Steelers make leap in rankings
1. Chiefs (previous: 1): It will be interesting to see if they try to steer clear of a Pittsburgh playoff matchup. Chiefs 0-3 vs. Steelers since 2016, 17-3 otherwise.
2. Eagles (5): Fletcher Cox leads front four that anchors league’s best run defense and consistently jeopardizes quarterbacks without much blitz help.
3. Steelers (14): Stuff might have just gotten real with Pittsburgh ramping up snaps of ancient LB James Harrison, whose sack Sunday put Chiefs in loss column.
4. Panthers (2): Red flag — their running backs have combined for 29 rushing yards over last two games and one touchdown in Week 6 loss to Philly.
5. Patriots (6): Tom Brady now has 212 career wins, including playoffs ... or eight fewer than Chris Sale and David Price combined. Need an arm, Bosox?
6. Seahawks (7): Time to put pedal to metal? Seattle is 31-12-1 following bye over the last five seasons, which all ended with postseason trips.
7. Redskins (11): They’re off to better-than-expected start. But if Eagles complete season sweep Monday, Washington’s NFC East title hopes probably cooked.
8. Rams (12): As good a time as any to issue reminder L.A. has league’s premier special teams, which accounted for 21 of victorious Rams’ 27 points Sunday.
9. Bills (8): Luck plays huge part in any team’s season. It might be smiling on Buffalo, which draws Jameis Winston and Derek Carr at less than full strength the next two weeks.
10. Falcons (3): Matt Ryan’s
87.3 passer rating is second lowest of his career. Meanwhile, Julio Jones is averaging career-low yardage output.
11. Saints (17): The New Orleans defense scored three touchdowns Sunday. Eighteen of the 28 offenses in action during Week 6 couldn’t make similar claim.
12. Texans (18): Deshaun Watson leads NFL with 15 TD passes. No rookie has ever thrown more after his team’s first six games.
13. Lions (10): Beleaguered QB Matthew Stafford seems to have blown a tire, and his defense is leaking serious oil. Bye comes at right time for Team Ford.
14. Vikings (16): Last year’s
first-rounder, WR Laquon Treadwell, had three receptions for 51 yards Sunday. He caught one ball for 15 yards in 2016.
15. Broncos (9): Key injuries, poor play and falling to a winless team at home after your bye week? Denver’s Sunday night loss about as bad as they come.
16. Titans (23): Does any offensive lineman in the league set an aggressive tone, or get way downfield, the way Taylor Lewan does?
17. Cowboys (15): What a bye week. It seemed Ezekiel Elliott was going back into mothballs before latest legal reprieve. Still, Dallas lost more ground to NFC East foes.
18. Chargers (27): We’ll never understand why marginal teams opt for unproven kickers. Bolts might be 4-2 if Nick Novak had been re-signed sooner.
19. Raiders (22): Now burdened by four-game skid, they need serious jolt. Newly signed LB NaVorro Bowman might provide it, especially for a flagging defense.
20. Cardinals (28): Adrian Peterson ran for 134 yards Sunday. Arizona hadn’t exceeded 134 in last eight games.
21. Packers (4): Loss of Aaron Rodgers is the headliner. Can they remain relevant when factoring in depleted O-line and secondary?
22. Jets (20): Rookie S Jamal Adams has a lot of work to do be-
fore he’s ready to cover Rob Gronkowski, who scored twice in Jets’ seven-point loss. 23. Jaguars (13): Does any club fluctuate more week to week? If pattern holds, Jags will hammer Colts this Sunday, then get clobbered by their bye in Week 8. 24. Dolphins (26): No team is averaging fewer yards or points — Miami’s 12.2 per game is 3.5 worse than that of Cleveland — yet Dolphins are somehow afloat. 25. Bengals (24): They’ve run ball 87 times over last three games, 50 of those carries going to Joe Mixon. Is he about to become their workhorse? 26. Buccaneers (19): Given spark Ryan Fitzpatrick provided Sunday, it might not be worst thing for Jameis Winston to take a week or two off as shoulder heals. 27. Bears (25): Despite getting limited offensive contributions, this defense has shone, holding last four opponents to 300 yards or fewer.
28. Ravens (21): Not only did they stumble at home to lowly Chicago, all of Baltimore’s points came courtesy of special teams.
29. Giants (31): With three takeaways and four sacks, credit the defense for stepping up at time when Eli Manning seems to have a hand tied behind his back.
30. Colts (29): The Indianapolis defense is struggling just as much as Andrew Luck to recover from offseason reconstructive surgery. 31. 49ers (30): The first franchise to win five Lombardi Trophies is also first to lose five games in a row by three points or fewer. Quite a historical spectrum.
32. Browns (32): You know, fellas, Cody Kessler was pretty efficient last season (92.3 passer rating). Is he really your third-best option?