1. Houston Texans (8-1) Last week: 3 With the Atlanta Falcons losing to the New Orleans Saints in Week 10, the Texans deserve the top spot after going into windy and rainy Soldier Field and coming away with a "W". The Texans defense, which ranks second in Football Outsiders' DVOA metric through ten weeks, turned the tables on the Chicago Bears by creating four turnovers and did just enough on offense for a 13-6 win outside their climate-controlled home stadium. 2. Atlanta Falcons (8-1) Last week: 1 A run at perfection would have been nice, but there's no shame in losing on the road to a Saints team that is heating up entering the second half of the season. The Falcons still have the top record in the NFC, are in complete control of the NFC South, and can now go through the next seven weeks without having to deal with the pressures of remaining undefeated. 3. Chicago Bears (7-2) Last week: 2 Between the offense's performance on Sunday and the uncertainty of Jay Cutler's concussion, there was some temptation to drop the Bears down even further on the list. Rod Marinelli's defense warrants a Top 3 ranking. 4. Denver Broncos (6-3) Last week: 8 According to Football Outsiders, the Broncos are back in the top spot in team DVOA following their 36-14 win over the Carolina Panthers. The Broncos have won four straight games and are 6-0 when scoring 30+ points. Fun fact: With 271 points scored through nine games, the Broncos are just 38 points behind the 309 they scored during the 2011 regular season.

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