NFL power rankings: Chiefs, Dolphins displace 49ers, Eagles at top; Browns, Jets rise from upsets for Week 7
And then there were none after Week 6. With the 49ers and Eagles going down in tough road games against difficult defenses, there are no more undefeated teams in the NFL for the 2023 regular season.
San Francisco also lost key offensive players in Cleveland, while Philadelphia finally succumbed to some newfound inconsistency on both sides of the ball. Those setbacks caused a reshuffling at the top, with now a couple of AFC teams jumping them to reign supreme in Sporting News’ latest NFL power rankings.
The new team at the top is the Cheifs, who were on top of everybody as Super Bowl 57 champions earlier this year. Here’s why and here’s how the rest of the teams stack up against each other going into Week 7, 1-32:
NFL WEEK 7 PICKS: Straight up | Against the spread
NFL power rankings Week 7
1. Kansas City Chiefs 5-1 (previous week: 3)
The Chiefs are fighting through some offensive issues beyond Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, but they are more than alleviated by Chris Jones and the defense balling out everywhere, every week. This is a more complete, dangerous team when Mahomes eventually gets hot again.
2. Miami Dolphins 5-1 (4)
The Dolphins destroyed another weak defensive team they should have in passing and running for big plays all day against the Panthers. They’re avoiding the major injury bug with veteran offensive principals and their defense is also playing better complementary football.
3. San Francisco 49ers 5-1 (1)
The 49ers had a tough trip to Cleveland as their offense got rocked with key injuries to Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel. Brock Purdy, the running game and defense hung in there, but now there’s some challenging midseason adversity ahead of a Monday night road date at Minnesota.
4. Philadelphia Eagles 5-1 (2)
What was that? The Eagles got a little sloppy offensively at the Jets with Jalen Hurts having a rare bad turnover fest. Their defensive issues in transition were further exposed in key spots without Darius Slay and Jalen Carter, too.
5. Detroit Lions 5-1 (5)
The Lions roared well on the road back in old NFC Central country in Tampa Bay. They proved they can get the job done with young defense when getting limtied pop from their offense.
6. Jacksonville Jaguars 4-2 (7)
The Jaguars are putting it together everywhere. Trevor Lawrence is passing well, but there’s not much on him when Travis Etienne Jr. is running well, the receivers are coming up clutch and the young defense keeps having a significant impact. They need to be taken seriously again as AFC title contenders.
7. Baltimore Ravens 4-2 (10)
The Ravens got back on track in London by Lamar Jackson getting loose and also getting more help from his receivers. The defense also made a statement to make up for some previous issues. The Lions will present a tough test at home in Week 7.
8. Buffalo Bills 4-2 (6)
The Bills took a while to get going offensively against the Giants in a rare modest home performance from Josh Allen. They did figure out how to beat a bad team and need to do that better with the Patriots up next.
9. Dallas Cowboys 4-2 (8)
The Cowboys got Dak Prescott back on track vs. the Chargers on Monday night. They should hope that offensive spark stays after their Week 7 bye.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers 3-2 (9)
The Steelers haven’t played great offensively. They’re not fully healthy, there, with no Diontae Johnson. Their defense has taken over some games, disappeared in others. Yet they are above .500 again for Mike Tomlin. Watch out for them after the bye.
11. Cleveland Browns 3-2 (13)
The Browns’ defense did everything it could to contain the shorthanded 49ers coming off a bye. That rewarded a grinding offense without Deshaun Watson for a must-win game in Week 6. They have another winnable chance in Indy to stay above .500.
12. Cincinnati Bengals 3-3 (16)
The Bengals are back in the AFC North mix given the division is tough and week-to-week. Joe Burrow is feeling it well again in a one-dimensional passing offense but the team has reminded foes it can still make big plays when needed with its loaded edge pass rush and coverage.
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-2 (11)
The Buccaneers ran into a tough defensive draw in Detroit and Baker Mayfield just missed overcoming it with some misses with his receivers. Their defense continues to be a good foundation, especially vs. the run, but Mayfield can’t afford off games.
14. Seattle Seahawks 3-2 (12)
The Seahawks’ offense is seeing some negative regression from Geno Smith as beyond a few big pass plays, they are running game-dependent and not getting enough red-zone finishing. It’s holding back some improved play from a healthier defense.
15. New York Jets 3-3 (20)
The Jets won a game with defense despite being down Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed with a thinning secondary. They are figuring out more offensively around Zach Wilson, smartly through Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall. They are very much alive in the playoff chase.
16. Los Angeles Rams 3-3 (18)
The Rams did what they were supposed to do against the Cardinals with the offense dominating and the defense not facing much resistance. Sean McVay continues to do one of his best coaching jobs since his first season in L.A.
17. Houston Texans 3-3 (22)
The Texans should keep feeling great about the DeMeco Ryans hiring for the defense and the C.J. Stroud drafting for the offense. They’re in good leadership hands for the long term and in the short term, there are nice, sneaky wild-card contending results.
18. Los Angeles Chargers 2-3 (14)
The Chargers continued OK defense after the bye but they still seem too limited offensively around Justin Herbert.
19. Las Vegas Raiders 3-3 (23)
The Raiders somehow are .500 under a hot-seated Josh McDaniels despite scoring 20-plus points for the first time this season only in Week 6. Maxx Crosby and the defense have been a nice surprise story to keep them afloat in the wild-card race.
20. New Orleans Saints 3-3 (17)
Derek Carr isn’t getting it done as a QB “upgrade”, blowing it for the running game, defense and some talented overall receivers. The Saints might need to pivot away from traditional QB play again if this continues. They win in spite of him and lose hard because of him.
21. Washington Commanders 3-3 (24)
The Commanders played with more passion and energy on the road in Atlanta, playing up to more of their defensive big-play potential. It’s still not so pretty with Sam Howell spreading the ball all around but they’re consistently inconsistent.
22. Indianapolis Colts 3-3 (15)
The Colts are all over the place. Sometimes they look great against the run, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they can run at will, sometimes they can’t. Sometimes they make big pass plays easily, sometimes they seem impossible. They are perfectly suited to be .500, but they do lose a key element minus Anthony Richardson.
23. Atlanta Falcons 3-3 (21)
Go figure: Desmond Ridder is passing a little better and waking up the passing game, but it’s also leading to inefficiency and mistakes while the running game, the supposed strength, is slumping. The Falcons seem to be all over the place week to week and face a critical division game at Tampa Bay next.
24. Green Bay Packers 2-3 (19)
The Packers, as expected, are seeing some ups and downs offensively with Jordan Love starting at QB for the first time, hurt by not having Aaron Jones. They’re grinding away well with defense but it needs to shore up vs. the run.
25. Minnesota Vikings 2-4 (26)
The Vikings are now beating up on bad teams to get wins, as they’ve beaten only the Panthers and Bears. They will be upset-minded with their defense again when they host the 49ers next, but they do need a quick offensive rebound with Kirk Cousins in a tough spot.
26. Tennessee Titans 2-4 (25)
The Titans go into their bye with Ryan Tannehill down with an ankle injury. With the season contention fading fast, the big question is will they turn to rookie Will Levis to spark the future of the offense?
27. New York Giants 1-5 (28)
The Giants’ defense put up a fight in Buffalo and Saquon Barkley returning for the running game helped fill-in QB Tyrod Taylor, but the lack of firepower overall hurt Taylor as much it was Daniel Jones.
28. Denver Broncos 1-5 (30)
The Broncos could at least say Russell Wilson was a bright spot when the defense was mightily struggling and the running game wasn’t supporting him much. But there’s probably been too much pressure, literally, on him to produce, making it hard for Denver to play the right complementary football. The team is bound to be busy trading away players soon.
29. Arizona Cardinals 1-5 (27)
The Cardinals are now unraveling offensively with Josh Dobbs after a reasonable start. What will they do with Kyler Murray? Is he healthy enough soon? Is the overachieving over for Jonathan Gannon’s defense? The only question that can be answered is the latter, and it’s a yes.
30. Chicago Bears 1-5 (31)
The Bears had some great offensive momentum with Justin Fields, so it was hard to see it all die with Fields struggling to throw and then hurting his right hand vs. the Vikings. Without him, with shaky defense, there’s not much hope, especially with a depleted backfield.
31. New England Patriots 1-5 (29)
Bill Belichick has good reason to throw tablets. The offense was still inept in Las Vegas with Mac Jones and his receivers, despite the running game rolling. The defense did its job, but this is definitely his worst Patriots team since 2000, pre Tom Brady.
32. Carolina Panthers 0-6 (32)
Bryce Young is becoming a brighter spot every week as he settles with his various veteran weapons. But the injury-marred defense is now the big obstacle toward winning any games.