NFL post week seven power rankings

New England Patriots

The Patriots defense stepped up once again, this time on Monday night in prime time. “I’m seeing ghosts,” Darnold uttered in defeat on the sideline, mic’d up for the entire audience to hear. New England intercepted Darnold four times, forced and recovered two fumbles and recorded a safety against the Jets. Following last weeks’ upset of the Dallas Cowboys, there were thoughts that this New York squad could potentially give New England a run for their money. As is with every team thus far, those thoughts were wrong. Despite low offensive output against a stout Jets’ front, running back Sony Michel still managed to find pay dirt three times in the Patriots 33-0 shutout victory.

New Orleans Saints

Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater gets the job done once again for New Orleans as the Saints now improve to 5-0 under Bridgewater’s command. The Saints defense clamped down on an already-shaky Mitch Trubisky, who led the Bears offense, and ran away with the game, even if the 36-25 score doesn’t entirely reflect the contest. The Bears had a late surge to make the final score not seem so bad, but the Saints were in clear control of the game the entire way through, even with bell-cow running back Alvin Kamara sitting this game out. Quarterback Drew Brees is expected to practice this week, and one can only imagine what these Saints will be like once they’re back to full strength.

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers’ defensive dominance continued on Sunday afternoon’s mud bowl against the Washington Redskins. The defense forced their first shutout of the season, improving their points against average to 10.6 which is second only to New England. The Niners have only allowed 10 combined points in the last three games. With Seattle losing to Baltimore, the 49ers grab onto a two-game lead for the NFC West and continue to be one of two undefeated teams entering week eight.

Green Bay Packers

We saw quarterback Aaron Rodgers return to MVP form Sunday against the Raiders. Rodgers, who threw for 429 yards and 5 touchdowns, along with a rushing touchdown, had the first perfect quarterback rating in Packers history. That’s quite a feat, considering Brett Favre and Rodgers have both combined for over 20 years under center for Green Bay. The Raiders had opportunities to make it an interesting game, and actually held the ability to turn the tide at the end of the first half, but the Packers defense stood strong. Green Bay forced several turnovers in key situations, including middle linebacker Blake Martinez shoving Raiders’ quarterback Derek Carr forward as Carr lunged for the endzone, causing him to fumble and giving the Packers a touchback on their own 20-yard-line. With reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes still nursing a dislocated knee, the Packers’ contest in Kansas City should consist of Rodgers’ tearing apart one of the worst secondaries in the league.

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens delivered a statement win over the Seahawks on the road to improve to 5-2, now looking like they have a stranglehold on the AFC North. Quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Ravens’ receivers had a tough time against Seattle’s secondary, however Jackson made up for his lack of passing yards by picking up 116 on the ground, in addition to running in a score. Following week seven, Jackson ranks sixth in rushing yards in the entire NFL. The Ravens go into their bye week with their sights set on New England, a game that will have major AFC playoff race implications.

Seattle Seahawks

The Raven croaked “nevermore” on quarterback Russell Wilson’s MVP campaign as Seattle’s superhero met his demise at the hands of Baltimore’s defensive front. Wilson’s worst throw of the day went to the house for the Ravens, courtesy of newly acquired cornerback Marcus Peters. Seattle looks to get back on their feet against an injured and woeful Falcons’ squad, as the Seahawks’ head coach Pete Carroll looks to out smart his former disciple Dan Quinn.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs beat up on the Denver Broncos, but at the cost of losing quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a dislocated knee when he kept the ball himself on a goal-line dive. The injury does not seem major, following x-rays and an MRI, and the timetable set on the injury is as short as three weeks. This past week, Mahomes has miraculously been practicing lightly, but most would err on the side of caution, especially when it comes to a quarterback’s mobility. Speculation as to whether Mahomes will start against the Packers’ two headed pass rushing monster of Preston and Za’Darius Smith shouldn’t exist. However, the Chiefs live and die on the arm of Mahomes. Hopefully free agency and the draft will allow this team to help their young quarterback, otherwise we may see another Rodgers for the next decade.

Minnesota Vikings

Quarterback Kirk Cousins lit it up Sunday against the Lions, throwing for 337 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Dalvin Cook had himself a day as well, rushing for 142 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Cousins has solidified a shaky beginning of the season, and leads the league in passer ratings, yards per attempt and touchdown to interception ratios since week five. However, Cousins has a glaring stat going against him; when facing a defense ranking 16th or higher in the league, Cousins’ passer rating is sub 70. When facing a defense worse than 16th, Cousins’ has a passer rating of 114.7. Cousins’ contract expires next season, and if he wants to sign another he needs to prove to the front office he can show up in big games.

Houston Texans

The Texans fell to their divisional opponent the Indianapolis Colts, even without Andrew Luck under center. Quarterback Deshaun Watson was sacked three times and threw two interceptions, but did have over 300 yards and a touchdown to go with it. Watson would have had another touchdown if the phenomenal play he made to find wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was not ruled dead before Watson escaped the grasp of Colts defenders. For the time being, the Texans take the backseat to the Colts who now lead the division; however, this team’s roster is too powerful when in sync to be behind Indianapolis.

Buffalo Bills

Some weeks it feels like Buffalo sleep walks through the first three quarters of their games, at least on offense. Quarterback Josh Allen may not have the prettiest stat line, but there is one statistic he leads the league in: fourth quarter passer rating. The Bills went into the fourth trailing 14-9. Cornerback Tre White made the game-changing play for Buffalo, picking off Ryan Fitzpatrick in the red-zone, setting up Allen and the offense up for a long drive. The Bills offense came to life after, with Allen making masterful throws while directing two touchdown drives to take a 24-14 lead. Miami scored late to shorten the gap to 24-21, and the onside kick attempt went horribly wrong as Bills’ safety Micah Hyde recovered the kick midair, landed untouched, and sprinted for the endzone, icing away the victory. The Bills improve to 5-1 and have the second best record in the AFC to New England.