2008 Navigation Links
Read this for a description of APR
Rank | Team | W-L | Power Index | This week |
1 (-) | Tennessee Titans | 10-0 | 1.5737 (LW × 0.998) | won by 10 at Jaguars |
2 (↑1) | New York Giants | 9-1 | 1.5231 (LW × 1.043) | won by 20 vs Ravens |
3 (↓1) | Baltimore Ravens | 6-4 | 1.4298 (LW × 0.969) | lost by 20 at Giants |
4 (-) | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 7-3 | 1.4031 (LW × 0.996) | won by 6 vs Vikings |
5 (↑5) | Green Bay Packers | 5-5 | 1.4022 (LW × 1.033) | won by 34 vs Bears |
6 (↓1) | Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-3 | 1.4004 (LW × 0.997) | won by 1 vs Chargers |
7 (↓1) | Philadelphia Eagles | 5-4-1 | 1.3623 (LW × 0.973) | tied at Bengals |
8 (↓1) | Carolina Panthers | 8-2 | 1.3613 (LW × 0.973) | won by 9 vs Lions |
9 (↓1) | Indianapolis Colts | 6-4 | 1.3433 (LW × 0.982) | won by 6 vs Texans |
10 (↑2) | Arizona Cardinals | 7-3 | 1.3261 (LW × 0.998) | won by 6 at Seahawks |
11 (↑2) | New York Jets | 7-3 | 1.3242 (LW × 1.011) | won by 3 at Patriots |
12 (↑2) | Minnesota Vikings | 5-5 | 1.3172 (LW × 1.007) | lost by 6 at Buccaneers |
13 (↑4) | Dallas Cowboys | 6-4 | 1.3139 (LW × 1.027) | won by 4 at Redskins |
14 (↓5) | Atlanta Falcons | 6-4 | 1.3116 (LW × 0.963) | lost by 4 vs Broncos |
15 (↓4) | Chicago Bears | 5-5 | 1.2820 (LW × 0.957) | lost by 34 at Packers |
16 (-) | Miami Dolphins | 6-4 | 1.2814 (LW × 0.985) | won by 2 vs Raiders |
17 (↑4) | Cleveland Browns | 4-6 | 1.2757 (LW × 1.028) | won by 2 at Bills |
18 (↓3) | New England Patriots | 6-4 | 1.2749 (LW × 0.975) | lost by 3 vs Jets |
19 (↓1) | San Diego Chargers | 4-6 | 1.2745 (LW × 1.003) | lost by 1 at Steelers |
20 (↓1) | Jacksonville Jaguars | 4-6 | 1.2624 (LW × 1.002) | lost by 10 vs Titans |
21 (↑2) | New Orleans Saints | 5-5 | 1.2460 (LW × 1.029) | won by 10 at Chiefs |
22 (↓2) | Washington Redskins | 6-4 | 1.2431 (LW × 0.987) | lost by 4 vs Cowboys |
23 (↑1) | Denver Broncos | 6-4 | 1.2363 (LW × 1.045) | won by 4 at Falcons |
24 (↑1) | Houston Texans | 3-7 | 1.1879 (LW × 1.015) | lost by 6 at Colts |
25 (↓3) | Buffalo Bills | 5-5 | 1.1878 (LW × 0.977) | lost by 2 vs Browns |
26 (-) | Seattle Seahawks | 2-8 | 1.1459 (LW × 1.000) | lost by 6 vs Cardinals |
27 (↑1) | Cincinnati Bengals | 1-8-1 | 1.1395 (LW × 1.048) | tied vs Eagles |
28 (↑3) | San Francisco 49ers | 3-7 | 1.1143 (LW × 1.046) | won by 19 vs Rams |
29 (↓2) | Kansas City Chiefs | 1-9 | 1.1044 (LW × 0.974) | lost by 10 vs Saints |
30 (↓1) | Oakland Raiders | 2-8 | 1.0889 (LW × 1.011) | lost by 2 at Dolphins |
31 (↓1) | St. Louis Rams | 2-8 | 1.0396 (LW × 0.967) | lost by 19 at 49ers |
32 (-) | Detroit Lions | 0-10 | 1.0150 (LW × 1.017) | lost by 9 at Panthers |
Comments:
The Giants get a big win over the Ravens, and finally get to the #2 spot. If you look at the power index values, it's the Titans, Giants, and everyone else.
The Packers are now ranked above all their remaining opponents. If APR is right, they should come close to a 6-0 finish, and a lot of momentum going into the playoffs.
What's going on with the Panthers? For the second week in a row, they squeaked out a win over a very weak opponent. They've got a very tough schedule left to play, with games against the Packers and Bucs. The Buccaneers' schedule looks easier; they could easily take the lead in the division by the end of the season.
The Eagles seem to have an uncanny ability to hit APR's sweet spot, in spite of an unremarkable record. Last year, they finished as the highest ranked team not in the playoffs. The way things are going, they could take that again.
The NFC North is the only division without a team with a winning record. Three divisions (AFC East, NFC East, and the NFC South) have all teams at or above 0.500.
Teams ESPN likes more than APR:
- Redskins (+13)
- Washington is (2-3) in their last 5 games. ESPN, it's time to drop them out of your top 10.
- Patriots (+8)
- ESPN and APR both drop the Patriots 3 spots this week. Other than their week 2 victory over the Jets, the Patriots don't have much in the way of solid wins.
- Broncos (+8)
- The Broncos seem to be the anti-Eagles of the APR system: they never seem to rise very far, in spite of (for the most part) maintaining a winning record. They had an impressive road win against the Falcons, so maybe things have turned around for them.
Teams APR likes more than ESPN:
- Packers (-11)
- Can a 5-5 team be #5 in the power rankings? They are
4-13-2 in their last 5, and haven't lost a game by more than 3 points since week 4. If they can solve their run defense issues, they should be able to keep a spot in the top 10 right through the playoffs. - Ravens (-10)
- The Ravens fall quite a way on their loss to the Giants, but the #4 Buccaneers are so far back, it wasn't enough to cost them more than one spot.
- Eagles (-10)
- On the tie, APR only drops the Eagles by 1, while ESPN drops them 4.
- Vikings (-9)
- The Vikings are 3-2 in their last 5, including a critical divisional win over the Packers. They haven't lost by more than 7 since week 4.
Historically Bad Teams Watch
The Rams' 19-point loss now puts them at -17.30 net points per game for the season, which puts them at #4 since 1970. But with only 6 games left, their remaining losses would have to be by more than 25 points (on average) to overtake the '76 Buccaneers.
The Lions 9-point loss moves them further away from the brink to -13.50 (#24), and the Bengals' tie puts them at -11.10 (#43).