Last week's #1 team, the Saints, had a bye week. Since they performed excellently during their week off, they won't get penalized. But next week's game against the #2 Giants will be the equivalent of the recent NCAA game between Florida and LSU. One team will be #1, and the other team will take a little drop. But enough rambling, here are this week's rankings:

1. Saints, 4-0, Last week: 1
As I said, Sunday's game against the Giants should give us a pretty good idea of exactly which team is the best of the NFC. Sorry, Vikings fans, but I'm still not sold. The Giants and Saints still look more complete.

2. Giants, 5-0, Last week: 2
Another week, another dominant win. The Raiders were awful, and that's exactly how the Giants treated them, crushing them 44-7.

3. Colts, 5-0, Last week: 3
Peyton Manning is still the hands-down MVP. He has passed for at least 300 yards every week so far, and is leading the NFL in every significant passing category. They have a bye this week.

4. Vikings, 5-0, Last week: 4
Their next 3 games, against the Ravens and then on the road at Pittsburgh and Green Bay, will give them quite the challenge going into their Week 9 bye.

5. Broncos, 5-0, Last week: 7
They finally got an impressive win against a good opponent, but they still seem to be a step below the other undefeated teams. They have beaten better teams, but far less convincingly.

6. Bengals, 4-1, Last week: 14
Good news: They've beaten all 3 of their division rivals so far, and are only 1 ridiculous play from being 5-0 right now. Bad news: Those 3 division wins were only by 3 points each.

7. Bears, 3-1, Last week: 9
If it weren't for Jay Cutler's 4-INT debacle against the Packers, we'd be talking about this team as one of the best in the league. No worries... soon enough, we will be.

8. Eagles, 3-1, Last week: 11
As expected, they crushed a very bad Tampa Bay Buccaneers team. The Eagles have it easy for the next two weeks against the Raiders and Redskins, before hosting the Giants in Week 8.

9. Jets, 3-2, Last week: 5
They lost for the second week in a row, and their supposedly vaunted Rex Ryan defense was shredded by Chad Henne, Ronnie Brown and the Dolphins.

10. Patriots, 3-2, Last week: 6
Tom Brady still isn't himself yet this year. Judging by other QB's who have suffered similar injuries, as well as his current progress, I'd say there's a chance he truly gets back into the swing of things at the end of the year. If he doesn't, the playoffs will end swiflty for the Patriots.

11. Falcons, 3-1, Last week: 12
After their convincing loss to the Patriots, they had a bye week, and then rebounded nicely to crush the 49ers 45-10, looking as good as anyone has looked all year.

12. Ravens, 3-2, Last week: 8
They've suffered 2 tough losses in a row, but they were both against some of the AFC's top teams. Joe Flacco is for real, and this team can beat anyone. Don't be surprised if they avenge the Cincy loss in a few weeks.

13. Steelers, 3-2, Last week: 13
This team still has a long way to go before they prove that they're the same team that we saw last year. Perhaps when Troy Polamalu returns, the elite defense will be there as well.

14. 49ers, 3-2, Last week: 10
One can only hope that their 45-10 loss to the Falcons was an aberration. I'm sure MIke Singletary will address their many issues, and we'll see a much different team coming out of their bye week.

15. Cowboys, 3-2, Last week: 19
They had to go to OT to beat a very bad Chiefs team last week, and their 3 wins are against teams that are a combined 1-13. But their 2 losses are to teams that are a combined 10-0. So it's really hard to gauge where this team is at right now.

16. Chargers, 2-2, Last week: 16
This is another team that is tricky to judge, since they've lost to some decent teams, and beaten bad teams. This week's game against the Broncos is undescribably huge.

17. Dolphins, 2-3, Last week: 23
The Dolphins look like a much better team with Chad Henne under center. Dare I say it, he might actually be a pretty good QB. He and Ronnie Brown shredded the Jets defense on Monday night.

18. Packers, 2-2, Last week: 15
The Packers have some nice tuneup games coming up against the Lions and Browns, before their pivotal rematch against Brett Favre and the Vikings, this time at Lambeau.

19. Cardinals, 2-2, Last week: 20
The defending champs are looking a lot like they did last year at this point... not good. We'll see if they can get hot again, but the NFC West isn't quite as easy as it was last year. No one is rolling over for them.

20. Seahawks, 2-3, Last week: 25
If Matt Hasselbeck can stay healthy, we can definitely see this team win a few games. He's still a very good QB, as we saw against Jacksonville when he threw for 4 TD's in a 41-0 win.

21. Texans, 2-3, Last week: 17
The Texans have a lot of talent on offense, and if they can be a little more consistent, they might be fighting for a playoff spot at the end of the season.

22. Jaguars, 2-3, Last week: 18
They're not a good team, but their 41-0 embarrassing blowout loss to the Seahawks was an aberration... I think.

23. Panthers, 1-3, Last week: 27
The Panthers finally picked up a win, but it was only against the Redskins, so I'm not sure how much that even matters. but with the Buccaneers and Bills coming up next on the schedule, there's a great chance they could even their record at 3-3.

24. Redskins, 2-3, Last week: 22
The Redskins had the good fortune of a ridiculously easy early season schedule at the beginning of the season, and that's the only reason Jim Zorn is still around. They get one more easy game against the Chiefs, but then they'll see a 6-game gauntlet against the Eagles, Falcons, Broncos, Cowboys, Eagles (again) and Saints. After that, we might see Mike Shanahan in Washington.

25. Lions, 1-4, Last week: 21
They actually made it look like a close game against the Steelers on Sunday, despite trailing pretty badly for most of the game. I'm still of the opinion that this team will finish with at least 4 wins.

26. Titans, 0-5, Last week: 26
This year, it's becoming painfully obvious that they should have found a way to keep Albert Haynesworth. I'm not sure why his new team still sucks so bad, but the Titans were a very good team when he was still around. Now, they're... well... not.

27. Raiders, 1-4, Last week: 28
Antonio Pierce of the Giants said that their 44-7 dismantling of the Raiders felt like a scrimmage. I'm seriously wondering if the Giants' 2nd-team could beat the Raiders. Seriously. I think it could happen.

28. Browns, 1-4, Last week: 31
Their 6-3 win over the Bills might have been the most disgusting display of football that anyone will see all year. The game was painful to watch, and it looks like it's just about time to close the door on both teams.

29. Bills, 1-4, Last week: 24
Think the thrill of landing Terrell Owens has worn off yet? Bills fans are becoming very aware that with or without TO, this is a very bad team. Get ready for another 4th place finish in the AFC East.

30. Chiefs, 0-5, Last week: 29
They actually took the Cowboys to overtime, but of course they couldn't close the door. They're going to win a game at some point. They've got talent here and there, just not a whole lot of it.

31. Buccaneers, 0-5, Last week: 30
The Buccaneers are awful. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It's time to throw Josh Freeman into the fire. Normally I advocate leaving the rookie QB on the bench and learning from the starter, but there is nothing to learn from Josh Johnson or Byron Leftwich.

32. Rams, 0-5, Last week: 32
The Rams would not surprise me at all if they go 0-16. If they win a game, that will be the real surprise. Average score in their games so far: Opponent 29, Rams 7. Ouch.