This is my ninth season covering the NFL, and I have never seen anything like this.The whole damn league is as unpredictable as ever. Forget parity. Call it parody.The were the new hot team. The were playing like the best group in football a couple of weeks ago. The commenters on wanted the at No. 1? -- in front of the 12s, no le s.Shall we keep going? The looked wonderful versus the , dysfunctional in Indy ,then like the team in Tecmo at Tampa . Philadelphia has been playing cruddy on offense for weeks now, then simply dismantled the . None of it makes any sense. and please put the Bengals back where they belong... at least until they prove it against the Colts Frank Fitz (@forthrightfitz) maybe a little low but can't blame you with that defense giving up that many pts Frank Fitz (@forthrightfitz) I hear ya -- and I heard from a few fans on Twitter who aren't happy with the inconsistency of their team. As for the rest of the league, I am absolutely sure you will disagree (but you can always tell me I did a heckuva job) ... is the place.Now, let the di sension commence!(Note: Arrows reflect change in standings from .)PREVIOUS: | | | | | from , yet -- once again -- that improved defense showed something. Sure, we know is no bueno, but the ' running game got nada Sunday (2.1 yards per pop on 15 rushes). It was a Close call . After comparing the ' faltering defense to the ' improved unit, the latter team moves into the top spot. This is not to disparage San Diego, as quality teams prevail in emotional games like the Bolts' win over the . The have survived more than a few injuries, but right now, Denver is a little bit healthier and stronger on the personnel front. Due to an incredible defensive effort, I feel the have truly earned this spot. Shoot, things were going so well that even averaged more than 2 yards per carry. Now we're cookin' with grease! Of course, the bye week is here, so the proce s of building momentum will be somewhat abated, unfortunately. The bye also gives us an additional week to ponder the quality of this 5-1 club -- and how good it could be if the quarterback were actually playing well. If weren't playing football this season, I would produce five MVP trophies and hand them to . Yes, has balled out, too. But, come on, which offensive line in the league is playing better than Dallas' unit? Unfortunately, it appears right tackle will , but still. Some of those holes Sunday against the big, bad were ... well ... big and bad. #realfootball Forget that Seattle's front seven got pushed around by that offensive line this past Sunday. Think more about the three touchdowns that , or the fatigue that set in . E sentially, when (or if) the put it all together, they should ascend rapidly -- perhaps to the very top. But the point is, at this juncture, 's team is underachieving. If I am seeing this wrong, let me know . I think even the most ardent fans recognize this group has not put its best foot forward. pulled a Dan Marino in Marino's pad. Unreal. The got the Pack inside Miami's 5-yard line, setting up . You probably saw that. Yet, did you notice how cool Rodgers was throughout crunch time? Yes, he fumbled at one point on the game-winning drive, but he shook it off and took care of another foe on the road. Give a small game ball -- maybe a NERF -- to for hopping on that fumble and hooking the ball into his body. #TJHooker Indianapolis got it done with plenty of offense, some laaaaate turnovers and, well, a little hanging on. The got when they needed it, surviving multiple return volleys from the . Hey, that's what good teams are supposed to do. If everything went as blueprinted in life, we'd all be pi sing off Metallica's drummer by downloading music from Napster. Big ups to for stepping back onto the field Sunday, skirting shoulder i sues to lead this Arizona team to . A solid if unspectacular performance from the once heavily maligned veteran. On another note ... love the at uni matchup. #80sNFCEast was an absolute thing of beauty. Ditto seeing pull his career back from ... gosh ... who knows. The only concern now is what to make of -- how many mi sing front-line starters on defense is too many? doesn't even throw for five touchdown pa ses in Madden! If ever a Baltimore quarterback looked like Johnny Unitas, Daysbel Hernandez Jersey it was Flacco . Go figure. Geez Louise, what a showing from the ' offense, including the unit's most unheralded guy. carried the football 14 times for 111 yards, with setting up Flacco's first scoring to s of the day. In fact, that rumble really set the tone for the game. Now I don't feel so bad for keeping Baltimore high in the rankings. , though. Drat. No movement for the , as every team ranked ahead of them -- save for Seattle -- took care of busine s, too. Add in , and you get the point. That aside, I think has answered a few questions ... 50 of 72 for 653 yards and six touchdowns with zero picks over the past two weeks. If any team got the Power Rankings shaft, it's this one. Yet, consider: A) This defense has allowed 73 points over the past two games, that hadn't scored that many points since . B) Every single top-12 team that was behind the in won, either handily or on the road. C) Their best player has been in a walking boot. Even before , I had a few fans hit me up on Twitter to say the team is way worse than the top-five ranking it had received in recent weeks. (See: The intro above.) So where would #WhoDey nation put them? ( ) In other news, a tie is like having Corey Dillon rush for 1,400 yards and set a single-game rushing record ... for a 4-12 football team. Or a World Cup game. Criticized the ' defense in the offseason plenty, mostly because the front line never seemed to impose its will in games despite getting so much credit for "potential." Mea culpa. Detroit completely dominated Minnesota's offense, as detailed . It's one thing to beat a rookie quarterback; it's another thing entirely to beat him into the ground. What is it, like 1972? attempted just 17 pa ses Sunday as on the ground and on defense. What a key win for this organization. Come to think of it, in 1972, the drafted another Brian at quarterback -- Anyone? Bueller? ( ) -- and threw the ball 24 times a game. So I gue s 17 carries counts as unleashing , yes? Nice performance from the big guy, who in one game more than doubled his season rushing totals. The worry is the defense, which allowed 454 yards in Weeks 3 and 4 and . It was the bye week in Kansas City, which meant the fantasy owners of the world didn't have to stre s out about whether to play . Interesting how fantasy sports has made small-time celebrities out of reserve running backs. As solid a performer as Davis is, 15 years ago, no one outside of Mi souri would have known ' backup. Needle s to say, Chicago fans have been waiting for from the defense since last September. The held the to 287 yards of offense, allowed them to convert on third/fourth down just four times in 15 attempts, sacked four times, picked him off another time and gave up a grand total of 13 points to a team averaging 46.5 per game at home. Need we say more? Sometimes pro football makes no sense. The came into Philly averaging 35 points and 395 yards per game over their previous three contests. Then they go zero and 253 against a defense that hadn't been able to stop anybody. Come on. , who came into Cleveland with an 18-1 career record against the -- and left with an 18-2 mark. Pittsburgh was out of sorts all day, with the defense completely on its heels. Cleveland ran ... and ran ... and ran the football some more. Oddly enough, while these two teams are in the thick of the AFC North race, they are done facing off this season -- unle s they meet in January. Not an easy at NRG Stadium, obviously, yet 's club showed impre sive resilience in fighting back from a 24-0 deficit. The defense could certainly play better. (Sure would've been nice to snatch a few of 's errant heaves.) That said, this unit should improve significantly when gets back and starts figuring out what he's doing. Fielded many complaints about Buffalo being too low in , but the thought here was that the club reached (and knee-jerked) with -- and, generally, was not playing all that well. Well, the offense does look better with Orton under center. But while I understand gripes about the being lower than the and (both of whom Buffalo beat), both of those teams won in convincing fashion Sunday and are still better at pro football's most important position -- quarterback. What we need to see from 's team is consistency, even if it is just for two games in a row. The hung in there in the second half, with the offense getting it going by taking its first three drives to paydirt. What drives fans in Miami nuts is the inconsistency of this ballclub. Just when the 'Fins seem ready to turn the corner, they come out flat. Then, when the defense starts playing well, does nada. Tannehill gets hot, then the ' secondary falls apart. Ugh. Watched on NFL Network the other night and really got a true appreciation of a) the communication between and and b) how quickly Brees runs that offense, with such a sense of urgency. Seeing it on film from a low angle showed just how rapidly things were evolving during New Orleans' overtime win . Awesome stuff. Put simply, it was for the -- and particularly the secondary, which was repeatedly roasted on deep balls from (who averaged over 10 yards per throw). We've been hearing much about Atlanta's struggles on the road, especially when it comes to the offense, but that group did little on the fast track of the Georgia Dome on Sunday. What an for the , who only move up because (and the stunk on Monday night). Minnesota's offensive line was clearly overmatched against Detroit, and definitely mi ses . The unit mi ses a lot of blocks, too. was sacked eight times. He was knocked down another 485 times. Just ask Chip Scoggins of The Star Tribune. He . Hearing some criticism of . It's understandable, considering the undisciplined play, poor route-running and nonsensical penalties here or there. ( , anyone?) Look, we don't want to , so we'll simply say the whole team -- not just quarterback -- has to put together two halves of football, not one, like , and . On the surface, gives this team a chance to win. And yet, the don't have the horses to mitigate his turnovers or the stunning lack of a running game. being such a non-factor has to be one of the more underreported problems in the NFL this year. (And yes, it is OK to put much of that on the offensive line.) Here is what we have to say about Tenne see: , and the fans will take it. And perhaps this earns some respite for a weary , who looks like he's aged three presidential terms over the past five weeks. Somehow, despite getting flattened in every statistical category , the were involved in a one-score game against mighty Denver late in the fourth quarter. For a second, it might have seemed as though the football gods had smiled upon Rex. Then, just like the screaming asteroid that destroyed 65 million years ago, delivered to bury Gang Green. 's defense got whooped up and down the field. Literally, up and down the field. No, Lee Roy Selmon, Hugh Green and Ronde Barber weren't playing Sunday. When receivers were open, . When they were covered, . Nice to see slapping some butts out there -- well, you know, getting the group fired up. This Oakland team looked like a new group, . Then again, it was like when Van Halen became Van Hagar. New front man, some of the same old problems. Maybe not ego, like in VH's case, but all-you-can-eat defense and 11 penalties did the club in. That aside, showed us all his potential. What if he becomes THE QB from the Cla s of 2014? It was a tough job, but somebody had to . Enter the , who can't get out of their own way. Jacksonville outgained Tenne see by almost 100 yards, nearly doubled the ' first-down total and didn't start who dons a -style ponytail -- yet they still lost. What's worse than that? Maybe those "A Storm is coming!" quips by broadcasters. Presented without further comment ... : 10 carries for 21 yards. Get excited. Follow Elliot Harrison on Twitter . Greg Maddux Jersey