Heading into week 10, its time to reassess where we stand around the league. Its time to rank the top 10 teams in the NFC and give some hot takes. Last week’s ranking in parentheses.

1 – Carolina Panthers (3)

Last week, I had Carolina ranked number 3 despite being undefeated. Well, they went on to face the team ranked number one and controlled the game from start to finish. For the second week in a row, they allowed a team to get back in it after dominating for three quarters. For one, it seems their defense is tiring as games go on, so that is something worth paying attention to as the year goes on. Secondly, with Riverboat Ron at the helm, there are questionable decisions being made. For example, throwing the football on 1st & 10 with a lead under 4 minutes left, which was intercepted. This is not the identity of the Panthers. When you have Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, or Carson Palmer, you can throw the ball in that situation to try and put teams away. As good as Cam Newton has been running that offense this year, he is not an elite passer when it comes to accuracy and decision making. For these reasons, I still don’t see Carolina winning the conference when its all said and done. I think Green Bay will beat them if they face them again in the playoffs, even if it is in Carolina. And I think Arizona is as good as Carolina on defense, and much better of offense. But right now, at 8-0 and two games ahead for the #1 seed, I have no choice but to give them their due.

2 – Arizona Cardinals (2)

The 6-2 Cardinals had a bye, and so they hold on to their #2 ranking. I still feel they are the most balanced team in the conference, and perhaps the entire league. Carson Palmer is playing quarterback at an elite level. He’s got three legitimate receivers, a talented tight end, and Chris Johnson is running the ball consistently and effectively. On defense, Arizona has one of the top secondaries in the league, to go with a consistent front seven that can stop the run and pressure the passer. They do everything extremely well, and are going to be a very dangerous team in January, especially at home.

3 – Green Bay Packers (1)

Green Bay has lost two in a row to fall to 6-2, and is looking quite beatable. Two weeks in a row they’ve had to go on the road against a top defense, and two weeks in a row they’ve been dominated. They lost to Carolina in week 9 37-29, but it really wasn’t that close. As good as we know Rodgers is, without Jordy Nelson in there, the really good defenses have been able to slow him down. Perhaps more concerning is the Packers’ defense, which gave up 37 points to a Carolina team that is not exactly boast a high-voltage offensive unit. Their secondary got torched by guys like Corey Brown and rookie Devin Funchess. We even saw some infighting among some veteran members of the defensive front and young safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. I still think Green Bay will play there way deep into the playoffs, but I think they will have be at home to beat Arizona.

4 – Minnesota Vikings (5)

Even though the Vikings at 6-2 have the same record as the two teams above them, there is a serious drop off after the top 3 teams. Minnesota has played well, no question, but they don’t have a dynamic passing game, and their defense isn’t quite dominant enough to go far with a run-first offense. The good news for Vikings fans is that Teddy Bridgewater, Stefon Diggs, and the rest of the passing offense is getting better and has a lot to build on moving forward. The bad news for this season is Bridgewater got knocked out cold while sliding in week 9 against St. Louis, and may have to miss some time due to concussion protocol. If he is able to come back soon and keep improving, Minnesota could definitely win at least one playoff game against some of the softer, fraudulent-type teams like the Falcons, or whichever inconsistent team that comes out of the NFC East.

5 – New York Giants (6)

The Giants went on the road and beat up on Tampa Bay in week 9 to improve to 5-4. Granted, its just the Bucs, but a road win is a road win. The Giants got Jason Pierre-Paul back for a much needed boost to a struggling defense. Coming down the stretch, the experience Eli Manning has winning big games is going to give them an edge against a lot of teams. The bad news in the near future is that the G-Men have to host the New England Patriots in week 10.

6 – Atlanta Falcons (4)

At 6-3, Atlanta is in the driver’s seat in the NFC South. In week 9, they went out to San Francisco and lost 17-16 to a dismal 49ers squad with Blaine Gabbert under center. Atlanta showed yesterday why I’ve thought all year that they’re a fraud team. They’ve got a nice record, a lot of star power on offense, but they too easily play down to their competition. I just can’t see Atlanta beating a real team, which is what they’ll have to do come playoff time.

7 – St. Louis Rams (7)

St. Louis fell to 4-4 in week 9, but they did so going on the road against a solid Vikings team and fighting them tooth and nail to overtime. Their defense is tough, and Todd Gurley is going to punish most teams on the ground. I still think they’ll be in good position to win a wild card berth when its all said and done.

8 – Seattle Seahawks (8)

No change here, as the 4-4 Seahawks had a bye in week 9. They’ve been the class of the conference for the two seasons prior, so there’s no way to count them out with so much football left to be played.

9 – New Orleans Saints (9)

New Orleans had a terrible week 9 home loss to the Tennessee Titans, allowing rookie Marcus Mariota to drive down the field at the end of regulation for a game-winning touchdown. As soon as the Saints got something going the past couple weeks, they let it all die with an embarrassing home loss. With all due respect to the Titans, the Saints can’t lose to them at home if they want to be taken seriously.

10 – Philadelphia Eagles (10)

I don’t take this team seriously at all. I think Chip Kelly is going to go running back to college real soon, and take his gimmick offense with him. The only way he stays in the league is if he can get his boy Mariota somehow, which would mean Kelly taking over in Tennessee. This tenth spot goes to Philly by default, really, because its either them, the Redskins (ha!), or the Bucs, who I actually gave a long, hard thought to ranking over Philly. They are all irrelevant, really, so it doesn’t matter much either way. The league is top heavy this year, more so than its been in quite a while. These final few spots are a perfect example.

Check back in the next couple days for the AFC Power Rankings.