With the NFL season 60 percent finished, it’s time to start thinking about the playoff and real Super Bowl contenders. There have been big upsets, big victories, and many big surprises about this season thus far, so narrowing the teams down was not easy. I find it necessary, though, because of how hectic this season has been. This being said, I dutifully scoured the nation in search of the best professional football franchises of the 2014-15 season through nine weeks, and I think that I’ve compiled an accurate list. Without further ado, here are my top five teams in the NFL at this point in the season.

5) Indianapolis Colts (6-3)

The Colts have played quite well this season, despite a few losses that were tough to swallow. They started the season 0-2 due to outstanding quarterback play by Peyton Manning and Nick Foles, neither of whom play for the Colts. Their third loss came in Week Eight at the hands of Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers, 51-34. Big Ben had arguably the best performance from a quarterback this season, completing 40 of his 49 pass attempts for a total of 522 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions. This was all before he was taken out of the game in the third quarter. Needless to say, the Colts would definitely be higher on this list if it weren’t for their shoddy pass defense.

Things get no easier for the Colts in Week 10, as they face the red-hot New England Patriots in primetime on Sunday Night Football. The weak passing defense of Indianapolis will face off against one of the best in the business, Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. If the Colts want to keep their place amongst the NFL’s elite, they’ll have to prove themselves against the class of The League. I do not see this happening for the Colts. This week, the Colts will surely fall in the power rankings.

4) Detroit Lions (7-2)

The Lions are fourth on this list for two reasons: Week Three and Week Eight. In Week Eight, they beat the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 22-21 on a last-second field goal. They trailed 21-0 at halftime, but two passing touchdowns, a failed two-point conversion, and three field goals in the second half gave the Lions the win. Week Three was even more impressive than Week Eight for the Lions, though, as they slayed the NFC North giant, the Green Bay Packers by a score of 19-7. The Lions’ defense showed why they are in this conversation by holding the Packers to just one touchdown. This proves that the Lions deserve to be in this conversation.

This is a big week for the NFL’s elite as the Lions will make their way downtown in Glendale, Arizona to play the Cardinals. The Cardinals, while they have defeated eight of their nine opponents this season, lost their starting quarterback, Carson Palmer, to a torn ACL. Palmer comes out a winner in this situation, though, as he signed a three-year, $50 million dollar extension last Friday. Now, I’m not saying that Palmer tore his ACL on purpose, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he did. Now, I’m not entirely sure how one would go about tearing their own ACL, but it may be possible. Anyway, the Lions will almost surely move up on this list by the time this week is through.

3) Denver Broncos (7-2)

The Denver Broncos were on the top of the world until Week Eight. They went into Foxborough as smug as ever after toppling their divisional opponent, the San Diego Chargers, and just two weeks removed from Peyton Manning breaking Brett Favre’s touchdown record. The New England Patriots would have none of it, though, as they knocked the Broncos down a peg with a 43-21 victory and four Tom Brady touchdowns. Other than that game (and their Week Two loss to the Seattle Seahawks) the Broncos have had a Super Bowl-caliber season. As it stands right now, though, the road through the AFC will pass through Patriot Place, Foxborough, Massachusetts.

This week, the Broncos will face the fearsome defensive line of the St. Louis Rams. Sadly, the defensive line is one of the very few bright spots for the Rams this season. The undrafted rookie, Austin Davis, has played well as well, but he hasn’t been able to close out games this season. All in all, this game will likely be close for the first 15 minutes, but the Broncos will pull away and easily handle the Rams in the Edward Jones Dome.

2) Arizona Cardinals (8-1)

There is not much to critique the Arizona Cardinals on this season. They’ve played nearly flawless football in the first ten weeks of the NFL season. The only hiccup for the Cardinals thus far was their Week 5 loss to the Denver Broncos. Other than that, the Cardinals have taken care of their opponents relatively easily. A big key to their success has been their defense. They’ve allowed only 352.8 yards per game, with only 78.2 of those yards coming from the run. This makes their opponents extremely one-dimensional, and makes it that much easier for them to pick up wins week in and week out.

Speaking of their loss to the Broncos, that game was the last game in which Drew Stanton was their starting quarterback. Who is starting for them this week against the Lions, you may ask? Why, it is the one, the only, Drew Stanton. Yes, this is the man with an astonishing 49.5 percent completion percentage and a pedestrian 81.6 quarterback rating. This being said, the Cardinals’ defense will keep this game within reach, but, at the end of the day, both teams will have 8-2 records, and the Cardinals will fall in the rankings.

1) New England Patriots (7-2)

Finally, we have the New England Patriots. Aside from a minor bump in the road against the Kansas City Chiefs and their Week One loss to the Miami Dolphins, they have clearly been the best team in the NFL. Head Coach Bill Belichick has drastically improved his defense through outstanding drafting and savvy trades, creating the perfect complement to the Tom Brady Show on offense. Belichick has added defensive stars such as DE Chandler Jones (pick 21, 2012), LB Dont’a Hightower (pick 25, 2012), OLB Jamie Collins (pick 52, 2013), and DL Dominique Easley (pick 29, 2014). These players have shored up holes in their defensive line and the middle of their defense, making the 2014 edition of the Patriots’ defense far more formidable than it was. In addition, Belichick traded for CB Darrelle Revis this preseason and LB Akeem Ayers following Week Six. These two defensive veterans have vastly improved their defense, and they have made New England’s defense one of the best in the nation.

This week, as previously stated, the Patriots will be taking their talents to Indianapolis to dance with the Colts this week. This will be a very good game, as it pits the best up-and-coming quarterback against one of the best of all time. The fate of this game will lie in the hands of the defenses. Tom Brady and the other ten men on the Patriots’ offense will easily put up at least 25 points against the anemic Colts’ defense, allowing 23.4 points per game in the substandard AFC South. The Patriots defense will face its second real test this season, but they handled Peyton Manning’s offensive attack pretty well, leading the Patriots to a victory over the Broncos. There should be no difference this week against Andrew Luck and the Colts because Manning and Luck are very similar in their playing styles. Look for Brady to put up his usual 300+ yards and two touchdowns, while Luck falls just short with a crucial interception or two early in the game. In the end, the Patriots will remain the team to beat in the NFL.