five teams moving up

As the election has finally concluded I can once again turn my attention to the other big season. Here at the midpoint the NFL landscape is taking shape. While things are tight, wins are incredibly valuable but also getting harder to come by. Here are five teams whose situations improved dramatically this week.

Colts. In a midseason playoff game, Andrew Luck led the Indianapolis Colts over the Dolphins for a huge win that really helps them in the hunt for January. After an early season surge by Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck has tightened his own grip on the Rookie of the Year Award in record-setting fashion. Against a pretty good defense, Luck completed 30-48 passes for 433 yards and two touchdowns in the win that gives the Colts four wins in their last five games since the bye (strangely, the loss was a beat-down by the Jets) and a record of 5-3, tied with the Steelers for the two Wild Card spots, a full game ahead of the Chargers and Dolphins. And the head-to-head over the Dolphins practically counts as a 2-game lead. And up next is a game against the Jaguars, a road game the Colts should be able to win handily.

Seahawks. Nothing like home sweet home. Luck isn’t the only rookie with playoff aspirations. After a couple road losses, Russell Wilson moved to 4-0 in Seattle, including an impressive line of 9 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in those home games. More importantly, the Seahawks defeated the Vikings, and while both teams are tied at 5-4, the Seahawks are in control for the final Wild Card spot. Things should stay bright as the Jets come into town next before a bye week.

Steelers. Big Ben led Pittsburgh defense went into Metlife Stadium in New York and beat the Giants. And it wasn’t just that they won but how they won. Traveling the day of the game, napping in stadium hallways instead of hotel rooms, getting the raw end of every call during the game, missing several key players and losing more to injury; completely shutting down the league’s top passer, Isaac Redman running wild, and Roethlisberger completing 8 of 9 passes on third down. Even without Troy Polamalu, the Steelers have the best pass defense in the NFL (in a passing league) and even without a consistent face in the backfield, Pittsburgh has the best third down conversion rate in the NFL. The win not only puts them in good position to take a Wild Card but also gives them an opportunity to overtake a battered Ravens team for the division. The Steelers get a home game against the poor Chiefs before two matchups with the Ravens in a span of three weeks.

Broncos. The pressure was on when the Chargers easily handled the Chiefs on Thursday, and then the Broncos fell behind the Bengals in the fourth quarter Sunday after two Peyton Manning interceptions. But Denver turned things around with a Champ Bailey interception sandwiched between a pair of Peyton touchdown passes. That was Manning’s 48th game-winning drive, moving him ahead of Dan Marino for the most all-time. The Broncos have outscored their opponents by a league-best 103-23 in the fourth quarters of games and stay a full game ahead of the Chargers. The Broncos head to Carolina this week in a possible trap game, but one where they are clearly the better team.

Giants. Yes, Big Blue lost a tough game to the Steelers where they got completely outplayed in every phase of the game. But at this point in the season when they already have a big lead in the division, losses by the Cowboys, Eagles and Redskins essentially count as a victory. All three combustible teams are in a free fall and the Giants head to Cincinnati with a 3-win lead in the division standings.