Fine Fifteen

	Shawne Merriman leads all rookies with seven sacks this season. Donald Miralle/Getty Images

This week's top 15 teams in the NFL:

I can't believe it. The Steelers are 14th. Nothing I can do. They just don't deserve to be ahead of any other team.

1. Indianapolis (12-0).

2. Denver (9-3). Sorry. I'm not crucifying a Denver team that became Kansas City's 16th straight December victim at Arrowhead. By four points.

3. San Diego (8-4). Do you see the verve Shawne Merriman plays with? Not only does he have a rookie-high seven sacks, but he also plays with a Junior Seau-type edginess.

4. Chicago (9-3). Another game, another Nathan Vasher touchdown. Are you kidding me? Does this man have football magnets in his gloves?

5. New York Giants (8-4). Someone very wise said to me Sunday night: Doesn't the way Eli Manning's playing right now remind you of the way Ben Roethlisberger performed in the playoffs last year? I had to say yes. Great win for the G-Men, but some of those careless throws Manning makes ... they scare me.

6. Seattle (9-2). Big night for proving something, Seahawks.

7. Cincinnati (9-3). Last Bengals winning season: 1990.

8. Carolina (9-3). "They've still got to come to our place,'' Michael Vick said after the Panthers win over Atlanta, the first-ever loss in the series for Vick. True, Mike. And I will pick Carolina that day, too.

9. Kansas City (8-4). I'm not even sure the Chiefs will make the playoffs, but they sure are a tough out right now. Denver entered this game allowing 79 rushing yards per game. Kansas City rushed for 168.

10. Tampa Bay (8-4). If you haven't seen the first pick by Ronde Barber in the 10-3 win over the Saints, you're missing what might be, oh, I don't know, maybe one of the top 10 interceptions of all time.

11. Jacksonville (9-3). Perfect on their three-game JV road trip -- at Tennessee, Arizona and Cleveland.

12. Dallas (7-5). I don't trust the Cowboys' offense at all.

13. Atlanta (7-5). Total yards: 259. Sacks of Vick allowed: five .Touchdowns: zero. Something missing on this team, folks.

14. Pittsburgh (7-5). Lost to Baltimore. Lost to Indy. Lost to Cincinnati. Not playing well. Not running well. Not defending well. I can't believe it, but no team has as much of a must-win next week as the Steelers. They play host to the rugged Bears, who last lost when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

15. Minnesota (7-5). Brad Johnson, nattily crew-cutted, is 5-0 in relief of Daunte Culpepper. That's about the best relief job since El Duque at Fenway Park in the series-clinching win for the ChiSox over the BoSox.