Image by: AJ Guel
By Thomas Stone

So far, the NFL season has delivered some great team performances, several stand-out athletes and more than a few surprises. How about that RG3 making things exciting in Washington, huh? But that’s NFL football, right?

And we love every minute of it. Here are the top teams in the league right now heading into the Thursday-Monday gauntlet:

1 – Houston Texans

Holy cow. Nobody predicted that the 11-1 Houston Texans would be good this year, let alone best in the entire league. Note: they are considered better than the Atlanta Falcons (also 11-1) due to who the Falcons have had to play this year. The reason: running back is league leader.

2 – Atlanta Falcons

Forget about their easy-as-pie schedule, the Falcons have tasted victory and will not let it go easily. Heck, even great teams have difficulty going 11-1. Atlanta is for real – they’ve already beaten top teams such as Denver as well as squashed up-and-coming superstars such as Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers.

3 – Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens are suffering from a few key injuries this season which may keep them from going to the big game. Most notably, linebacker Ray Lewis who has risen from the injured reserve. QB Flacco is solid, but sometime spectacular. Ray rice running back has really carried the team.

4 – Denver Broncos

The Broncos paid big bucks to bring Peyton Manning into the fold and the bold move has paid off handsomely for the mile-highers. But will Manning take the team further into the play-offs than Tim Tebow famously did?

5 – New England Patriots

The New England Patriots always keep it classy and this season is no different. The Patriots are 9-3 as Tom Brady continues to do well and RB Stevan Ridley is a running beast. Others have risen to the occasion when injuries have cropped up, keeping this old war ship heading in the right direction.