2nd-year starter Wentz has Eagles soaring to the top
1. Eagles (2): Is Carson Wentz ready to follow Ben Roethlisberger, Russell Wilson as second-year starters to lead franchise on a Super Bowl magic carpet ride?
2. Steelers (3): Pittsburgh has won three of four, the common thread being Le’Veon Bell’s dominance. He averaged 190 yards from scrimmage in the victories.
3. Chiefs (1): Noticed teams aren’t afraid to attack CB Marcus Peters? Concerning to see K.C. defense surrender 505 yards and a two-score lead in the fourth quarter.
4. Patriots (5): The fog helped — and Atlanta isn’t nearly as potent as it was eight months ago — but give New England’s defense credit for its best showing of ’17. 5. Seahawks (6): Russell Wilson passed for 334 yards and three TDs Sunday. If Jimmy Graham could catch the ball, Wilson’s numbers would have been outrageous.
6. Redskins (7): Maybe they’re merely .500 and now likely relegated to the wild-card chase. But Washing-
ton’s losses are to Philadelphia and Kansas City.
7. Rams (8): Yes, they played in London on Sunday, but they’re now allowing 13 points a game in what count as home dates — a figure that balloons to 28.7 on road.
8. Vikings (14): DE Everson Griffen deserves more love. He is the sixth player to record a sack in each of his team’s first seven games and has nine overall. 9. Saints (11): Shoutout to Drew Brees, who chucked his 500th TD pass (playoffs included) Sunday. Ironic given this Saints edition might be less reliant on him than most. 10. Jaguars (23): Nice job, Blake Bortles. Nice job, T.J. Yeldon. But props to Calais Campbell, the first Jag (already!) with 10 sacks since Bobby McCray in ’06. 11. Texans (12): Dropped from a first-place tie to third during bye and now go to Seattle for Deshaun Watson’s first test against elite D. Good time to get Duane Brown back. 12. Bills (9): Bend-but-don’t break defense making huge plays, collecting 11 takeaways over last four games to offset worrisome amount of yards allowed through the air.
13. Dolphins (24): Despite the league’s least-productive offense, they’re sitting pretty at 4-2. But is QB controversy inevitable now that Matt Moore’s getting a shot.
14. Falcons (10): Yes, they need to get Julio Jones more involved. But new memo to OC Steve Sarkisian: allotting Tevin Coleman fewer than 10 touches is nearly as dumb.
15. Panthers (4): Shocking Cam Newton would skip a news conference and miss chance to show off his dopey hats. But five interceptions in two weeks would make us hide, too.
16. Lions (13): Matthew Stafford struggles in prime time, and a depleted defense has hit the skids. Not a good time to play Pittsburgh on the Sunday night stage. 17. Chargers (18): They’re suddenly reaching expectations and even winning “home” games. Credit DEs Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, who might approach 40 combined sacks. 18. Broncos (15): If you thought a 21-0 road loss to the Bolts was ugly, just wait. Next up is a trip to Kansas City ... followed by a visit to Philadelphia. 19. Cowboys (17): Has Ezekiel Elliott learned how to compartmentalize his issues? Since the Week 2 debacle in Denver, his rushing total
has climbed steadily in each game.
20. Raiders (19): Safe to say WR Amari Cooper’s back? After managing just 146 receiving yards in his first six games, he went off for 210 in Week 7.
21. Titans (16): They’re lucky to be in first given how they’ve played. Imagine if they didn’t have Ryan Succop’s NFL-record 55 consecutive field goals from inside the 50.
22. Bears (27): Make it five weeks in a row Chicago’s baby Monsters of Midway have limited opponents to 300 yards or fewer. Just keep handing off, Mitchell. 23. Buccaneers (26): Closebut-no-cigar Bucs might be fulfilling potential if the run defense wasn’t getting smashed for nearly 150 yards per over the last three games. 24. Packers (21): Maybe instead of barking at reporters, Mike McCarthy, you could now acknowledge Colin Kaepernick would have likely produced more than Brett Hundley. 25. Jets (22): TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins is one of the better reclamation projects in recent memory, apparently getting life in order and regularly visiting the end zone. 26. Bengals (25): Marvin Lewis is testy, Vontaze Burfict is dirty, and Andy Dalton is unimpressive. We’d
say Cincinnati is in playoff form but ... you know. 27. Cardinals (20): Let’s hope Carson Palmer returns this year — if not to save Arizona’s season, then to at least potentially finish his career between the lines.
28. Ravens (28): No wonder Ray Lewis is itching to play again. He must be recoiling in horror to see Baltimore fielding the league’s worst defense against the run.
29. Giants (29): If Big Blue fans weren’t already looking to 2018, at least they can be excited about Evan Engram, perhaps the club’s best tight end since Jeremy Shockey.
30. Colts (30): No blocking. No defense. No points. Not even any team solidarity, though T.Y. Hilton tried to walk back his finger-pointing. 31. 49ers (31): A real shame they couldn’t muster a far more competitive performance to honor Dwight Clark’s appearance at Levi’s Stadium.
32. Browns (32): A final salute to injured LT Joe Thomas and his streak of 10,363 consecutive snaps. If Cleveland could only get 63 good snaps from its quarterbacks.