NFLTR Power Rankings: Week 7

Week 6 was a weird one in the NFL, with both unbeaten teams being toppled. Plenty of other games were far closer than expected and overall it was just a sloppy week of football. Did it shake up the power rankings dramatically? Read on and find out: 

1 – San Francisco 49ers (5-1) 

• Last ranking: 1

The Browns took down the 49ers, who for the second straight week faced the NFL’s No. 1 defense. Cleveland held up much better than Dallas did the week before and for the first time this season, San Francisco’s unstoppable offense seemed flummoxed. The Browns should get plenty of credit for winning with P.J. Walker starting at quarterback but I still think San Francisco is the cream of the crop. Not many other teams will be able to slow them down quite like that. 

2 – Miami Dolphins (5-1)

• Last ranking: 4

Despite falling into a 14-0 hole against the Panthers, the Dolphins rattled off five straight touchdowns to win comfortably. The offense looks like it will continue to be an enormous pain for opponents, while the defense stands to improve in a big way with the return of CB Jalen Ramsey in the coming weeks. Miami failed its first big measuring test game against the Bills but they have another one against the Eagles this Sunday. 

3 – Kansas City Chiefs (5-1)

• Last ranking: 3

Given how bad the Broncos were coming into this week, a lot of people expected the Chiefs to run them out of the building. So scoring 19 points feels like a disappointment. Still, Denver has always played the Chiefs tough as a divisional opponent and the short week was likely a factor. Kansas City’s defense looked great again, which is a scary prospect for opponents if/when the offense finds the level it’s used to operating at. 

4 – Detroit Lions (5-1)

• Last ranking: 5

Detroit dismantled a better-than-expected Bucs team 20-6, continuing an outstanding start to the season for the Lions who have also dealt with some injuries. Given they beat the Chiefs in Week 1, they arguably should be higher, but that game was close enough that I’ll give Kansas City the benefit of the doubt for now. 

5 – Philadelphia Eagles (5-1)

• Last ranking: 2

Philadelphia hadn’t played particularly great to start the season but it hadn’t bitten them in the loss column. That changed against the Jets. The Eagles let the Jets hang around and it cost them. Only one of QB Jalen Hurts‘ three interceptions was his fault but it was a backbreaker — a ball thrown into double coverage that Hurts was staring at the entire play. That set up the go-ahead touchdown and the Eagles’ ensuing drive went nowhere. 

It’s too early to panic, either about the Eagles’ outlook this season or about Hurts. He hasn’t played as well as he did last year when he was an MVP candidate, but that might not have been a realistic expectation even though he’s gotten steadily better every year of his NFL career so far. It’s fair to say there’s a lot for Hurts and the Eagles to clean up, though. 

6 – Buffalo Bills (4-2)

• Last ranking: 6

Buffalo wasn’t impressive against the Giants, struggling to find a groove on offense for much of the night before rattling off two long touchdown drives in the second half to take the lead. It’s the second straight week they’ve struggled, however we’ll have to see if it’s more than a blip. 

7 – Baltimore Ravens (4-2)

• Last ranking: 8

Things still feel too hard for the Ravens at times but they won comfortably against the Titans in a game against an opponent they were supposed to outmatch. That hasn’t always been a given for them this year. Starting QB Lamar Jackson is playing at a high, high level, and sooner or later it feels like this offense will click. 

8 – Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2)

• Last ranking: 9

Jacksonville won comfortably against the Colts, completing the season sweep and dispelling the idea that Indianapolis could be a sneaky AFC South challenger. This next game against the Saints on Thursday night with a banged-up QB Trevor Lawrence could be tricky, though. 

9 – Dallas Cowboys (4-2)

• Last ranking: 7

The Cowboys got the win against the Chargers in a squeaker of a game and head into their bye week at 4-2. It’s a good place to be. Still, there are some concerns. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott had possibly his best game of the season and it still meant just 20 points. Special teams nearly gave the game away. The defense continues to look outstanding, however, and will keep the team in the mix in the NFC. 

10 – Cincinnati Bengals (3-3)

• Last ranking: 13

This might be another aggressive ranking for the Bengals but I was impressed with their win against the Seahawks. The defense stepped up in a major way in the second half, shutting Seattle down five times in the red zone. The offense is still finding its way but QB Joe Burrow is starting to look more and more like his old self after the early-season calf injury. The ceiling for this team is still there. 

11 – Seattle Seahawks (3-2)

• Last ranking: 10

Although the Seahawks lost to the Bengals, it was a hard-fought game against evenly-matched teams. In fact it was a little eery how similar the two squads looked. Seattle’s defense is fast, physical and has a nice blend of youth and veteran talent. They gave the Bengals offense a lot of issues. The Seahawks’ offense has been okay but there are a lot of issues on third down and in the red zone that are hampering their output. Getting healthier on the offensive line should help, as that was a major handicap in the second half when they were trying to pull ahead. 

12 – Los Angeles Chargers (2-3)

• Last ranking: 11

I don’t want to ding the Chargers too much for losing a close game against a good team. Dallas shut down their run game and QB Justin Herbert missed too many throws. But Los Angeles has to start winning more of these and can’t afford to drop many games against teams they should beat. They used up their margin for error with the 0-2 start. 

13 – Cleveland Browns (3-2)

• Last ranking: 14

You could argue the Browns’ win against the 49ers was the most impressive victory of the season (even if the correct answer is Miami putting 70 on the Broncos). Toppling the No. 1 team in the league while starting the quarterback who lost the third-string battle for the Bears, though, deserves a lot of credit. Cleveland’s defense has shown it can carry the team at times. But it will be wasted if QB Deshaun Watson can’t get back on the field and play better than he had been before getting hut. 

14 – Los Angeles Rams (3-3)

• Last ranking: 15

The Rams took care of business against the Cardinals, but it cost them their top two running backs which will be a little interesting. This was already a pass-heavy team but the threat of balance was important. The Rams have had issues when forced to be one-dimensional this season. 

15 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2)

• Last ranking: 12

In Tampa Bay’s two losses to the Eagles and Lions this year, QB Baker Mayfield has one touchdown pass, two interceptions and has taken three sacks while completing less than 55 percent of his pass attempts. In their three wins against the Vikings, Bears and Saints, Mayfield has six touchdowns, one interception, two sacks and completed 72 percent of his passes. I have some concerns about this team against better competition but the good news for them is the rest of the NFC South is underwhelming. 

16 – Houston Texans (3-3)

• Last ranking: 20

The Texans got a close win against an NFC South opponent a week after getting edged out by the Falcons. Houston’s an intriguing team the rest of the way with QB C.J. Stroud making an early bid for offensive rookie of the year and a defense that has taken a big step forward under HC DeMeco Ryans. I don’t know that they’re playoff quality quite yet but they’re not an easy out. 

17 – New Orleans Saints (3-3)

• Last ranking: 17

Once again, the Saints’ offense let them down in a game their defense was keeping them alive. New Orleans had two shots to tie the game in the red zone at the end of the fourth quarter against the Texans and failed both times. Now attrition is starting to set in on the offensive line which will be another challenge to overcome. The good news is that at 3-3 the Saints are still keeping pace in the NFC South. 

18 – Green Bay Packers (2-3)

• Last ranking: 18

Green Bay was on bye this week and didn’t have a chance to move much up or down. So far the Packers have looked like a young and inconsistent team. They have a chance to move up the standings in the next four weeks with games against the Broncos, Vikings, Rams and Steelers. 

19 – Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2)

• Last ranking: 21

Pittsburgh moves up two spots despite being on bye this week because they didn’t have a chance to hurt themselves, unlike some other teams in this tier. The reality is they’re all pretty tightly bunched. The Steelers have a -31 point differential and have put up some real stinkers. Still, it’s hard to fully count out a Mike Tomlin-coached team.

20 – Washington Commanders (3-3)

• Last ranking: 24

A win against Atlanta isn’t necessarily the reason the Commanders are moving up four spots. Some other teams dropped more than Washington improved. But it was still notable that the defense stepped up in a big way to force multiple turnovers and shut down the Falcons’ run game. The Commanders are right in the mix for a wildcard spot in the NFC and they need their defense to play up to its potential to reach that mark. 

21 – Atlanta Falcons (3-3)

• Last ranking: 19

Although Falcons QB Desmond Ridder threw for more than 300 yards for the second straight week, he tossed three interceptions that doomed his team, including one back-breaking one to end the game in the end zone. Ridder still has some leash from the team but he’s certainly testing the limits of HC Arthur Smith‘s patience. 

22 – Minnesota Vikings (2-4)

• Last ranking: 22

Minnesota notched its second win of the season and have realistically been better than their record shows. But it’s tough to get too excited over a close win over the Bears. It’s early but it looked like this offense missed WR Justin Jefferson a lot. 

23 – New York Jets (3-3)

• Last ranking: 25

A 3-3 start to the season with the gauntlet the Jets have played would have been solid even if veteran QB Aaron Rodgers had remained healthy. Their defense is good enough to help capitalize when opponents let them hang around like the Bills and Eagles have done. The schedule eases up considerably from here, so it’ll be interesting to see how much higher the Jets can climb. 

24 – Indianapolis Colts (3-3)

• Last ranking: 17

It’s officially the Gardner Minshew show at quarterback for the Colts for the rest of the season after first-round QB Anthony Richardson elected for season-ending surgery this week with the blessing of the team. Minshew tossed three picks in the loss to the Jaguars this week, so that doesn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence for the rest-of-season outlook. 

25 – Tennessee Titans (2-4)

• Last ranking: 17

The Titans have been frisky at times this season, but losing QB Ryan Tannehill is a major blow to their hopes of remaining competitive. It’s a major dropoff from him to the other options on the roster even if the veteran Tannehill wasn’t having his best season. Tennesssee has a bye this week and no firm timeline for Tannehill has been established yet coming off his third injury to his ankle in the past year.  

26 – Las Vegas Raiders (3-3)

• Last ranking: 27

It’s hard to give the Raiders too much credit for thumping a morose Patriots team but it’s certainly better than losing to New England at this point. Las Vegas could have a winning record if it takes care of business against the Bears this week.  

27 – Arizona Cardinals (1-5)

• Last ranking: 28

Arizona lost by multiple scores to the Rams and unfortunately veteran QB Joshua Dobbs has looked worse with each passing week. However, I’m giving the Cardinals a slight bump due to the imminent return of QB Kyler Murray. I wouldn’t expect Murray to hit the ground running given his recovery from a torn ACL, his particular style of play and the fact he’s adjusting to a new system for the first time since entering the NFL. However, he’s too talented not to be a potentially major impact player. 

28 – Chicago Bears (1-5)

• Last ranking: 26

The bad news Bears were back in Week 6, losing QB Justin Fields with a dislocated thumb in a loss to the Vikings. Chicago hasn’t ruled Fields out for a significant amount of time yet but if he needs surgery that would sideline him for about a month, which is time Fields can’t really afford to lose at this point in his career. 

29 – New York Giants (1-5)

• Last ranking: 31

With backup QB Tyrod Taylor filling in, the Giants put up a strong fight against the Bills before their miscues eventually doomed them to another loss. This roster was supposed to be better than last year’s squad that HC Brian Daboll helped will into the playoffs, but so far Daboll has struggled to recreate the same magic. I moved the Giants up because they showed some signs of life against Buffalo, should be getting some players back healthy that will help, and are not as bad as the Patriots or Broncos. 

30 – Denver Broncos (1-5)

• Last ranking: 30

The Broncos defense had its best game of the season — though the Chiefs looked like a cat playing with its food at times. They lost because Bad Russ from 2022 made a reappearance and Denver was dismal on offense. Not even a late touchdown drive could get QB Russell Wilson over 100 passing yards. Wilson was solid earlier this season and an argument could be made he wasn’t the team’s biggest problem. He can’t afford too many more games like that if he wants to keep his starting job — in Denver or somewhere else in 2024. 

31 – New England Patriots (1-5)

• Last ranking: 29

New England had about as good an opportunity as they could have asked for to snap their losing streak against the Raiders, who have not looked like an intimidating team. Instead, the Patriots sank to a new low, reaffirming that this is a very bad team right now. Their next two games are against the Bills and Dolphins, so this could keep getting worse. 

32 – Carolina Panthers (0-6)

Last ranking: 32

Signs of progress, particularly on offense from first-round QB Bryce Young, but the team allowed 42 points for the second straight week playing against one of the league’s top teams. I think there are reasons for optimism for the rest of Carolina’s season after the bye with some players returning from injury and the shift in play-calling but until they win a game it’s tough to move them up.