Chiefs lead AP Pro32 poll; Packers up to No. 2, Bills No. 3
Falcons Chiefs Football
Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay (50) reacts next to Atlanta Falcons' Luke Stocker (88) after Falcons place kicker Younghoe Koo missed a 39-yard field goal during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020, in Kansas City. The Chiefs defeated the Falcons 17-14. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
SIMMI BUTTAR
NEW YORK (AP) — Despite winning 10 in a row, the Kansas City Chiefs have been just barely getting by in recent games.
The defending champs have won their past seven games by a combined 25 points going into Week 17, when they could rest several key players against the Los Angeles Chargers.
And the Chiefs' lead has also narrowed a bit atop the latest AP Pro32 poll.
The Chiefs received 10 of 12 first-place votes for 381 points in balloting Tuesday by media members who regularly cover the NFL.
"The Chiefs' close call with the Falcons might give other teams hope that they are beatable," said Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. "But winning in Kansas City, with or without a full house, is going to be difficult."
The Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills flipped spots again after routs in prime time. The Packers earned a first-place vote for 368 points and returned to No. 2 in the poll after rolling past the Tennessee Titans 40-14 on Sunday night.
"With a dominant win over Tennessee in the snow, the Packers looked like the best team in the NFC, while Aaron Rodgers strengthened his case to win league MVP," said Jenny Vrentas of The Monday Morning Quarterback.
The Titans dropped four places to No. 9 after the loss and face the Houston Texans on Sunday with a chance to clinch the AFC South.
The AFC East champion Bills got the remaining first-place vote for 364 points but slipped to No. 3 after dominating the New England Patriots 38-9 on Monday night in Foxborough.
"They won't have the No. 1 seed, but I'm more bullish on the Bills than the team that does (Kansas City) entering the postseason based upon their December surge and lights-out play of quarterback Josh Allen," said Alex Marvez of Sirius XM.
The New Orleans Saints remained at No. 4 after their 52-33 rout of Minnesota on Christmas, when Alvin Kamara tied an NFL record from 1929 with six TDs in the game.
The NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks gained a spot to No. 5.
And the AFC North champion Pittsburgh Steelers continued their up-and-down run as they gained four spots to No. 6. The Steelers, who ended a three-game losing streak on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, have gone from No. 5 to No. 10 to No. 6 in the past three weeks.
"Facing the prospect of a four-game losing streak at exactly the wrong time, Ben Roethlisberger summons a monumental second-half effort in a comeback win over the Colts to give the Steelers the AFC North and, more importantly, some momentum heading into the playoffs," said Newsday's Bob Glauber.
The Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers both moved up and are tied at No. 7. The Ravens gained two spots after topping the New York Giants for their fourth win a row.
"Ravens suddenly look like a team nobody wants to play," Fox Sports' John Czarnecki said.
The playoff-bound Buccaneers climbed four spots after cruising past Detroit on Saturday.
The Colts dropped three spots to No. 10 after blowing a 24-7 lead at Pittsburgh. The Colts (10-5) are now on the outside of the AFC playoff race. They need to beat the Jaguars, who beat Indianapolis in Week 1 for their only win of the season, on Sunday and get a loss from Tennessee, Baltimore, Cleveland or Miami to reach the postseason.
Federal prosecutors in a new court filing reportedly point to "strong evidence" that rioters who stormed the Capitol building last week aimed to "capture and assassinate elected officials."The prosecutors included this assessment while asking a judge to detain Jacob Chansley, one of the men who was arrested and charged following the deadly Capitol riot, Reuters reports."Strong evidence, including Chansley's own words and actions at the Capitol, supports that the intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture and assassinate elected officials in the United States government," the prosecutors wrote.Supporters of President Trump stormed the Capitol building on the day Congress was meeting to certify President-elect Joe Biden's election win, leaving five people dead. Trump was subsequently impeached for a second time for "incitement of insurrection" after delivering a speech calling on his supporters to march to the Capitol building.The prosecutors in the filing reportedly wrote that the charges against Chansley "involve active participation in an insurrection attempting to violently overthrow the United States government," adding that the "insurrection is still in progress." They also revealed that Chansley, who was photographed wearing horns at Vice President Mike Pence's desk, allegedly left a note for Pence that warned, "it's only a matter of time, justice is coming," Reuters reports. The filing, Politico writes, "spells out clearly the government's view of an ongoing 'insurrection movement' that is reaching a potential climax as Biden's inauguration approaches." More stories from theweek.com Trump's vaccine delay is getting suspicious The worst-case scenario for America's immediate future Do Democrats realize the danger they are in?
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday decreed parliamentary and presidential elections for later this year in what would be the first vote of its kind since 2006, when the Islamic militant group Hamas won a landslide victory. Elections would pose a major risk for Abbas' Fatah party and also for Hamas, which welcomed the decree. Fatah and Hamas have been publicly calling for elections for more than a decade but have never been able to mend their rift or agree on a process for holding them, and despite Friday's decree, it remained far from clear whether the voting would actually be held.
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