Last week's ranking in parenthesis.
1. Eagles 8-1 (1). They're 8-1 for fifth time in team history. The previous four times they reached the Super Bowl or NFL championship game.
2. Patriots 6-2 (2). Remember the preseason talk about 19-0? They still could be the team to beat. RB James White has been dynamic as a receiver.
3. Steelers 6-2 (3). The rest of schedule sets up nicely. After an off week, they head to Indianapolis and then five of final seven are at home.
4. Cowboys 5-3 (8). Sean Lee is the face of the defense and he and the rest of the front seven were terrific in win over Chiefs.
5. Chiefs 6-3 (5). Alex Smith was intercepted for the first time this season in loss at Dallas. He threw 298 passes between picks.
6. Rams 6-2 (6). Jared Goff completed 14 passes for 311 yards and four touchdowns in demolition of Giants to put Rams atop NFC West.
7. Saints 6-2 (7). They have rolled off six straight wins, the longest streak for the Saints since they closed the 2011 season with eight straight.
8. Vikings 6-2 (9). They reportedly will activate Teddy Bridgewater this week, and that will create debate about a change from Case Keenum.
9. Panthers 6-3 (11). Hey! They found the missing ground game. Cam Newton rushed for 86 yards and team ran for 201 total in a win over the Falcons.
10. Seahawks 5-3 (4). Blair Walsh was wide left on three field goals in a gut-wrenching 17-14 loss to Redskins.
11. Lions 4-4 (13). They have the best healthy quarterback in the NFC North, and Matthew Stafford dropped dimes Monday night at Lambeau Field.
12. Jaguars 5-3 (14). They aren't messing around, benching Leonard Fournette for violating team rules and then whipping the Bengals.
13. Titans 5-3 (20). Safety Kevin Byard, a third-round pick a year ago, has five interceptions in the last two games. Attack at your own risk.
14. Bills 5-3 (10). Just when you want to buy into the turnaround, they go to the Meadowlands and get manhandled by the Jets.
15. Falcons 4-4 (15). You know things are going bad when Julio Jones flat drops what would have been a 39-yard TD in fourth quarter at Carolina.
16. Raiders 4-5 (22). Derek Carr got the deep ball going in a victory over the Dolphins as the Raiders pulled within two games of the Chiefs.
17. Redskins 4-4 (25). Linebacker Zach Brown was terrific in a gritty win at Seattle that could prove to be season-saving.
18. Dolphins 4-4 (21). Their streak of 12 consecutive wins in games decided by seven or fewer points ended with a home loss to the Raiders on Sunday.
19. Jets 4-5 (26). The defense likely is still dancing after thoroughly dominating the Bills on Thursday night.
20. Chargers 3-5 (16). LB Denzel Perryman, expected to return from an ankle injury, will be a nice addition to the middle of the defense.
21. Ravens 4-5 (18). Offense went back to its scuffling ways, and they have a week off in order to look into patching try to patch things up.
22. Broncos 3-5 (17). Brock Osweiler is not the solution here.
23. Bears 3-5 (23). If they want to be taken seriously, they're going to have to beat the Brett Hundley-led Packers on Sunday at Soldier Field.
24. Cardinals 4-4 (27). Their .500 record is deceiving as they've played the 49ers (twice), Colts and Bucs. They're 0-4 against everyone else.
25. Bengals 3-5 (24). Wide receiver A.J. Green got ejected for throwing hands, and his teammates didn't put up much of a fight at Jacksonville.
26. Packers 4-4 (19). After an extra week to get Brett Hundley up to speed, he remains a work in progress. He must be more accurate downfield.
27. Colts 3-6 (30). They're going to get nearly a full season to evaluate Jacoby Brissett, and there's at least a little intrigue there.
28. Texans 3-5 (12). At least they learned in the short time Deshaun Watson played they have a long-term solution.
29. Buccaneers 2-6 (28). When the coach, Dirk Koetter, starts talking about the losing culture, you have to stop and wonder what's ahead.
30. Giants 1-7 (29). Coming out of their off week, they had a 50-burger put on them by the Rams. Could be a precursor to sweeping changes.
31. 49ers 0-9 (31). One more game before the off week and after that, Jimmy Garoppolo ought to be starting.
32. Browns 0-8 (32). Privately, Bengals backup QB A.J. McCarron has to be thrilled the proposed trade was botched.
