Carolina Panthers
LA Rams lead the AP Pro32 poll
Carolina Panthers

LA Rams lead the AP Pro32 poll

Published Sep. 26, 2018 5:23 p.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams continue to be box office gold for the NFL.

The Rams are off to a 3-0 start after handling the Chargers 35-23 in an all-LA matchup on Sunday.

They also are the unanimous top team in the latest AP Pro32 poll .



The Rams received all 12 first-place votes and 384 points in balloting Tuesday by media members who regularly cover the NFL.

They open Week 4 by hosting the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night in a matchup of NFC powerhouses.

"Jared Goff is looking like a Pro Bowl quarterback under wunderkind coach Sean McVay, and the Rams are looking like a Super Bowl contender after a splendid early season run," said Newsday's Bob Glauber.

The unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs moved up two spots to No. 2. The Chiefs close out Week 4 with a prime-time matchup at Denver against the Broncos on Monday night.

"Patrick Mahomes has been a revelation, but the Chiefs get the second spot behind the Rams because of their porous defense, which is yielding more than 30 points and 474 yards per game," said Jenny Vrentas of The Monday Morning Quarterback.

The Philadelphia Eagles continued to bounce around the top 10 in the poll. The Eagles were No. 2 after the first week of the regular season. They fell to No. 7 after losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but rose to No. 3 after edging the Indianapolis Colts 20-16 in Carson Wentz's first game since December, when he tore two ligaments in his knee.

The Jacksonville Jaguars dropped two places to No. 4 after their field goal-filled 9-6 loss to AFC South rival Tennessee.

Led by Drew Brees, the New Orleans jumped 10 spots to No. 5 after topping the Atlanta Falcons 43-37 in overtime.

"As Drew Brees closes in on the NFL record book, it appears New Orleans has recovered nicely from that Week 1 stunner vs. Tampa Bay," said Ira Kaufman of Fox 13 in Tampa, Florida.

The Miami Dolphins, who are off to a surprising 3-0 start, also made a major move. The AFC East leaders moved up seven places to No. 6. The Dolphins face another big test this week when they travel to Foxborough to face the suddenly slumping Patriots, who have lost two in a row and fell five spots to No. 10.

The Patriots have overcome slow starts before and still reached the Super Bowl, and they now have three consecutive home games to try to make up ground in the division.

Another team making a big climb was the Carolina Panthers, who jumped five spots to No. 7 after defeating Cincinnati 31-21.

"Found a running game," Fox Sports' John Czarnecki said of the Panthers, who finished with 230 rushing yards in the victory. Christian McCaffrey led the way with a career-high 184 yards.

The Vikings went in the opposite direction as they dropped five spots to No. 8 after getting routed at home by Buffalo 27-6.

And the Baltimore Ravens regained their footing as they climbed seven spots to No. 9 after handling the Broncos 27-14.

The Ravens have a key game in Week 4 as they head to Pittsburgh on Sunday night to face the Steelers in one of the NFL's fiercest rivalries.

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