NFL Power Rankings, Week 7: Steelers, Chiefs clash at the top

Our Week 7 power rankings find the Chiefs fighting for the top spot with the undefeated Steelers.

While there were a lot of surprises in Week 7, including the Arizona Cardinals stunning the previously undefeated Seattle Seahawks, there were also some predictable results. Among those results were the Kansas City Chiefs beating up on the Denver Broncos for their 10th consecutive win against their AFC West rivals.

While Mahomes didn’t need an extraordinary display, the Chiefs won in a way that was a bit surprising. Daniel Sorensen scored on a pick six and Byron Pringle returned a kick for a touchdown. These scores gave the Chiefs points in all three phases of the game. With such a dominant win, it is impossible to not think of Kansas City as one of the top two teams in the NFL right now.

Who else belongs up top? Pittsburgh is still undefeated and had a hard fought victory this week against the Tennessee Titans. Seattle is still electric despite their first loss. Baltimore is still very formidable.

The rest of the AFC West was not very impressive. The Raiders lost against Tom Brady‘s Bucs. The Chargers came away with an expected victory over the hapless Jaguars.

Let’s take a look at our Week 7 power rankings.

The Steelers are now completely alone on top of the NFL’s group of undefeated teams. When the season started, Pittsburgh was far from great. However, in recent weeks they have shown just how dominant they can be. With a big win against the Titans this week, the Steelers find themselves at the top of the power rankings.

The Chiefs have never fallen from the top five. Although they had a hiccup against the Raiders, Kansas City has shown in several games this season that they are still the champions that they were from a year ago. This week they pummeled the Broncos with all three phases of the game. Andy Reid and company will be a force to be reckoned with all season.

The Ravens are amazingly talented on paper. While Lamar Jackson is not quite where he was a year ago at this point, Baltimore has more talent on both sides of the ball than they did last season. With a bye in Week 7, they should be well rested and ready to showcase their dominance next week and beyond.

Seattle’s offense is stupendous. Their defense is deplorable. Even with the attempted heroics of Russell Wilson this week, in which he through a miracle pass to Tyler Lockett milliseconds before being brought to the ground on third down to keep the game alive, the Seahawks fell in overtime to the Cardinals. For now Seattle is still a top contender, but the struggles on defense may catch up with them in the long run.

Tennessee finally dropped a game. While the Titans have shown one of the best offenses in the game, they came up just short of victory against the Steelers on a missed field goal. Among the surprises that have come from Mike Vrabel‘s squad, none have been as important and as unexpected as the rise of Ryan Tannehill.

In a solid win against the Chicago Bears, the Rams looked very well coached. While they do not seem overtly flashy, it is important to remember that they have a defense now that has two certified superstars on the front end and back end. Aaron Donald is widely regarded as the best defensive lineman in the game. Jalen Ramsey is known as one of the NFL’s best corners. With an offensive-minded coach, this may keep the Rams in Super Bowl contention all season long.

Aaron Rodgers bounced back in a big way against the Houston Texans. Unfortunately, it is still not clear just how good Green Bay is. They have won the games that they have been expected to win and they have beaten the Saints. After that, they have not beaten a truly good team. For now, however, it is impossible to view Green Bay as a team that is outside the top seven.

The Saints are still a very talented team. This week New Orleans took down the Panthers in a close game. Although they have not had Michael Thomas for several games, the offense has been solid. Alvin Kamara is having an incredible season, and the Saints don’t appear to be fading into the background any time soon.

It’s never fun to report on Tom Brady winning another game. This week, that is exactly what happened. Although there were moments in the game when the Raiders had chances to cut into the lead, the Bucs were just too much for them. Tampa Bay has now added Antonio Brown to the mix, and it appears they might become more formidable down the stretch.

Arizona sputtered for a couple of weeks, but they are now back on track. Kyler Murray is electric both running and throwing the ball. They have a few weapons for him and on defense they are also capable. The Cardinals have a lot to prove, but there is a good reason to believe in this year’s Cardinals team.

Buffalo has accrued negative momentum. After losing twice in back-to-back weeks, the Bills rebounded against the New York Jets. It was not a great game for them though. Buffalo trailed at the half and there were moments that looked rough. A win is a win and those are hard to come by in the NFL.

The Bears typically look better than they did on Monday night. After being dealt their second loss of the year, it will be interesting to see how they respond as a team. Matt Nagy and Nick Foles seem to be a decent combination and defensively they are certainly solid.

Cleveland has won more games than many expected them to at this point. However, Odell Beckham Jr. has now gone down with a serious knee injury and the Browns will have a lot to prove in the coming weeks.

As San Francisco gradually gets healthier, the team slowly returns to its Super Bowl form. After destroying the Patriots this week, there is reason to believe that this rating is actually too low for them. That remains to be seen. We have a lot to learn about this team.

The Raiders are a weird team. They are more competitive than many expected at this point in the season. With the victory over the Chiefs, the Raiders seemed like they might be moving toward the upper echelon of the NFL. Unfortunately, they cannot seem to find then necessary consistency.

The Colts had their bye in Week 7. Indianapolis is stellar on offense, but the team needs a ton of work defensively. In the next five weeks the Colts have to take on the Packers, Ravens, and Titans twice. We will learn a lot about this team soon.

Carolina never quits. They have a lot of grit and have seen flashes of greatness from their young defenders. Brian Burns has been excellent to start this season. Teddy Bridgewater has turned the Panthers receiving corps into a formidable crew. There is a lot of room to grow, but there is also a lot to like about the direction that they are headed.

The Dolphins shocked everyone by going to Tua for a replacement at quarterback in the bye week. Miami has been better than most expected in the last couple of weeks. If they can get some consistency, they could push to win the AFC East.

Detroit isn’t good, but they aren’t the level of awful that they were last season. A reason for this is that they have more offensive weapons and their defense is not getting steamrolled as frequently. Three wins at this point in the year should be exciting for Lions fans. There could be some upward mobility here.

Justin Herbert? It was unexpected that the rookie would see any playing time this season. Now, the team is questioning whether he can continue to play at such a high level. After a huge performance this week against the Jaguars, the Chargers seem like they may have found their quarterback of the future.

Cam Newton was benched for Jarrett Stidham at one point in the game this week. Bill Belichick does not want to discuss it much, but they seem to be trending in the wrong direction. Belichick is an incredible coach, but this is quite a challenge.

Philly is not as terrible as the New York Giants. That is essentially what we learned this week. Carson Wentz is not what the Eagles were hoping for this year. No one has taken control of the NFC East and the Eagles could be that team, but they leave a lot to be desired.

Washington looked solid against the Cowboys this week. Head coach Ron Rivera is undoubtedly good at what he does and Kyle Allen has looked better than Dwayne Haskins. They are not out of the running for the NFC East, but it may be a climb.

The Vikings look lost. Kirk Cousins is on a downward spiral and the Minnesota defense is not nearly what it once was. It looks like the Vikings may be sellers at the trade deadline.

The Bengals are not as bad as you may think. Joe Burrow has looked excellent in the recent weeks. Although they came up short against the Browns, they have shown flashes of greatness. Cincinnati will be a team to watch in the coming years.

Houston has absolutely no defense. It is odd to say that after watching them dominate front lines for the last 5 years. Deshaun Watson is still good and if Eric Bienemy gets the head coaching job he deserves, the Texans should be the team giving him the contract. They are headed for a rebuild and they have a great foundation to build on.

Jacksonville looked solid in the first few weeks of the season. Since then, it has become brutally apparent that the Jaguars should be thinking about a rebuild and selling at the trade deadline.

Dak Prescott is done for the year. Andy Dalton is out for a while. Dallas is in shambles. Mike McCarthy has not had his team ready at any point this season. As Jerry Jones gets older he becomes more desperate for a return to the Super Bowl. Things are going to get tense in Dallas.

Denver has fallen off a cliff due to injuries. It goes beyond that, though. Drew Lock does not look the part of the All-Pro that John Elway expected him to be when he drafted him. The problems in Denver run deep, despite what Garrett Bolles says.

Atlanta should burn it down and build from the ground up next offseason. Offer Matt Ryan and Julio Jones for trade and see how many draft picks you can get for them. The Falcons seem to be lacking across the board.

Daniel Jones almost ran for an 80-yard touchdown but he stumbled and fell on his face. This is emblematic of the entirety of the Giants season so far. The New York Football Giants continue to be a bottom-of-the-barrel team.

Will the Jets win a game? More importantly, should the Chiefs rest all of their starters this week? Adam Gase having a job is like a dog running for political office. There is no organization or plan, but he seems to be having fun.