NFL Power Rankings 2016: Team Records and Standings Predictions for Week 7
We're already a month-and-a-half into the 2016 NFL season. On Thursday, Week 7 will officially kick off with the Green Bay Packers hosting the Chicago Bears.
The NFL landscape continues to evolve as we approach Week 7. The Denver Broncos have dropped two in a row after initially looking like repeat contenders. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been blown out in two road games and lost quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to a torn meniscus. The Dallas Cowboys, meanwhile, have defied expectations and appear to be one of the top teams in the NFL.
The big picture might look a lot different than it did a few weeks ago, but we're finally beginning to get an idea of how the league's 32 teams stack up. Now, we're going to take a look ahead at how we think teams will sit after Week 7.
We'll be providing power rankings based on what we think will happen in this week's slate of games by projecting post-Week 7 records and analyzing some of the top upcoming matchups. First, though, let's take a look at the league standings.
| New England Patriots | 5-1 | 1-1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 4-2 | 1-1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 2-4 | 0-1 |
| New York Jets | 1-5 | 1-0 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 4-2 | 1-0 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 3-3 | 1-0 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 2-4 | 0-1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 0-6 | 0-1 |
| Houston Texans | 4-2 | 2-0 |
| Tennessee Titans | 3-3 | 0-1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 2-3 | 1-0 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 2-4 | 0-2 |
| Oakland Raiders | 4-2 | 1-1 |
| Denver Broncos | 4-2 | 0-1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 3-2 | 2-0 |
| San Diego Chargers | 2-4 | 1-2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 5-1 | 1-1 |
| Washington Redskins | 4-2 | 2-1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3-2 | 0-1 |
| New York Giants | 3-3 | 1-1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 5-0 | 1-0 |
| Green Bay Packers | 3-2 | 1-1 |
| Detroit Lions | 3-3 | 0-2 |
| Chicago Bears | 1-5 | 1-0 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 4-2 | 1-1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2-3 | 2-0 |
| New Orleans Saints | 2-3 | 1-1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 1-5 | 0-3 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 4-1 | 1-1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 3-3 | 2-1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 3-3 | 1-1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 1-5 | 1-2 |
Projected Week 7 Power Rankings
| 1 | Minnesota Vikings | 6-0 |
| 2 | New England Patriots | 6-1 |
| 3 | Dallas Cowboys | 5-1 |
| 4 | Atlanta Falcons | 5-2 |
| 5 | Denver Broncos | 5-2 |
| 6 | Seattle Seahawks | 4-2 |
| 7 | Buffalo Bills | 5-2 |
| 8 | Arizona Cardinals | 4-3 |
| 9 | Green Bay Packers | 4-2 |
| 10 | Kansas City Chiefs | 4-2 |
| 11 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 4-3 |
| 12 | Oakland Raiders | 5-2 |
| 13 | Houston Texans | 4-3 |
| 14 | Washington Redskins | 4-3 |
| 15 | Detroit Lions | 4-3 |
| 16 | Philadelphia Eagles | 3-3 |
| 17 | Los Angeles Rams | 4-3 |
| 18 | New York Giants | 3-4 |
| 19 | Baltimore Ravens | 3-4 |
| 20 | Cincinnati Bengals | 3-4 |
| 21 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3-3 |
| 22 | Indianapolis Colts | 3-4 |
| 23 | Tennessee Titans | 3-4 |
| 24 | New Orleans Saints | 2-4 |
| 25 | San Diego Chargers | 2-4 |
| 26 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 2-4 |
| 27 | Miami Dolphins | 2-5 |
| 28 | New York Jets | 2-5 |
| 29 | Carolina Panthers | 1-5 |
| 30 | Chicago Bears | 1-6 |
| 31 | San Francisco 49ers | 1-6 |
| 32 | Cleveland Browns | 0-7 |
Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers
Week 7 kicks off with a classic NFC North rivalry match between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. This should be intriguing because of the bad blood between these two teams, but it's important because of what a loss would mean for the Packers.
Green Bay has been to the postseason in each of the past seven seasons. That impressive streak could come to an end this year if the team cannot find a way to turn things around. The Packers are sitting behind the 5-0 Minnesota Vikings in the division, and they aren't exactly playing great football right now.
Much of the team's struggles can be linked to quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The former league MVP has been uncharacteristically inconsistent this season. He is completing just 60.2 percent of his passes, has turned the ball over six times and holds a subpar passer rating of 88.4.
According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, though, Rodgers doesn't seem to believe the struggles are serious:
Here's the problem with Rodgers' thinking. The Packers offense might only be a little off, but it's preventing Green Bay from contending with strong teams. The Packers offense of two years ago probably could have staged a comeback against the Cowboys last weekend. This year's struggling offense could not.
Making matters worse is the fact that it appears running back Eddie Lacy is going to miss some time. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Lacy's ankle issue is more serious than a simple sprain:
The good news is that the Packers will have an opportunity to get back on track against an average Bears defense that is rated 17th overall by Pro Football Focus. The bad news is that a loss drops the Packers to 3-3 and severely hurts the team's chances of chasing the Vikings in the divisional race.
New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers
Normally, a matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots would be projected as a battle for the ages. These are two consistently strong franchises helmed by two of the best quarterbacks in the game.
Unfortunately, the ever-so-evil injury bug has robbed us of what should be the quarterback duel of the week. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a torn meniscus during last week's loss to the Miami Dolphins. He underwent surgery on Monday and has already been ruled out for the game, per ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler:
This significantly affects how the game is going to be played. The Steelers have enough offensive weapons to support backup quarterback Landry Jones. However, Jones does not have the ability to play gunslinger the way Roethlisberger does. Expect a whole lot of Le'Veon Bell, a smaller dose of Antonio Brown and a fairly conservative game plan for the Steelers.
"A shootout is not the type of game we're looking for," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, per Fowler. "We have to work to possess the ball on offense."
Meanwhile, Tom Brady and Co. will be going up against a Steelers defense that just surrendered 474 yards of offense to the Dolphins.
This game probably won't end up as lopsided as it could be, but the Patriots should be able to get out of Pittsburgh with a win.
Houston Texans at Denver Broncos
Week 7 ends with a Monday night clash between the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans. This game marks quarterback Brock Osweiler's return to Denver after he spurned the team in the offseason.
Osweiler has been a disappointment for much of his time in Houston so far. He has completed just 59.0 percent of his passes and has eight interceptions to go with eight touchdown passes and a passer rating of just 74.1.
However, Osweiler did show some glimpses of being a franchise signal-caller late against the Indianapolis Colts this past week. He helped engineer a 14-point rally in the fourth quarter of the eventual overtime victory. He even played well while doing so.
Osweiler was 12-of-15 for 135 yards and two touchdowns during the fourth quarter.
The trick now is using that performance as a springboard for greater things. It would certainly be impressive if Osweiler and the Texans could go into Denver and claim a victory. Actually pulling off the feat is much easier to talk about than actually accomplish.
The Broncos possess a defense that is rated first overall by Pro Football Focus, and the guys on that defense are looking to give Osweiler an impactful homecoming.
"It’s competition and we want to shut him down," Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall said, per Mike Klis of 9News Denver. "Just because it’s Brock. We know Brock. He came from here and we just want to kill him. That’s what we want to do.’’
This should be an entertaining and hard-hitting matchup. It definitely favors Denver.
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