Who sits atop — and at the bottom — of the league entering this week’s matchups?

1. Ravens (8-2) | Last Week’s Rank: 2 The Ravens looked great against the Texans and deserve to leapfrog the Patriots to No. 1, even with one more loss than New England. They have wins over the Seahawks, Patriots and Texans by an average margin of 21.7 points. Lamar Jackson was spectacular, as usual, against Houston. The most encouraging sign was that the defense also was very good.

2. Patriots (9-1) | Last Week’s Rank: 1 The Patriots got back into the win column Sunday in Philly after the loss in Baltimore followed by their bye week. The defense was typically sturdy. But the failure of the offense to click is becoming worrisome. The Patriots go for the sweep of the NFC East this weekend when they host the Cowboys.

3. Seahawks (8-2) | Last Week’s Rank: 3 The Seahawks had their bye week to savor the huge overtime triumph over the 49ers and continue to work WR Josh Gordon into the offense. The post-bye schedule is fairly demanding with consecutive games against the Eagles, Vikings and Rams.

4. 49ers (9-1) | Last Week’s Rank: 4 The comeback win over the Cardinals kept the Niners ahead of the Seahawks in the NFC West and in the lead for the NFC’s No. 1 seed. But they have looked vulnerable lately and the schedule is unrelenting with the Packers, Ravens and Saints up next. A return by TE George Kittle from his knee and ankle injuries would certainly help.

5. Packers (8-2) | Last Week’s Rank: 5 The Packers return from their bye to play Sunday night at San Francisco in a significant matchup for NFC playoff positioning. Both teams are vying for NFC supremacy. But both continue to face tough competition in their own division, the Packers from the Vikings and the Niners from the Seahawks.

6. Vikings (8-3) | Last Week’s Rank: 7 The Vikings never should have fallen so far behind the Broncos in the first place. But the big comeback and the uplifting victory do provide further evidence that this is a different version of Kirk Cousins and a more resilient Vikings team on display this season.

7. Saints (8-2) | Last Week’s Rank: 8 The win at Tampa Bay was routine but still meaningful after the baffling loss to the Falcons. The Saints failed to make home field advantage work for them during last season’s NFC title game, but securing the conference’s top playoff seed this season still would be significant.

8. Chiefs (7-4) | Last Week’s Rank: 9 The Chiefs showed Monday night in Mexico City that they actually can win a game in which Patrick Mahomes isn’t unbelievably great. But Philip Rivers’ generosity certainly helped.

9. Cowboys (6-4) | Last Week’s Rank: 12 The Cowboys are back in sole possession of first place in the NFC East and probably are the best team in a bad division. But unless they turn it up a few notches, they’re irrelevant in the bigger picture, with so many very good teams in the NFC.

10. Raiders (6-4) | Last Week’s Rank: 13 Oakland Raiders, playoff contender. Get used to that phrase, at least for the remainder of this season. It remains pretty amazing that coach Jon Gruden has turned things around in Year 2, and the less-than-daunting remaining schedule means that the Raiders are likely to stay in the thick of the AFC postseason chase.

11. Bills (7-3) | Last Week’s Rank: 16 QB Josh Allen threw the ball very effectively in the victory at Miami. If he can be even a threat in the passing game, the Bills are a difficult matchup for any opponent.

12. Texans (7-4) | Last Week’s Rank: 6 The Texans simply were noncompetitive in Baltimore. Forget about that pass interference non-call. The Houston defense had no answers for Lamar Jackson.

13. Rams (6-4) | Last Week’s Rank: 15 The Rams beat the Bears in what amounted to a playoff elimination game Sunday night. But it’s still a steep uphill climb for the defending NFC champs, and QB Jared Goff’s performance against Chicago was less than reassuring. Coach Sean McVay leaned on the running game and only had Goff attempt 18 passes.

14. Colts (6-5) | Last Week’s Rank: 20 The Colts fell behind the Texans in the AFC South race with their loss on Thursday night.

15. Titans (5-5) | Last Week’s Rank: 14 The Titans certainly aren’t out of it in the AFC South. Their chance to be a factor in the race is directly in front of them, with three division games in the next four weeks.

16. Browns (4-6) | Last Week’s Rank: 19 Even when the Browns win, they can’t win. The NFL’s suspension of Myles Garrett for at least the rest of this season and postseason was fully justified after one of the ugliest on-field incidents in league history, and it cost the Browns their top defensive player.

17. Eagles (5-5) | Last Week’s Rank: 10 Don’t forget that the Eagles’ best moments and biggest wins the previous two seasons came with Nick Foles, not Carson Wentz, at QB. Foles now is in Jacksonville, and his offseason exit from the Eagles is not working out particularly well for either side.

18. Steelers (5-5) | Last Week’s Rank: 11 The incident in the final seconds of the loss in Cleveland completely overshadowed an inept offensive performance by the Steelers. Their four-game winning streak ended and their bid to reassemble their once-broken season is in peril.

19. Panthers (5-5) | Last Week’s Rank: 17 The lopsided defeat at home to the Falcons was unsightly, and another season is slipping away from the Panthers. Perhaps Kyle Allen is not the answer at QB, after all. But Cam Newton is not coming to the rescue this season, and perhaps not ever again in Carolina.

20. Bears (4-6) | Last Week’s Rank: 18 The Bears are basically eliminated from playoff contention in the competitive NFC, and it would be very difficult for them to turn back now to Mitchell Trubisky at QB after coach Matt Nagy pulled him from Sunday night’s loss in L.A., citing a hip injury. It felt like a benching, with Trubisky saying he had wanted to finish the game.

21. Falcons (3-7) | Last Week’s Rank: 27 If only someone had told the Falcons that those games in September and October actually counted in the standings, they’d be just fine now. Suddenly they’re unbeatable.

22. Jets (3-7) | Last Week’s Rank: 28 The Jets, somehow, have received full credit in the standings for their victories over the Giants and Redskins the past two Sundays.

23. Broncos (3-7) | Last Week’s Rank: 21 The Broncos couldn’t hold the big lead at Minnesota and there’s pretty much no reason to pay attention to them any longer, at least not until rookie Drew Lock gets his audition at QB.

24. Jaguars (4-6) | Last Week’s Rank: 22 Nick Foles’ return went poorly in the loss at Indianapolis. It’s looking like a lost season for Foles and the Jaguars after his offseason parting with the Eagles.

25. Chargers (4-7) | Last Week’s Rank: 23 Philip Rivers has thrown seven interceptions over the last two games, and the Chargers continue to lose games they could have won. The team that no one seems to want isn’t playing well enough to endear itself to anyone.

26. Buccaneers (3-7) | Last Week’s Rank: 24 The thing that’s easy to overlook is that the offense actually has been quite productive in Coach Bruce Arians’s first season. The Bucs are ranked in the NFL’s top 10 in total offense, scoring offense and passing offense.

27. Dolphins (2-8) | Last Week’s Rank: 25 The two-game winning streak came to an end against the Bills. But if the Dolphins plan to return to their losing ways in earnest, it might be too late to “catch” the Bengals for the top overall pick in the NFL draft.

28. Lions (3-6-1) | Last Week’s Rank: 26 All the promise has been drained from the Lions’ season with QB Matthew Stafford’s back injury and the three-game losing streak. They’re 9-16-1 since hiring Matt Patricia as their coach on the heels of firing Jim Caldwell following a 9-7 season.

29. Cardinals (3-7-1) | Last Week’s Rank: 29 The early 16-0 lead against the 49ers disappeared. The Cardinals, in an interesting Year 1 for coach Kliff Kingsbury and QB Kyler Murray, remained a team that is competitive and entertaining but not quite fully formed or ready to win consistently.

30. Giants (2-8) | Last Week’s Rank: 30 The Giants will return from their bye to finish their season because, well, NFL rules pretty much require it.

31. Redskins (1-9) | Last Week’s Rank: 31 The Redskins have crossed that very dangerous line from inspiring anger in their fans to inspiring apathy in their now-former fans.

32. Bengals (0-10) | Last Week’s Rank: 32 The Bengals have two games left against the Browns and one each against the Jets and Dolphins. Is there a single victory to be had? It’s tough to say at this point.