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Updated Oct. 3
I was tempted. Really, really tempted.
I thought long and hard about moving the Bears into the top spot of the CBS SportsLine.com Power Rankings, taking over for the Indianapolis Colts. After Chicago's impressive destruction of the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night, I was leaning that way.
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| Tommie Harris spearheads Chicago's powerhouse defense. (Getty Images) |
The defense did its part, too, making Matt Hasselbeck look jumpy in the pocket and forcing him to throw three interceptions.
That was impressive.
But after thinking on it for a couple of days, it wasn't good enough for the top spot. Part of the rationale is that knee-jerk decisions usually don't make a lot of sense in the end.
The Colts, who squeaked out a road victory over the New York Jets thanks to two Peyton Manning-led drives in the final minutes, remain in the top spot.
In keeping them there, two factors came into play. They won, and they won on the road. Winning road games, no matter who you play, is tough in the NFL. The Colts struggled and didn't look dominant, but they still found a way.
That's good enough to stay No. 1. Sure, the Bears looked better this week, but they were at home. And once the ambush started, it never stopped.
The Bears are clearly the class of the NFC after four weeks, a legitimate Super Bowl team at this point.
But the NFC is like the National League in baseball: a step below the other guys. Of the top five teams in our rankings, four are AFC teams. Of the three undefeated teams, two are AFC teams.
Don't you get the feeling that if you set a line on the Super Bowl right now the AFC would be a touchdown favorite, no matter who the representative?
Lovie Smith has himself a heck of a football team, one that should win 13 games based on the Bears' schedule and their division foes. That means the NFC playoffs are probably going to go through the chill of Chicago. That might be getting ahead of the action some, but it's always fun to speculate.
Maybe we can have a remake of the Super Bowl Shuffle, re-mix style.
Yeah, yeah, we know there's a lot of football to be played. But the Bears have really impressed -- just not quite enough to take over the top spot.
Not yet, anyway.
The rankings for Oct. 3:
| Power Rankings | ||||||||||
| Current | Team | Previous | ||||||||
 | 1 | Titans · Trends | 1 | |||||||
| Now that they've shown they can pass it to win games, where are the weak spots? There aren't any. They can essentially clinch home-field advantage by beating the Jets this week. | ||||||||||
 | 2 | Giants · Trends | 2 | |||||||
| Here's the plan: They tell you they're going to run it, and then they do it. Get ready, Cardinals. The Mack truck offense is coming. | ||||||||||
 | 3 | Panthers · Trends | 3 | |||||||
| It hasn't been pretty the past two weeks, but is it ever with this team? At 8-2, do we really know if they're any good? We might after they go to Atlanta this week. | ||||||||||
 | 4 | Buccaneers · Trends | 4 | |||||||
| Don't you get the impression that they're getting better each week? They could be the sleeper team in the NFC. Jeff Garcia is playing well. | ||||||||||
 | 5 | Jets · Trends | 7 | |||||||
| They proved by beating the Patriots last week that they are a legitimate contender. They do have to work on that pass defense. They get their crack at Tennessee this week. | ||||||||||
 | 6 | Cardinals · Trends | 8 | |||||||
| They can prove all of the doubters wrong by beating the Giants this week. If they do, they just might end up as the NFC's second seed. | ||||||||||
 | 7 | Cowboys · Trends | 9 | |||||||
| Getting Tony Romo back is huge, but so is having Terence Newman healthy at corner. They are healthy now, which readies them for a six-game run to the playoffs. | ||||||||||
 | 8 | Colts · Trends | 11 | |||||||
| For the first time this season the offense looks to be getting into a groove. The defense remains a worry, especially when Bob Sanders isn't playing. | ||||||||||
 | 9 | Steelers · Trends | 12 | |||||||
| The best thing to come out of the San Diego game was seeing Ben Roethlisberger throwing it better. That will be the key to the playoff run. | ||||||||||
 | 10 | Patriots · Trends | 6 | |||||||
| They have a huge one this week with the Dolphins. The winner might be tied for first place if the Jets lose. The loser could be in playoff trouble. | ||||||||||
 | 11 | Dolphins · Trends | 18 | |||||||
| Yes, they are playing a big game in November. Can you believe it? It has been a nice start for first-year coach Tony Sparano. | ||||||||||
 | 12 | Broncos · Trends | 20 | |||||||
| They've fought through a bunch of injuries and now look to be the team to beat in the AFC West. As they get healthy, they should be even better, especially when they get Champ Bailey back. | ||||||||||
 | 13 | Falcons · Trends | 10 | |||||||
| They have a chance to bounce back in a big way from that loss to the Broncos by beating the Panthers this week. If they don't, they will be traveling the wild-card route at best. | ||||||||||
 | 14 | Redskins · Trends | 5 | |||||||
| They've lost consecutive games at home and the passing game has struggled in both. Jason Campbell needs to get it going again the way he did early this season -- or they'll be watching come playoff time. | ||||||||||
 | 15 | Packers · Trends | 19 | |||||||
| After two tough road games they got right against the Bears last week. They are tied for the division lead now and the good thing for the rest of the season is that Ryan Grant got it going Sunday. | ||||||||||
 | 16 | Ravens · Trends | 13 | |||||||
| There's no shame in losing to the Giants on the road. The big shocker is that the defense got pushed around. That doesn't happen often. | ||||||||||
 | 17 | Eagles · Trends | 14 | |||||||
| After that terrible tie at Cincinnati, they must now go on the road again to play the Ravens. Wonder if Donovan McNabb knows that this game will be 60 minutes long? | ||||||||||
 | 18 | Bears · Trends | 17 | |||||||
| The defense is a sieve. Hard to believe this is a team known for tough, physical defense. It just isn't happening and the passing game can't keep up when the Bears fall behind. | ||||||||||
 | 19 | Saints · Trends | 22 | |||||||
| The next four weeks are brutal. It starts with a Monday home game against Green Bay, followed by Tampa Bay on the road, home against Atlanta and at Chicago. We'll know if they're in it after that. | ||||||||||
 | 20 | Vikings · Trends | 15 | |||||||
| I'm tired of saying it: Their passing game isn't good enough. Gus Frerotte can't overcome his shortcomings. | ||||||||||
 | 21 | Browns · Trends | 24 | |||||||
| They still have playoff hopes, thanks to Phil Dawson's 56-yard field goal. Brady Quinn is going to be a heck of a player. The defense still has issues. | ||||||||||
 | 22 | Bills · Trends | 16 | |||||||
| What has gone wrong with Trent Edwards? Did that hit in Arizona change his game? It sure looks like it. | ||||||||||
 | 23 | Chargers · Trends | 23 | |||||||
| L.T. doesn't do much anymore and the defense can't stop anybody. Is this really the same Chargers team that went to the AFC title game last season? | ||||||||||
 | 24 | Jaguars · Trends | 21 | |||||||
| Their playoff chances are basically over. It will be interesting to see if they play hard down the stretch now that they're 4-6. | ||||||||||
 | 25 | Texans · Trends | 25 | |||||||
| It's going to be another playoff-less season. That has to change next season or Gary Kubiak could be out in 2010. | ||||||||||
 | 26 | 49ers · Trends | 30 | |||||||
| It's too bad they can't play the Rams every week. They might be playoff bound if they could. They're playing harder under Mike Singletary, that's for sure. | ||||||||||
 | 27 | Bengals · Trends | 28 | |||||||
| They have a victory and a tie in the past two games. That's progress. The good thing for next season is that the young defensive players are playing better. | ||||||||||
 | 28 | Rams · Trends | 26 | |||||||
| If they didn't have to play the first half, they'd be OK. They've been blown out the past three weeks in the first halves of games. | ||||||||||
 | 29 | Seahawks · Trends | 27 | |||||||
| Hard to believe this team is way down here. But even the return of Matt Hasselbeck can't turn things around. Why? The defense has been terrible. | ||||||||||
 | 30 | Raiders · Trends | 29 | |||||||
| They battled in Miami, but they just don't do enough on offense. The change to having Tom Cable call the plays hasn't exactly worked. Maybe it's the players. | ||||||||||
 | 31 | Chiefs · Trends | 31 | |||||||
| Tyler Thigpen is showing that maybe, just maybe, he might be this team's quarterback of the future. The next six games will tell us that. | ||||||||||
 | 32 | Lions · Trends | 32 | |||||||
| I know Daunte Culpepper almost beat the Panthers, but is it really wise to be playing him? Don't they need to find out about Drew Stanton? | ||||||||||