When the Indianapolis Colts travel back to Maryland to take on the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14 of the NFL season, they’ll probably be lovingly welcomed with open arms by Baltimorians and enjoy a cordial Sunday afternoon jaunt for a few hours at M&T Bank Stadium.

That is, until they win. Then it might get ugly.

The Colts may be 0-12 this season, minus Peyton Manning(notes) and about three-fourths of the rest of the team due to injuries, and come into Baltimore as 16- or 17-point underdogs to the Ravens, but that’s no reason to think they’re going to lose. In fact, if you tilt your head and squint just right, you’ll see that the Colts are actually set up perfectly to win this game.

Here’s how:

Trap Game for Baltimore

The Ravens’ 9-3 record and perch atop the AFC North Division may look daunting to some, but the winless Colts actually have the Ravens right where they want them. You see, Baltimore has the habit of losing to teams they should rout.

Exhibit A: Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans (7-5), back before Chris Johnson decided to participate in the 2011 season. The so-called vaunted Ravens defense gave up 432 yards of offense to the Titans, who normally average just 234.1 yards per game. The Ravens offense turned the ball over three times in that game, and both Joe Flacco(notes) and Ray Rice(notes) had terrible outings.

Exhibit 2: Week 7 against the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-9). You can’t see or hear me, but I’m doing my Jim Mora impression when I say, “Jacksonville?! Don’t talk about Jacksonville! Are you kidding me?! JACKSONVILLE?!” Not only did Baltimore lose to rookie deer-in-the-headlights quarterback Blaine Gabbert(notes) and the lowly Jaguars, they allowed them to score 12 points, which is an outstanding game for the Jags. In this loss, the Ravens coughed the ball up twice, only produced 146 yards of total offense, and once again, Flacco and Rice were invisible.

Exhibit Batman Symbol: Week 10 against the Seattle Seahawks (5-7). A loss against the team we all love to sneer at and spit on for winning the pathetic NFC West last season with a 7-9 record (well, everyone except for New Orleans Saints fans, that is) and that starts Tarvaris Jackson(notes) at quarterback. Does it get more humiliating than that? You’ll recognize a common theme developing here: three turnovers in this game and not much good from Flacco or Rice.

Oh sure, Baltimore has beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers (twice), the San Francisco 49ers, and the Houston Texans (with Matt Schaub(notes)), but rest assured that the Colts are no Steelers, 49ers, or Texans. They are truly awful, but that’s the kind of team that beats Baltimore.

Two Words: Dan Orlovsky(notes)

The Colts started Orlovsky over Curtis Painter(notes) last week against the New England Patriots, and the result was 353 passing yards and two touchdowns. That pretty much quintuples Painter’s season totals. As a team, the Colts scored three offensive touchdowns in the game. That hasn’t happened since … well … longer than anyone around here in central Indiana can remember. And that was against the Patriots. (Just ignore that it was in garbage time against their reserves.)

Heck, it took the Colts four consecutive games combined to score 27 points at one point during the season, so Orlovsky is a huge upgrade. Three offensive touchdowns and 24 points in a single game is like hitting the lottery for Colts fans.

The Colts were 913-point underdogs in that game, too, but they only lost by a touchdown. Yeah, Ravens fans should be sweating bullets right now. Feel the Or-love-sky.

Plus, Orlovsky played his college ball for Connecticut, which is kind of near Maryland. Sort of. I mean, it’s only two or three states away, and the states are really small up there. So that … um … uh … well, that’s probably not the best argument for Orlovsky, but he’s still a lot better than Painter.

Ravens Are No Passing Threat

Did you know that the Ravens have only scored 14 passing touchdowns on the season? That ranks in the bottom third of the NFL. Sure, the Colts defensive backs have been beaten like rented mules this season, and they just put two more of them on injured reserve, leaving … I don’t know who’s left on the roster … Larry, Moe, and Curly? That’s not a problem, though, since Baltimore can’t seem to score much through the air.

The Colts should just completely abandon covering any wide receivers or tight ends—the same strategy they used against Rob Gronkowski(notes) last week—and stack the entire defense on the line of scrimmage. That way the Colts can just focus on stopping Rice, especially since shutting him down been shown to be the Achilles heel of the Ravens. Stop Rice and you’ve stopped the Ravens, as demonstrated three times this season already.

Now, I’ll admit that stopping the run (or stopping the pass, or covering special teams, or scoring points, or gaining first downs, or holding on to the ball, or staying healthy, or winning games) is not the Colts’ forte. Things might also look a little grim with star linebacker Pat Angerer’s(notes) status in doubt for this game. His backup, A.J. Edds(notes) might also be out. So the Colts appear to be down to recently-acquired Zac Diles(notes), who was waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, at linebacker.

But all of that is okay because the Colts have been known to put 13 men on the field at a time, as they were caught doing against the Patriots (the Colts recently fired their defensive coordinator, and apparently new DC Mike Murphy likes to think outside the box). If they happen to draw Mr. Magoo or someone who can’t count as the game’s referee, consider Rice contained.

Now I’m not going to go all Joe Namath and guarantee a victory or anything. This is simply a recipe for success. The Colts still have their work cut out for them. But if they follow this plan, pray to everything holy, and bribe the groundskeeper to lock the Ravens out of the stadium all day, the boys in blue might just pull this one off.

The author is a Featured Contributor in Sports for Yahoo! Contributor Network. He’s a resident of central Indiana and a long-time Colts fan. While he may have lost most of his hair as a result of this train wreck of a season, he hasn’t lost his sense of humor about it. You can follow him on Twitter at @RedZoneWriting and on Facebook.

Also by this author:

In Colts debut, Dan Orlovsky is no Curtis Painter

Welcome to Indianapolis, Andrew Luck

Three lessons learned from lots of losing

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(Reuters) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are out for revenge against the Baltimore Ravens in their AFC North divisional clash on a Sunday packed with fascinating match-ups in the National Football League.

The regular season is at the half-way stage and as well as the pounding defenses in Pittsburgh, the week nine highlights include the AFC East clash between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets and the league’s only unbeaten team, the Green Bay Packers, at the San Diego Chargers.

But it is the always-fierce rivalry between the Steelers (6-2) and the Ravens (5-2) that will provide compulsive viewing, with Pittsburgh looking to avenge their week one 35-7 loss in Baltimore.

“This is one of those games as players that you really want to be part of,” said Steelers receiver Hines Ward.

“It seems like it always ends up being on prime time and for us, they whipped our tails the first time so we now have a chance to get some get-back and hopefully take control of the AFC North,” added Ward.

Both teams come into the game on the back of morale boosting victories, the Ravens overcame a 21-point deficit to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 30-27 in the biggest comeback in franchise history.

Pittsburgh boosted their credentials for the playoffs by defeating New England 25-17 with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throwing for 365 yards and two touchdowns.

The Steelers lead the series by 18 wins to 13 and will hope that Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is as shaky as he was before the comeback against Arizona.

Defending Super Bowl champions Green Bay return from their bye-week looking to extend their franchise-record 16 straight wins.

CALIFORNIA RETURN

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has guided the Packers to their best start since 1962 and he stands atop the NFL’s quarterback rankings with 20 touchdowns and unmatched completion percentage of 71.5 percent.

The game in San Diego, against a Chargers team who are returning from three games on the road, marks a first NFL start in California for Rodgers who and was born in Chico, Northern California, played his college football for the University of California and now has his off-season residence in the south of the state.

“It’s always nice to come back to California. It will be nice to play in San Diego, you have got a great field, a nice fast track and it’ll be fun to see some friends and family,” he said.

The Jets (4-3) can make some headway in the AFC East if they can deal with the Bills (5-2) who are tied at the top of the division with the New England Patriots.

New York is also coming back fresh from a bye but has won their last two outings while the Bills defeated Washington 23-0 in Buffalo’s annual game in Toronto.

“We know we have the opportunity right in front of us, trying to win our division and we’re running into it. We understand that and we will be ready,” said Jets head coach Rex Ryan.

“Our guys are fresh but mentally we have to be focused and sharp and understand that it will be a physical game,” he said.

The New Orleans Saints, who suffered shock defeat to the St Louis Rams last week, have a tough test against divisional rivals Tampa.

Tampa beat the Saints 26-20 in Florida last month and New Orleans are desperate to improve on their 5-3 start to the season.

“It’s been a little bit of back and forth. But we know the standard, we know how good we can be and now it is a matter of no excuses,” said quarterback Drew Brees.

(Editing by Julian Linden)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The picture hangs directly across from Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio’s desk, a constant reminder of his first NFL coaching job.

It’s a photo of current and former Baltimore Ravens linebackers Ray Lewis, Jamie Sharper and Peter Boulware huddled together before a game. Del Rio, who coached the talented trio for three seasons in Baltimore, has seen it nearly every day for the past nine years.

It stands out a little more this week, with Del Rio knowing Lewis is coming to town for a Monday night game between the Ravens (4-1) and the Jaguars (1-5).

There’s no player in the league Del Rio respects more than Lewis, the fiery and seemingly ageless wonder who has lined up in the middle of Baltimore’s revered defense for 16 seasons.

“The heart and soul of that defense for a long, long time,” Del Rio said. “He continues to play at an amazingly high level and he’s found the fountain of youth. I’ll talk with him on Monday and see if he’ll let me know where it is. He really is playing at a high level and doing a nice job for them.”

Lewis and Del Rio shared three of their most memorable seasons together. When Del Rio arrived in 1999, Lewis was well on his way to becoming the league’s most ferocious defender. Triple-digit tackles, sacks and interceptions were just part of his game. His leadership, attitude and intensity were equally noted.

Del Rio sort of fell into a perfect coaching situation, especially for a rookie assistant.

Asked whether he takes any credit for Lewis’ success, Del Rio said, “no more than Mike Holmgren taking credit for Brett Favre.”

“We coaches get a chance to work with and touch great players,” Del Rio said. “There’s no question that you can have a positive impact, but great players like that are rare. And when you get a chance to coach one, you understand that.”

With Lewis making everyone around him better, the Ravens were among the best defenses in the league during Del Rio’s three-year tenure. Baltimore’s defense set an NFL record for fewest points allowed (165) during a 16-game season. The Ravens recorded four shutouts during the 2000 season and beat the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

It was a crowning achievement for Lewis and Del Rio, one they will never forget.

“I think Jack was always a true man’s man, a true professional,” Lewis said. “It truly comes from his experience in playing in the game itself. That’s kind of the way he approached work. He made work truly something that you wanted to come to every day. He’s one of the coaches that’s really motivating.”

Del Rio had a chance to play alongside Lewis, too.

Former Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, now Cincinnati’s head coach, wanted to sign Del Rio to mentor Lewis in 1997. Instead, Del Rio retired and became an assistant strength coach with the New Orleans Saints. He ended up in Baltimore two years later — and jokes that his main task was to not mess Lewis up.

“He’s great because he has tremendous passion, drive, commitment,” Del Rio said. “He’s a talent with a motor. He does things that other people can’t do, and his will to prepare and his will to compete day in and day out.”

Del Rio remembers former linebackers coach Maxie Baughan telling him he needed to keep a close eye on Lewis because “he’ll work himself to death.”

“You go into every day of camp the way he approaches it, the fire that he brings, the intensity that he brings every single day, every single play, and I think that’s what separates him,” Del Rio said. “He’s got such an insatiable appetite to be great and to pay the price to be great and then to demand it of others around him. I think that makes him special.”

Lewis has 42 tackles, two sacks and an interception this season, and Baltimore’s defense appears to be a mismatch for Jacksonville’s offense.

The Ravens have allowed an NFL-low 14.2 points a game. Even more impressive: Baltimore’s defense has scored nearly as many touchdowns (four) as it has given up (five). The Jaguars are averaging 12 points a game and rank last in the league in passing and total offense.

It’s also a chance for Jacksonville, which has lost five in a row, to turn things around in prime time.

“We can’t see it as a big stage and then try to go out there and do more than what we usually do,” running back Maurice Jones-Drew said. “We still have to go out there and be poised and keep our composure and just go out there and play. They have like four or five guys on their team that can be All-Pros on defense. It’s going to be another challenge for us, but I think we’re up for it and we can’t wait to go up against them.”

Del Rio has one win in three games against his former team. It came in 2005 with Lewis sidelined because of an injury. The 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker will be on the field Monday night, and his play hasn’t dropped much, if any, from those days of that photo hanging in Del Rio’s office.

“We took that picture years ago, and honestly any time you win a championship with somebody, you’re always going to have those memories,” Lewis said. “So that group was special. That group was very special, and Jack was a huge, huge part of that success.”

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Baltimore Ravens 29, Houston Texans 14

BALTIMORE, Maryland — A couple of long passes, Billy Cundiff’s right leg and an efficient performance by the Baltimore defense was enough to give the Ravens another double-digit win at home.

Joe Flacco threw for 305 yards and ran for a score, Cundiff kicked five field goals, and Baltimore pulled away to a 29-14 victory over the short-handed Houston Texans.

The Ravens (4-1) did enough on defense to earn their third straight win and remain in first place in the AFC North. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals are both 4-2 and the Cleveland Browns are 2-3.

Baltimore’s run of nine straight games with a takeaway ended, but the Ravens held Houston scoreless over the final 21 minutes and limited standout running back Arian Foster to 49 yards on 15 attempts.

Flacco had two turnovers, but he also had completions of 51 yards and 56 yards to put Cundiff in position to score. Cundiff connected from 43, 48, 25, 33 and 40 yards to tie a Ravens record for field goals in a game.

Flacco completed 20 of 33 passes and Anquan Boldin had eight catches for 132 yards.

Even though the Texans (3-3) were without wide receiver Andre Johnson and linebacker Mario Williams, they led briefly in the third quarter. Houston trailed only 19-14 until the Ravens went on a 66-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by Ricky Williams with 4:01 left.

Ray Rice ran 23 times for 101 yards to help Baltimore win at home for the 13th time in 14 games. The Ravens are 3-0 at M&T Bank Stadium this season, beating Pittsburgh, the New York Jets and Houston by a combined 98-38.

Matt Schaub went 21 for 37 for 220 yards for the Texans, 0-5 against Baltimore since entering the NFL in 2002.

Rice began the third quarter with an 18-yard run after gaining only 16 yards on eight carries in the first half. That sparked a 47-yard drive to a 48-yard field goal and a 13-7 lead.

Houston moved in front for the only time with a six-play, 80-yard drive. Schaub had completions of 20 yards to Kevin Walter and 16 yards to Foster before throwing a perfect 32-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones, who got behind safety Ed Reed in the end zone.

Baltimore went back ahead on the following series, using a 51-yard pass from Flacco to rookie Torrey Smith to set up a 25-yard field goal and a 16-14 advantage.

After a Houston punt, Flacco found Boldin open down the left sideline for a 56-yard gain, and Cundiff kicked his fourth field goal.

The Texans’ next series ended when safety Bernard Pollard, a former Houston starter, broke up a third-down pass to Foster at the Baltimore 30.

Flacco lost a fumble and threw an interception in the first half, but he also scored a touchdown to help the Ravens take a 10-7 lead.

The Ravens moved 97 yards in 16 plays on their first possession and went up 7-0 on a 1-yard run by Flacco, who went 7 for 8 for 82 yards on the drive. It was the first touchdown against Houston in the opening quarter this season.

Midway through the second quarter, Texans coach Gary Kubiak kept his offense on the field on a fourth-and-1 at the Baltimore 20. Foster was stopped for no gain, but Houston got the ball back when Tim Jamison sacked Flacco, forced a fumble and recovered it at the 17.

Three plays later, Texans guard Wade Smith recovered a fumble by Ben Tate in the end zone.

Late in the half, Cundiff kicked a 43-yard field goal.

New England Patriots 20, Dallas Cowboys 16

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts — Tom Brady got the offense going just in time to lead the New England Patriots to the winning touchdown in the final minute of a 20-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Brady threw an 8-yard scoring pass to Aaron Hernandez with 22 seconds left and the Patriots’ top-ranked offense overcame the Cowboys’ stingy defense.

Dan Bailey’s 26-yard field goal had broken a 13-13 tie with 5:13 left. Each team ran one series before the Patriots got the ball after a punt with 2:30 remaining. Brady then completed eight of nine passes for 78 yards on an 80-play drive capped by his pass to Hernandez in the middle of the end zone.

New England (5-1) won despite its first two lost fumbles of the season and Brady’s two interceptions. He finished the game 27 of 41 for 289 yards with two touchdowns.

Dallas (2-3) ended a five-game road winning streak after a bye despite coming back from a 13-3 deficit midway through the second quarter. Tony Romo was 27 of 41 for 317 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Until the final drive, Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was headed for his second straight strong game against the Patriots.

He held that job with Cleveland when the Browns beat the Patriots 34-14 last Nov. 7. Since then, the Patriots had scored at least 30 points in 13 consecutive games. That streak ended Sunday, but New England still won.

The regular-season win was Brady’s 20th straight at home and the Patriots 31st in a row at Gillette Stadium.

They took a 3-0 lead on their first possession on a 31-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski. It began when Kyle Arrington intercepted a pass that Dez Bryant failed to reach for on a medium-range slant pattern.

The Cowboys tied it on Bailey’s 48-yard field goal after Terence Newman intercepted a pass by Brady that was tipped by defensive end Kenyon Coleman.

New England turned the ball over again on the kickoff after the field goal when Gerald Sensabaugh recovered a fumble by Matthew Slater, the first fumble lost by the Patriots this season. But Dallas gave the ball right back five plays later when Tashard Choice fumbled and Gerard Warren recovered.

The Patriots capitalized with a 26-yard field goal by Gostkowski with 12:07 left in the half for a 6-3 lead. They made it 13-3 on their next possession on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Wes Welker. Officials ruled initially that Welker had gone out of bounds as he reached the ball out toward the goal line but that was overturned on video review.

That put Brady into eight place in NFL history with 276 touchdown passes, one more than Vinny Testaverde.

Dallas cut the lead to 13-10 at halftime, marching 93 yards on 11 plays to score on Romo’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Witten, the star tight end’s first catch of the game, with 33 seconds left.

The Cowboys tied it on Bailey’s 22-yard field goal with 5:50 remaining in the third quarter.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26, New Orleans Saints 20

TAMPA, Florida — The New Orleans Saints lost a game to Tampa Bay and their coach to injury.

Josh Freeman threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns, Earnest Graham rushed for 109 yards in place of injured starter LeGarrette Blount, and Tampa Bay outlasted New Orleans for a 26-20 win.

The win pulled the Bucs (4-2) into a first-place tie with the Saints in the NFC South and snapped New Orleans’ four-game winning streak.

A bad tone was set on the first drive for the Saints when Payton toppled to the ground during a collision with New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham in the first quarter. Payton got his left leg caught under Graham as he was tackled on the sideline, suffering a torn ligament and a broken bone.

The Saints had a chance to take the lead late, but quarterback Drew Brees was intercepted in the end zone on a fourth-down pass. Brees became the first passer ever with four consecutive 350-yard games, but also threw three interceptions.

New Orleans had four turnovers in the game. Tampa’s defense also held the Saints under 30 points for only the second time this season and shut down New Orleans’ rushing attack.

The Bucs led 23-13 heading into the fourth period until Mark Ingram’s 12-yard run capped a seven-play, 82-yard drive and pulled the Saints to within a field goal.

Tampa pushed it back to 26-20 with a field goal of its own with 7:54 left, opening the door for Saints. But facing a fourth-and-2 on the 4, Brees’ pass was intercepted in the end zone by safety Quincy Black. The Bucs then put the ball in Graham’s hands and were able to run out the clock.

After the collision with Graham, Payton stayed on the ground for several minutes receiving medical attention before being moved to the end of the bench. He coached from there until late in the half when he was carted to the locker room. It was announced at halftime that Payton tore the MCL in the leg and also sustained a fractured tibia. He was not on the sideline the remainder of the game.

The Saints’ first drive of the game also ended with Ingram’s fumble that was scooped up by Tampa’s Da’Quan Bowers and led to a field goal three plays later.

Brees’ touchdown pass to Marques Colston on their next possession briefly put the Saints up 7-3, but there was little to smile about after that as the Bucs reeled off 17 points.

Minus a few misfired throws early, Freeman was spot-on throughout, connecting with Arrelious Benn over the middle for a 65-yard score and later with Preston Parker in traffic from 18 yards.

Brees was intercepted twice in the half, including one off a deflection by Bucs safety Tanard Jackson. He was playing in his first game since being reinstated by NFL after being suspended more than a year for violating league’s substance abuse policy.

By Matt Conner

– Editor

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Oct 4, 2011 – What a fantastic weekend in the NFL once again with several games that surprised, but none more so than the incredible Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions match-up. The comeback by Detroit has the Motor City overjoyed while Jerry Jones and his team are trying to figure out what’s wrong (besides Tony Romo, of course). In other games, the Baltimore Ravens continue to show they might just be the best team in the NFL, while the Rams might just be the worst. No one knows what is wrong in St. Louis.

That said, it’s time for another Power Rankings after Week Four in the NFL. Check it out below:

1. Green Bay Packers (4-0) - The Packers were such a great story last year as the No. 6 playoff, but now there’s no denying their dominance over all.

2. Baltimore Ravens (3-1) – They’ve only allowed 57 points all season, second to Titans, and the offense can go high octane.

3. New England Patriots (3-1) – Brady and Belichick responded as we predicted and should win 12 games this year.

4. New Orleans Saints (3-1) - Defense needs a dominant performance at some point to believe they can go all the way. Upcoming Buccaneers game in Week 6 should provide chance.

5. Detroit Lions (4-0) – Cowboys beat themselves on this one and Lions should be 3-1. Still Stafford-to-Johnson looks historically good. 

6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) – Good Monday night win for a quarterback who will undoubtedly be featured in primetime for years to come.

7. Buffalo Bills (3-1) - The Bengals clearly found a weakness, because the Bills defense kept this one close. The offense was inept at every turn.

8. Houston Texans (3-1) – Loss of Andre Johnson hurts prolific offense, but defense played great against Steelers.

9. San Diego Chargers (3-1) – Chargers have only scored 6 more points than they’ve allowed, worst of any division leader.

10. Tennessee Titans (3-1) - Least points allowed in NFL shows Mike Munchak’s stamp on team. If they beat Pittsburgh on Sunday, everyone will be talking about Titans as sleepers. You heard it here first.

11. New York Jets (2-2) - Rex Ryan is full of hot air, but that’s no surprise. What is surprising is that his team might be as well. 

12. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2) – Tied with Browns and Bengals in AFC West with Big Ben injured. Upcoming games against Jags and Cardinals are just what they need. 

13. Atlanta Falcons (2-2) – Win against Eagles doesn’t look so hot. Neither does Sunday’s two point win over Seahawks.

14. Oakland Raiders (2-2) – Schizophrenic team needs defense to become consistent. Dangerous enough to win AFC West and then some. Could also finish 8-8 again.

15. New York Giants (3-1) - Despite significant injuries on defensive side of the ball, the G-Men have adjusted impressively.  

16. San Francisco 49ers (3-1) - They play Buccaneers and Lions next two weeks. That should even out the schedule, but it’s clear Jim Harbaugh is working some magic in the Bay Area.

17. Philadelphia Eagles (1-3) – Season is going down the drain, but NFC East isn’t looking good either. Things will come together soon starting this week for Eagles.

18. Chicago Bears (2-2) – Played Panthers a bit too close. Showdown with Lions this week will turn Bears season one way or the other.

19. Dallas Cowboys (2-2) - There’s absolutely no reason for the Cowboys to have lost Sunday. Horrible coaching and quarterback play will kill a team’s chances down the stretch.

20. Washington Redskins (3-1) – Do not be fooled by ridiculously easy schedule (including upcoming games with Panthers, Eagles). This is not even a .500 team.

21. Cleveland Browns (2-2) – If they don’t take advantage of easy front half of schedule, they’ll end up 5-11 on season.

22. Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) – Andy Dalton might or might not be the next Carson Palmer, but the defense absolutely ate the Bills for lunch on Sunday.

23. Kansas City Chiefs (1-3) – Great work by Matt Cassel in face of doubters and Vikings defense. Chiefs play winless Colts next week, so heading toward .500 could come soon.

24. Carolina Panthers (1-3) - Defensive woes are going to keep this powerful offense at bay all season.

25. Denver Broncos (1-3) - Von Miller with two more sacks in losing effort. That will be the same headline all season. 

26. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-3) – Gabbert showed strong signs of life on Sunday but there’s a long way to go. This team could contend in the AFC South but not with a rookie QB.

27. Arizona Cardinals (1-3) - Cardinals came close against Giants and should enjoy feasting on the Vikings’ carcass this weekend.

28. Minnesota Vikings (0-4) – Loss to Chiefs cements fact that Vikings are indeed as bad as their record. Hard to believe with Jared Allen, Adrian Peterson and company.

29. Indianapolis Colts (0-4) - Curtis Painter on the road tells you all you need to know. If not for superhuman efforts by Pierre Garcon, they would have looked horrible.

30. Miami Dolphins (0-4) – Sparano out in a few weeks. It won’t matter who they bring in.

31. Seattle Seahawks (1-3) - Tarvaris Jackson couldn’t get job done. Surprise anyone?

32. St. Louis Rams (0-4) - The team lost Danny Amendola. Not Johnny Unitas. Steve Spagnuolo has allowed the wheels to fall off of this one.

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