–The Philadelphia Eagles keep surviving with their high wire act. For the fourth game in a row they overcame a halftime deficit and needed a 59-yard field goal at the end of regulation to send ithe Bills game to overtime. They then beat Buffalo on a touchdown drive by Jalen Hurts after the Bills kicked a feld goal on their first possession.. The Eagles have the best record in the league at 10-1 and have a two game lead in the battle for the top seed in the NFC. They play two 8-3 teams – The 49ers and Cowboys the next two weeks – as they try to hold onto the top seed. The final four games against Seattle, Arizona and twice against the Giants should be in their win column.Detroit lost to Green Bay on Thanksgiving Day to fall to 8-3, The Lions figure to win their division with a three game lead but are unlikely to get the top seed.
–While the Eagles are in control in the NFC, the AFC is wide open as three different teams had the top seed Sunday. First, the Jaguars stepped into the first seed by beating Houston and then Kansas City took over the top seed by beating the Raiders in a late afternoon game to go 8-3 and then Baltimore ended the day by beating the Chargers to go 9-3. So all three teams have a shot at the seed along with the Dolphns, who beat the Jets on Black Friday. While the Dolphins have a three game lead in their division, the Jaguars and Chiefs have two game leads and the Ravens have a one game lead.
—Josh Dobbs’ storybook start in Minnesota replacing injured Kirk Cousins hit a roadblock when he threw four picks in a loss to the Bears. The Vikings are still the seventh seed but the odds may be against them making the playoffs. The Bengals, Browns and Jets, who were considered contenders at the start of the year, all lost with their starting quarterbacks out for the year and could misss the playoff although the Browns are currently the sixth seed.
–The Patriots dropped to 2-9, one game behind the 1-10 Panthers in the battle for the top pick although the Bears own the Panthers pick.. Rookie Chad Ryland missed a 35-yard field goal at the end in a 10-7 loss to the Giants. In the previous game, he missed a 35-yarder in a 10-6 loss to the Colts. It doesn’t help that coach Bill Belichick got rid of dependable Nick Folk to go with Ryland after he drafted him on the fourth round. There is more speculation owner Bob Kraft may be ready to move on from Belichick.
–The Panthers lost to the Titans, which led owner David Tepper, not noted for his patience, to fire coach Frank Reich 11 games into his first season. Reich has now been fired two years in a row and is the third coach in the last three years to be fired before his first season was over.
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