NFL Power Rankings (After Week 7)




You were hoping for massive change? Not as long as the Patriots, Saints, 49ers and Packers keep winning. The Top 4 are the same. Seattle drops nearly out of the Top 10, while Minnesota and Seattle’s conqueror on Sunday, Baltimore, move into the Top 10.

1. (1 last week) New England (7-0): The Jets offered little resistance. Actually, they offered no resistance. If you have some kind of talent and catch a Ball, chances are you have a strong shot at making the Patriots’ active roster. Tom Brady just makes stuff look that easy.

2. (2) New Orleans (6-1): The Saints may get Drew Brees back this week. And that’d be awesome. But the way Teddy Bridgewater (23-of-38 passing, 281 yards, two TDs) has played in his absence while Brees mends from his thumb injury, Brees might want the next two weeks to recover as the Saints face off with the fledgling Cardinals at home and then get the bye week off.

3. (3) San Francisco (6-0): Ugly as the weather was, and as ugly as the performance was from that ugly weather, the 49ers came out smelling like a rose against awful Washington.  Robbie Gould and the 49ers defense were the stars in this one. You win ugly as well as pretty, that usually constitutes you having a very good football team.

4. (4) Green Bay (6-1): The Packers allowed the Raiders to push them around for a quarter and change. Then the Packers did the dictating. Actually, Aaron Rodgers did all that dictating by going 25-of-31 passing for 429 yards and five TDs. Oakland isn’t an awful team, either. Maybe these Packers are better than we though.

5. (6) Buffalo (5-1): Turns out the Miami Dolphins fought the Bills for most of this one until the Bills hit that breaking point and scored 22 fourth-quarter points to pull away for the 31-21 win. Josh Allen hit on fourth-quarter TD passes to John Brown and Cole Beasley and Micah Hyde’s kickoff return for a touchdown put it away.

6. (7) Carolina (4-2): There’s another QB with the last name of Allen and Kyle Allen has done a masterful job in place of the injured Cam Newton. Allen was 20-of-32 passing for 227 yards with TD passes to the versatile Christian McCaffrey and Cameron Brate in the 37-26 win over the divisional rival Buccaneers in London. Big one coming up at Levi’s Stadium Sunday against No. 3 San Francisco.

7. (9) Kansas City (5-2): After two straight losses, the Chiefs took command on Thursday night in Denver and didn’t let go. They won 30-6, but lost Patrick Mahomes with a knee cap dislocation. Matt Moore came in relief for Mahomes and was 10-of-19 for 117 yards and a TD. Tough one, though, against Green Bay, even if the game is at Arrowhead Stadium.

8. (NEW) Minnesota (5-2): Maybe it’s time to start paying attention to Mike Zimmer and his Vikings. Maybe it’s time that Kirk Cousins has started to come into his own. Maybe it’s time to start recognizing Dalvin Cook as one of the young and best running backs in the game. Cook went for 142 yards on 25 carries and two TDs, Cousins went for 337 yards passing on 24-of-34 passing with four TDs. And the Vikings have now won three in a row with a fourth on deck Thursday night against woeful Washington.

9. (NEW) Baltimore (5-2): The Ravens stopped all that Seattle’s very, very good talk by turning Russell Wilson into a mediocre quarterback (20-of-41, 241 yards, a TD, an interception) in a 30-16 victory on Seattle’s home turf in front of their louder-than-a-rock-concert crowd. Lamar Jackson threw for 143 yards, then ran for a 116 yards and scored a TD. Ravens have a bye and it may just be needed – they host New England next week.

10. (5): Seattle (5-2): The Seahawks seemed invincible. Then that Ravens defense made the Seahawks look average at best on their home turf. Just an overall bad game against the Ravens. Here’s a chance, though, for the Seahawks to bounce back – a trip to 1-6 Atlanta could cure what temporarily ails them.

Au revoir from the Top 10: Oakland (3-3), Houston (4-3)

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