Patriots take over the top spot
Eagles slide down to No. 5 after loss in Seattle
1. Patriots (last week: 2): Who needs Tom Brady? New England has racked up nearly 400 yards on the ground the last two weeks and might stay there without suspended Gronk.
2. Steelers (3): Escaped Cincinnati with the AFC’s No. 1 seed intact after overcoming a deficit and an upsetting injury to Pro Bowl LB Ryan Shazier.
3. Vikings (4): It’s the little things Case Keenum does, like the fact no QB is harder to sack. He’s gone down nine times in 369 dropbacks (2.4%) this season. 4. Seahawks (9): LB Bobby Wagner, who’s basically Luke Kuechly without the name recognition, is finally getting overdue credit while anchoring a depleted defense.
5. Eagles (1): They’re lucky the NFL doesn’t use the college playoff system. Philly’s résumé is highly suspect, with one win against a team currently above .500.
6. Rams (5): Sammy Watkins has made his 31 catches count, scoring on six of them. Might we suggest an expanded role in upcoming games vs. the Eagles and Seahawks?
7. Saints (6): If CB Marshon Lattimore gets healthy, he and RB Alvin Kamara could be the rare pair to sweep defensive/offensive rookie of year honors from the same team.
8. Panthers (7): The defense is really struggling lately, especially against the pass, and might have the unwanted honor of welcoming Aaron Rodgers back in Week 15.
9. Jaguars (10): Remember when Leonard Fournette said the NFL was “easy” in the preseason? He’s averaging 56.5 yards per game and 2.9 per carry over the last month.
10. Falcons (8): With their last four games against NFC South foes, including two vs. the Saints, they’ll either sink or pick up a ton of key tiebreakers.
11. Chargers (11): The major reason they’ve seized momentum in the AFC West? How about a gaudy +10 turnover differential (zero giveaways) during a three-game winning streak.
12. Titans (12): The whole still seems less than the sum of the parts. But let’s credit the run defense allowing fewer than 70 yards per over last seven games.
13. Ravens (14): They naturally fly well below the radar, right? This club plays stifling defense, is running the ball and has a league-best 29 takeaways.
14. Packers (21): Next up, a trip to Cleveland. The Pack are in no position to overlook the Browns, but take care of
business, and Aaron Rodgers returns to a 7-6 squad.
15. Raiders (17): A Christmas trip to Philadelphia is part of their remaining schedule, which is far more foreboding than the Chargers’ or Chiefs’ final set of games.
16. Lions (15): Thank you, Internet. Like the failed attempt to bring down their old Silverdome home, the Lions have been taking their sweet time to implode.
17. Jets (23): What do Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan, Derek Carr, Jameis Winston, Big Ben and Dak Prescott have in common? All have worse QB ratings than Josh McCown (96.7).
18. Cowboys (24): Delay that obituary. Beat the reeling Giants and inconsistent Raiders on the road, and the ’Boys will be 8-6 when Ezekiel Elliott returns to the fold.
19. Chiefs (18): Can we silence the hue and cry for Patrick Mahomes ... unless it’s Alex Smith’s fault the D has allowed a league-high 280 first downs?
20. Redskins (13): Redskins Park office part of Sports Illustrated’s insight into Kirk Cousins. We can only imagine the numbers he’s crunching.
21. Bengals (19): In typical fashion, they blew a golden opportunity to salvage their season and climb within a game of a wild-card spot by collapsing against Pittsburgh.
22. Bills (16): Since a 5-2 start, they’ve dropped four of five, with the defeats coming by average of 25 points. Even if they wind up a playoff team, Buffalo isn’t playoff-caliber.
23. Cardinals (20): Bruce Arians said last week that he’d be “very comfortable” with Blaine Gabbert as his 2018 starter. Maybe Carson Palmer deserves some Eli-level outrage.
24. Buccaneers (22): If we were calling plays, we’d dial rookie TE O.J. Howard’s number more often. He averages 2.7 targets a game. #ScratchChinEmoji
25. Colts (25): Of the top 11 rushers in NFL history, the only one not in the Hall of Fame is Frank Gore, who now ranks fifth (13,697 yards). But does he feel immortal?
26. Texans (26): Tom Savage has 13 turnovers in six starts. Atop Houston’s priority list for 2018 should be a better backup for Deshaun Watson.
27. Dolphins (27): Kenny Stills’ ability to raise his game for a poor offense sure makes it seem like Jarvis Landry might be expendable in the offseason.
28. 49ers (30): The Tom Brady comparisons are ridiculous, but we’re glad the Niners locker room and the team’s fans are so taken with Jimmy Garoppolo after one start.
29. Bears (28): He’s lacking downfield weapons, but can we at least take one training wheel off Mitchell Trubisky, who’s averaging 155 passing yards per game?
30. Broncos (29): The defense is ranked fifth yet has given up more points than every team except Indianapolis and the most TD passes (26). #FreeFlyZone
31. Giants (31): With four Pro Bowlers, including OBJ, on IR, a top-five draft pick inbound and perhaps a revitalized Eli Manning, they might not be down long.
32. Browns (32): Good — Josh Gordon’s 85-yard return better than his career average. Bad — he caught four of 11 targets. Ugly — Gordon couldn’t stave off 0-12.