Who is the NFL’s best team? According to the AP Top 32 poll it is the Kansas City Chiefs. The AFC team with the best record received seven of 12 first-place votes by media members who regularly cover the NFL. The Chiefs were previously third.
Only three points separate them and second place New Orleans Saints, who got the other five first-place votes. The Los Angeles Rams were in first place, but dropped two spots after their Sunday night loss to Chicago.
Who is the worst team in the NFL, according to the poll? The Arizona Cardinals, who are 3-10. The San Francisco 49ers are 31st, with the Oakland Raiders at 30th.
Raiders Need New Machine
The mystery of why Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was held out most of the second half was blamed on an outdated X-ray machine at Oakland Coliseum. The Steeler signal caller told a radio show that they couldn’t figure out what was ailing him because of the machine.
“The X-ray was inconclusive because the machine was old,†said Roethlisberger, who returned in the fourth quarter after getting a pain killer injection.
Maybe Las Vegas, the team’s new home in 2020, can buy them one, since city officials have given them just about everything else they have asked for. The city of Oakland certainly won’t be donating one. They filed a lawsuit against the team on Tuesday.
Chargers Running Back Questionable
It is the biggest game of the year for the Los Angeles Chargers when they face the Kansas City Chiefs Thursday, but they might be without one of their most vital players.
Running back Melvin Gordon is still hurting after spraining the MCL in his right knee during the second half of the Chargers’ Nov. 26 win against Arizona.
Gordon said if he plays he won’t be 100 percent, but said the game is so crucial, he might elect to make himself available.
”We need all the playmakers we need to beat KC,” Gordon said. ”We have so much at stake right now and I want to help I can. If I can’t go out there and be me and can’t make my cuts I don’t want to be out there.’
How the Mighty Have Fallen
Defending Super Bowl champions Philadelphia are in serious danger of not making the playoffs, and now be mulling over putting their starting quarterback on the shelf for the rest of the season.
The Eagles are 6-7 and all but eliminated from the postseason. It might be official this Sunday when they face the Los Angeles Rams. Quarterback Carson Wentz is suffering from a back injury and didn’t practice on Wednesday. He is also listed as out for the game against the Rams.
If the team loses, there is a chance Wentz won’t play the rest of the year. The thinking is why risk making the injury worse when the team isn’t going to the playoffs.
If Philadelphia doesn’t make the postseason, they will join the Denver Broncos, who won Super Bowl in 2015 and then missed qualifying the following season.
