Eagles, Pats, Steelers top AP rankings
NEW YORK » There is a lot to love about the NFC heading into Thanksgiving.
The Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints have won eight in a row. The Minnesota Vikings have won six straight. The NFC has seven of the top 10 teams in the latest AP Pro 32 poll , including three teams in the NFC South.
The Eagles (9-1), who are coming off a 37-9 victory at Dallas on Sunday night, maintained their top spot.
“Carson Wentz looks like a modern-day Roger Staubach in crushing the Cowboys, and the Eagles continue to establish themselves as the class of the NFC and a team that could very well finish its season with the first Super Bowl title in franchise history,” Newsday’s Bob Glauber said.
Philadelphia received 11 of 12 first-place votes for 383 points Tuesday in balloting by media members who regularly cover the NFL.
The New England Patriots (82), who have won six in a row, re-
ceived the other first-place vote and remained No. 2.
“After a 2-2 start, the Patriots are atop the AFC by Thanksgiving, same as always,” said Jenny Vrentas of The Monday Morning Quarterback.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, who have won five in a row, stayed at No. 3.
Minnesota, coming off its impressive 24-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams, moved up two spots to No. 4. The Vikings will open Week 12 when they head to Detroit to face the Lions on Thanksgiving.
The Saints inched up to No. 5 after rallying for an overtime win over the Washington Redskins.
“Drew Brees is throwing less and enjoying it more — that’s a distressing equation for the rest of the NFC,” said Ira Kaufman of SB Nation Radio.
New Orleans will travel to LA to face Rams, who slid one place to No. 6 in the poll, in a matchup of first-place NFC teams.
Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, coming off a bye, gained a spot to No. 7.
“Getting back broadcaster (Greg) Olsen,” Fox Sports’ John Czarnecki said of the return of the Panthers tight end who was back at practice this week after missing eight games with a broken foot. Olsen worked as an analyst on the telecast of the Vikings-Rams game.
AFC South-leading Jacksonville moved up two spots to No. 8.
The Falcons gained three spots to No. 9 after holding off Seattle, which dropped a spot to round out the top 10.
The Denver Broncos, who started 3-1, have lost six in a row and are now No. 27 in the poll. They fired Mike McCoy as offensive coordinator on Monday and reportedly will start Paxton Lynch at quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Raiders, who fired Ken Norton as defensive coordinator on Tuesday.
“The offensive mess wasn’t Mike McCoy’s fault,” said Alex Marvez of The Sporting News.