A loaded slate of prime time games in Week 7 left NFL fans without much to enjoy during the Sunday morning slate, where bad quarterback play permeated screens all around the world. However, that doesn't mean there wasn't much to take away from a sleepy slate of games.
The Raiders, Dolphins and Titans got absolutely crushed (again) while the Chiefs and Patriots were very impressive in wins. In the island game slots, both the Rams and 49ers thrived and cemented the NFC West as arguably the best division in football.
On Sunday afternoon, the Colts established themselves as an AFC contender, the Packers survived a scare from the Cardinals, the Cowboys re-entered the playoff picture, and the Giants and Broncos played one of the weirdest games you'll ever see.
How does that change the power rankings before Week 8? Check out ClutchPoints' latest NFL power rankings to see where your team slots in.
1. Kansas City Chiefs (+7)
The Chiefs are only 4-3 on the season, but they are passing the eye test with flying colors since getting a bit healthier on offense. Xavier Worthy recently returned to the lineup after missing a few weeks with a shoulder injury, and Rashee Rice scored a pair of touchdowns in his return from suspension in a 31-0 drubbing of the Raiders on Sunday.
Despite the record, the Chiefs are one of the hottest teams in football after getting their guys back. With no dominant team emerging, we're comfortable putting them at No. 1.
2. Los Angeles Rams (+1)
This Rams team has everything it needs to compete for a championship if it can just avoid turnovers and game management snafus. Everything came together nicely on Sunday morning with a dominant 35-7 win over the Jaguars in London.
Matthew Stafford threw five touchdown passes, three of them to Davante Adams, and the LA defense dominated Trevor Lawrence and the Jags in the rain. This team has very few holes and one of the highest offensive ceilings in the league, slotting them in at No. 2.
3. Indianapolis Colts (+2)
Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to believe in the Colts. Indianapolis continues to boast a truly elite offense with Daniel Jones at quarterback, and it torched a very good Chargers defense on Sunday in a 38-24 win. Indy averaged almost seven yards per play in that game and forced Justin Herbert into a pair of key turnovers as they dominated a depleted Chargers offensive line. This team looks like a Super Bowl contender, even if the general public needs some more time to adjust their eyes to this version of Jones.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3)
The Bucs didn't do anything wrong this week, but they just got passed by three top teams who were very impressive on Sunday. Tampa Bay will get a chance to move back up on Monday night against the Detroit Lions as Baker Mayfield looks to keep his MVP campaign going.
5. Detroit Lions (-3)
Same goes for the Lions, who get a chance to make a statement at home on Monday night against the Bucs. This feels like a big game for both teams. Are they true Super Bowl contenders or just solid playoff teams? Monday night may tell us a lot.
6. Buffalo Bills (-1)
The Bills were off this week as they lick their wounds from an ugly loss on Monday Night Football against the Falcons. The Buffalo defense is still awfully concerning, especially up the spine with the injury to Matt Milano. However, they can run the crap out of the football and any team with Josh Allen is always capable of exploding for 40 points on any given day. Buffalo comes out of the bye with a trip to Carolina to take on a very confusing Panthers team.
7. Philadelphia Eagles (-1)
The Eagles are arguably the most frustrating team in the NFL. The talent is obvious, and they leaned into the deep ball to beat the Vikings 28-22 on the road on Sunday. However, the run game is still frustrating (even if it was better in Week 7) and the defense still bends a little too much. This is another game that could have looked different if it weren't for Carson Wentz doing a little too much Carson Wentz-ing.
8. Green Bay Packers (+5)
The Packers are quickly challenging the Eagles for the most infuriating team to watch in the league. I still remember the team that dismantled the Lions and the Commanders! But there's still something missing with this offense, and Josh Jacobs playing at less than 100% is a big part of that. Still, Green Bay can deploy the Micah Parsons trump card at any time, and it did just that to sneak out of Arizona with a 27-23 win on Sunday.
9. Seattle Seahawks (+3)
Monday night is an interesting test for this Seattle team. Can you comfortably dispatch a talented, but flawed, Texans team on your home field? The Seahawks should dominate the line of scrimmage when Houston has the ball, and Sam Darnold will get one of his biggest tests of the season against a very good Texans defense.
10. San Francisco 49ers (-1)
The zombie 49ers are doing their best Miami Heat impression as they continue to rack up the wins despite more injuries than you can count. Robert Saleh and the defense were still able to shut down the Falcons on Sunday night without both Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, and Mac Jones and friends are still getting the job done on offense. A renewed rushing attack led by Christian McCaffrey (129 rushing yards, two touchdowns) is a great sign moving into a soft portion of the schedule.
11. New England Patriots (no change)
The Patriots continue to beat who's in front of them despite not being challenged a ton. Mike Vrabel and company dominated the last three quarters of his revenge game against the Titans, winning 31-13 to get to 5-2 on the season. With the Bills off this week, the Pats are now alone in first place in the AFC East through seven weeks! Who would've thought?
Drake Maye looks like a legitimate MVP candidate and the schedule remains extremely light for New England moving forward. Incredibly, this team is on the fast track to the playoffs.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers (-5)
A performance like this from the Steelers defense has been simmering under the surface for a while. Did I think it would come against Joe Flacco, less than two weeks after arriving in Cincinnati? Probably not, but that's exactly what happened on Thursday night in a 33-31 loss. The Steelers still have a stranglehold on the AFC North, but Lamar Jackson will be lurking very soon.
13. Denver Broncos (-3)
I don't care that the Broncos won on Sunday against the New York Giants and improved to 5-2. The product that Sean Payton and company put out for 53 minutes of that game was some of the worst football played by anyone all season long. The fact that Jaxson Dart threw an interception on his own 30-yard line while protecting a two-score lead before the Giants defense completely imploded doesn't change that.
The Denver defense is still a very good unit, but the offense just has a couple of screws loose. Payton still has the training wheels on Bo Nix, and the passing game is limited as a result. The running game isn't great either, which limits the amount of ways this Denver team can win games.
14. Chicago Bears (+1)
The Bears have won four in a row since the sky was seemingly falling on the Ben Johnson era after two games and are right in the playoff mix through seven weeks. Caleb Williams wasn't great on Sunday despite a promising start to the season, but the Chicago running game finally looked like a Ben Johnson operation. Chicago ran wild for 222 yards against a hapless Saints defense in a 26-14 win on Sunday.
15. Dallas Cowboys (+9)
The Cowboys are speed-running the 2024 Cincinnati Bengals season, as Dak Prescott and a talented group of weapons continues to carry a putrid defense to relevance. Prescott is quietly playing as well as any player in football this season, and he tossed three more touchdowns on Sunday in a 44-22 win over the Commanders.
The running game has also been a pleasant surprise, as a rejuvenated Javonte Williams continues to play the best football of his career. He ran for 116 yards and a score against Washington.
16. Baltimore Ravens (+4)
The Ravens were off in Week 7, but the defense took a step in the right direction in Week 6 against the Rams as Kyle Hamilton moved down into the box and into the nickel a bit more. Interestingly, the defense flipped the switch last season when Hamilton made the opposite change, moving back to free safety.
Now, Baltimore has had a bye week to continue refining things on that side of the ball and get a bit healthier. Lamar Jackson should be back for Week 8 as well, which could set Baltimore up to make a run.
17. Washington Commanders (-1)
The Commanders laid another egg on Sunday against the Cowboys, and then Jayden Daniels went down with a hamstring injury in the second half. Washington can still run the ball pretty well, but you felt the absence of Terry McLaurin in the passing game. Star receivers can still hurt a Washington secondary that is at a talent disadvantage, and CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens feasted on Sunday.
18. Atlanta Falcons (-4)
What are we supposed to make of the Falcons? Atlanta followed up an impressive win over the Commanders with a brutal 30-0 loss to the Panthers earlier in the year, and now it has responded to a great win over the Bills with an absolutely lifeless loss to a beat-up 49ers squad. The Falcons didn't run the ball well before abandoning it completely late in the game, Michael Penix was sloppy, and the defense regressed to the mean after hounding Josh Allen. This team feels like a 3-3 squad, but how it has gotten there is dumbfounding.
19. Houston Texans (+3)
Can the Texans stay hot out of the bye week and get back to .500 on Monday night? They will take a step up in competition this week with a road test against a very good Seahawks team, but this is a Houston defense that should keep it in just about every game.
20. Minnesota Vikings (-3)
Alright, enough Carson Wentz. Even if JJ McCarthy is bad, at least he's new bad! Carson Wentz is the same kind of bad as he has been for the last seven years, and it cost the Vikings a chance to beat the Eagles on Sunday. Brian Flores also lost some of his roulette hands as DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown torched the Minnesota corners against the blitz on Sunday. Minnesota is 3-3 and in the mix with a very good roster, but the quarterback conundrum will continue to hang over this team all season.
21. Los Angeles Chargers (-3)
Unfortunately, the injury bug has bitten the Chargers (again). By the end of this loss to the Colts, Los Angeles had its sixth and seventh tackles protecting Justin Herbert, and it went about as poorly as you would imagine. As a result of the pressure, Herbert is starting to turn the ball over a bit more, and the running game is toothless without Omarion Hampton in the lineup. The defense was supposed to help this team stay in games, but it couldn't do that against a very good Colts offense.
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (-3)
Oh, the Jags. They may be a better version of the Jags, but they're still the Jags! Just when you think Jacksonville has turned a corner, the offensive line implodes against the Seahawks and then the rest of the team goes with it in a 35-7 loss to the Rams in London. Travis Hunter had the best game of his young career and finally got in the end zone, but the vibes around this Jags team are tanking fast.
23. Cincinnati Bengals (+2)
The Bengals have at least re-entered the watchability tier with Joe Flacco in at quarterback instead of Jake Browning, and Flacco turned back the clock in a win against the Steelers on Thursday night. Can Cincinnati actually stay in the hunt with Flacco until Joe Burrow gets back? Probably not, but at least the Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins fantasy owners have been saved.
24. New York Giants (-1)
If it weren't for the Cardinals earlier this season, Sunday's Giants loss would be the worst in the NFL by a mile. Poor clock management, poor play calling, outright terrible defense and a brutal Jaxson Dart interception all contributed to an 18-point lead evaporating in the final seven minutes on Sunday against the Broncos. The Giants are still fun to watch with Dart and Cam Skattebo, but they are still far from a playoff-caliber team.
25. Carolina Panthers (-4)
The Panthers are 4-3, but the eye test just doesn't match it. Carolina wasn't able to bruise the Jets on the ground the same way it was able to do to the Cowboys. Still, the helpless Jets offense could only muster six points across two quarterbacks and the Panthers came away with a 13-6 win. Panthers fans will argue this ranking is too low, but the Bills and Packers are up next. Let's see them prove it.
26. Arizona Cardinals (+1)
The Cardinals continue to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, no matter who is at quarterback. On Sunday, Arizona led for most of the day against the Packers before a Josh Jacobs touchdown and a whole lot of Micah Parsons helped the Packers escape with a win. This Arizona team has what it takes to contend for a playoff spot, but too many mistakes in the clutch have likely put it in too deep a hole to dig out of.
27. Cleveland Browns (+4)
The Browns defense suffocated the Dolphins in the brutal Cleveland weather on Sunday on its way to a 31-6 win. Dillon Gabriel still isn't great, but he at least isn't a complete disaster out there and the Browns have found something with Quinshon Judkins and the run game. That, combined with a defense that can still beat up any offense, is enough to make this team competitive.
28. New Orleans Saints (+2)
Spencer Rattler, you were doing so well! The second-year signal caller even had people talking about a potential second contract, but he went off the rails a bit on Sunday in a loss to the Bears. Rattler turned the ball over four times on Sunday and this Saints defense got pounded on the ground. They will lose a lot of games, but it's at least worth monitoring how Rattler continues to progress.
29. Tennessee Titans (-1)
The Titans at least looked like a functional team again after firing Brian Callahan… that is, until Cam Ward inexplicably dropped the ball (again!) and the Patriots blew the game open. There is enough here to at least help Ward continue to grow and develop over the rest of the season, and the early signs for the No. 1 pick are promising even if they're inconsistent. The scoreboard, unfortunately, is probably going to look pretty ugly the rest of the way.
30. Las Vegas Raiders (-4)
Here are some stats from the Raiders' 31-0 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday. The Chiefs gained 434 total yards, the Raiders managed just 93. The Chiefs recorded 30 first downs to Las Vegas' three. The Chiefs possessed the ball for more than 42 minutes! This was a butt-kicking that was even worse than the scoreboard said, and it could have been a bigger rout if Andy Reid didn't decide to go with Gardner Minshew in the fourth quarter. The vibes in Vegas are awful, and it's honestly impressive that the two teams below them here have managed to sink below a team that couldn't even get 100 yards in a full game.
31. Miami Dolphins (-2)
The bottom has officially fallen out for the Dolphins. A 31-6 road loss to the Browns, where Tua Tagovailoa threw three interceptions (the same number as his final QBR for the day) and got benched, likely signals the end of an era for this iteration of the Dolphins even if the moves haven't officially been made. This runaway train of misery is heading straight for a prime time home game against Lamar Jackson and a hungry Ravens team in Week 9. Everybody hold onto your butts.
32. New York Jets (no change)
The Jets have too much talent to not win a game all year, right? RIGHT?? This seemed to be a great chance against a Panthers team riding high and due for a letdown, coming to New York. And the Jets defense played well, holding the Panthers to just 13 points! Unfortunately, Justin Fields continued to struggle before getting benched for Tyrod Taylor, who came in and threw the ball to the wrong team a few times. Both were so bad that Aaron Glenn literally doesn't know what to do anymore, and that's a good representation of where this Jets season is at.
