NFL Power Rankings, Week 7: Rams, Seahawks plummet; Texans, Saints, Cardinals biggest risers

San Francisco flirted with an epic collapse, but the same battered defensive line came through again in the final moments, sacking Jayden Daniels to bury Washington’s comeback bid. The fashion in which this game ended might cause some to question the 49ers' standing atop the Power Rankings; we often fail to remember, however, that there are professional football players on both sides (and the Commanders feature a dynamic quarterback in Daniels). Kyle Shanahan’s propensity for letting things get a little too close for comfort reared its unwelcome head again, but San Francisco finished the job like a proven winner usually does. Let’s not allow the anxiety-inducing fourth quarter to overshadow how dominant the Niners were earlier in the game. They’re undefeated and keeping the throne.

Another week, another job taken care of by the Chiefs. They ran into some red-zone issues against a very willing Chargers defense, and Patrick Mahomes threw an interception, but generally, Sunday’s game provided the expected result. Kenneth Walker III remains one of the most valuable players in the NFL -- if not the most valuable -- and was in top form coming off the bye week, keeping Kansas City on cruise control.

Buffalo keeps living on the edge and emerging victorious. There are signs that indicate this team is flawed and won’t survive forever like this, but with Josh Allen functioning as a fix-all for the offense, those issues consistently prove to be irrelevant. Sunday’s game easily could have resulted in a loss, but a timely turnover and some late James Cook heroics sealed yet another victory. It’s not a trustworthy brand of football, but it’s working for the Bills right now, and I can’t dispute the results.

The Vikings jump up as a result of movement around them while they were on a bye. Their defense is elite and on a path toward claiming a place in history. Their offense started to figure things out before the week off, setting up a very interesting month ahead.

The Jaguars’ high-scoring loss to the Texans at Wembley Stadium was one of the best games of the season so far. Two division rivals battled for four quarters, and the Jaguars erased a 10-point deficit, but they had to still be irritated as they flew home from their two-week trip after a last-second defeat. Travis Hunter’s emergence should be monitored going forward -- his two-way ability is finally adding significant value to the Jaguars’ larger equation.

Another team climbs after a bye week thanks to others falling down the ladder. Cincinnati isn’t close to a finished product but owns a stellar defensive front that is propping up the rest of Al Golden's unit. I’m looking forward to seeing how the Bengals handle the tests ahead, starting with a showdown against the rival Ravens in Baltimore.

New England has transformed from a disconcerting mess into a professional outfit that is improving weekly on the defensive side and benefitting greatly from Drake Maye’s return to prominence. A.J. Brown was a bit rusty in his return, but I love the trajectory the Patriots are on right now.

"The Ravens just lost to the Browns! Why aren’t they lower in your rankings?!"

I’m sure you’re asking this, and while I hear the criticism, the Ravens have played their last two games with a backup quarterback. Sunday’s defeat was an example of how Baltimore’s offense depends heavily on Lamar Jackson, who likely would have given the Browns’ stingy defense more trouble, whereas the Tyler Huntley-led attack petered out after its first two possessions against Cleveland. I’m not excusing a loss, but I am giving the Ravens a bit of a break. Plus, I still believe they’d likely beat the collection of teams behind them.

It was difficult to justify keeping the Broncos in the top 10 after last Thursday night’s ugly win over the Seahawks. Denver has serious problems offensively but manages to continue winning on the back of its defense. The opportunistic unit is returning to form as a quarterback-harassing group capable of swinging games in the Broncos’ favor -- even when Bo Nix can’t take his own training wheels off. We’ll see if they can keep surviving in such a fashion.

Sam Darnold has a turnover problem, and the Seahawks rely too heavily on Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Both are issues that can be fixed over time, especially if the offensive line returns to full strength and gets its act together (it was quite bad against the Broncos). The offense needs to stop cutting corners in its approach, though, or Darnold will continue to struggle and leave game outcomes almost entirely on the defense’s plate.

Caleb Williams was stellar in his return to the offense, opening up everything that was trapped behind padlocks in Green Bay. With the Iceman at the controls, everyone ate: Colston Loveland caught a touchdown pass, D’Andre Swift scored twice, Roschon Johnson bullied his way into the end zone, and the Bears could not be denied. That said, they need to clean up their penalties (12 for 133 yards on Sunday) and finish games more comfortably than they did in Atlanta.

The Lions did nothing to deserve a one-place drop -- they had a bye week, after all. Chicago’s upward movement prompted the change. Jared Goff is quietly compiling an incredibly efficient season, and the defense finally stepped up in Detroit’s lopsided Week 5 win over Arizona. Wise individuals know not to overlook the Lions.

Bryce Young continues to thrive, Jalen Coker effectively returned to the offense after some time away due to injury, Chuba Hubbard got rolling, and Carolina’s defense successfully limited the Tanner McKee-led Eagles to just 14 points in the Week 6 win. That’s called taking care of business. Despite Carolina sitting outside the top 10, I’m feeling very optimistic about the Panthers’ chances of winning the NFC South. They’re more consistent than they’ve ever been under Dave Canales and look the part of a playoff team that has been there before and intends to return.

Don’t look now, but the Texans are clawing their way back into relevance! Houston’s defense isn’t the shutdown unit it was in years past, but the talent-laden group has inched itself closer to familiarity since DeMeco Ryans took the play-calling reins. Most importantly, C.J. Stroud is playing some of the best football of his career. His performance in London was simply exquisite (save for his late interception in the end zone), and if the Texans can sustain their turnaround, he’ll force his way into the MVP conversation.

We learned Sunday night that the Packers’ Week 5 defensive success wasn’t a fluke. Green Bay shut down Dallas’ explosive offense, making life miserable for Dak Prescott and Co., while Jordan Love and the offense did enough early to cruise to a victory. There are still kinks to work out offensively (which could be solved quickly if Josh Jacobs can get off to a fast start upon returning), but it’s time to start taking this team seriously.

Logically, the Browns shouldn’t be able to win in this fashion as often as they have. The formula remains the same: Play stifling defense, weather a few blows and hope the offense finds enough to score more than the opposition. It worked again Sunday, scoring the Browns another key AFC North triumph and securing first place in the division at the latest stage of a season since 2014. That’s a long time, folks, but with a growing collection of creditable wins, we must respect this team even if it doesn’t make perfect sense.

It took them nearly all afternoon, but the Steelers finally did it: They found enough offensive production to win a game in an even-numbered week. An unrelenting fourth-quarter comeback effort saw Pittsburgh steadily chip away at Tampa Bay’s lead, taking its own lead late in regulation before asserting dominance in overtime with a 12-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that ended in a Germie Bernard touchdown catch from 6 yards out. The triumphant finish followed a frustrating first three quarters that were all too familiar to Steelers fans, but their ability to break free from their struggles suggests they might have finally unlocked what seemed buried in prior weeks -- or at the very least, finally learned how to adjust in game enough to produce late-stage progress. Aaron Rodgers’ reliance on the quick passing game sparked the offense, and Bernard turned in his best rookie performance yet in a Pittsburgh win without significant output from Jaylen Warren. Perhaps these Steelers have some versatility after all.

Another tough loss marked the Raiders’ third straight defeat, dropping them from a 3-0 start to 3-3 after six weeks. For some teams, this might be a sign of crisis. These Raiders, however, have proven competitive in two of those three losses, going blow for blow with two AFC titans in the Chiefs and Bills. This is part of the process of evolving from cellar-dweller to aspiring contender, in which the upstart learns how to win the close battles against proven teams. Las Vegas has received a couple of good lessons in this department recently, while Kirk Cousins continues to thrive. There are no moral victories, but there are degrees of losses, and this one appears more favorable than others.

Atlanta’s 31-23 loss wasn’t quite as close as that final score suggests, even after the Falcons made a frantic comeback attempt and forced the Bears to scramble to preserve the victory. There were challenges: For a second straight week, the Falcons couldn’t just rely on Bijan Robinson to make magic happen, and they failed to maintain possession for most of the contest, losing that battle at a 2:1 ratio. They also struggled with turnovers, digging a 31-7 hole that was just too much to overcome. With Atlanta sitting at 2-4, it’s difficult to explain who these Falcons are. They’ve turned in two wildly impressive showings, let a win slip through their fingers in Week 5 and were largely dominated by a hungry Bears team at home. More tests await, too: San Francisco, Tampa Bay, Cincinnati and Kansas City are the next four opponents. We’ll learn plenty about this squad in the coming month.

If you’re in the market for the wackiest game of the week, it took place at MetLife Stadium. New Orleans faced a 10-0 deficit just before halftime, then rattled off five straight scoring drives -- and that was before an outrageous fourth quarter that saw the Saints possess the ball seven times, scoring once to ultimately hold on for a 34-27 win over the Giants. Chaos aside, the Saints’ defense finally found a competitive streak and capitalized on opportunities, giving Tyler Shough and Co. enough chances to climb back into the game and build a healthy lead. The finish left plenty to clean up, but that's better than a fifth loss.

We all knew the Jameis Winston Experience (and experiment) wasn’t going to stay on solid footing for very long. It might have ended Sunday, when Winston threw two interceptions, opening the door for a violent swing of momentum and an avalanche of Saints points that preceded Winston’s benching. J.J. McCarthy managed to get New York back on track partially, but Sunday still ended with the Giants landing on the losing side -- and entering Week 7 with a collection of questions. What’s going on with benched running back Cam Skattebo? Is McCarthy going to replace Winston as starter? And why is John Harbaugh so combative with the media? The Giants remain in first place, but it sure doesn’t feel like it right now.

Perhaps the Cardinals should just become the third tenant at SoFi Stadium. It’s where they play their best football. For a second time this season, Arizona rolled into Inglewood and punched the home team in the mouth, defeating the Rams despite not scoring a touchdown, playing without its starting running back and leaning on a receiving corps that no longer includes Marvin Harrison Jr. Arizona will remain a frustrating team for me to analyze on a weekly basis because of how games like these reveal its potential when I know it won’t perform at this level every week. When the Cardinals do, though, it’s a fun watch.

Washington’s latest loss will undoubtedly disappoint its ardent fan base, but the mettle it showed in the second half in the unfriendly confines of Levi’s Stadium told me this team is more than its 1-4-1 record. Jayden Daniels’ return has opened more avenues for the Commanders to choose in their pursuit of victory, and even after Terry McLaurin was carted off with a knee injury, the quarterback managed to find success by turning to the lesser-known members of his team and using his legs when necessary. Yes, it has only one win, but this team has fight in it. Now, it needs to rely on the likes of Daniels, Treylon Burks, Antonio Williams and Stefon Diggs to try to dig out of this hole.

The offseason darling and preseason Super Bowl favorite is now 2-4. The Rams will be without Davante Adams for more than a month (if not longer), Myles Garrett still isn’t back and they’re down two defensive tackles after Sunday’s loss to Arizona. They also looked evenly matched against a team I ranked 31st last week. Los Angeles lacks an offensive identity, can’t take care of details and is already in need of a third kicker in 2026. This is a mess that Sean McVay needs to start to clean up quickly.

After finally finishing the job in Week 5, the Jets reverted to being the frustrating team we’ve seen too often in 2026, falling in a one-score loss to the rival Patriots that wasn’t truly as close as the final suggests. This result wasn’t far from my expectation, and I believe we may see a better version of the Jets in the next couple of weeks, but without Breece Hall, they’re a team that is looking more like their record than I’d like to believe. Hey, rookie WR Omar Cooper Jr. returned and made some plays, though, which is a nice silver lining.

I’ve lost all faith in the Cowboys. The offense was their lone strength, but it has devolved into a mess of an operation. Their quarterback isn’t adjusting to a consistently messy post-snap picture, and Dallas’ chances of victory have evaporated. We already knew this defense was a problem, but the offense’s regression has escalated this situation from general concern to something bordering on catastrophe. It’s a shame, too, because the NFC East has never been more winnable. As of now, I don’t think it’ll be the Cowboys finishing on top.

The Buccaneers produced three very strong quarters that led me to believe they were about to win their second straight game. Jalon Daniels was making the most of his opportunities, the defense was suffocating Aaron Rodgers, and all the Bucs needed to do was finish. They did the opposite, collapsing before laying down in front of a late-surging Steelers offense. Daniels mostly played admirably, but his mistakes directly contributed to this defeat, sending the Bucs back to an uncomfortable place of reflection. At 1-5, it might already be too late to salvage this season.

Disaster. That’s what the 2026 season has become for the Eagles, who will be without Jalen Hurts for the rest of the year due to blood clots, lost Lane Johnson to retirement, traded away center Cam Jurgens and are now playing with a hastily assembled cast of contributors on offense. On paper, this roster should limp to the finish line -- at best -- yet Philly battled with Carolina on Sunday, proving competitive for a third straight week despite the mounting adversity. I give the Eagles credit for fighting. It likely won’t be enough to prevent a rough experience from here on out, though.

The Titans are no longer winless! I felt as though the Colts presented Tennessee’s best opportunity to finally win a game, and thanks to strong special teams play, a slight revival of the ground game and some timely catches by rookie receiver Carnell Tate, the Titans finally notched a victory. Cam Ward and the offense still look like an awkward-at-best operation, but this week, they can spend a bit of time savoring a triumph.

General manager Chris Ballard had staved off termination a couple of times in recent years. Sunday’s divisional loss to the lowly Titans ultimately did him in, and the Colts are careening toward an offseason rebuild (or, at minimum, a serious retooling). Familiar problems resurfaced Sunday: turnovers, a failure to capitalize on scoring opportunities and a lack of attention to detail that resulted in a few devastating plays. Angry fans can point at this roster -- which lacks quality WR options outside of Josh Downs, includes an underperforming offensive line and also features an underachieving defense -- as the culprit for their struggles. They’d largely be right. But I do know that firing a GM midseason usually doesn’t produce sudden improvement, meaning the Colts are what their record says they are, and fans shouldn’t expect much more.

There isn’t much to say about the winless Dolphins after their bye, although I am curious to see if the extra week of preparation will produce an inspired showing from this squad against the Jets. Miami has improved incrementally from week to week and could be nearing its first victory. For now, though, it’s little more than aspirational thinking.

If you want a snapshot of the 2026 Chargers, watch the gorgeous pass Justin Herbert fired into Quentin Johnston’s shoulder for a 57-yard gain on Sunday. Then watch how they actively sabotaged themselves from Kansas City’s 1-yard line and settled for a field goal. Need some more seasoning? Watch Herbert’s latest ugly interception. And for dessert, take in their respectable defensive showing and reckon with the fact it didn’t matter much at all in the result. I’d imagine staff changes are near for this Chargers' offense, which is playing with a thin O-line and consistently fails to produce.