NFL Power Rankings Week 7: Arrowhead Pride Edition

Last week, I actually got to pay attention to my fantasy players but it wasn't the same as watching my Chiefs. That said, any football is good football--almost.  This week the Chiefs face the Raiders, who seem to be on fire right now.  It's also likely that Carson Palmer will be starting for the Silver and Black.

This week's panel thought that, since the Chiefs had a bye week, they deserve to stay at the same spot in our power rnakings.  Two members ranked the Chiefs 21 while one member had them at 25.  The rest put the Chiefs between those two spots.  If you want to find out where the Chiefs fall then please follow along.

The Green Bay Packers are still number one which surprises nobody but we do have a new number two, three, and four team this week. There were six teams this week who stayed the same from last week.

There were two ties this week. First,  between the Vikings and Jaguars and the second tie was between the Raiders and Giants. The tiebreaker was the more consistently ranked team.

There was a three way tie for the biggest drop of the week with 5 teams -- the Redskins, Texans, and Cowboys.  There was a two way tie for the biggest jump with 4 teams -- the Bengals and 49ers both earned it.  Next to the name of the team I put their record and then their change from last week.  Everyone please, once again, thank the panel members for putting these rankings in every week.

1.  Green Bay Packers (6-0) (+/- 0)

Right now it looks as if Green Bay might be unbeatable. The QB is playing lights out and the defense is solid enough.

2.  New England Patriots (5-1) (+ 1)

The Patriots head into bye week and hopefully they can work on their defense.  They can't win every game leaning on Brady's arm.

3.  Baltimore Ravens (4-1) (+ 2)

Think Baltimore thought Houston would be that easy to beat at the beginning of the season? The Baltimore defense and no Andre Johnson made for a bad day for Arian Foster and the cow skulls known as the Texans.

4.  San Francisco 49ers (5-1) (+ 4)

Jim Harbough is here to chew bubblegum and crush hands, and he's all out of gum.

5.  New Orleans Saints (4-2) (- 3)

The Saints are still one of the best four teams in the NFL. They won't turn it over 4 times in a single game very often.

6.  Detroit Lions (5-1) (- 2)

 Didn't see that one coming. I guess 10 wins in a row was too much too ask. How does this team respond to a loss? If they want to be a top tier team they need to win at home this week.

7.  Buffalo Bills (4-2) (- 1)

Too bad.  The Bills needed that win against the Giants.  They need to keep up with the Patriots.

8.  San Diego Chargers (4-1) (- 1)

This Sunday begins a huge three game swing against the Jets, Chiefs and Packers.

9.  Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) (+ 1)

Pittsburgh almost blew the game. However, they were lucky that the Jaguars' offense was as non-existent as the Jayhawks are on defense.

10.  New York Giants (4-2) (+ 3)

The G-Men squeaked another one out against the Bills and should cruise after their bye against a porous Fins team. They need to make the game count because after week 7 they face murderers row for the next 5-6 weeks.

11.  Oakland Raiders (4-2) (+ 1)

How well, and when, will Carson Palmer play for the silver and black?

12.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2) (+ 4)

Don't be fooled by their victory over the Saints. The Saints turned it over 4 times, yet the Bucs still only managed to win by 6.

13.  Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) (+ 4)

Cincinnati beat Indianapolis, and got potentially two first rounders from the Oakland Raiders for a quarterback that they had no use for. Talk about a good week.

14.  Houston Texans (3-3) (- 5)

Arian Foster with only 20 yds against the Ravens - think this team misses Andre Johnson?  Schaub was sacked 4 times, not a good day against one of the best teams in the league - Sunday on the road against the Titans will be a huge game for both.

15.  Tennessee Titans (3-2) (- 1)

The bye week was very, very good to the Titans as they picked up a half-game on the rest of the division - can't see it lasting too long, though - home Sunday against the Texans, the winner will have the edge for awhile.

16.  Washington Redskins (3-2) (- 5)

If you plan to win games with a backup QB you need to protect the ball and until Sunday the Skins did just that. Lucky for them they have another backup quality QB waiting in the wings to pick up the pieces.

17.  Chicago Bears (3-3) (+ 2)

The bipolar bears won again last week convincingly. Who shows up this week? I have a hunch the ugly bears with a road game against a solid Tampa team.

18.  New York Jets (3-3) (+/- 0)

The Jets easily took care of a bad Dolphins team.  The Chargers won't be easy.

19.  Atlanta Falcons (3-3) (+ 1)

They have a +6 turnover differential in the 3 games they've won. If they continue to rely on turnovers to win games, they probably won't make the playoffs.

20.  Dallas Cowboys (2-3) (- 5)

After a tough start to the season the Cowboys hit the soft part of their schedule as their next three opponents are a combined 4-12. They're playing catchup but the schedule the rest of the way is favorable to do it. Now it's time to get it done in Big D.

21.  Philadelphia Eagles (2-4) (+ 3)

A win may be a win and it stops the bleeding but call me less then convinced by a 7 point win against a QB that threw 4 interceptions. Tough matchup Sunday against a scrappy Cowboys team.

22.  Kansas City Chiefs (2-3) (+/- 0)

Kansas City has to win its next two games. If they do, the West could be interesting.

23.  Carolina Panthers (1-5) (+/- 0)

I can't help but think the Panthers are much better than their record. We'll see if they can get it together.

24.  Seattle Seahawks (2-3) (+ 1)

Seattle emerges from the bye rejuvenated and with a winnable game at Cleveland.  I'm going to be completely honest with you, though, I'm really having trouble finding anything else to say about this game.

25.  Cleveland Browns (2-3) (- 4)

Browns should not feel bad about last week. Going into a hostile territory like Oakland and keeping the game within one possession during the Raiders first home game after Al Davis' death had to be tough. Look for them to rebound at home against the Seahawks.

26.  Arizona Cardinals (1-4) (+ 1)

The Cardinals' season has gotten off to a worse start than they probably envisioned after trading for Kevin Kolb.  It doesn't get any easier this week as they face Pittsburgh.

27.  Minnesota Vikings (1-5) (- 1)

The Christian Ponder era has begun in Viking land. Good luck with that.

28.  Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5) (+/- 0)

Gabbert was 12-28 for 109 yds, 1 TD, 5 Sacks ... going to be a very long rookie season for the former Mizzou Tiger, not to mention the Jaguars who host the Ravens this week.

29.  Denver Broncos (1-4) (+/- 0)

Denver should be able to win on Sunday against a hapless Dolphins squad.

30.  Indianapolis Colts (0-6) (+ 1)

This team, and QB, need some kind of running game ... Addai isn't getting it done, team is playing hard just not winning games and a trip to face the Saints this weekend isn't going to help things.

31.  Miami Dolphins (0-5) (+ 1)

Good news is that they are still in the running for Luck.

32.  St. Louis Rams (0-5) (- 2)

There's no shame in losing to the Green Bay Packers.  It happens to a lot of teams.  But there is at least some shame in looking as bad as St. Louis has looked so far this season.  The Rams hope that reuniting Brandon Lloyd and Josh McDaniels will help revitalize this team heading into Dallas.