NFL Awesome Rankings: No. 10

The weather is getting colder. The games are getting more meaningful, and the Patriots keep winning big games. Yup, sounds like December in the NFL. JWSB Awesome Rankings No. 10:

1. New England Patriots (10-2) (No. 2 last week): Unbelievable. With all of the Mike Vick talk for MVP, no one is having a better year than Tom Brady. With the help of two rookie TE’s—a three-name running back, Danny Woodhead and of course Wes Welker—Brady has put the Pats on top of the NFL. Can they keep it going? HUGE win over the Jets this week. Dominating.

2. Atlanta Falcons (10-2) (No. 1 last week): Got a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the Patriots dominating win over the Jets was enough to leap frog the Falcons. The winning will probably continue next week against the lowly Carolina Panthers.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) (No. 5 last week): When you beat last week’s No. 4 team, you move up. The Steelers are characteristically tough and showed it this past week. Is Ben Roethlisberger one of the best in the game or what? He seems to always make big plays.

4. Green Bay Packers (8-4) (No. 8 last week): Finally getting over a lot of injuries. Donald Driver is back, and Aaron Rodgers never left. If they could get a run game going, this team would be great. The Lions are up next.

5. New Orleans Saints (9-3) (No. 6 last week): Another team who survived the injury bug (welcome back Reggie Bush and Darren Sharper), the Saints are kind of lurking in the weeds. Not many people talking about the defending champs.

6. Baltimore Ravens (8-4) (No. 4 last week): What a battle they had Sunday night with the Steelers. I could watch them play more than two times a year. The Ravens should be ok—still a playoff team but need to get one of those big wins.

7. New York Jets (9-3) (No. 3 last week): Horrible game Monday night against the Patriots. While the hype was “best game of the year,” the outcome was total domination. While they are still a good team, the Jets have to be wondering what happened Monday. Dolphins are up next.

8. Philadelphia Eagles (8-4) (No. 9 last week): After a tough win Thursday night, the Eagles face the “resurgent” Cowboys this week. This team still features a lot of offensive weapons, but can the defense keep up?

9. Chicago Bears (9-3) (No. 7 last week): Were able to hold of the Lions for the second time this year. It is amazing that a 9-3 team is still being questioned, but it would be a REAL surprise if these guys went deep in to the Playoffs. Wouldn’t it? The D is the key.

10. New York Giants (8-4) (not ranked last week): One of the most dominating performances of the week. The ground game was great against the Redskins. Giants will try and keep that balanced attack going against a stingy Vikings defense this weekend.

Just Missed the Cut: Kansas City Chiefs; Jacksonville Jaguars