THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

SAM FARMER’S NFL RANKINGS AND COMMENTS:

*--* Rank Team (rec.) Comment (last week’s rank) 1 GREEN BAY (8-1) Packers have won 20 in a row when leading at halftime. (1) 2 SAN FRANCISCO (7-2) Niners have an NFL-low eight turnovers. (3) 3 NEW ORLEANS (7-2) Last time they played Atlanta, Saints gave up 260 yards rushing. (6) 4 TAMPA BAY (7-2) After a week off, Buccaneers are as healthy as they’ve been all season. (7) 5 DENVER (6-3) With Trevor Pryce nursing a sore knee, Broncos had no pass pressure. (2) 6 SAN DIEGO (6-3) Demoralizing loss at St. Louis could take its toll on Chargers. (5) 7 PITTSBURGH (5-3-1) Steeler defense can’t seem to stop anyone on third down. 8) 8 NEW ENGLAND (5-4) Taking the Oakland crowd out of things early will be key. (9) 9 PHILADELPHIA (6-3) Eagle offense is stuck in neutral. (4) 10 ATLANTA (5-3-1) Michael Vick has one interception in 205 attempts. (11) 11 ST. LOUIS (4-5) Marc Bulger has one more glorious week before it’s back to the bench. (13) 12 OAKLAND (5-4) Finally winning in Denver was a huge morale boost. (16) 13 BUFFALO (5-4) Bills are allowing a staggering 29.9 points a game. (10) 14 KANSAS CITY (4-5) Priest Holmes has scored a touchdown in seven consecutive games. (12) 15 MIAMI (5-4) Jay Fiedler’s thumb cast is off, but he’s probably out until early December. (14) 16 TENNESSEE (5-4) Titans haven’t been able to score in the red zone lately. (15) 17 INDIANAPOLIS (5-4) Will the transgressions of Jim Irsay become a distraction? (20) 18 N.Y. JETS (4-5) The biggest change in the Jets is the run-defense resurgence. (22) 19 N.Y. GIANTS (5-4) Kerry Collins has played better since Jim Fassel began calling plays. (24) 20 BALTIMORE (4-5) Looks as if Jeff Blake will keep his QB job for the foreseeable future. (21) 21 JACKSONVILLE (4-5) Think Tom Coughlin liked sticking it to Steve Spurrier? (23) 22 WASHINGTON (4-5) LaVar Arrington has six sacks in five games, and eight overall. (17) 23 CLEVELAND (4-5) Browns still in playoff hunt, but a loss to Bengals would be crushing. (25) 24 ARIZONA (4-5) Jake Plummer has five of his 20 comeback victories vs. Eagles. (19) 25 SEATTLE (3-6) Seahawks have all but run out of linebackers. (28) 26 DETROIT (3-6) Lions reached double digits for dropped balls against Green Bay. (18) 27 CAROLINA (3-6) Suspension of Julius Peppers slams the door on this season. (26) 28 DALLAS (3-6) Offensive line has been a joke, a cruel one. (27) 29 CHICAGO (2-7) From bad to worse: Now WR David Terrell is out for the season. (30) 30 MINNESOTA (2-7) Upset alert: Packers have lost seven of nine at Metrodome. (29) 31 CINCINNATI (1-8) Aw, what the heck -- why not guarantee a victory over Cleveland. (32) 32 HOUSTON (2-7) By beating Jacksonville, Texans can actually sweep a series. (31)

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