NFL Power Rankings Week 7: Updated Standings After Thursday Night Football

The NFL power-rankings outlook wasn't going to take a big hit after the Week 7 edition of Thursday Night Football. 

After all, the 3-4 Denver Broncos taking down the 1-6 Arizona Cardinals 45-10 behind an absolute show from Von Miller doesn't have much in the way of long-term implications.

The rest of the schedule is a different story. 

With games like New Orleans-Baltimore and Cincinnati-Kansas City on deck, get ready for the below rankings to undergo a major shift coming out of the weekend. 

2018 NFL Power Rankings

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

Believe it: Los Angeles Chargers

David Richard/Associated Press

It seems like the Los Angeles Chargers will never get the credit they deserve. 

Part of it stems from management's dumbfounding decision to make the move in the first place and the ramifications from it. Another part of it is the familiarity—yes, Philip Rivers is playing well, but what will it lead to? 

Well, it could be quite a lot. Rivers has completed 68.6 percent of his passes with 15 touchdowns and three interceptions, opening up his ground game to average 5.1 yards per carry led by Melvin Gordon's 466 yards and six scores. 

Defensively, the Chargers have a top-10 run defense and 16 sacks already, which isn't too shabby considering Joey Bosa isn't even back from his injury yet: 

Wrapped up in there are losses to Kansas City and the Los Angeles Rams, but losing to good teams and otherwise taking care of business early in the season is better than the roller coaster some contenders like Pittsburgh have decided to ride. 

The Chargers should at least remain even and competitive the rest of the way, especially with Bosa on the way back and Rivers casually playing at an elite level again. The bottom half of the AFC West isn't a factor, so the Chargers could be well on a playoff pace before postseason games where quarterback experience reigns supreme most of the time. 

Wait and See: Washington Redskins

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

One week the Washington Redskins look like a playoff team, the next it looks like they should have a top-five pick. 

Washington started the season with a blowout win, then turned around and lost a home opener. The Alex Smith-led team then bested Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay, only to get blown out by Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints the next week. 

The latest? On a short week, the Redskins rebounded from the loss in New Orleans by beating Carolina, 23-17. In a not-so-shocking development, Adrian Peterson keyed the offense with 17 carries for 97 yards, opening up the field for the conservative Smith, who threw two touchdowns while averaging just 4.5 yards per attempt. 

Yes, tying the fate of a franchise's success to a 33-year-old running back is scary, but Peterson also isn't any normal 33-year-old running back. If the coaches decide to see the connection between Peterson's productivity and wins, the wildly erratic results might come to an end. 

For now, the Redskins are a shaky first place in the NFC East, but they still have to play all six divisional games. But with every team outside of Washington at .500 or worse, the Redskins don't make for a terrible long-term wager on the chance they discover a bit of consistency and start building upon the lead as opposed to treading on water. 

At some point, Smith's arm will have to win the Redskins a game or two. But with the way the NFC East looks right now, that challenge could unfold in January, not sooner. 

Forget It: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

John Bazemore/Associated Press

It was fun while it lasted. 

Ryan Fitzpatrick eventually remembered he was Ryan Fitzpatrick, going from eight touchdowns and one interception over the first two games of the year to three and four, respectively, over the next two.

Jameis Winston has also been Jameis Winston since his return. He got walloped by an elite Chicago Bears defense, throwing for 145 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in a loss before whipping Atlanta's bad defense to the tune of 395 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions—also a loss. 

There isn't much of a disparity between the two quarterbacks except in the win column: 

As a result, the Buccaneers now look up to two teams above .500 in the NFC South and face an absolutely brutal remaining schedule, including Carolina twice, Cincinnati, Washington, New Orleans, Baltimore and Dallas. 

The defense simply doesn't have enough talent—especially in the secondary—to compensate for middling quarterback play despite an elite cast of supporting weapons, exemplified by its coughing up a league-worst 34.6 points per game. 

Things aren't going to improve for the defense, and things are as average as ever with Winston under center, so the outlook is bleak. The only thing capable of changing it was Fitzpatrick magically staying hot for most of the season, but that itself predictably fizzled out after two games as defenses adapted.