NFL Power Rankings: Week 7

The fallout of week 7 across the NFL puts the New England Patriots on top of the power rankings, without anyone really arguing they’re the best in the NFL. Challengers: The Dallas Cowboys (had a bye week), Minnesota Vikings (lost) and the Denver Broncos (crushed Brock Osweiler). The worst team? The Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers are trying, but no one can look as bad as the Cleveland Browns.

1. New England Patriots (6-1): Not perfect, especially on defense, but right now it’s hard to see anyone stopping them from getting the #1 seed in the AFC.
2. Dallas Cowboys (5-1): The bye week came right in time to rest up for a Philadelphia Eagles team that’s winning again.
3. Minnesota Vikings (5-1): Exposed for the first time this season, the Vikings suddenly look like a team that can’t ride its defense and Sam Bradford all the way to glory.
4. Denver Broncos (5-2): Trevor Siemian isn’t a very good quarterback, not yet. Paxton Lynch is in the same boat. But this defense is good enough to help them hide their weaknesses against most teams.
5. Kansas City Chiefs (4-2): Seeing Alex Smith connect with wide receivers and actually pull off a come back isn’t something that happens every day.
6. Seattle Seahawks (4-1-1): The Seahawks are making a big mistake by not resting Russell Wilson. Their defense is good enough to not let them fall apart if he sits for a game or two.
7. Oakland Raiders (5-2): Having Latavius Murray makes the Raiders so much more dangerous, as they improve to 4-0 on the road this season.
8. Philadelphia Eagles (4-2): Despite the win, Carson Wentz didn’t look too good, which could spell trouble against more creative teams offensively than the Vikings.
9. Detroit Lions (4-3): With Matthew Stafford getting this kind of protection, it’s no wonder everyone is talking about him as an MVP candidate.
10. Green Bay Packers (4-2): According to Aaron Rodgers himself, games with him throwing over 50 times aren’t going to be so rare from now on.
11. Arizona Cardinals (3-3-1): I think their head coach has let the success of the last two years get to his head.
12. Cincinnati Bengals (3-4): Even if they did beat the Browns, something feels off with the Bengals this season, especially defensively.
13. Houston Texans (4-3): Good defenses make Brock Osweiler look bad, which is more of a problem for Bill O’Brien and his job security than anyone else.
14. Washington Redskins (4-3): Kirk Cousins continues to be one of the most inconsistent quarterbacks alive, but he wasn’t the main reason the Redskins win streak stopped.
15. New York Giants (4-3): Even when they win the Giants continue to look bad, and if it wasn’t for Case Keenum, they probably would be leaving London empty handed and under .500.
16. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3): Landry Jones was actually decent considering the opposition, but the Steelers are going to fall quickly in the power rankings while he’s at QB.
17. Buffalo Bills (4-3): Running the ball only 22 times in a game simply makes it impossible for the Bills to win.
18. Atlanta Falcons (4-3): Great offense, but too predictable at times, which makes it easy for teams to hone in on Julio Jones and complicate things for Matt Ryan.
19. San Diego Chargers (3-4): The most fun, crazy, unpredictable team in the NFL.
20. Los Angeles Rams (3-4): The road to another 7-9 season seems clearer than ever.
21. Indianapolis Colts (3-4): Against about half the NFL, the connection between Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton is going to be enough.
22. Miami Dolphins (3-4): One name, Jay Ajayi. He ran for 418 yards in two games. That’s why the Dolphins are suddenly winning.
23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3): When Jameis Winston isn’t throwing interceptions, the Buccaneers are fun to watch. It usually only happens against really bad teams.
24. Baltimore Ravens (3-4): If Joe Flacco continues to put the ball in the air over 40 times a game, the Ravens aren’t going to get out of this losing streak.
25. New Orleans Saints (2-4): Two turnovers killed the Saints in their loss to the Chiefs, actually playing good defense for once.
26. Tennessee Titans (3-4): Without a good defense, all the running and solid offensive line protection in the world aren’t going to help.
27. New York Jets (2-5): The Jets got better by benching Fitzpatrick, losing Geno Smith to injury and getting an angry Fitzpatrick back.
28. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-4): Heading nowhere, like always, only with a bit more optimism than usual.
29. Carolina Panthers (1-5): At home against the Arizona Cardinals after the bye week will probably look very different compared to last year’s NFC championship game.
30. Chicago Bears (1-6): The Bears keep shuffling through quarterbacks, on to Matt Barkley. It doesn’t matter with a defense that can’t stop anyone.
31. San Francisco 49ers (1-6): The 49ers are losing just like they intended to, but it’s incredible to think how quickly things went downhill for the franchise the moment they fired Jim Harbaugh.
32. Cleveland Browns (0-7): From Griffin to McCown to Kessler and now to Kevin Hogan. A complete, utter mess.

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