NFL Power Rankings Week 7: 2016 Standings, Reaction for All Teams Post-MNF

Week 6 is officially in the books. The wild week of action wrapped up on Monday night with a 28-3 Arizona Cardinals blowout of the New York Jets.

There were a number of unexpected outcomes this week that will have a major impact on the football landscape as we know it. Two teams we thought were legitimate contenders—the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers—were absolutely embarrassed on the road.

The Steelers also lost their quarterback in the process.

The Dallas Cowboys showed that they might just be contenders by dominating the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. The New England Patriots rolled over their second hapless AFC North opponent in as many weeks, and the Arizona Cardinals got back to playing the type of football we grew accustomed to in 2015.

How, exactly, does this shake things up? Well, that's what we're here to examine.

There are our early Week 7 power rankings.

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

Notable Rankings

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3. Dallas Cowboys

Let's forget the whole Dak Prescott and Tony Romo debate for a second and focus on the fact that the Dallas Cowboys look like legitimate title contenders right now. The team is playing incredibly well on both sides of the ball and has beaten down two 2015 playoff teams in a row.

The Cowboys are running the football as well as anyone in the league, they are playing efficient and careful offense and they have been surprisingly good against the pass. In fact, Pro Football Focus rates Dallas second in overall offense and second in pass coverage for the season so far.

This is a dangerous combination of strengths because the Cowboys have the firepower to get an early lead, a defense that is best when playing with a lead and a ground attack that can put a game away.

Plus, the Cowboys are bringing the team mentality to the field as hard as anyone in the league.

"It's beautiful," Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott said, per Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. "It's beautiful to see how much we care about each other. Every day I look forward to coming in and working with these guys because we have fun and we work hard. I love the fact that I'm on this team."

Dallas heads into its Week 7 bye with a lot of momentum, and it looks like it's going to be difficult to stop.

The Cowboys join the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks in a crowded group of potential NFC title contenders. 

11. Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals truly embarrassed the Jets on Monday night, proving that the dominant group we saw in 2015 does exist somewhere in the desert. The Arizona defense stymied New York at virtually every turn, and the offense was so efficient that it tired when it couldn't get off the field.

The Jets, of course, are not the best barometer with which to gauge a team's greatness, but the win on Monday night makes the Cardinals look a lot more like a playoff team—and moves them in the right direction to be one.

If quarterback Carson Palmer can consistently play like he did on Monday (67.6 completion percentage, 94.4 passer rating), Arizona is going to be a tough out for anyone. The team possesses a defense that is rated seventh overall by Pro Football Focus and a truly elite running back in David Johnson.

We've seen teams like the Broncos and the Seahawks make it deep into the playoffs with a top-tier defense and strong running game. The Cardinals can potentially follow the same formula because Johnson is a back the team can lean on.

"When you got a back like David Johnson, I mean, you got to feed him and he's going to make something happen," Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald said, per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. "He's just got a knack for the big play. You just got to feed him."

Arizona faces a tough challenge in the visiting Seahawks in Week 7. This should be a game that allows us to decide if the Cardinals are contenders or not.

22. Cincinnati Bengals

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Before the start of the 2016 season, you might have found a number of folks who considered the Cincinnati Bengals to be legitimate contenders. After all, the team won 12 games a year ago despite losing quarterback Andy Dalton to a broken thumb. The Bengals also should have won their postseason opener against the Steelers—and likely would have if not for a complete on-field meltdown.

Dalton is back and healthy, though, and the Bengals should be rolling toward a sixth consecutive playoff appearance, right?

Unfortunately, the Bengals are not producing playoff-caliber football right now and are sitting at 2-4. The team is scoring an average of just 18.2 points per game (29th in the NFL), and a defense that was playoff-caliber a year ago is rated 28th overall by Pro Football Focus.

Sure, Cincinnati has lost to quality teams so far, but we have to recognize that the teams Cincinnati has beaten are a combined 3-9. If the Bengals are only able to beat bad teams, they're not going to find their way into the postseason.

The good news is that Cincinnati should be able to start getting back on track this week when the team hosts the lowly (and winless) Cleveland Browns. If the Bengals cannot knock off their in-state rivals here, though, their season will appear all but over.