Steelers near the top
1. Chiefs 6-1 (2): The Chiefs had an interception return for a TD and a kickoff return for a score.
2. Steelers 6-0 (5): The Steelers held on against the Titans and improved to 6-0 for the first time since 1978.
3. Titans 5-1 (3): Stephen Gostkowski missed wide right from 45 yards with seconds remaining in the Titans’ loss.
4. Ravens 5-1 (4): The Ravens come out of their week off needing to tighten up on offense.
5. Packers 5-1 (6): The absence of left tackle David Bakhtiari didn’t slow the Packers as they bounced back from their first loss and throttled the lousy Texans.
6. Seahawks 5-1 (1): Russell
Wilson has been having an MVP season, masking some of the defense’s shortcomings, but his third interception came in OT and ultimately doomed the Seahawks in a 37-34 road loss to the
Cardinals.
7. Saints 4-2 (7): The Saints were without their top two wide receivers, but still held off the Panthers.
8. Buccaneers 5-2 (9): Antonio Brown has to be COVID-19 insurance more than anything, right? Mike Evans and Chris Godwin have had injuries, but Tom Brady is rolling now.
9. Cardinals 5-2 (14): The Cardinals trailed by 10 with less than three minutes to play before QB Kyler Murray rallied them against the Seahawks..
10. Bills 5-2 (12): Josh Allen’s final numbers looked fine in a win over the Jets, but the Bills offense is out of sync.
11. Rams 5-2 (13): Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd had two sacks in Monday night’s win over the Bears — his former team.
12. Colts 4-2 (10): The Colts had the week off, and near the midpoint of the season, the acquisition of defensive tackle DeForest Buckner is looking good.
13. Bears 5-2 (11):The Bears offense ranks 29th in total yards, 32nd in rushing, 25th in passing and 27th in scoring.
14. 49ers 4-3 (15): Injuries continue to plague the
49ers.
15. Browns 5-2 (17): Baker Mayfield threw a pick on his first attempt for the second straight game, but he got on a big-time heater against the Bengals.
16. Raiders 3-3 (8): The Raiders offensive line missed most of the week of practice because of COVID-19, but it was the defense that looked as if it was out of it in a 45-20 loss to the Bucs.
17. Dolphins 3-3 (16): The Dolphins used their week off to transition to rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa.
18. Chargers 2-4 (21): Rookie Justin Herbert passed for 347 yards and three TDs and rushed for a QB franchise-record 66 yards and another score in a 39-29 win over the Jags.
19. Lions 3-3 (25): Matthew Stafford’s 30th gamewinning drive was completed on the final play against the Falcons in Atlanta.
20. Patriots 2-4 (18): QB Cam Newton is struggling mightily, but Bill Belichick says the Patriots are sticking with him.
21. Panthers 3-4 (19): Joey Slye’s 65-yard field-goal try with two minutes remaining was just short in a 27-24 loss to the Saints.
22. Eagles 2-4-1 (22): Injuries have hampered the Eagles, but they’re treading water in the NFC East.
23. Broncos 2-4 (23): The Broncos held the Chiefs to 0-for-8 on third down and limited Patrick Mahomes to 15 completions and 200 passing yards, but still lost big. 24. Washington 2-5 (31): Much of the focus has been on No. 2 pick Chase Young, but Montez Sweat, a first-round pick last year, has five sacks.
25. Texans 1-6 (24): The Texans were leaving Packers receivers wide open in the secondary.
26. Falcons 1-6 (26): It’s been some kind of season in Atlanta.
27. Bengals 1-5-1 (28): Joe Burrow was sacked four times, increasing his NFL-high total to 28, but the rookie still threw for 406 yards and three TDs in a loss to the Browns.
28. Vikings 1-5 (27): Maybe the Vikings haven’t packed it in, but their recent trade of defensive end Yannick Ngakoue shows the main focus is on 2021.
29. Cowboys 2-5 (20): QB Andy Dalton was knocked out on a dirty hit by Washington linebacker Jon Bostic. 30. Giants 1-6 (29): Scrutiny is on QB Daniel Jones. 31. Jaguars 1-6 (30): The Jags are squarely in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes.
32. Jets 0-7 (32): The defense limited the Bills to eight FG attempts, but the Jets had only two first downs and 4 yards of offense in five second-half possessions.