diego coming to town next. Record: 3-11

  8. Carolina (1) They do have the league’s worst record, but there are 2 teams who look even worse at the moment in my mind. One is obvious; they just defeated Arizona 19-12 and Jonathan Stewart ran for over 150 yards. John Fox already has one foot out the door and it’s said now that the Panthers won’t pay their next head coach a big salary. Guess that leaves out many people’s prediction of Bill Cowher. Record: 2-12

  9. Arizona (4) As mentioned, the Cardinals were beaten by Carolina on Sunday and this now makes it 8 losses in their last 9 games. It just so happens the one team they defeated in this span is our new #1. Record: 4-10

  10. Denver (3) The Broncos’ interim coach Eric Studesville decided to see what rookie Tim Tebow could do and named him the starting QB. In the first quarter, Tebow ran for a 40-yard touchdown and then connected with Brandon Lloyd on a 33-yard TD pass. After that it was all downhill for the Broncos, as they lost 39-23 to the silver and black. Record: 3-11

Climbed Out: Tennessee (10)

Top of the Pops

  1. San Diego (NR) After a tough loss to Oakland 3 weeks ago, the Chargers have outscored their last 2 opponents by the score of 65-7. These teams might have been Kansas City (without Cassel) and San Francisco, but the point is they’ve got it steered back in the right direction and are hot on the heels of the Chiefs for the AFC West division crown. This spot could’ve went to the Colts, who just took over the AFC South, but the Chargers beat them head to head about a month ago. Record: 8-6

  2. NY Giants (7) One of the biggest collapses by any team all season long, the Giants entered the 4th quarter with a 31-10 lead over Philadelphia. Then, the wheels inexplicably came off and they allowed 28 unanswered by the Eagles to fall 38-31. This now makes 6 straight losses to the Eagles, who pulled 1 game ahead in the division race and hold the tiebreaker. Record: 9-5

  3. Chicago (9) A game against Minnesota was exactly what the Bears needed to forget all about what happened against New England last week. After Green Bay’s loss to the same Patriots, the Bears defeated the Vikings 40-14 to claim the NFC North Championship. Record: 10-4

  4. Pittsburgh (4) Troy Polamalu’s possible regular-season ending injury could’ve made the difference as they lost to the Jets, 22-17. They should finish up 12-4 though with their last 2 games coming aginst Carolina and Cleveland, plus holding the tiebreaker against Baltimore. Record: 10-4

  5. NY Jets (8) They did allow good play from Roethlisberger, Wallace and Mendenhall, however had some game changers of their own to get the win. Brad Smith returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, Braylon Edwards had a 100-yard receiving day and Jason Taylor brought down Mewelde Moore in the endzone for a safety with under 3 minutes left. Record: 10-4

  6. Nawlins (3) Out of all the top 10 teams to have lost this week, this one surprised me the most. With what Houston did to Baltimore’s secendary, I thought Drew Brees would be able to cause even more damage. Even though he put up his consistent stats, they weren’t enough as the Ravens won another close one, 30-24. Record: 10-4 

  7. Philadelphia (6) What can you say about the Eagles’ 28-point comeback win? It was nothing short of phenomenal, and the exclamation mark on the end of the game was even more unbelievable. With 14 seconds left, you do not let DeSean Jackson return the ball. The Giants did, and the Eagles made them pay for it. Record: 10-4

  8. Baltimore (5) Ray Rice had a huge day on the ground and through the air, racking up over 230 yards of total offense and 2 trips to the endzone. Joe Flacco’s numbers weren’t spectacular, but efficient and mistake-free. One slip up by the Steelers and it could be the Ravens walking away with the AFC North. They head to Cleveland next. Record: 10-4

  9. Atlanta (2) The Falcons keep their league-best 8 game winning streak going after a 34-18 pounding of Seattle. The real test comes next Monday night when they host the Saints to see if they can pull off the regular season sweep. In the first outing, the Falcons went to the Superdome and won in overtime, 27-24. Atlanta’s only loss since was against Philadelphia. Record: 12-2

  10. New England (1) Riding a pretty nice win streak of their own, the Patriots got their 6th straight over Green Bay Sunday night. Showing you can never count them out, they battled to take the lead in both the 3rd and 4th quarters. With a trip to Buffalo in their sights next, they should be able to wrap up the AFC East and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Record: 12-2

Fell Out: Green Bay (10)

MVP Race

  1. DeSean Jackson (NR) In the last 2 weeks, Jackson has delivered amazing performances. Against Dallas in Week 14, he caught 4 passes for 210 yards. Then this past Sunday, we all saw what happened when he returned a Giants’ punt with 14 seconds left. He even had time to run parallel with the goal line to watch the seconds tick away off the clock before anyone could catch him. His speed is unmatched, and so are his yards per catch. Almost a 23 yard average for every throw Mike Vick throw he reels in. Jackson has the 8th most receiving yards in the league, but has less than 20 catches than 8 out of the other top 9 in receiving yardage. If this were a list for “Most Dangerous Player”, Jackson would be at least near if not at the very top of it.

  2. Peyton Manning (10) The General of the Colts was clinging onto a spot here in the top 10, but could move his way back up near the top if he continues to play the way he has the past 2 weeks. He completed 29 of 39 passes for 229 yards and 2 scores to put his Colts back on top of the AFC South after defeating Jacksonville.

  3. Michael Turner (8) A solid day for Turner will keep him right where he is for the moment. 25 carries for 82 yards as he did his part to help Atlanta to their 8th straight win. 

  4. Maurice Jones-Drew (7) Also staying in place this week, MJD had just 46 yards on 15 attempts against a weak Colts’ rush defense. This put an end to his 6 straight games of at least 100 yards rushing.

  5. Jamaal Charles (9) Only 11 carries, but 126 yards and 1 touchdown helps Charles move up 3 spots this week. That and the underwhelming performances by Turner and MJD. It’s still anyone’s rushing title as Arian Foster, Turner and Charles are all separated by just 42 yards with 2 games to play.

  6. Drew Brees (5) Brees sticks around at 5th after a tough loss to Baltimore in which he went 29/46, racked up 267 yards and 3 TDs. Brees also threw 1 interception, which has been a bad habit for him this season. He has 19 on the year which is tied for 2nd most. You have to go all the way back to week 4 against Carolina to find his last game without an INT.

  7. Mike Vick (4) He started off slow, but rallied back huge in the 4th quarter against the Giants. He ended up 21/35 for 242 yards and 3 scores through the air. He also ran for 130 yards on 10 carries and another score. 

  8. Philip Rivers (3) Easily the most impressive of all the QBs on this list in Week 15, Rivers went 19-25 for 273 yards, 3 TDs and a 150 passer rating against the 49ers last Thursday night. 

  9. Matt Ryan (2) Deserves most of the credit for Atlanta’s big win as he threw for 3 touchdowns on the day. His completion percentage and QB rating weren’t anything spectacular, but he remains the consistent MVP runner-up.

  10. Tom Brady (1) His game Sunday night was one of his least impressive in terms of stats recently, but more impressive in terms of what is really important. Finding a way to win late in the game, as he found Aaron Hernandez for the 2nd time on the day to get the go-ahead touchdown with less than 3 minutes remaining. Brady ended the game 15/24 for 163 yards with 2 TDs and 110 rating.

Fell Out: Aaron Rodgers: (NR)