NFL Power Rankings: Breaking Down Sunday's Action Ahead of Week 7

Week 6 saw a lot of crazy finishes and upsets. The Miami Dolphins were able to take care of the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-15, although it's important to note that Ben Roethlisberger went down with a knee injury. Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette later reported that it wasn't just a tweak—it was a torn meniscus.

While it doesn't sound like Roethlisberger will be out for the remainder of the season, the news is still a major blow for the Steelers offense. In particular, it could impact Antonio Brown. According to ESPN Stats & Info, he has never caught a touchdown from a quarterback besides Roethlisberger since entering the NFL. 

While Pittsburgh is still in the top 10 of my power rankings entering Week 7, any time without Big Ben is time lost for the Steel Curtain. Unless Roethlisberger can come back within the next few weeks, the Steelers will continue to drop in the power rankings.

Rank	Team	Record
1	New England Patriots	5-1
2	Minnesota Vikings	5-0
3	Dallas Cowboys	5-1
4	Seattle Seahawks	4-1
5	Atlanta Falcons	4-2
6	Pittsburgh Steelers	4-2
7	Buffalo Bills	4-2
8	Oakland Raiders	4-2
9	Denver Broncos	4-2
10	Green Bay Packers	3-2
11	Washington Redskins	4-2
12	Philadelphia Eagles	3-2
13	Kansas City Chiefs	3-2
14	Baltimore Ravens	3-3
15	New York Giants	3-3
16	Detroit Lions	3-3
17	Cincinnati Bengals	2-4
18	Houston Texans	4-2
19	Arizona Cardinals	2-3
20	Tennessee Titans	3-3
21	Jacksonville Jaguars	2-3
22	New Orleans Saints	2-3
23	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2-3
24	San Diego Chargers	2-4
25	Miami Dolphins	2-4
26	Los Angeles Rams	3-3
27	Carolina Panthers	1-5
28	New York Jets	1-4
29	Indianapolis Colts	2-4
30	San Francisco 49ers	1-5
31	Chicago Bears	1-5
32	Cleveland Browns	0-6

Notable Teams

No. 1: New England Patriots

While some could argue the undefeated, 5-0 Minnesota Vikings should be No. 1 in my power rankings, it's hard to look past how good the New England Patriots have been in the past two weeks.

And we all know why that is.

Kudos to Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett for steadying the ship until Tom Brady returned, but now the NFL is seeing what makes the Patriots the scariest team out there. They cruised past the Cincinnati Bengals 35-17—and the Bengals didn't even play that bad.

Andy Dalton was efficient on the game, completing 21-of-31 passing attempts for 254 yards and a score with no interceptions, but he had no chance of beating New England on Sunday. That's how good the Pats are with Brady.  

Unless the Patriots slip up or the Vikings continue to dominate teams on both sides of the ball, it's hard to imagine New England dropping in the rankings.

No 27: Carolina Panthers

Did the return of Kelvin Benjamin ruin the Carolina Panthers' offensive chemistry? Was the offseason loss of Josh Norman so devastating to one of the league's best defenses in 2015-16? Maybe both.

What's certain, however, is that the Panthers are a shell of themselves and they're not playing winning football. 

Carolina looked great in the second half against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday and almost pulled off the comeback. The only problem was that they faced a 21-0 deficit early on in the game. 

No team that goes 15-1 and keeps the reigning MVP under center should start the following season 1-5. It's inexcusable. The Panthers are better than how they're playing right now, but they don't even deserve a spot in the top 25 with their performance so far this season.

All stats are courtesy of ESPN.com. Rankings are my own.