NFL power rankings roundup for Week 7: Packers, Bills rise; Cowboys take a big tumble

Admin October 17, 2024

At this point, it’s undeniable which NFL teams are contending this season and which teams are looking at 2025 draft prospects. With the trade deadline approaching, we’ve already seen a few teams sell some of their best pieces for future draft capital.

The Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns both shipped off their top wide receivers for fairly little in return. That alone should be the most obvious factor when determining the teams in Super Bowl contention. However, the teams that received those pieces are not necessarily at the top of the power rankings. After all, the reason they went out and acquired said pieces was because they needed to add talent in order to compete.

There is still plenty of time for other teams to add pieces of their own though. And there’s still plenty of season left to determine who could actually hoist the Lombardi Trophy in a few months.

Here’s what NFL experts from around the internet are saying about the best (and worst) teams as we head into Week 7.

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NFL Week 7 Power Rankings:

Nate Davis, USA Today: Packers climb three spots to No. 7

Davis writes, “With WR Romeo Doubs scoring two touchdowns Sunday in the wake of his one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team, the Pack appear pretty much whole for the first time since Week 1. Should help given five of their next seven games are against 2023 playoff squads.”

USA Today’s Top-10:

Kansas City Chiefs
Baltimore Ravens
Minnesota Vikings
Detroit Lions
Atlanta Falcons
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Buffalo Bills
Washington Commanders

Eric Edholm, NFL.com: Lions fall after winning 47-9

Despite an enormous win over a solid Dallas Cowboys team, the Detroit Lions have taken a tumble in NFL.com’s power rankings, from third to fifth. Edholm writes, “Sunday’s game was shaping up to be one of the banner victories of the Dan Campbell era … before a devastating injury to Aidan Hutchinson abruptly put a huge damper on the day. If Hutchinson’s sack of Dak Prescott is the last we see of the Pro Bowl edge rusher this season, it will be a brutal loss for a Lions team that was firing on all cylinders in Dallas.”

NFL.com’s Top-10:

Minnesota Vikings
Kansas City Chiefs
Baltimore Ravens
Houston Texans
Detroit Lions
Buffalo Bills
Green Bay Packers
Washington Commanders
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Pittsburgh Steelers

ESPN: 49ers crawl back into top-10

Nick Wagoner writes, “In 2023, San Francisco ran roughshod over opponents, winning 12 regular-season games by a second-best average of 19.08 points, with a third-best 11.35 average point differential in all games. Those Niners were healthy and loaded with stars. Without RB Christian McCaffrey (Achilles), DT Javon Hargrave (triceps), LB Dre Greenlaw (Achilles), S Talanoa Hufanga (wrist) and others because of injury, this year’s edition is decidedly not. That has left San Francisco in more tight games.”

ESPN’s top-10:

Kansas City Chiefs
Minnesota Vikings
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Green Bay Packers
Washington Commanders
San Francisco 49ers

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Bleacher Report: Cowboys barely scratch top-20

Following a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Detroit Lions, the Dallas Cowboys have taken a mighty tumble down Bleacher Report’s power rankings, barely scraping the top-20 teams in the league, despite a 3-3 record. The Bleacher Report staff writes, “This was a demolition in every sense of the word. The Cowboys allowed almost 500 yards of offense and barely cracked 250 themselves. Dallas turned the ball over five times. Quarterback Dak Prescott was terrible, barely completing over half his passes and tossing two picks.”

Bleacher Report’s top-10: