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NFL Power Rankings, Week 7: Bears are movin’ on up!

The Chicago Bears are inching closer to the top-tier teams in this week’s NFL Power Rankings
Pete Martuneac

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1 year ago

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2024 NFC North Position Rankings: Tight Ends (News)
Harry Murphy/Getty

Week 7 of the NFL season is in the books, and it featured some incredible blowouts, most of which were courtesy of the NFC North. The Chicago Bears got started Sunday morning with a 35-16 shellacking of the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, their third straight win. During the next slate of games, the Green Bay Packers delivered a 34-13 beatdown of the Arizona Cardinals, who were feeling good after a Week 6 win over the 49ers. Then, as one of the afternoon games, the Detroit Lions absolutely dismantled the Dallas Cowboys in their own house, securing a 47-9 victory.

The NFC North is currently 17-5, the best any division has been through six weeks since the realignment in 2002. Unsurprisingly, all four of them find themselves near the top of this week’s rankings, with the top spot again changing hands from last week’s #1 team.

1. Detroit Lions (Last week: 4)

Losing Aiden Hutchinson for the year is a brutal blow to what has been a good defense, but I don’t think we should talk ourselves out of the Lions as contenders. Jared Goff is playing the best ball of his life, and the Lions have a lot of depth. There’s no replacing Hutch, but this injury won’t derail their train.

2. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: 1)

The Vikings had a bye week but moved down just one spot, and only because the Lions just destroyed the Cowboys on the road.

3. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: 2)

Derrick Henry is on pace for arguably the greatest season by a running back in his 30s in NFL history. If he keeps this up, not only should he be the MVP favorite, but the Ravens will be Super Bowl favorites.

4. Atlanta Falcons (Last week: 3)

Against the lowly Panthers, the Falcons didn’t need Cousins to throw for 500 yards. This time, most of the damage came on the ground courtesy of Bijan Robinson. The Falcons remain a dangerous contender in the NFC.

5. Houston Texans (Last week: 5)

Like the Falcons, the Texans lit up a one-win team on Sunday, crushing the Patriots 41-21. They hold a commanding 2-game lead over the Indianapolis Colts for the division lead, plus they already have a win over Indy under their belts. Along with the Ravens, the Texans look like the AFC team most ready to knock Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs off their throne.

6. Green Bay Packers (Last week: 9)

The defense still has a lot to work on, but Green Bay is off to a historic start in terms of taking the ball away. They’re up to 17 takeaways through six games, one shy of their total last season. A date with the Houston Texans next week will be a good test of whether the Packers have joined the elite teams club or are still a year away.

7. Chicago Bears (Last week: 10)

You can hem and haw all you want about the quality of opponents the Bears have faced recently, no one had the Bears absolutely obliterating the Jaguars in London after their 1-2 start to the year. Caleb Williams has arrived, and the Bears are ready to fight with the best of them for a playoff spot. Their Week 8 matchup with the surging Commanders and second-overall draft pick Jayden Daniels will be appointment viewing.

8. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: 6)

You may disagree with an undefeated team being this low, but the fact is that the Chiefs only have one convincing win all year. They could easily be 1-4 right now had just a handful of plays gone the other way.

9. Buffalo Bills (Last week: 7)

I always hate dropping teams after a win, especially over a division rival, but the Bills still have to prove that they can hang with the very best. Josh Allen looks like the clear MVP so far, which is encouraging, but we need to see more from the team.

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last week: 8)

As with the Vikings, I must own up to being wrong about this team. I expected a major regression from Baker Mayfield, but he’s in the thick of the MVP race right now and has this team humming. Their Super Bowl window is still open.

11. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: 13)

After dropping an embarrassing loss to division rival Arizona, the Niners badly needed a resounding victory over another division rival, the Seattle Seahawks, and that’s precisely what they got. Despite all the injuries this year, they’re still a force to be reckoned with.

12. Washington Commanders (Last week: 11)

The Commanders fell to the Ravens in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score shows. There is rightfully a lot of excitement around this team, but we may need to start pumping the brakes on the hype train.

13. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: 17)

Indy pulled off a close win over the Titans, improving to 1-1 without starters Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor. Head coach Shane Steichen has already ruled Richardson in for Week 7, barring any unforeseen setbacks, so the hope is they get their playoff dreams back on track.

14. LA Chargers (Last week: 23)

After they bye, the Chargers picked up a nice win over division rival Denver, holding them scoreless until the 4th quarter. I didn’t necessarily want to bump them up this high, but there’s other teams I trust far less than the Chargers right now. Of note, head coach Jim Harbaugh had a brief medical scare but he appears to be okay.

15. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: 20)

It’s time to talk about the Cincinnati Bengals for what they are: a mediocre team with a good quarterback and a coaching problem. They might be able to course-correct and stumble into the playoffs still, but it’s looking more and more like a coaching change is needed to maximize their Super Bowl window with Joe Burrow.

16. Denver Broncos (Last week: 14)

Almost the complete opposite of the Bengals, the Broncos are a mediocre team with poor quarterbacking and great coaching. Rookie Bo Nix has struggled mightily so far, and it’s hard to chalk it up to youthful inexperience given his 61 college starts. There’s probably some room to improve as he adjusts to NFL speed, but the ceiling looks low.

17. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: 26)

The Steelers get a huge bump this week, but not necessarily through anything they did well. But I trust this team more than the rest of the list right now, even if I think Pittsburgh’s ceiling is low.

18. Seattle Seahawks (Last week: 15)

I may have been way off when predicting Tampa Bay’s regression, but it’s looking like I was right on about Seattle. They’ve dropped three straight games now to enter Week 7 at 3-3. They’ve got the soaring Falcons on Sunday in a battle of the birds, and I expect the Seahawks to lay a massive egg in that one to make it four consecutive losses.

19. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: 18)

That’s right, I dropped the Eagles after a win. I would have dropped them even lower if I could. The fact is that head coach Nick Sirianni is holding back a talented team from their potential. It’s no coincidence that the Eagles have fallen far from their Super Bowl appearance after both their defensive and offensive coordinators were hired away. I even believe that GM Howie Roseman hired current offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, without any input from Sirianni by the way, to take Sirianni’s job at some point. The clock is ticking towards midnight in Philly.

20. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 12)

In my preseason predictions, I said there’s a very good chance that this is the year that the Cowboys come completely unglued. After getting run out of their own stadium by the Lions on Sunday, that prediction is very close to bearing fruit.

21. New York Jets (Last week: 16)

At 2-4, this season is officially spiraling out of control. Even trading for Davante Adams won’t save this season. Barring a miraculous turnaround, are we already witnessing the end of the Aaron Rodgers era in New York?

22. LA Rams (Last week: 22)

The Rams had a bye week, so they stayed put.

23. New York Giants (Last week: 27)

Despite losing to the Bengals, I want to show the Giants some love. They played a gutsy game, and their defense has proven that the team is not a completely lost cause. If they can ever get the right quarterback, the Giants could be a serious football team.

24. New England Patriots (Last week: 30)

In his first start against one of the toughest defenses in the league, rookie Drake Maye threw more touchdown passes than veteran Jacoby Brissett had thrown in the first five games of the season. This is still a bad team, and Drake Maye cannot save the 2024 season, but if he continues to develop the right way, then the Patriots could soon find themselves back in perennial title contention.

25. Miami Dolphins (Last week: 25)

The Dolphins had a bye, so they didn’t make any moves.

26. Arizona Cardinals (Last week: 24)

The Cardinals are a frustrating team. One week they’re pulling off the major upset over a stacked division rival, the next they’re getting dismantled by the Packers. This team is a long way away from returning to glory.

27. New Orleans Saints (Last week: 19)

With Derek Carr set to miss 3-4 weeks and the Saints now at 2-4, I think removing them from all the “In the Hunt” playoff graphics is safe. It’s over for this season.

28. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 21)

Head coach Doug Pederson is very lucky they’re playing two games in London, had the Jaguars already flown back to Jacksonville, I am certain he would have been fired. The roster may not be brimming with talent, but failure in coaching is the only excuse for Trevor Lawrence and this squad to be 1-5.

29. Tennessee Titans (Last week: 29)

The Titans have a very good defense that is being wasted on a bad offense. Will Levis is not the answer, and the Titans will not find success again until a quarterback change is made.

30. Las Vegas Raiders (Last week: 28)

The Raiders could have beaten Pittsburgh on Sunday, but the wheels all fell off when a bad call robbed them of a touchdown to make it a one-score game late in the second half. They simply don’t have the talent to overcome a setback like that. You can lock them in for a first-round quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft.

31. Carolina Panthers (Last week: 31)

You gotta feel for Panthers fans. A week ago, they watched Caleb Williams, who the Bears drafted with the pick Carolina sent over in the 2023 trade-up for Bryce Young (the guy head coach Dave Canales benched after 18 total starts), systematically demolish their team. Then, on a beautiful Sunday morning in London, they watched Williams go out and dismantle the Jaguars and former first-overall pick Trevor Lawrence. Meanwhile, Carolina has to hope that Shadeur Sanders or Quinn Ewers can save their franchise next year. Dave Tepper needs to sell that team.

32. Cleveland Browns (Last week: 32)

What else can be said about this dumpster fire of an organization? So long as Deshaun Watson is on this roster, the Browns have no hope of being even remotely competitive. If I’m Myles Garrett or Amari Cooper, I’m telling my agent I want out by the trade deadline.

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