NFL Power Rankings Week 7: Eagles Soar, Packers Tumble, Who's No. 1?
The NFL Power Rankings for Week 7 had some major shuffling at the top this week.
Thanks to games like the Patriots win over the Ravens and the Eagles win against the Falcons, we saw a few teams make their case to join the league's elite.
We also witnessed the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers take one step closer to implosion, but just how far did they fall down the rankings?
For those teams, panic mode is near. Just how near is the question.
Let's take a look at the Week 7 NFL power rankings, and see which teams skyrocketed and which ones tumbled down the list.
No. 32-21
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32. Carolina Panthers
The Panthers have named Matt Moore as the team's starter again. Do they not realize the team's problems run much deeper than that?
31. Buffalo Bills
The Bills give up nearly twice as many points as they score.
30. Oakland Raiders
Giving a team its first win of the season is never a good thing.
29. San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco won this week, but let's look at the big picture: they're still 1-5.
28. Detroit Lions
The Lions might have had a chance at pulling an upset against the Giants had Shaun Hill not gotten hurt.
27. Cleveland Browns
Colt McCoy played pretty well in his first NFL start, but the Browns never rally had a chance against the Steelers.
26. Dallas Cowboys
Dallas needs to learn how to put up good stats and come away with a win.
25. San Diego Chargers
See above. The Chargers and Cowboys have the same problem.
24. Jacksonville Jaguars
Huge Monday night divisional game, but a blowout loss to the Titans.
23. Cincinnati Bengals
I wonder if Carson Palmer's still upset that he blew that Bucs game.
22. Arizona Cardinals
They're winning the division, but they rank 25th or lower in every major statistical category on offense and defense.
21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs win against the bad teams and lose against the good ones.
No. 20: Denver Broncos
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The spot of the foul pass interference rule is one of the absolute dumbest penalties in the NFL, and the Broncos learned that the hard way against the Jets this week.
Denver had that game won, but a 46-yard penalty on a wishful heave down the field is not the way games should be decided.
But it is what it is. The Broncos lost, and they now sit two games below .500 at 2-4.
No. 19: Seattle Seahawks
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Hey Seattle, you actually proved that you can win on the road. Good job!
The Seahawks got their first road win of the season, a big victory over the Chicago Bears. But Seattle still gives up nearly as many points (19.4) as they score (19.6) and ranks 30th in passing yards allowed.
That isn't going to cut it in this league the rest of the way.
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No. 18: Green Bay Packers
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Injuries have really hurt the Packers, who were a very popular preseason Super Bowl pick.
But even with the rash of injuries the team has suffered, they still had the chance to win their games the last two weeks against the Redskins and the Dolphins.
They didn't.
Aaron Rodgers needs to cut down on his interceptions. He's thrown four in his last three games—the Packers went 1-2 in that span—and he already has seven on the season.
No. 17: St. Louis Rams
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Plenty of people were ready to jump off the Rams bandwagon following their blowout loss to the Lions in Week 5. Good thing they didn't.
St. Louis already has surpassed their 2009 win total and got its third win of the season with a very good performance against the Chargers.
The Rams held Philip Rivers to 249 passing yards and one touchdown, which is pretty solid considering he had thrown two or more touchdowns in every game and topped 430 yards passing twice so far.
No. 16: Minnesota Vikings
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The Vikings won the "Panic Bowl" against the Cowboys this week, but Brett Favre and Minnesota's passing offense continues to struggle.
I get it. They won the game. But the Vikings aren't going anywhere if Favre continues to throw for 177 yards per game, and the team scores just 17.4 points per game.
That's the same amount of points that the Buffalo Bills score.
No. 15: Washington Redskins
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Washington might as well be called the anti-Chargers.
Other than passing yards, there's no statistical area that jumps out at you and makes you say, "Wow, they're a good team."
But the Redskins hung tough win the Colts this week, and running back Ryan Torain finally gave a boost to the 'Skins ground game. He finished with 20 carries for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
That'll have to continue for Washington to stay afloat in a very competitive division.
No. 14: Chicago Bears
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The Bears haven't looked very good since they started 3-0.
Yes, a lot of that can be blamed on the loss of Jay Cutler. But Chicago has scored just 46 points in their last three games, which isn't going to get it done.
Jay Cutler can't expect to complete 17 of 39 passes and win any games, especially when his team can't rely on the run—it ranks 26th in rushing.
No. 13: Kansas City Chiefs
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The Chiefs were riding high after a 3-0 start, but those three wins came against teams that have won four games combined all season.
Kansas City had chances to win each of their games the last two weeks—against Indianapolis and Houston—but didn't.
They've played well two straight contests and have a solid offense with some big-time playmakers, but their secondary still gets torched for 250 yards per game.
In a division with the Chargers and Broncos, that'll have to change very quickly.
No. 12: Miami Dolphins
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The Dolphins rebounded nicely this week win an overtime win over the Packers after two straight divisional losses.
Despite rumors indicating otherwise, Miami is sticking the course with Chad Henne. He had a very good game against Green Bay, throwing for 231 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined for 137 yards rushing. That's the recipe for success for Miami.
No. 11: Atlanta Falcons
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Wow, Atlanta. Talk about dropping the ball in a big game.
The Falcons were manhandled by the Eagles from start to finish, and it probably would have been worse had DeSean Jackson not gotten hurt.
Atlanta's offense ran the ball just 18 times for 62 yards. That's never a good sign for a team with one of the league's best running games.
The Falcons don't win that way.
No. 10: Tennessee Titans
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The trend continues. As Chris Johnson goes, so do the Titans.
When Johnson tops 100 yards, the Titans are 4-0. When he doesn't, they're 0-2.
Now that Vince Young could miss some time with a sprained left knee, Johnson will probably carry an even bigger load for Tennessee.
That usually seems to work in their favor though.
No. 9: Houston Texans
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Both teams needed a win in Sunday's Texans/Chiefs game, but Houston came out on top.
The Texans proved their offense will be hard to stop all season, but their defense is a different story. Houston's secondary was torched by Matt Cassel, who threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns.
Houston gave up three touchdowns to Cassel for crying out loud. What will they do against teams that can actually throw the ball?
No. 8: Indianapolis Colts
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The Colts are going to win the way they've won the last few years by throwing the ball.
Peyton Manning leads the league's second-ranked scoring and passing offense while the Colts rank 24th in rushing yards.
Indianapolis can score with anybody, but they'll have to improve their run game and run defense to be considered serious contenders in a loaded AFC.
No. 7: New York Giants
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Remember a few weeks ago when the Giants seemed like they were on the brink of imploding?
Well, that's long forgotten. In New York's last three games—all victories—the Giants have held their opponents to just 11 points per game while averaging more than 26 points on offense.
Add that to the fact that the team seems to have gotten Brandon Jacobs' head straight, and the Giants are looking like a contender right now.
No. 6: Philadelphia Eagles
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Philadelphia probably has a quarterback controversy on its hands, but it's the good kind.
The Eagles proved this week against the Falcons that they can win with either Michael Vick or Kevin Kolb behind center. But once Vick returns from injury, head coach Andy Reid needs to pick his starter and roll with it.
He doesn't want to keep flip flopping and changing his mind. That's when the Eagles struggle.
But who will it be: Vick or Kolb?
No. 5: New Orleans Saints
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The Saints needed to show signs of life against the Bucs, and that's exactly what they did.
Drew Brees had his best performance of the 2010 season with 263 yards passing and three touchdowns, and running back Chris Ivory finally gave the team a good rushing performance with 158 yards on just15 carries.
New Orleans scored on its first three possessions to jump out to a big early lead. That's how the Saints made it to the Super Bowl last season.
No. 4: Baltimore Ravens
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The Ravens led 20-10 in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against the Patriots, but allowed 10 points in the final quarter and lost in overtime.
Baltimore played well otherwise, but the Ravens can't afford to blow games at the end like that, especially when they'll be in a dogfight will the Steelers all season.
The fourth quarter play calling seemed a bit too conservative. It looked like the Ravens were trying not to lose instead of trying to win.
No. 3: New England Patriots
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Any time you get a win over a team like the Ravens, your team is moving in the right direction.
The Patriots didn't outplay Baltimore by much, but having the ball in Tom Brady's hands with a chance to win or tie the game is always a good position to be in.
And it almost felt like a flashback watching Brady connect with Deion Branch all day. Those two looked like they haven't missed a beat.
No. 2: New York Jets
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The Jets are obviously a heck of a football team, but they were basically handed the game against the Broncos.
Yes, it was pass interference. But a team, or more importantly, a quarterback with a killer instinct doesn't loft the ball down the field and hope for a flag on fourth down.
Maybe Mark Sanchez will learn that down the road.
No. 1: Pittsburgh Steelers
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Just one game into his season, Ben Roethlisberger has already improved the Steelers' NFL-worst passing attack.
In his first game back, he threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns while Pittsburgh's defense did it's thing and held the Browns to just 10 points.
With Big Ben back behind center, the Steelers just got a lot better. They're the team to beat in the NFL right now.
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