NFL Power Rankings (Week 7)
The disparity with truly elite teams in the two conferences is incredible. I have 5 teams in my mind that are truly the cream of the crop in this league, and only 1 is from the AFC. The Bills may have lost Monday night, but that doesn’t change my mind too much on how good they are, particularly because there’s no weakness that can be identified on their team. Speaking of not having any weaknesses, the Rams jumped to my top team this week because outside of a hiccup against the equally impressive Cardinals, they have looked dominant. The Buccaneers and Packers both have shown more weaknesses than the other three, but their strenghts are just as high, so they belong in this tier.
The AFC picks up a bit more in this next tier, where they have 4 of my next 5 teams. The lone NFC team in this tier is the Cowboys, who some would argue belong in the top tier. I’m hesitant just because they’ve have a pretty soft schedule the last month. The Ravens annihilated the Chargers in what was my surprise game of the season so far. I’m officially sold on Baltimore being a contender, and I still think the Bolts are one of the better teams in the league. The Browns are a mess with injuries right now. They probably deserve to be lower, but I still think if they can get healthy, they’re one of the most talented teams in the league. For a half, the Chiefs flirted with being removed from this tier completely, but then turned it around. They have legitimate concerns, but of course are still terrifying for opposing defenses.
If the Titans put together a few more games like they played Monday night, they could move up. Few teams have a trio like they do with their offensive skill players. The Raiders clearly were motivated by all of the drama they dealt with this week as they looked dominant against the Broncos. I’m struggling to get totally on board with Vegas as a true contender though. The Steelers needed overtime to beat a Geno Smith-led Seahawks team, but won the game nonetheless. They may be a little too high, but once again, I struggle to find quality teams in this middle tier.
The 49ers and Saints had bye weeks, so nothing to speak on there. The Bengals are officially on the radar as a legitimate playoff contender. They look good. The Patriots performed admirably, albeit in a loss. Mac Jones continues to throw completions at a high percentage, so at least there’s that. The Vikings beat the Panthers in overtime after blowing a double digit lead late (again). The only reason those two teams are in this category is because the league is so top heavy that these below average teams will likely be in playoff contention for a good chunk of the season.
The Colts crushed it this week, but let’s see them do it again, and against a respectable opponent, before thinking they’re relevant. The Bears kept it close for most of that game, but ultimately they just can’t move the ball offensively at a consistent rate. The Eagles simply refuse to run the ball. That coach is not going to last long there. The Football Team played a competitive first half before completely falling apart in the second half. They’ve now given up 29 or more points in their last 5 games.
The Giants stink. Joe Judge keeping Daniel Jones in that game, with the score the way it was and the injury he suffered the week before, was absurd and borderline inexcusable. The Dolphins are officially garbage after losing to the Jaguars, especially the way they did. The Falcons were on a bye, they still stink. The Texans and Jets both have their one wins to hang their hats on. The lowly Lions remain winless, and for the first time this year, showed absolutely no fight this week. 0–17 is officially on the table.
