A consensus has formed as to the two best teams in the NFL, with all nine of our experts voting the Green Bay Packers No. 1 and the New England Patriots No. 2 this week. Last week's No. 3 (the Baltimore Ravens) stumbled badly, however, allowing New Orleans and Pittsburgh to move up.
The
New England Patriots solidified their hold on the No. 2 spot in this week's poll. See where our experts rank your team.
Expert Rankings ...
» Fan Rankings: Prove the experts wrong
Other notable developments from Week 7:
» Opinions of the Detroit Lions varied greatly now that Jim Schwartz's club has dropped two games in a row after starting 5-0. Our experts ranked the Lions as high as fifth and as low as 16th.
» Sometimes it pays not to play. The Cincinnati Bengals moved from No. 13 to No. 12, the New York Giants from No. 12 to No. 8 and the Buffalo Bills from No. 9 to No. 7. All three teams had byes.
» With the Packers looking unbeatable, the three-team race for the bottom might offer more suspense than the competition for No. 1. This week, our experts had to decide which team's loss was the worst: the Colts' 62-7 humiliation on Sunday night, the Rams getting shredded for 253 rushing yards by a rookie third-round draft choice, or the Dolphins blowing a 15-0 lead with less than three minutes left.
NFL.com Power Poll |
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| Teams ranked Nos. 1 through 32, as voted on by a panel of nine NFL.com and NFL Network experts. Total points based on 32 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 32nd-place vote. | ||||||
|
Rank
|
Previous
|
Team |
W-L
|
First-place votes
|
Last-place votes
|
Points
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
1
|
Green Bay Packers |
7-0
|
9
|
-
|
288
|
|
2
|
2
|
New England Patriots |
5-1
|
-
|
-
|
279
|
|
3
|
7
|
New Orleans Saints |
5-2
|
-
|
-
|
265
|
|
4
|
4
|
San Francisco 49ers |
5-1
|
-
|
-
|
261
|
|
5
|
8
|
Pittsburgh Steelers |
5-2
|
-
|
-
|
247
|
|
6
|
3
|
Baltimore Ravens |
4-2
|
-
|
-
|
241
|
|
7
|
9
|
Buffalo Bills |
4-2
|
-
|
-
|
226
|
|
8
|
12
|
New York Giants |
4-2
|
-
|
-
|
218
|
|
9
|
6
|
Detroit Lions |
5-2
|
-
|
-
|
206
|
|
10
|
5
|
San Diego Chargers |
4-2
|
-
|
-
|
202
|
|
11
|
16t
|
Houston Texans |
4-3
|
-
|
-
|
190
|
|
12
|
13
|
Cincinnati Bengals |
4-2
|
-
|
-
|
189
|
|
13
|
14
|
Atlanta Falcons |
4-3
|
-
|
-
|
183
|
|
14t
|
19
|
New York Jets |
4-3
|
-
|
-
|
177
|
|
14t
|
18
|
Chicago Bears |
4-3
|
-
|
-
|
177
|
|
16
|
20
|
Dallas Cowboys |
3-3
|
-
|
-
|
150
|
|
17t
|
11
|
Oakland Raiders |
4-3
|
-
|
-
|
146
|
|
17t
|
10
|
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
4-3
|
-
|
-
|
146
|
|
19
|
21
|
Philadelphia Eagles |
2-4
|
-
|
-
|
125
|
|
20
|
23t
|
Kansas City Chiefs |
3-3
|
-
|
-
|
119
|
|
21
|
15
|
Tennessee Titans |
3-3
|
-
|
-
|
105
|
|
22
|
16t
|
Washington Redskins |
3-3
|
-
|
-
|
101
|
|
23
|
23t
|
Carolina Panthers |
2-5
|
-
|
-
|
91
|
|
24
|
22
|
Cleveland Browns |
3-3
|
-
|
-
|
80
|
|
25
|
29
|
Jacksonville Jaguars |
2-5
|
-
|
-
|
66
|
|
26
|
27
|
Denver Broncos |
2-4
|
-
|
-
|
64
|
|
27
|
23t
|
Seattle Seahawks |
2-4
|
-
|
-
|
56
|
|
28
|
28
|
Minnesota Vikings |
1-6
|
-
|
-
|
55
|
|
29
|
26
|
Arizona Cardinals |
1-5
|
-
|
-
|
45
|
|
30
|
31
|
St. Louis Rams |
0-6
|
-
|
2
|
21
|
|
31
|
32
|
Miami Dolphins |
0-6
|
-
|
4
|
17
|
|
32
|
30
|
Indianapolis Colts |
0-7
|
-
|
3
|
16
|
