? Fans of the Ravens and Jets likely have their beefs, and we'll get to those, but I think the first order of business should be to welcome the Cincinnati Bengals. It's just so jarring to see the tiger-striped "B" in there. Congratulations. It is overdue.
? The alternative to that last, Bengal-occupied spot was the New York Jets, fresh off their convincing victory over the Buffalo Bills. Fresh off three straight victories, in fact, and they also got consideration for the AFC East champions slot, currently occupied by the Patriots. The only reason the Patriots retained the spot was because they beat the Jets in Week 5, but I have a feeling I'm going to regret looking backward instead of forward, because the Jets get the Patriots at home this weekend.
? I guess that makes the Ravens next on the list of teams that deserve an explanation. They won, in Pittsburgh, and swept the season series with the Steelers, and yet, not only are they not the top seed in the AFC, they're not even champs of their own division. I'll explain, but you're probably still not going to like it.
? I feel like the Steelers are still ascending. They struggled early in the season, but the offensive line's gotten better, the secondary's gotten better, the passing game continues to get more explosive and their linebackers are only going to get healthier. They still have their bye week coming, and will likely be favored in each of their remaining games, save for the 12/19 tango in San Francisco. Baltimore, meanwhile, I'm not as convinced is still ascending. The two games just before the Steelers game remain a concern. We're not grading just on the last week. I want to see a sustained high level of play.
? Which brings us to the Texans as the top seed in the conference. I can't think of a reason why they're not more deserving than the Steelers or Ravens, so why not? They get a turn. I think these last three weeks have been good for them. The schedule hasn't been that tough, but they've beaten everybody by double digits, and had a chance to strengthen some weaknesses. Now, perhaps they aren't so heavily reliant on Andre Johnson. Then, when he eventually comes back, it's gravy.
? One more AFC change to talk about before we move on -- the Chargers jump back atop the AFC West on the strength of their loss to Green Bay. Kansas City was slaughtered by Miami, and Oakland lost by two touchdowns at home to Denver. I'd say going toe-to-toe with the world champs signifies progress in this division. Also of note: Denver's only one game out of the division lead. Imagine the chaos the world gets thrown into if Tim Tebow makes the playoffs.
? Over in the NFC, there is but one change -- the Falcons jump into the mix at the expense of the Buccaneers, while also holding off a challenge from Chicago. It's hard to leave Chicago out after an impressive road win in Philadelphia, but I feel about Atlanta sort of how I feel about Pittsburgh -- they're on the come. They've got a great opportunity at home this week against New Orleans before home games against Tennessee and Minnesota.
? I hate to give the NFC short shrift, but there's really not much else to talk about over there. The teams that were supposed to win won, and no one was so impressive or disappointing this week that their status changed much. We have some really interesting games coming up this weekend, though -- Lions vs. Bears, Giants vs. 49ers and Saints vs. Falcons.
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