1-New England Patriots (11-2) The potent New England Patriots solidified their 8th playoff berth in the last 10 years with a 36-7 thumping of the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

2-Atlanta Falcons (11-2) The well oiled machine of the Atlanta Falcons crushed their 7th in a row, led by Michael Turner finding the end zone 3 times, giving him 11 TD on the year.

3-Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3) Although their offense struggled, only putting up 9 points on offense. But great teams find ways to win, and they did, with Troy Polamalu and LaMarr Woodley returning interceptions for 6.

4- Baltimore Ravens (9-4) The Ravens Josh Wilson intercepted Matt Schaub's pass and brought it to the house for a touchdown in overtime, giving trepidation to all who play them still.

5- Philadelphia Eagles (9-4) When you have 2 of the NFLs fastest players in Mike Vick and DeSean Jackson, it certainly helps. Eagles do need to be a little troubled with their defense, giving up a fine night from Jon Kitna.

6-New Orleans Saints (10-3) Offense has been ridiculous over the last 5 weeks, averaging 32.6 a game. The Saints have won 6 straight.

7-New York Jets (9-4) The Jets seem to be falling apart at the seams. Sanchez appears to be suddenly regressing over the last 3 weeks, with a hideous 48.1 rating and only completing 49% of his passes, 1 TD and 5 int. LT looks like his 31 years is catching up with him, only 3.0/carry over last 5 games.

8- Green Bay Packers (8-5) Bumbling, stumbling, and tripping (err wait, that was the Jets), without Aaron Rodgers this team is a 6 win team. Especially with the Lions paying their 3rd string QB, not a good loss for the Pack.

9-New York Giants (9-4) After the Favre streak ended, so did any hope for the Vikings, after the Giants demolished them, running the ball for 213 yards. The Giants looked like defensive monsters again.

10- San Diego Chargers (7-6) Crazy? Insanity? All possible, but the Chargers are a team , absolutely no one wants to play right now, do you want your team playing them? I didn’t think so.

NFL POW (PLAYER OF THE WEEK)

Tom Brady (QB, New England Patriots) Completely carving up the 9th ranked defense of the Chicago Bears, passing for a 68% completion percentage, 369 yards and tossed a pair of TDs along the way.

Hard-hitting matchups this week to watch for; San Francisco at San Diego (San Fran still has a slight shot at winning their terrible division even with a current 5-8 record. San Diego, looking to continue what they do seemingly every year, play better as the season goes on. They started real sluggish, now appears to be their time to make a move.).

Jacksonville at Indianapolis (In week 4, the Jags won 31-28. This game has huge implications on it, the Jags are looking to claim the AFC South as theirs, and possibly put Peyton in grave legit peril of not making the playoffs this year.) Kansas City at St. Louis (Chiefs got embarrassed without their starting QB, no serious doubts for the men in red, NFC West leaders, St Louis, hoping to hold off a surging 49ers squad, needs this win as badly as the Chiefs do.) New Orleans at Baltimore (Offense of the Saints versus the defense of the Ravens. This is going to be a great matchup, Brees vs Ed Reed in the secondary; Rice vs the LB crew of New Orleans. This is a statement game.)

Philadelphia at NY Giants (Division game, Vick has been great this season, matched up against the 2nd ranked defense of the Giants who tend to put a nasty punishment on opposing QBs this season.) NY Jets at Pittsburgh(Can the Jets stop the bleeding? Playing in Heinz Field doesn’t essentially sound like a trip to the doctors to fix their problems. Sanchez gets to look down the field at Troy Polamalu and James Harrison.) Green Bay at New England (The Pats powerhouse teams welcomes the struggling Pack into their house, where 1st ranked QB Tom Brady has only won 26 straight games.)