NFL Power Rankings Week 7: Carson Palmer Will Keep Raiders in Top 10

It’s Tuesday and the exciting Week 6 of the NFL season is now behind us.

You know what that means?

That’s right, it’s time to put together Week 7's power rankings after evaluating the performances we saw over the weekend.

I have the Oakland Raiders in my Top 10, and I don’t see them falling out of that elite group this season after trading for Carson Palmer.

Sure, they overpaid for him—giving up a first-round pick in this year’s draft and at least a second-round pick in 2013—but he's going to be completely worth it.

Do you think Kyle Boller or a freshly reinstated Terrelle Pryor would keep them in the Top 10 or lead them to the playoffs?

If you do, you are crazy.  

Despite Palmer’s ineffective final year with the Bengals, the former No. 1 overall pick still has a lot of gas left in the tank. He will be a solid contributor this season and for years to come.

The Raiders have some very winnable games coming up, starting with Kansas City this week and then a bye.

After that, they play Denver, San Diego, Minnesota, Chicago, Miami, Green Bay, Detroit and Kansas City again before finishing up with a second match against the Chargers.

They should easily handle their business against the Chiefs, Denver, Minnesota and Miami. That would give them nine wins on the season alone, but they have a very good shot at winning at least a few more of those games.

I don’t think Boller would be able to successfully navigate that schedule, but an experienced veteran like Palmer with playoff experience is going to get it done.

The Raiders could easily win the AFC West if they steal a game from the Chargers, who honestly don’t look that sharp this year.

That would put them back in the playoffs for the first time since 2002. I imagine every Raiders fan would forget about those picks if Carson could get them back in the postseason.

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