Post-Week 7 Power Rankings

After one of the wildest weeks in recent memory, there’s a lot of shuffling to do in this week’s power rankings. Let’s stack up the NFL 1-32 as we approach the midway point in the 2020 season.

1 – Chiefs (6-1)

Kansas City is still the best team in football, and they proved that with force on Sunday in Denver. The Chiefs dominated their division foes all game long, and excelled in all 3 phases of the game. With 3 offensive scores, a pick six, and a kick return touchdown, they became the first team this season to score in all 3 phases in 2020. They are continuing to be efficient and not too reliant on any particular player, even with QB Patrick Mahomes under center. They are simply more well-rounded than any other team in the league, and all they do is get things done all over the football field. Their schedule the rest of the way is pretty easy for them, and I’d be shocked if they drop more than 2 or 3 games. Next up is the Jets, in a game that they can honestly win by 30 if they rest their starters.

2 – Steelers (6-0) 3

In the last 2 weeks, Pittsburgh has silenced all the doubters. This team had won its first 4 games against awful teams, but they have won their last 2 quite convincingly against two 5-win teams. Yes, the Steelers were slipping up in the second half of Sunday’s game in Nashville, but there is still no doubt that they were the better team all game long. They deserved to win that game. This is arguably the best all-around team in the league, right up there with Kansas City, and they have proven it week in and week out. Their schedule is starting to tighten up a bit, as they get their first of two huge matchups with the Ravens this Sunday. It’s another big test for the Steelers, but I think they’ll be just fine. I do think QB Ben Roethlisberger’s errancy is a bit concerning, but this is a true Super Bowl contender.

3 – Titans (5-1) 1

Tennessee was getting ran out of their own building on Sunday for over 30 minutes of play, but they almost came all the way back to pull off another clutch win. Instead, they came up just short and suffered their first loss of 2020. I won’t bump them down too much, as I still believe this team is very elite and a true title contender. However, I’m a bit concerned about this team’s performance against elite defenses. They were getting shut down by the Steelers D before they got complacent. Their defense was also being picked apart all game long outside of some gift INTs, allowing long, tiring drives. It could have just been a bad game, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, but this team faced their first truly elite opponent and failed the test. I believe in their ability to bounce back, which they’ll need to do as the back half of the schedule gets very tough.

4 – Buccaneers (5-2) 3

This team is so, so good. Outside of an opening day loss with little to no chemistry and a poor performance against a great defense a few weeks ago in Chicago, this team has looked absolutely spectacular. QB Tom Brady has been doing huge things this season to the tune of being included in MVP talks. The defense is getting better by the week, as is key units like the offensive line. There are so many weapons on offense that Brady can find to make this offense even more dynamic. Oh, and they just signed former star WR Antonio Brown. I’m not sure what he’ll provide to the team and the offense, but star power is star power. Even without him, this team would have been just fine. They are quickly becoming my favorite to win the NFC.

5 – Packers (5-1) 2

The Packers played a fantastic game on Sunday, so I didn’t want to bump them down too much. It just so happened that some teams below them last week played better. QB Aaron Rodgers played a spectacular game, and WR Davante Adams returned to the lineup in a huge way. Even without RB Aaron Jones, this offense looked unstoppable. They were playing a terrible team, but the point still stands. This team has been feeding on poor opponents all season long and got absolutely exposed when they played a truly great team 2 weeks ago, but I still like this team to go far in the playoffs. They are built for it. I also expect them to make a big move as we approach the trade deadline to possibly push them over the hump and make their Super Bowl chances that much better.

6 – Ravens (5-1)

Baltimore had the week off but still made headlines by signing former Cowboys star WR Dez Bryant to their practice squad. I don’t expect Dez to make much of a difference or even play much, but this team did need some help at the WR position. They face one of their toughest tests of the year this Sunday as the Steelers come to town, and they are surprisingly favored. I’ll give my thoughts on that more tomorrow.

7 – Seahawks (5-1) 3

This defense is absolutely awful. Genuinely one of the worst units I have ever seen. Everyone loves to talk about how bad Dallas’ defense is, which is absolutely warranted, but let me just give you some food for thought. Dallas gives up a lot of points, but they are fifth in the league in total yards allowed. Only 4 teams have given up more yards, and one of them is the Seattle Seahawks… who have played one less game than each of the other teams in the top 5. They are first in yards allowed per game with over 50 yards more than the 2nd place team. The offense is amazing, Russ is amazing, Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf are amazing, but their defensive woes finally caught up to them. I hope it was a wakeup call for this team to make some sort of move to bolster their defense, even after Jamal Adams comes back. They need it very badly.

8 – Rams (5-2) 3

I do believe that the Rams are back. This team looked ugly two weeks ago in Santa Clara, but on Monday night, they looked great on both sides of the football. Yes, the Bears aren’t the greatest test in the world, but they are a 5-2 team for a reason. Now the Rams are at 5 wins, just a half game out of first place, and right in the thick of things in the NFC. I’d like to see them play more good teams to get a better idea of how good this team truly is, but I feel pretty good about them right now. I understand putting them this high might be a bit controversial, but based on precedent, I like this team a lot.

9 – Saints (4-2)

In the midst of tons of injuries plaguing their offense, the Saints continue to win games. After a couple of tough primetime losses, they have won 3 games in a row despite still missing WR Michael Thomas and others. It’s quite impressive what they’ve been able to do, but I have one small problem with them. The 3 teams they’ve beaten aren’t really all that, and each game has been decided by one possession (albeit one of them was thanks to a garbage time TD). I don’t expect them to blow people out with the injuries they have, but the struggles are still a bit of a concern. I have no doubt that once they get healthy, they will be very dangerous, as QB Drew Brees is starting to play much better than he did in the early goings of the season and RB Alvin Kamara is continuing to play like one of the league’s best players. The schedule gets very tough very quickly, so they need to get healthy if they want to stay competitive in both the division and the conference.

10 – Cardinals (5-2) 4

Welcome to the top 10, Arizona. It’s been a long time coming. The Cardinals have won 3 straight games, most recently against the previously-undefeated division rival Seahawks in the Game of the Year. 2nd year QB Kyler Murray is continuing to play stellar football every week, and star WR DeAndre Hopkins is having big game after big game in his first year in the desert. Other young players are starting to emerge with massive impacts like RB Chase Edmonds, WR Christian Kirk, and S Budda Baker. This team is remarkably talented on both sides of the ball, and HC Kliff Kingsbury is finding a great deal of success in his second year. This is surely a playoff team in the making, and I cannot wait to see how the rest of the season plays out.

11 – 49ers (4-3) 5

Perhaps we buried this team too soon. It was hard not to, but they have bounced back from their shortcomings in a big way, despite being arguably the most injury-ridden team in football. Even now, they are faced with injury after injury at the running back position, but are still finding great success in the run game. QB Jimmy Garoppolo has also improved his play and reduced his mistakes to help put his team in a position to win. This schedule gets extremely difficult very quickly, but if this team can keep staying tight and well-coached and overcome their injuries, then I actually like them to pull out a lot of tough games. It’s a gritty bunch that is built to win, and that’s what they’ll do.

12 – Colts (4-2) 1

Indy had the week off, which they must be very glad about. They have the Lions coming up, but after that, they are faced with one of the most difficult stretches of any team in the league. They should get an easy win this week, but things get super hard afterward. If team is truly great, then they’ll win some of those games. If not, then things could be over quickly. The next month or so will dictate the Colts’ 2020 season.

13 – Bills (5-2) 3

This team may have 5 wins, but they do not look good right now. For one, two of those wins are against the Jets, and one of those two wins was in a game where they didn’t score a touchdown. This offense is really struggling, which is quite confusing considering how prolific they were in the first 4 weeks of the year. They need to figure things out quickly if they want to keep up in a very tough AFC, because they do not have the luxury of playing the Jets again this season. If they don’t get things going quickly, it could be a long road ahead. I believe in the talent and coaching of this team, but I need to see it, and it needs to be now.

14 – Bears (5-2) 6

Perhaps the Bears are who we thought they were. And we let them off the hook (for about a week). I’m relegating the Bears down back where they belong thanks to a shameful outing on Monday night in Inglewood. Not only was their offense nonexistent, but their defense, which has carried this team all year long, also put up a very lackluster performance. Yes, the Rams are a very good team with a very good defense of their own, but Chicago’s offense was absolutely unwatchable all night long. As I said yesterday, Nick Foles isn’t anything close to a long term option at QB, and he might not be a short term option either. Are we sure Mitchell Trubisky isn’t the better choice?

15 – Raiders (3-3) 3

Las Vegas got Tom Brady’d on Sunday, so it hurts to bump them down this much. But, I think it’ll only be a temporary thing. I still like the talent that this team has quite a lot, and for what its worth, they were only down 4 early in the 4th quarter. They just got closed out by a masterful Tom Brady performance. This team will be fine. Their schedule isn’t that bad, and they should be favored to win a lot of games down the stretch. I truly believe this is a solid wild card team that could do some big things later in the season, but they need to tighten things up on defense if they truly want to threaten in January. That’s the weakest link on the team, and it needs to improve fast.

16 – Browns (5-2) 1

Wow, the Browns beat the 1-win Bengals again! And it was by 3! On virtually the last play of the game! What a convincing win! So impressive! Yeah, no. This team still doesn’t do it for me. Yes, QB Baker Mayfield was awesome on Sunday. But it helps when you don’t have any pressure on you from the opposing defense. It also helps when you’re playing one of the worst teams in football. The Cleveland defense got obliterated by a rookie QB all game long and let Cincy have whatever they wanted offensively. This team was 11 seconds away from another bad loss, but they were lucky enough to escape. It was another Mickey Mouse win for this unimpressive team. Now they will be without arguably their best player, WR Odell Beckham Jr., for the rest of 2020. I’m not sure how much of a playoff contender this team will be, but no matter what, I don’t really believe in them.

17 – Dolphins (3-3) 1

The Tua Tagovailoa era begins on Sunday in Miami. The rookie QB had the week off to prepare for his first NFL start, which will be a tough test against one of the league’s best defenses in the LA Rams. It’ll be very interesting to see how the rook does, especially considering how special fellow first round QBs Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert have looked in 2020. I’m rooting for him, but there’s no doubt that it will be very, very tough this week.

18 – Panthers (3-4) 1

I honestly really like this team. They have lost their last 2 games, but they have been very competitive all season long. QB Teddy Bridgewater has performed very well in his first year in Carolina, and their offensive weapons have really looked good. It would be very interesting to see how these last few games would have gone with RB Christian McCaffrey in the lineup, but luckily for them, he should be back soon. This is a solid 8-9 win team, and once McCaffrey comes back, I think they’ll find themselves winning a lot of games.

19 – Chargers (2-4) 1

Congratulations to rookie QB Justin Herbert on getting his first career win. The rook looked fantastic once again on Sunday, and it finally paid off. The Chargers are still facing a myriad of injuries across the board, but #10 is consistently finding ways to keep them in games. He continues to prove himself as one of the best young signal callers in the league, and I couldn’t be happier for him. The team has its struggles in other areas, but QB and WR are not one of them. If they can tighten up on defense, then they can win a ton of games. Defense is arguably the reason that this team isn’t undefeated right now. This team’s toughest games are honestly behind them, so don’t be surprised if this team sneaks into the wild card race in a few weeks. Of course, this is the Chargers, so they’ll find some way to mess that up.

20 – Lions (3-3) 2

Detroit has quietly found their way back to .500. Back to back wins have this team back on the right track, but we should take that with a grain of salt considering they played two 1-win teams, and Atlanta handed them the game on a silver platter on Sunday. But this team is definitely finding their stride on both sides of the ball. The Lions have a tough test coming up this week with the Colts coming to town, but if they can pull out a win, then I wouldn’t sleep on this team to string together some wins. The next few weeks aren’t terribly difficult, but the season ends with some very tough games.

21 – Eagles (2-4-1) 3

Say hello to your new NFC East favorites. Despite being 2 games under .500 and putting up some awful performances, the Eagles have found themselves in first place. And based on the standing of the rest of the division, it doesn’t look like they will lose that. Yes, they’re only 0.5 games up on Washington and Dallas, but those teams are pretty bad. Philly is starting to get things going and have proven themselves as bonafide comeback kids in the last few weeks. They host Dallas on Sunday night and they should absolutely destroy them, but if they don’t, then we should be concerned. Regardless, I don’t see any scenario in which this team doesn’t make the playoffs.

22 – Patriots (2-4) 7

Nothing, and I mean nothing, is working in New England right now. The offense has been sputtering for 3 games in a row, and that’s being generous. The Patriots are averaging 9.3 PPG since their bye week, and they only have 3 passing touchdowns on the season. Their run game, which was their offensive strong suit early in the season, is now nonexistent. The defense, which this team prided itself on, is folding by the week. It’s starting to get embarrassing. I really don’t see a scenario in which this team gets back on track. It might be over for them in 2020.

23 – Bengals (1-5-1) 5

This is the most competitive 1-win team I have ever seen in my life. I’m not sure how many teams they would beat that are below them this week, but they have something that they all don’t: fight. They might have more talent, but the Bengals refuse to say die. Rookie QB Joe Burrow has kept this team in almost every game this season, and despite having no offensive line and limited weapons, he has put up huge numbers. Once this team gets some real O-line talent and better players at skill positions, things could get dangerous in Cincy. This season is obviously a lost cause, but the future is very bright.

24 – Texans (1-6) 1

Sigh. #GetDeshaunWatsonATeam is still going as strong as ever, and it is such a shame. The Texans struggled all afternoon long against the Packers, and only got it going once it was garbage time. There isn’t much going on in Houston. The offense has talent, but they still have not overcome the hole left by the departure of WR DeAndre Hopkins. The defense is a mess, getting torn apart week after week. This is just a bad team that can’t overcome bad decisions made in the past and poor performances on the football field. Lucky for them, they’ll have a good draft pick this year. Oh wait, it’s gone. I would say the future is bright in Houston, but there is no immediate future.

25 – Vikings (1-5) 1

Minnesota had the week off, which I’m sure their fans were ecstatic about, considering they didn’t have to watch Kirk Cousins play QB for a week. They wrap up their 2020 series against the Packers on Sunday and will likely get run out of the stadium. The season is very much over in Minneapolis.

26 – Broncos (2-4) 1

This is a pretty bad team. They were absolutely embarrassed on Sunday at home against the Chiefs, and thanks to injuries, this season is going nowhere fast in Denver. QB Drew Lock also is starting to look less and less like the QB of the future with every passing week. Perhaps if they were healthier, this team would be performing better, but I doubt it. The Broncos are simply not in a good spot right now, and it’s not getting better anytime soon.

27 – Washington (2-5) 4

Sunday’s win may have hurt our tank, but I honestly don’t care. It was super fun game on Sunday, and there is nothing better than crushing the Cowboys. That being said, I still don’t think this team is very good. There is undeniable talent at many different positions, but it’ll take a while for all that to come to fruition. Once it does, then there is promise, but that doesn’t exist right now. Washington has the week off this week, luckily for me. But I’m quite interested to see how competitive this team can be, just 0.5 games out of first place.

28 – Cowboys (2-5) 7

Welcome to the cellar, Dallas. This team is awful. Without Dak Prescott, they cannot do a damn thing offensively, both through the air and on the ground. The team had less than 150 yards on offense in the entire game in Washington on Sunday. The defense is also continuing to be one of the worst units in football, getting absolutely ran over by Washington all afternoon long. HC Mike McCarthy is surely on his way out of Dallas, and not soon enough. The Cowboys are simply terrible. It’s such a shame for a team that had so much promise with this core that will likely be split up very soon.

29 – Falcons (1-6) 4

Georgia sports never cease to amaze. You know the story by now. Another blown game for the Falcons. Just 7 days after the Atlanta Braves blew a 3-1 NLCS lead. It’s such a shame. This team is very talented and had potential to be a solid 6-8 win team. Instead, they have now lost 3 extremely winnable games this season, and their 2020 campaign is cooked. All Falcons fans have to look forward to is the draft, where they can potentially find themselves a QB of the future. The team is certainly in the Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes™, and they are becoming more and more of a contender with every passing week.

30 – Giants (1-6)

This team actually put up a really good fight on Thursday night. They have done that many times this year. The Giants are actually a few plays away from being in first place. And even still, they’re only 1.5 games out of first. I wouldn’t exactly say that the season is alive, but this team certainly is. They’re starting to figure things out under HC Joe Judge, and it appears to be working. It might still be early, but we’ll see. Are they still going to be picking in the top 5? Probably. Are they looking for a QB? Probably. But this team will continue to fight for the rest of the way in 2020.

31 – Jaguars (1-6) 2

This might be the most disappointing team of the 2020 season. The Jags, who I once considered one of the most promising young teams in football, are now very, very deep in the cellar. This team has nothing going for them right now. Before, they were a promising offensive team, but even that isn’t working for them. It’s cooked right now in Jacksonville. QB Gardner Minshew is not the answer and he is not a franchise QB. HC Doug Marrone cannot be fired soon enough. The team needs another complete overhaul, and it will likely start with a QB in this year’s draft. I am officially putting the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes™.

32 – Jets (0-7)

Nothing that I can say here that I haven’t already said all season long. I will say this though: the Jets had 4 total yards of offense in the 2nd half on Sunday. Trevor Lawrence must be contemplating a 4th year at Clemson very hard right now. What a sham.

All stats taken from ESPN.