Here’s how I see the league breaking down, heading into week nine of the season.

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section!

* Home games are capitalized

Top Shelf Contenders

1. New Orleans (7-0)

Once again the Saints found a way to get it done when it mattered, and if they can keep it up, home field advantage will be within their grasp fairly soon.

Next week: CAROLINA (3-4)

2. Indianapolis (7-0)

Tough wins are the mark of tough teams, and the Colts are just that. They’ll need their A-game this week though against a Texans team that is ready to finally win on the road.

Next week: HOUSTON (5-3)

3. Minnesota (7-1)

The Vikings dominated right from the start in Green Bay, but they’ll need to learn how to put a team away if they want to go deep into the postseason this year.

Next week: BYE

4. Denver (6-1)

Losing to the Ravens as bad as they did will definitely sting, but the real test is whether they can rebound this week at home against the Steelers.

Next week: PITTSBURGH (5-2)

5. New England (5-2)

The high flying Patriots offense is seemingly on cruise control these days, but a tough game at home against the Dolphins is looming this week. Time to see if they can keep it up against a decent team.

Next week: MIAMI (3-4)

6. Cincinnati (5-2)

The Bengals don’t have an easy path to the division crown this season, but so far they’ve been more than up to the task. A win this week over the Ravens would go a long way towards achieving that goal.

Next week: BALTIMORE (4-3)

7. Philadelphia (5-2)

The Eagles couldn’t have asked for a better performance at home against the Giants, but they need to stay just as focused this week to take out the Cowboys in a huge game on Sunday night.

Next week: DALLAS (5-2)

8. Pittsburgh (5-2)

Having a BYE week to rest up and get healthy should be a big help to the Steelers, especially in light of a big time road game coming up this week in Denver.

Next week: @ Denver (6-1)

9. Dallas  (5-2)

They haven’t been all that dominant in doing so, but winning cures all ills last I checked. That said, their game against the Eagles this week won’t be the walk in the park that the their past few games have been.

Next week: @ Philadelphia (5-2)

10. Houston (5-3)

The Texans have played extremely well in recent weeks, but they still have to beat the Colts if they want to take the next step towards legitimacy this season.

Next week: @ Indianapolis (7-0)

On the outside looking in

11. New York Giants (4-3)

12. Arizona (4-3)

13. Atlanta (4-3)

14. Green Bay (4-3)

15. San Diego (4-3)

16. Baltimore (4-3)

17. New York Jets (4-4)

18. Chicago (4-3)

19. San Francisco (3-4)

20. Miami (3-4)

Bottom of the barrel

21. Carolina (3-4)

22. Buffalo (3-5)

23. Jacksonville (3-4)

24. Oakland (2-6)

25. Seattle (2-5)

26. Washington (2-5)

27. Detroit (1-6)

28. Cleveland (1-6)

29. Kansas City (1-6)

30. St. Louis (1-7)

31. Tennessee (1-6)

32. Tampa Bay (0-7)

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