Battle for No. 1 on tap
1. Ravens 9-2 (Last week: 1): The NFL MVP is Lamar Jackson’s award to lose. A possible a Super Bowl LIV preview is next with the 49ers coming to town.
2. 49ers 10-1 (5): The 49ers kicked off a tough three-game stretch by blowing out the Packers 37-8. After the trip to Baltimore, they travel to New Orleans.
3. Patriots 10-1 (2): Questions remain about the offense, but the Patriots defense did a number on the Cowboys’ attack in miserable weather at Gillette Stadium. 4. Seahawks 9-2 (4): Russell Wilson didn’t have his best game vs. the Eagles, but the Seahawks defense came away with five turnovers and three sacks in the win. 5. Saints 9-2 (6): The Saints escaped the Panthers at home on a final-play FG, and they will have to rebound quickly for a trip to Atlanta on Thanksgiving night.
6. Packers 8-3 (3): The Packers went to the Bay Area hoping to compete for No. 1 in the NFC. They left wondering how big of a gap there is to close with the 49ers.
7. Vikings 8-3 (7): The Vikings have to hope a week off didn’t cool off QB Kirk Cousins. He’s been on fire since Week 5 and is as a dark-horse MVP candidate.
8. Texans 7-4 (11): Slow starts plague the Texans, who have only 23 points in the first quarter all season. They fell behind vs. the Colts, but still won the AFC South battle.
9. Chiefs 7-4 (8): Andy Reid’s team comes out of its week off re-energized for the stretch run with a key AFC West game vs. the Raiders at Arrowhead Stadim.
10. Colts 6-5 (10): The Colts have hit a rut, losing three of their last four games. Now they have to go on a run in order to climb into position for a wild-card spot. 11. Cowboys 6-5 (9): Owner Jerry Jones isn’t happy. The Cowboys, who lost to the Patriots 13-9 last weekend, haven’t beaten a team with a winning record this season. 12. Bills 8-3 (15): The Bills continued to make a playoff push by beating the league’s downtrodden: Jets, Giants, Bengals, Titans, Dolphins (twice), Redskins and Broncos. 13. Rams 6-5 (12): The Rams offense has been up and down all season, and the defense was simply dominated by Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on Monday night. 14. Steelers 6-5 (16): The Steelers rebounded from their ugly road loss to the Browns by rallying to defeat the Bengals. Next up: rematch vs. the Browns.
15. Titans 6-5 (17): The Titans are 4-1 since benching Marcus Mariota for Ryan Tannehill, who has a passer rating greater than 100 in four of his starts.
16. Browns 5-6 (18): Don’t count the Browns out yet. They have won three straight games and can actually reach .500 with a victory vs. the Steelers.
17. Raiders 6-5 (13): The Raiders, who were pummeled on the road 34-3 by the Jets, have logged a total of 32,023 air miles this season, including a trip to London.
18. Eagles 5-6 (14): Does anyone want to win the NFC East? The Cowboys keep leaving the door open, wide open for the Eagles. But the Eagles keep walking past it. 19. Bears 5-6 (21): It wasn’t pretty and the defense needed to stop the Giants on fourth down late, but the Bears won for the second time in three weeks.
20. Panthers 5-6 (19): The Panthers have lost three straight and likely need to run the table for a playoff berth, a tall order with the Seahawks and Saints (again) left. 21. Chargers 4-7 (20): All seven of the Chargers’ losses this season have been by seven points or fewer, but that’s becoming a loser’s lament in Los Angeles. . 22. Jets 4-7 (27): The once-broken offense of the Jets is humming now. The team has three straight victories and put up 34 points in each of those games. 23. Buccaneers 4-7 (25): Jameis Winston has 22 TD passes, two back of league leader Russell Wilson. Winston also tops the NFL with 20 picks, six more than second place. 24. Jaguars 4-7 (22): The defense that not long ago was one of the best has really fallen off. The Jags were routed by their AFC South rivals in their last three games. 25. Cardinals 3-7-1 (23): The Cardinals emetge from their open date with games vs. the Rams and Steelers. The Cards have allowed 27 points or more in eight games. 26. Falcons 3-8 (26): The Falcons were back to their familiar stumbling ways vs. the Bucs. Now the conversation has returned to the topic of offseason changes. 27. Broncos 3-8 (28): It will be interesting to see if the Broncos can get rookie Drew Lock up to speed because Brandon Allen doesn’t appear to be the answer at QB.
28. Lions 3-7-1 (24): A bad season just keeps getting worse as the Lions lost to the Redskins. The Lions are 9-17-1 under second-year coach Matt Patricia.
29. Dolphins 2-9 (29): The lowly Dolphins have a whole host of problems, and none has been more glaring than the inability to move the ball on the ground. 30. Redskins 2-9 (31): A lousy season was summed up by Colt McCoy taking the final snap vs. the Lions, as rookie QB Dwayne Haskins was busy taking a selfie with a fan. 31. Giants 2-9 (30): The Giants skidded to their seventh consecutive loss. Now, they’re two short of the team record that was last reached during the 2003 season. 32. Bengals 0-11 (32): As the Bengals trudge toward the finish line of a miserable season, they at least are well-positioned for the top pick in the draft.
QB Devlin Hodges helped the Steelers beat the winless Bengals on Sunday.