NFL Power Rankings Week 7: Updated Records, 2016-17 Super Bowl Odds

Bettors didn't need a meteorologist to know a storm was on the way in Week 6 in the NFL. 

The week started with a bang on Thursday Night Football, where the Denver Broncos took an unexpected loss at the hands of the San Diego Chargers.

Oddities continued throughout the weekend, with the Carolina Panthers sinking further into a hole, the Dallas Cowboys beating their chest and the Pittsburgh Steelers going down while losing a key name.

Now is the time for bettors to pick up the pieces. Through it all, those who are crafty and willing to research will see favorable and iffy situations beyond a one-week lens. 

Week 7 NFL Power Rankings and Super Bowl Odds

Rank	Team
1	New England Patriots (15-4)
2	Minnesota Vikings (9-1)
3	Pittsburgh Steelers (7-1)
4	Dallas Cowboys (25-1)
5	Green Bay Packers (9-1)
6	Denver Broncos (10-1)
7	Seattle Seahawks (8-1)
8	Atlanta Falcons (25-1)
9	New York Giants (50-1)
10	Buffalo Bills (66-1)
11	Washington (66-1)
12	Philadelphia Eagles (22-1)
13	Kansas City Chiefs (28-1)
14	Oakland Raiders (33-1)
15	Arizona Cardinals (18-1)
16	Cincinnati Bengals (28-1)
17	Miami Dolphins (200-1)
18	Baltimore Ravens (40-1)
19	New York Jets (100-1)
20	Jacksonville Jaguars (125-1)
21	New Orleans Saints (125-1)
22	Houston Texans (28-1)
23	Tennessee Titans (500-1)
24	Detroit Lions (200-1)
25	Los Angeles Rams (40-1)
26	Indianapolis Colts (50-1)
27	Carolina Panthers (22-1)
28	San Diego Chargers (150-1)
29	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (200-1)
30	San Francisco 49ers (1000-1)
31	Chicago Bears (250-1)
32	Cleveland Browns (3000-1)

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

Updated Records

	W	L
Minnesota Vikings	5	0
New England Patriots	5	1
Dallas Cowboys	5	1
Seattle Seahawks	4	1
Pittsburgh Steelers	4	2
Oakland Raiders	4	2
Atlanta Falcons	4	2
Houston Texans	4	2
Washington Redskins	4	2
Denver Broncos	4	2
Buffalo Bills	4	2
Green Bay Packers	3	2
Philadelphia Eagles	3	2
Kansas City Chiefs	3	2
Baltimore Ravens	3	3
Los Angeles Rams	3	3
Tennessee Titans	3	3
Detroit Lions	3	3
New York Giants	3	3
Jacksonville Jaguars	2	3
Arizona Cardinals	2	3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	3
New Orleans Saints	2	3
San Diego Chargers	2	4
Cincinnati Bengals	2	4
Miami Dolphins	2	4
Indianapolis Colts	2	4
New York Jets	1	4
Chicago Bears	1	5
Carolina Panthers	1	5
San Francisco 49ers	1	5
Cleveland Browns	0	6

Remain Calm: Pittsburgh Steelers

Many will panic over the Steelers after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a torn meniscus in Sunday's 30-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins, according to Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

From the sounds of it, though, Big Ben won't miss too much action, per ESPN's Adam Schefter:

Did anyone expect anything different from Big Ben?

Losing to the two-win Dolphins while letting running back Jay Ajayi run for 204 yards and a pair of scores stinks. Even worse is the fact the New England Patriots visit Pittsburgh in Week 7.

Regardless of the injury to Big Ben, though, Week 7 wasn't going to be easy. A loss would only put the team at 4-3, though, and Week 6 was a good time for a weird hiccup because every team in the AFC North—a division Pittsburgh still leads—took a loss.

With the rest of the division struggling, the Steelers get away with missing Roethlisberger under center for a few weeks. With five more AFC North games on the schedule, even a potential loss in Week 7 to New England shouldn't scare away bettors.

As always, Roethlisberger will return sooner or later after suffering what seems like an annual issue. Business will return to normal while the division looks weaker than usual, so keep banking on the Steelers.

Time to Jump Ship: Cincinnati Bengals 

The Cincinnati Bengals are a big part of the problem in the AFC North.

A usual postseason contender slapped with a decent payout before the season, the Bengals have gone full-on face-plant mode, only taking wins against middling AFC East teams in the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins.

The Bengals bled too much talent over the offseason, losing offensive weapons such as Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu at wideout. Really, the results aren't too shocking—the Cincinnati Enquirer's Paul Dehner Jr. provided a telling set of numbers:

In losses of 24-16, 29-17, 28-14 and 35-17 margins, the narrative has gone from blaming quarterback Andy Dalton to praising him as the lone bright spot. Dalton has completed 67.4 percent of his passes with six touchdowns to two interceptions on the year.

That's nice, but A.J. Green is on his own with 606 receiving yards (the next closest target has 289). The backfield has managed just 3.5 yards per carry. The defense has already coughed up 14 passing scores and tallied only 13 sacks.

To be fair, most expected the start of the season would be harsh on the Bengals thanks to games against Pittsburgh, Denver, Dallas and New England. But it doesn't get much easier, and in losses the Bengals haven't even come close.

Had Cincinnati played tough losses, maybe the team would look like a better bet. Now? Avoid at all costs.

Best Payout: Dallas Cowboys

Week in and week out, the Cowboys prove doubters wrong and look better and better as an option in the odds department.

This should turn a few heads and help tally a few bets—the Cowboys just marched into Lambeau Field and took down Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, 30-16.

It wasn't even as close as the score suggests. The Dallas defense held Rodgers to a single score and a pick and limited the entire Green Bay offense to 78 rushing yards. On the flip side, rookie quarterback Dak Prescott tossed three scores, and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott ran for 157 yards on 28 totes.

Maybe the biggest question about the Cowboys is whether Tony Romo takes the starting gig back from Prescott when he's healthy.

Talk about a good problem to have.

Defensive back Barry Church put it best, via SiriusXM NFL Radio:

Under the direction of a rookie-led attack, Dallas has lost one game by a single point while beating notables such as Washington, Cincinnati and Green Bay. It makes the rest of a schedule featuring Philadelphia twice as well as Minnesota and Pittsburgh seem manageable, if not favorable.

Bettors should have invested weeks ago when the Cowboys started to surprise on a game-by-game basis. The notion of the team treading water before Romo's return should have been enough.

The odds still look good, too. Dallas owns the NFC East with an incredible rookie running back and options under center. No team offers as much confidence as the Cowboys right now.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus. 

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.