NFL Power Rankings Week 7: Which Teams Have Fallen Most Since Week 1?

One thing you can be sure of about preseason rankings—without seeing teams match up, you are looking at guesses based on last year’s information.

And so it was this year, with five of the top six ranked teams leading into Week 1 of the season having fallen at least four spots in the rankings and one, No. 3 Philadelphia, having taken a dive 17 spots to No. 20.

The Eagles are one of four teams to have dropped at least 16 points in the rankings over the course of the first six weeks of the season, and they aren’t the team that has fallen the most:

No. 23 Indianapolis Colts (0-5) (Last week: Lost to Cincinnati Bengals, 27-17)

Everybody knew the Colts were going to take a hit if quarterback Peyton Manning couldn’t play anytime soon. What wasn’t known was that Manning likely isn’t going to play at all.

Kerry Collins has given way to Curtis Painter at quarterback, but the results haven’t changed; the one-time pass-happy Colts offense is 31^st in the NFL.

It doesn’t help that the Indianapolis defense is ranked in the bottom third of the league, either, and the Colts have dropped from No. 8 in Week 1 to No. 30 now, a drop of 22 spots.

No. 20 Philadelphia Eagles (2-4) (Last week: Beat Washington Redskins, 20-13)

It begins and ends with Michael Vick in Philly, and for the most part that equation has been a downer for the Eagles, with Vick hearing it from Eagles fans.

That changed a little last week when Vick threw for 237 yards and ran for another 54 in a 20-13 win over the Redskins, but this is a team that has struggled to find consistency.

The Eagles rank in the top half in both most points scored and total defense, but they still aren’t translating that into wins, so they’ve dropped 17 points from No. 3 in Week 1 to No. 20 now.

No. 31 St. Louis Rams (0-5) (Last week: Lost to Green Bay Packers, 24-3)

The emergency of Sam Bradford at quarterback balanced by the ground game provided by Steven Jackson led St. Louis to be a popular team when the Week 1 rankings came out.

That’s morphed into a five-game losing streak to start the season with the Rams seeing Bradford having hit a bit of a plateau and Jackson limited to just 41 carries, as Cadillac Williams has gotten more playing time.

The offense ranks 25^th and the defense 30^th, one reason the Rams are dead last, No. 32 this week after being No. 15 in Week 1, a skid of 17 spots.

No. 28 Arizona Cardinals (1-4) (Last week: Bye)

The addition of Kevin Kolb had raised the expectations bar for the Cardinals this year, but things haven’t gone nearly the way Arizona fans had hoped.

The Cardinals have gotten an OK performance from Kolb (1,281 yards), but he’s thrown more interceptions (six) than touchdowns (five) as Arizona has lost four in a row.

Three of the four were by four points or fewer, but Week 5’s 34-10 to the one-win Vikings has the Cardinals No. 28 this week after being ranked No. 12 in Week 1, a drop of 16 places.

 NFL Power Rankings, Week 7

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