2008 Navigation Links
Read this for a description of APR
| Rank | Team | W-L | Power Index | This week |
| 1 (↑1) | New York Giants | 10-1 | 1.5364 (LW × 1.009) | won by 8 at Cardinals |
| 2 (↓1) | Tennessee Titans | 10-1 | 1.4775 (LW × 0.939) | lost by 21 vs Jets |
| 3 (-) | Baltimore Ravens | 7-4 | 1.4762 (LW × 1.032) | won by 29 vs Eagles |
| 4 (↑7) | New York Jets | 8-3 | 1.4589 (LW × 1.102) | won by 21 at Titans |
| 5 (↑1) | Pittsburgh Steelers | 8-3 | 1.4049 (LW × 1.003) | won by 17 vs Bengals |
| 6 (↓2) | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 8-3 | 1.4047 (LW × 1.001) | won by 18 at Lions |
| 7 (↑2) | Indianapolis Colts | 7-4 | 1.3828 (LW × 1.029) | won by 3 at Chargers |
| 8 (↑6) | Atlanta Falcons | 7-4 | 1.3819 (LW × 1.054) | won by 17 vs Panthers |
| 9 (↑9) | New England Patriots | 7-4 | 1.3728 (LW × 1.077) | won by 20 at Dolphins |
| 10 (↑2) | Minnesota Vikings | 6-5 | 1.3704 (LW × 1.040) | won by 18 at Jaguars |
| 11 (↓6) | Green Bay Packers | 5-6 | 1.3482 (LW × 0.961) | lost by 22 at Saints |
| 12 (↓4) | Carolina Panthers | 8-3 | 1.3414 (LW × 0.985) | lost by 17 at Falcons |
| 13 (↑8) | New Orleans Saints | 6-5 | 1.3287 (LW × 1.066) | won by 22 vs Packers |
| 14 (↓7) | Philadelphia Eagles | 5-5-1 | 1.3215 (LW × 0.970) | lost by 29 at Ravens |
| 15 (-) | Chicago Bears | 6-5 | 1.3033 (LW × 1.017) | won by 24 at Rams |
| 16 (↓6) | Arizona Cardinals | 7-4 | 1.2995 (LW × 0.980) | lost by 8 vs Giants |
| 17 (↓4) | Dallas Cowboys | 7-4 | 1.2970 (LW × 0.987) | won by 13 vs 49ers |
| 18 (↑1) | San Diego Chargers | 4-7 | 1.2921 (LW × 1.014) | lost by 3 vs Colts |
| 19 (↓3) | Miami Dolphins | 6-5 | 1.2551 (LW × 0.979) | lost by 20 vs Patriots |
| 20 (↑5) | Buffalo Bills | 6-5 | 1.2487 (LW × 1.051) | won by 23 at Chiefs |
| 21 (↑3) | Houston Texans | 4-7 | 1.2468 (LW × 1.050) | won by 10 at Browns |
| 22 (-) | Washington Redskins | 7-4 | 1.2416 (LW × 0.999) | won by 3 at Seahawks |
| 23 (↓6) | Cleveland Browns | 4-7 | 1.2249 (LW × 0.960) | lost by 10 vs Texans |
| 24 (↓4) | Jacksonville Jaguars | 4-7 | 1.1937 (LW × 0.946) | lost by 18 vs Vikings |
| 25 (↑5) | Oakland Raiders | 3-8 | 1.1930 (LW × 1.096) | won by 21 at Broncos |
| 26 (↓3) | Denver Broncos | 6-5 | 1.1856 (LW × 0.959) | lost by 21 vs Raiders |
| 27 (-) | Cincinnati Bengals | 1-9-1 | 1.1208 (LW × 0.984) | lost by 17 at Steelers |
| 28 (↓2) | Seattle Seahawks | 2-9 | 1.1190 (LW × 0.977) | lost by 3 vs Redskins |
| 29 (↓1) | San Francisco 49ers | 3-8 | 1.1085 (LW × 0.995) | lost by 13 at Cowboys |
| 30 (↓1) | Kansas City Chiefs | 1-10 | 1.0827 (LW × 0.980) | lost by 23 vs Bills |
| 31 (-) | St. Louis Rams | 2-9 | 1.0257 (LW × 0.987) | lost by 24 vs Bears |
| 32 (-) | Detroit Lions | 0-11 | 1.0049 (LW × 0.990) | lost by 18 vs Buccaneers |
Comments:
The Giants finally get to the top spot, thanks in part to the Jets' beat-down on the Titans. The Titans' lose 6.1% of their power index, and are now just a sliver above the Ravens.
Note that the Bucs' power actually did increase (a little) on their win over the Lions; just not enough to stay ahead of the Jets and Steelers.
The Patriots get a very good win over the Dolphins, and APR finally moves them up to the top 10.
The Redskins get another close win against a bad team. With the Giants and Ravens yet to play, they're probably not going to do better than 3-2 in their last 5. With the Cowboys, Panthers, and Falcons all at 7 or more wins, 10-6 (without the right tie-breakers) might not be enough to get an NFC wildcard spot this year.
Are the Chargers really out of the playoffs? APR still has them ranked over the Broncos, but looking at the Chargers remaining schedule, I'm not sure I see even 3 teams they can beat. The Broncos might not make it past 8 wins, but that's probably all it's going to take to win the AFC West this year.
Of the 8 teams that played in the divisional round of the playoffs last year (Jaguars, Patriots, Chargers, Colts, Seahawks, Packers, Giants and Cowboys), all but the Giants have suffered at least a moderate drop-off of strength from last year. Half of them (Jaguars, Chargers, Seahawks, and Packers) currently have a losing record.
Teams ESPN likes more than APR:
- Redskins (+10)
- The Redskins had a chance to move up in APR's rankings this week. Even a 7-point win would've moved them up 3 spots. Somebody needs to tell ESPN that 3 points over a 2-9 opponent does not qualify as a "solid road win" for a team in the playoff hunt.
- Cowboys (+8)
- APR doesn't know about garbage-time points, so the Cowboys 13-point win looks closer than it was.
Teams APR likes more than ESPN:
- Ravens (-10)
- ESPN and APR both hold the Ravens steady on their win over the Eagles. Maybe they're not as good as APR has them, but how can ESPN rank them below the Redskins?
- Packers (-9)
- APR drops the Packers out of the top 10. ESPN drops them 4 spots, partly because how damaging that loss was to the Packers playoff hopes.
Historically Bad Teams Watch
There could easily be 4 new teams in the "top" 50 at the end of this season. Unless the Rams get another win, they are guaranteed a spot in the top 30. The Chiefs and Bengals play in week 17, so at least one of these teams should get another win.
| Rank | Team | Net Pts/Game | W-L | Next Week |
| 1 | 1976 Buccaneers | -20.50 | 0-14 | n/a |
| 2 | 1972 Patriots | -18.14 | 3-11 | n/a |
| 3 | 2008 Rams | -17.91 | 2-9 | vs Dolphins |
| 4 | 1973 Oilers | -17.71 | 1-13 | n/a |
| 5 | 1967 Falcons | -17.64 | 1-12 | n/a |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 22 | 2008 Lions | -13.91 | 0-11 | vs Titans |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 34 | 2008 Chiefs | -11.91 | 1-10 | @ Raiders |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 38 | 2008 Bengals | -11.64 | 1-9-1 | vs Ravens |
The next 2008 team to appear on this list is the Raiders, who are currently #127.
