2008
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this for a description of APR.
| Rank | Team | W-L | Power Index | This week |
| 1 (-) | Tennessee Titans | 6-0 | 1.5240 (LW * 0.997) | won by 24 at Chiefs |
| 2 (-) | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-2 | 1.4674 (LW * 0.983) | won by 10 vs Seahawks |
| 3 (-) | Pittsburgh Steelers | 5-1 | 1.4477 (LW * 1.022) | won by 28 at Bengals |
| 4 (↑1) | Chicago Bears | 4-3 | 1.4106 (LW * 1.017) | won by 7 vs Vikings |
| 5 (↑3) | Carolina Panthers | 5-2 | 1.4047 (LW * 1.028) | won by 23 vs Saints |
| 6 (↑10) | Buffalo Bills | 5-1 | 1.4036 (LW * 1.087) | won by 9 vs Chargers |
| 7 (↑2) | Philadelphia Eagles | 3-3 | 1.3997 (LW * 1.025) | Bye |
| 8 (↓2) | Arizona Cardinals | 4-2 | 1.3683 (LW * 0.988) | Bye |
| 9 (↑11) | Baltimore Ravens | 3-3 | 1.3647 (LW * 1.075) | won by 14 at Dolphins |
| 10 (-) | Washington Redskins | 5-2 | 1.3568 (LW * 1.003) | won by 3 vs Browns |
| 11 (↑1) | Jacksonville Jaguars | 3-3 | 1.3277 (LW * 0.985) | Bye |
| 12 (↑11) | Green Bay Packers | 4-3 | 1.3231 (LW * 1.076) | won by 20 vs Colts |
| 13 (↓6) | San Diego Chargers | 3-4 | 1.3202 (LW * 0.959) | lost by 9 at Bills |
| 14 (↓10) | Dallas Cowboys | 4-3 | 1.3100 (LW * 0.936) | lost by 20 at Rams |
| 15 (↑6) | New York Giants | 5-1 | 1.3085 (LW * 1.040) | won by 12 vs 49ers |
| 16 (↑3) | Atlanta Falcons | 4-2 | 1.3029 (LW * 1.019) | Bye |
| 17 (↓6) | Indianapolis Colts | 3-3 | 1.2815 (LW * 0.949) | lost by 20 at Packers |
| 18 (↑4) | Cleveland Browns | 2-4 | 1.2658 (LW * 1.015) | lost by 3 at Redskins |
| 19 (↓2) | Minnesota Vikings | 3-4 | 1.2658 (LW * 0.989) | lost by 7 at Bears |
| 20 (↑4) | New England Patriots | 4-2 | 1.2587 (LW * 1.036) | won by 34 vs Broncos |
| 21 (↓6) | New Orleans Saints | 3-4 | 1.2556 (LW * 0.956) | lost by 23 at Panthers |
| 22 (↓8) | New York Jets | 3-3 | 1.2410 (LW * 0.938) | lost by 3 at Raiders |
| 23 (↓10) | Miami Dolphins | 2-4 | 1.2264 (LW * 0.916) | lost by 14 vs Ravens |
| 24 (↑6) | St. Louis Rams | 2-4 | 1.1924 (LW * 1.166) | won by 20 vs Cowboys |
| 25 (↓7) | Denver Broncos | 4-3 | 1.1911 (LW * 0.931) | lost by 34 at Patriots |
| 26 (↓1) | Houston Texans | 2-4 | 1.1668 (LW * 0.967) | won by 7 vs Lions |
| 27 (↓1) | Oakland Raiders | 2-4 | 1.1393 (LW * 1.030) | won by 3 vs Jets |
| 28 (↑3) | Seattle Seahawks | 1-5 | 1.1123 (LW * 1.120) | lost by 10 at Buccaneers |
| 29 (↓1) | Kansas City Chiefs | 1-5 | 1.0595 (LW * 0.977) | lost by 24 vs Titans |
| 30 (↓1) | San Francisco 49ers | 2-5 | 1.0569 (LW * 1.028) | lost by 12 at Giants |
| 31 (↓4) | Cincinnati Bengals | 0-7 | 1.0488 (LW * 0.966) | lost by 28 vs Steelers |
| 32 (-) | Detroit Lions | 0-6 | 0.9837 (LW * 1.018) | lost by 7 at Texans |
Comments:
For the first time this season, the top 3 teams stay the same one week to the next.
I'm not really buying the Bears and Panthers as top-5 teams, or the Bills, Eagles, and Ravens as top-10. Though, looking at lower-ranked teams, I don't see any teams that are solidly better.
Last week, I complained that ESPN ranked the Bills in their top 5, and now APR has them #6 after a 9 point win over the Chargers. Of course, their win over the Rams is starting to look a little more impressive...
Speaking of the Rams—could they get back in the playoff hunt? They would need to finish 6-4 to make it to 8 wins. Even if they win their 3 remaining games against the 49ers and Seahawks, they'll need to win at least 3 from games against the Patriots, Cardinals (× 2), Bears, Dolphins, and Falcons. That will be an extraorinary turn-around, if they can do it.
Teams ESPN likes more than APR:
- Giants (+13)
- The Giants didn't lose this week, but that game against the 49ers sure wasn't pretty, either. This should start to be resolved next week, when the Giants go to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers.
- Patriots (+11)
- APR might be underating the patriots at #20, but but they haven't beat anyone higher-ranked than the Broncos (#25), and they've got a couple of ugly losses.
Teams APR likes more than ESPN:
- Ravens (-11)
- The Ravens' wins (Browns, Bengals, and Dolphins) sure don't seem that impressive. But they've got a couple of close losses against the high-ranked Steelers and Titans. They've got some easy teams coming up, which could help build some confidence in their rookie QB.
- Bears (-9)
- APR has the Bears overrated. Since when does the Bears' defense give up 41 points?
Historically Bad Teams Watch
With the Rams winning, and the Lions only losing by 7, none of this seasons' teams are in the "top 10" for lowest net points per game. The Lions and Chiefs are tied at #18 (along with the '71 Bills), and the Rams are now at #35.
Until some team makes it back into the top 10, I'm putting this feature on hiatus. Of course, that could be next week if the Chiefs lose by 23 or more to the Jets...
