Hartford Courant

A new No. 1: Seahawks

- By Brad Biggs

1. Seahawks 5-0 (last week: 2): They are coming off the bye and need to tighten their defense.

2. Chiefs 5-1 (3): They signed Le’Veon Bell, but it’s worth wondering if there’s room for him.

3. Titans 5-0 (4): They rallied to beat the Texans in OT behind a big effort from Derrick Henry.

4. Ravens 5-1 (5): Lamar Jackson remains iffy as a passer but had another effective rushing day against the Eagles.

5. Steelers 5-0 (6): Ben Roethlisbe­rger is now 23-2-1 against the Browns. Complete ownership.

6. Packers 4-1 (1): Even the best quarterbac­ks are mortal under duress, and that’s where the Bucs had Aaron Rodgers.

7. Saints 3-2 (10): They haven’t looked sharp on either side of the ball. So the bye week came at a good time.

8. Raiders 3-2 (12): Jon Gruden believes bye weeks can stunt a team’s momentum, and the Raiders were rolling after an upset win in Kansas City.

9. Buccaneers 4-2 (16): Tom Brady didn’t have to be great in a rout of the Packers as Ronald Jones rushed for 113 and two touchdowns.

10. Colts 4-2 (13): They overcame a 21-0 deficit in a stunning win over the Bengals.

11. Bears 5-1 (14): The surging defense has challenges ahead against the Rams (25.3 points per game), Saints (30.6) and Titans (32.8).

12. Bills 4-2 (9): Their defensive front was trampled by a rebuilt Chiefs offensive line as Josh Allen had a rough outing.

13. Rams 4-2 (7): The NFCEast champion — the Rams swept the Cowboys, Eagles, Giants and Washington — will have to start challengin­g better teams.

14. Cardinals 4-2 (15): The opportunis­tic Cardinals got four takeaways and Kyler Murray improved to 7-0 lifetime at AT&T Stadium in a win over the Cowboys. That includes three Texas high school state title games and a Big 12 championsh­ip game.

15. 49ers 3-3 (19): After being trampled at home by the Dolphins, the 49ers bounced back to defeat the Rams Sunday night.

16. Dolphins 3-3 (18): Don’t sleep on the Dolphins as a dark horse to make the AFC playoffs. Brian Flores is getting it done on defense.

17. Browns 4-2 (11): The Steelers pummeled Baker Mayfield until he finally was pulled with a previous rib injury.

18. Patriots 2-3 (8): Cam Newton’s erratic mechanics have to be driving Bill Belichick mad.

19. Panthers 3-3 (17): The offense without Christian McCaffrey and without protection for Teddy Bridgewate­r isn’t good enough to win many games.

20. Cowboys 2-4 (21): Andy Dalton started in place of Dak Prescott, and after a lopsided loss, you have to figure Prescott’s contracts demands only went up.

21: Chargers 1-4 (22): The Chargers regrouped during a bye week after losing four straight games by one score, three of them to Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.

22. Eagles 1-4-1 (23): A costly loss to the Ravens: Tight end Zach Ertz and running back Miles Sanders came out of the game hobbled.

23. Broncos 2-3 (28): Outside linebacker Bradley Chubb is starting to round back into form after returning from a torn ACL.

24. Texans 1-5 (24): Rumors around the league are the Texans are considerin­g being sellers before the Nov. 3 trade deadline.

25. Lions 2-3 (26): If Matt Patricia has a shot at saving his job, he’ll need more success than a win over the Jaguars.

26. Falcons 1-5 (30): Raheem Morris won his debut as interim coach — a 40-23 victory at Minnesota.

27. Vikings 1-5 (20): You’re not surprised that Kirk Cousins is struggling. You are stunned how the Vikings defense has done a complete 180.

28. Bengals 1-4-1 (25): They’re in desperate need of a personnel overhaul on defense.

29. Giants 1-5 (31): Joe Judge is laying down the law: First-round pick Andrew Thomas was late to a team meeting Saturday night, so he was benched Sunday.

30. Jaguars 1-5 (27): The Week 1 win over the Colts feels like it was three months ago.

31. Washington 1-5 (29): After a failed two-point conversion in a one-point loss against the Giants, coach Ron Rivera said: “The only way you learn to win is to play to win,” Rivera said.

32. Jets 0-6 (32): The cupboards were pretty bare when Adam Gase moved in, but the walls are closing in now.

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