NFL Power Rankings Week 7: Niners lose again, Eagles beat Dolphins, KC jumps SF

If there’s one thing we know about the NFL, it’s that we know nothing about the NFL and Week 7 showed us that. The only thing we can rely on is a pattern of consistent inconsistency, and that’s why we love it so much. The Pats beat the Bills, the Ravens destroyed the Lions, and the Bears won their second game of the year with an undrafted rookie out of Shepard University. From week to week any given team can beat anyone, and that’s what makes this league so intriguing and the Power Rankings so challenging.

Here is our latest edition of Power Rankings after a weekend full of surprises:

1. Kansas City Chiefs (6-1), last week 2

It may have been a tale of two halves for the Chiefs, but they showed us just how explosive their offense can be in first 30 minutes and in final half hour the defense locked down the Chargers and showed us why they are one of the best units in the league. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce starred in the first half of the game against the Chargers, and then it was Chris Jones, L’Jarius Sneed and the defense who picked off Justin Herbert twice and held the Chargers to three three-and-outs in their final five possessions. Seeing Kelce go for 179 yards will make Chiefs fans and Swifties equally giddy, but watch out for Rashee Rice who is getting more incorporated in the offense. KC is always a scary team to matchup with, but when their defense is allowing just 15 ppg, that makes them almost unstoppable, which they have been for the last six weeks.

2. Philadelphia Eagles (6-1), last week 3

The Eagles took a step back last week to take two steps forward this week. They were punched in the mouth by the Jets, and that might have been exactly what they needed before they get into the meat and potatoes of their midseason schedule. Jalen Hurts looked poised, mature and brought a calming affect to the offense, even after his pick six. The defense stepped up and shut down the greatest offense we have ever seen through the first six weeks of any season, holding Tua and the Fins to just one offensive TD. The Eagles hadn’t looked like the NFC champs of last year yet. That changed on Sunday.

3. San Francisco 49ers , (5-2) last week 1

Two straight losses for the former best team in the league and the smooth waters in the Bay are starting to grow increasingly choppy. The Niners looked unflappable for the first month of the season, but it appears that Brock Purdy and the offense need all hands on deck to be the truly unstoppable force they were for the first five games of the season. San Fran’s D kept the Niners in the game with two goal line stands, and Run CMC’s two TDs helped, but didn’t hide the absence of Deebo Samuel. All of the sudden the cracks in the foundation are starting to show and the Niners don’t seem as invincible as they once did.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-2), last week 7

Can we finally say it? Can we finally proclaim this Jags team as for real? Don’t look now, but the Jags are on a four game win streak and the second hottest team in the league, after the Kansas City Chiefs. Let’s remember how young this team is. We know there will be growing pains, but it looks like the Jags are dealing with those pains on the fly, and still winning games.

5. Baltimore Ravens (5-2), last week 8

Kudos to Baltimore. Kudos to Lamar Jackson. Kudo to John Harbaugh. The Ravens had yet to put on a show, but on Sunday, against one of the top teams in the league, just days after returning from London, Baltimore put a licking on the Lions. Jackson led the Ravens to a 500 yard game as they took a 35-0 lead and high stepped their way to victory. We hadn’t seen it before Week 7, but if the Ravens offense can look a shade of what they looked like against Detroit, that could spell trouble for the rest of the teams in the AFC.

6. Detroit Lions (5-2), last week 5

I don’t want to say that everyone jumped on board the Lions bandwagon after their offensive explosion against the Bucs last week, because there have been a lot of people aboard that wagon since Week 1. But for the first time this season we saw Jared Goff and the offense look like the offense that ended the season for Detroit last year. Goff won NFC Offensive Player of the Week and the Lions rolled to their fifth win in six games. How did they follow that up? By getting waxed by the Ravens in Baltimore. They were held scoreless for 45 minutes and their high powered defense was absolutely hopeless against the Lamar Jackson led Ravens. Goff warned us last week that things were bound to get bumpy at some point this season, and it didn’t take too long for the turbulence to appear in the Motor City.

7. Miami Dolphins (5-2), last week 4

It’s a question you will hear over and over this week. Who have they beaten? The Dolphins loss to the Eagles has suddenly cast doubts on Miami and their high powered offense. Their five wins have come against five teams that have a combined 8 wins this season. In their two games against good teams, Tua’s offense hasn’t just been stopped, they have looked fragile. As soon as they get forced to punt once or twice, it seems like the wheels fall off the bus and they can’t recover. There is nothing wrong with losing to the Eagles in Philly. That happens, even to good teams. But Mike McDaniels has to figure out a way to get his guys to pick their heads up and keep fighting when the going gets tough, or this team will have no chance once the playoffs come around.

8. Buffalo Bills (4-3), last week 6

If you scroll up to the intro of these power rankings, the word inconsistent is used to describe this NFL season. That was not solely directed at the Bills, but it was strongly influenced by Buffalo’s performance against the Patriots. New England was a weak team, licking their wounds, and going up against what is supposed to be a Super Bowl contending team. It was a recipe for a blowout, but the Bills flopped and Josh Allen was once again reduced to a somber post game interview that casts even more doubt in Orchard Park.

9. Dallas Cowboys (4-2), last week 10

BYE

10. Cleveland Browns (4-2), last week 12

It was a perfect scenario for a let down game for Cleveland a week after handing the Niners their first loss of the season. Traveling to Indy to take on a bad Colts team, with their starting QB back under center. Indy put up a fight, and Watson ended up sidelined as his coach Kevin Stefanski chose to protect his QB after he took a hard hit and landed on his head. PJ Walker took over and led the Browns to a dramatic win in a shootout from Lucas Oil Field. It’s hard to imagine a defensive player dominating a game that ended 39-38, but Myles Garrett had two strip sacks, one that was recovered in the end zone for a TD, blocked a field goal and finished the day with nine tackles. Stefanski said there is no question going forward that Watson will be the QB1, but the Browns have shown they can win even with Watson banged up.

11. Seattle Seahawks (4-2), last week 13

How about the turn around in Seattle? The Seahawks started the season giving up 30 points per game in over the course of the first three weeks, but since then they have given up 30 points in their last three games. Sure they played the Giants, Bengals and Cardinals in those three weeks but don’t blame the defense for their weak schedule. Doubt Geno Smith. Doubt Pete Carroll. Doubt the defense, but the fact of the matter is, this team is just a game and a half behind the two best teams in the league. They have taken advantage of the easy part of their schedule, but now it’s time to put up or shut up. They will play the Browns, Ravens, Rams, Niners twice, Cowboys, and Eagles in seven of their final 11 weeks of the season.

12. Cincinnati Bengals (3-3), last week 11

BYE

13. Houston Texans (3-3), last week 16

BYE

14. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2), last week 23

How long can the Steelers defense keep them in position to potentially win the AFC North? I’m not sure, but I know they have done it for the first seven weeks of the season. It’s true that Kenny Pickett looked better than he has at any point this season in the second half, but that performance was triggered by TJ Watts interception on the first play of the third quarter. The turnover sparked Pickett and the Steelers O to their highest scoring half of the season. I have doubted the Steelers for much too long, and I apologize to the city of Pittsburgh, and more importantly TJ Watt and the new Steel Curtain.

15. Los Angeles Rams (3-4), last week 9

At .500 after six games, the Rams were teetering on the line that separates good teams and average teams, much like the Steelers were heading into the Week 7 showdown at Sofi. Matthew Stafford and the LA offense had a chance to make a statement against one of the games best defensive units, but neither Stafford, nor Cooper Kupp nor Puka Nacua could unlock this Steelers D. Rams fans may feel slighted by a couple of late calls that didn’t go their way, but they didn’t do enough to beat Pittsburgh in the first 55 minutes, so they don’t deserve to complain about two plays on the Steelers final drive of the game.

16. Atlanta Falcons (4-3), last week 18

How did the Falcons win that game against the Tampa Bay? We talked about their mistakes on the offensive ends starting to cost them games after their loss against the Commanders last week. So how did they respond? They turned it over three times, fumbling each of those time inside the Bucs 11 yard line, including two at the one yard line. They didn’t deserve to win, but they did just enough to beat a bad looking Bucs team.

17. Minnesota Vikings (3-4), last week 24

The Vikings might have gone into Monday night’s game against the Niners in desperation mode, but they look poised, they looked patient and they gave us a glimpse of the team we thought they were going to be this season. Kirk Cousins threw for almost 300 yards, but that wouldn’t have been possible if he didn’t get the fantastic protection he got from his offensive line against a great San Fran front four. Jordan Addison has filled the momentary void left by Justin Jefferson, and the defense frustrated the Niners endless arsenal of weapons all night long. They might have got a late start, but there is still time for Minnesota to make a playoff push.

18. Los Angeles Chargers (2-4), last week 15

Once and for all we should proclaim the Charges as pretenders. They continuously under perform, and even when they were exchanging blows with the Chiefs in the first half in Arrowhead, you just got the feeling that they weren’t going to be able to keep up with KC. They have lost two consecutive games coming out of their bye week, and although it’s early in the season, they already look like they are out of the playoff race in the AFC.

19. New York Jets (3-3), last week 19

BYE

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3), last week 14

It has not looked good for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since they came out of their Week 5 BYE. The early week off has thrown them off the rhythm they found with Baker Mayfield at QB and the defense leading the way with three wins in their first four. The defense is still locking teams down, but the Bucs have scored just one TD over the last two weeks. Worst of all, they let Atlanta off the hook after their defense forced three red zone turn overs.

21. New Orleans Saints (3-4), last week 17

The good news is the Saints scored more than 20 points in a game for just the second time this season. The bad news is it came in their fourth loss in their last five games. Derek Carr is great for the first 80 yards of the field, but as soon as him and the Saints get into the red zone, they start to tremble. They have a 37.5% TD conversion rate inside the 20, which puts them in the bottom five in the league in that category. For a team that has lost three games by 7 points or less, that is a big deal.

22. Las Vegas Raiders (3-4), last week 21

Even without Jimmy G, there was still hope that the Raiders could go into Chicago and pull out a win. After all, Garoppolo isn’t really the reason Las Vegas have won three games, but on Sunday we saw the difference of a starting QB in the NFL and a back up QB in the NFL. The Raiders got nothing done with Bryan Hoyer under center, who turned the ball over twice and threw for just 129 yards. Josh Jacobs is in a similar situation as Jonathan Taylor in Indy. A great RB in a contract year, with instability at the QB position, which may cost him cash as he seeks a new deal this offseason.

23. Green Bay Packers (2-4), last week 22

The Packers offense under Jordan Love seems to be getting progressively worse as the season goes on. Jaire Alexander told reporters that the defense has to make plays to win games as the offense sorts their issues after the Pack’s loss to the Raiders last week. Green Bay failed to score more than 20 points for the fourth straight week, and the defense wasn’t able to bail them out like they have in previous games.

24. Indianapolis Colts (3-4), last week 25

For a neutral fan, watching games with Garner Minshew is about as entertaining as it can get. The man with the mullet’s game is as unpredictable as his choice of facial hair on a week to week basis. He’s liable to throw for 300 yards like he did on Sunday against the Browns, but he can also give the ball away four times like he did on Sunday against the Browns. Seeing Anthony Richardson go down created a bad situation for the Colts, for Shane Steichen and maybe most of all for Johnathan Taylor who is in a contract year, and knows he is going to be the focal point of opposing defenses in the week leading up to games against Indy.

25. Denver Broncos (2-5), last week 31

Remember the Broncos teams that gave up over a 100 points over the course of two games earlier in the season? Well this Broncos team is unrecognizable. They held the Chiefs to just one TD last week, and contained the Packers in their 19-17 win in their Week 7 win. It’s not going to be pretty for the Broncos who are still figuring out how to put a complete game together, but these games against other bad teams are going to an express pass to making a team out of this Broncos side. Unfortunately for them they have the Chiefs, Bills, and Vikings coming up in their next three games.

26. Washington Commanders (3-4), last week 20

The Sam Howell Wonder years are over in the nations capital. After starting the season with two wins, albeit over the Cardinals and the Broncos, the Commanders have showed their true colors over the last month. It hasn’t been good enough from Howell, but he’s not the only one to blame. They have no run game either. The same problems are going to plague the Commanders until they figure out a quarterback of the future. Is that Sam Howell? That’s what Washington will want to find out over the next 11 weeks of the season.

27. Tennessee Titans (2-4), last week 26

BYE

28. New York Giants (2-5), last week 29

Are the Giants that much better with Tyrod Taylor under center instead of Daniel Jones? No. But they aren’t worse either. Somehow, their offense has scored just seven touchdowns all season. But when you start to crunch the numbers Taylor’s case for the starting job may be growing by the week in the Big Apple. He has half of the passing attempts Jones has, with just about the same completion percentage, and no interceptions as opposed to Jones’ six picks. The stats don’t scream for Taylor to take over starting duties in NY, but rather indict the Giants decision to pay Jones big money this offseason.

29. New England Patriots (2-5), last week 30

In this week’s edition of scores that make no sense: The New England Patriots snapped their three game losing streak, and they did it against a team that is supposed to be one of the best in the AFC. Congratulations to Bill Belichick for win number 300, and for his apparent top secret contract extension he signed before the season.

30. Chicago Bears (2-5) , last week 28

It was a battle of two terrible teams, led by two back up quarterbacks as the Bears played the Raiders. We are getting to the point of the season where fans of bad teams start to pull for their squad to lose in hopes of sealing a top pick in the upcoming draft. Well the Bears couldn’t even do that right. Instead, it was undrafted rookie QB Tyson Bagent who put his name on the NFL map with a win in his first NFL start, going for 162 yards and a TD and creating a few enemies in Chicago on the way. The Bears got the win, but they drop down, because Bagent’s performance only creates a QB controversy and more turmoil in the Windy City.

31. Arizona Cardinals (1-6), last week 27

Another week and another loss for the Cardinals. Just like each of their first six games, they fought and stayed in the game against the Seahawks, but in the end it wasn’t enough. Kyler Murray is back in practice and that’s a good thing for the Cardinals, but by the time he comes back it will be too late to save this season. The good news is, there should be absolutely no rush to get Murray back under center. With the season already lost, he should wait to return until is absolutely, 100% healthy.

32. Carolina Panthers (0-6), last week 32

BYE