NFL Power Rankings Week 7 Patriots back Raiders hit bottom

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NFL Power Rankings, Week 7: Patriots back; Raiders hit bottom Published: Oct 16, 2018 at 04:26 AM Elliot Harrison The ascend, the Jags don't and the rest is history. Before we get to all that, NFL history took two lo ses this week: Jim Taylor and Paul Allen. Taylor, a former great, . A Hall of Famer and one of the game's all-time power backs, Taylor retired as the NFL's third-best rusher all time and was a four-time champion while in Green Bay. His 1,474 yards in 1962 set a franchise record that stood for over 40 years. To be clear, that came in a 14-game season. Prorate that (and his 19-touchdown total) over 16 games, and you're looking at a 1,685-yard season with 22 touchdowns -- as a , when every team in the league knew Green Bay was running. That also happened to be the only year Jim Brown was bested for the league rushing title. While the "Golden Boy," Paul Hornung, was the more famous member of the backfield, and quarterback Bart Starr was the leader, Taylor was the sledgehammer, giving the vaunted ' sweep its teeth, a la Earl Campbell with the Houston Oilers and with the . I had the good fortune of meeting Taylor and his wife some years ago in Canton. They couldn't have been a more courteous, cla sier couple. Often, I wish the NFL honored its fallen the way the MLB has. Players like Taylor were figures in the history of the game, and they should be regarded with as much pomp and circumstance as Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle and the like. While I never met Paul Allen, I know this: as we know them had he never owned the team. He took a franchise that had only been to the playoffs four times in 21 seasons and created both a management structure and organizational culture that pushed Seattle to the playoffs 12 times in the next 21 years. That stretch included the team's first appearance and first win. His fingerprints were on CenturyLink Field, which became one of the hardest places for visiting teams Jeff Bagwell Jersey to play. And most importantly, as Seattle fans will tell you, without him, . Now, on to your thoughts. remember last year when I tweeted LA Chargers vs LA Rams super bowl ? I think the chargers should be in that conversation for real this year. Hunter Carlson (@CarlHunterson23) Dude, I don't remember tweets from last week. 1) Rams2) PatriotsThe rest is on you bud, good luck! Chase Pagnani (@C25Pagnani) Yeah, I am kind of seeing it like you. The are locked at the top, while you will see a new, baby-faced No. 2. Well, not exactly. did best the and their kid wonder at quarterback, who move to three. As for the rest, see below. Your take is welcome: is the place. Let the di sension commence! For more in-depth analysis on the updated league pecking order, tune in to NFL Network every Tuesday night at 6 p.m. ET for "The Power Rankings Show." Want to add YOUR voice? Provide your thoughts in a tweet to or use the hashtag #NFLPowerRankings, and your comments could be featured on air. Previous rank: finally appeared mortal this season, and it didn't matter. Not when his tailback scootered his way to the second level of the defense consistently Gurley padded an already-impre sive season tally with 208 yards rushing and two touchdowns, pushing the to a 6-0 start. Loved the locker room video after the game, with Sean McVay handing the football to defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Bet you enjoyed that sucker immensely. Bet you the wouldn't have sniffed 50 without him. Truth. </content:power-ranking> Previous rank: Good luck finding three-and-half hours that are more entertaining than Much to glean from the 43-40 New England win -- yet, it's the minutiae that often sticks. Like , for whom opposing defenses scheme every week, and who is now firmly at No. 2 among tight ends (behind only Travis Kelce), making to set up 's game-winner. Remember, folks, Gronk has always been a much better blocker than Kelce. Then there's the Sony Michel/ concoction. Cris Collinsworth was correct in stating that it's a bit of a giveaway the Pats are planning on running the football when Michel is in the lineup. Still, White performs every aspect of his job so admirably that this might be the most effective committee in football right now. (Although and might challenge that notion soon. and have something to say here, too.) Last thought: New England might play suffocating defense near the red zone, but the Pats Previous rank: By the time you finish reading the opening sentence of this blurb, will have caught an underthrown ball on a post route, then headed for the corner and in a manner we haven't seen since Bo. No, not . Kansas City in front of New England's nutso crowd, and kept pace with and the New England offense. Yet, in the end, a suspect defense and the rulebook ruled the day. ' was clearly a case of a pa s rusher not wanting to get the treatment from the officials. The sad part is, had Speaks tackled Brady, it would've been his second career sack -- and, quite po sibly, it would have allowed K.C. to win the game. Previous rank: The headed into their Week 6 bye at the worst po sible time. No team wants a week off when it is playing its best football. was clearly feeling it regularly to sing the football 5 yards ahead of defensive backs and into the waiting arms of loving New Orleans receivers. They were almost like timing patterns. How about , who waited four weeks to play, barely broke a sweat in Week 5, and then had a bye? Give him 30 carries in Week 7. New Orleans moves down only due to the leapfrogging the . Previous rank: No, Not unle s you think Michael Madsen Cousins throw the football, though, well enough to be paid every cent the Wilfs forked over to sign him. Oh, and Cousins can for touchdowns, too. Even on a day that was far from Cousins' most prolific, with the pa sing game enduring a few hiccups, Minnesota converted five third downs while Arizona converted none. That's because the Vikes ran up and down the field, with 155 yards from and 195 overall on just 32 carries. Six yards per, kids. Previous rank: for that football in the end zone. Good grief. Even more noticeable in Los Angeles' Anthony Lynn's running game stockpiling yards -- 246 of them, when all was said and done. Such ample production must've made the former running backs coach proud. With the reeling on the schedule and expected to return , the have an opportunity to close the gap on the in the AFC West going forward. Either way, this is a playoff team. </content:power-ranking> Previous rank: Think about all the devastating defenses over the years, from the 2000 group that set records to the 2008 unit that pushed the team and its rookie quarterback to the brink of the . Neither of those teams ever posted 11 sacks in the game -- nor has any other unit in franchise history. The offense scored twice early, and the game was over. Numbers: Tenne see gained 106 yards. Total. The ' running backs averaged 2.5 yards per carry. The pa sing game averaged le s than 2 yards per dropback. Eight got a sack. now owns 4.5 on the season. He turned 36 last Thursday. Previous rank: Right when the pundits wanted to write the off, they won three of four, including which involved going into the AFC North leader's place and handing the a big, fat L. In addition to getting off the divisional schneid (Pittsburgh had been the only AFC North team without a division win), the positioned themselves nicely for another run. The next time the see the , Cincy will have to travel to Heinz. That's peering far into the future: . In the interim, Pittsburgh gets a rematch with the in Baltimore Up next for one of the hottest teams in pro football? Ugh. Previous rank: Well, the made it interesting late. Need another viewing of the end of on Game Pa s, but it seemed was off on a few of those throws down the stretch. There was the ball behind (who made a one-handed catch out of bounds), the overthrow to in the end zone and the misfires on third and fourth downs. Had to agree with Olsen, who was steaming in the huddle because the offense didn't hurry up following his miracle grab on the sideline. Carolina lollygagged, providing the replay official 10 hours to look at the play. That seemed to be the ' problem the entirety of the first half, too: sluggish effort. Previous rank: Great googly moogly. (yet again) to the dreaded in Cincinnati. Marvin Lewis' defense couldn't hold the fort late. His face said it all when CBS gave us the proverbial let's-take-an-extra-long-look-at-the-coach-being-totally-dejected-and-trying-but-not-trying-to-hide-it-while-the-other-team-goes-for-a-mostly-meaningle s-two-point-conversion shot ... or something like that. There was the holding call on that final drive to extend the Pittsburgh foray. Then to on the game's most important -- and controversial -- play. All of which negated a clutch drive featuring an on-point . Next up: Yeesh. Previous rank: Football is often hard to explain. The came into their Week 6 matchup in Miami flying high and having generated 18 sacks in their four prior games, putting them on pace to tie their own NFL record, set in 1984 (the year before they won the Super Bowl). Then Chicago And the ' offense didn't pick up the slack in the first half. The second half was a different story, as Mitch Trubisky and Co. started scoring points. Yet, a pair of defensive linemen almost saved the day for Da . and . **Side note:** I didn't like the conservative play call on third down to virtually force t for . fans? </content:power-ranking> Previous rank: You would never know it if you didn't glance at the numbers, but is off to a better start in 2018 than he was in 2017. Perhaps it's the lack of a running game for most of the season that has led to the dysfunction on offense, or the poor record prior to against the . Wentz's completion percentage through four games is up compared to his numbers through four last season (68.4 from 60.5), as is his yards-per-game mark (298.0 from 264.5) and TD-to-INT ratio (8:1 from 6:2). As encouraging as that might be, is the fact that got involved in a big way versus the . With down and defenses honed in on , Doug Pedersen needs Jeffery to have a big year. Previous rank: So often, we hear that kickers aren't football players. That's rather stupid, especially considering how much pre sure these guys must routinely endure . So, yes, I am genuinely thrilled for . After watching a player -- or anyone, really -- flop so publicly ( ), you'd expect his resolve to be absolutely leveled. Yet, there was the longtime Packer on the Monday night stage, splitting the goalposts flawle sly seven times, including . Did you know Crosby hit the game-winning kick in his first career game back in 2007, a 42-yarder to beat the at Lambeau? Will never forget his 51-yarder to beat the in the 2016 Divisional Playoffs. That came after . Which was not too di similar from a couple of Rodgers completions on the game's most poignant drive, including . Previous rank: , I made a general plea to play to 's strengths -- his athleticism -- instead of keeping him in the pocket full-time. Prescott himself also could've picked more spots to take off and run. Well, that happened on both counts, which not only kick-started a sputtering offense but seemed to build Prescott's confidence *throwing the ball*. Also worth discu sing: The ' defense is a top-three unit, especially with back in the saddle. Rod Marinelli's group can rush the pa ser with solely the front four, blitz with manning the point or play coverage. The Dallas defense was firing on all cylinders, with no let-up, against the Jags. Can the ? </content:power-ranking> Previous rank: How do you characterize Dreadful? Demoralizing? Or typical? Is this what this squad is sans ? Jacksonville is not built to come from behind -- a notion repeated on the broadcast and in highlight shows over and over again -- because the have an i sue at quarterback. When plays well, it's usually in concert with the running game and a solid defensive effort. Take Fournette out of the offensive equation, and suddenly the can't move the ball -- which in turn means and the boys on defense are playing too many plays, defending short fields and ultimately going down with the ship. Previous rank: An answer. That's what over the was. That's what the late stand against the Carolina offense was, after the had fought back from a 17-zip deficit. The coverage, in particular, held up -- something that had been glaring i sue in the "Monday Night Football" debacle (torching) . A big a sist to the defense came from the offensive backfield, namely . The guy nobody seemed to want (in fantasy or reality) pounded the rock repeatedly into the teeth of the ' front, utilizing his typical hard cuts before lowering his head to grind out 97 yards on 17 carries. As a team, Washington ran 28 times for 132. That's how teammates help out their tired pa s rushers and defensive backs. Previous rank: Like the , the took this past weekend off at seemingly the worst time, right after . At least it provided receiver and a few peeps on the defensive side the chance to get healthier for the back stretch. In theory, anyway, as this still constitutes an early off week. Surprisingly, shockingly, the pa s rush has held its own, with 17 sacks through five weeks. That number looks even better when you consider that Detroit's opponents have only attempted 152 pa ses. That's one sack every nine pa s attempts, an absolutely bodacious number. The production has come mostly without Ziggy Ansah, who hopes to make it back on the field . Previous rank: The simply refuse to be as cruddy as everyone said they would be before the season. Your friendly writer felt this team would go 6-10, and that was far from the bottom of the barrel regarding predictions for Seattle. Yet, here the are at 3-3, fighting the until Mike Scott Jersey the 12th round (only the "Rocky" movies go further) before in London. They commanded that overseas affair from the first quarter on at Wembley, playing as complete a game as we've seen from this group since early last season. completed 17 of 23 pa ses with three touchdowns, one pick and one perfectly scooped-up football on . For his part, Moore keeps putting up touchdowns. The running game was robust, with 37 attempts for 155 yards. What more can you say about Ken Norton's defense? Three points, man. I talked about the importance of late owner Paul Allen in the intro above. For more about what he meant to the franchise, Previous rank: Second-and-8 in overtime, score knotted up at 28, ball at the ' 39 ... the were trying to lean on QB2 . Next came an inside handoff -- and for someday. Gore busted the inside run, cut to his left, made another cut outside, made a subtle Gore-esque move to avoid getting tackled deep in the secondary, then finally (and stubbornly) went down at the 7. The stadium erupted. (Gore became the first back to run for more than 100 yards against the Chicago defense this season.) Gore then got more work, plowing down to the 1. On third-and-goal, coach Adam Gase spelled Gore with . Drake fumbled, and the recovered the football. Holy cow, what a sequence. Thank goodne s Drake didn't end up What a wild game in Miami. Wild win, total team effort. Previous rank: to follow up . On Sunday, the never shifted out of neutral, allowing the to pull ahead early. After bolting ahead by multiple scores, Anthony Lynn's group ran, ran and ran some more, to the tune of 246 yards on the ground. Unlike all season, and the Cleveland offense couldn't pull closer to their opponents. First, Mayfield's receivers continued dropping like flies, with to go down. And the guys who played made up for it by dropping three pa ses in the end zone. Fun for the whole family! </content:power-ranking> Previous rank: The . The continue to get bailed out. One week after Jason Garrett skipped going for it on fourth-and-short in Houston territory with , and two weeks after Frank Reich went for it on fourth down on his side of the field in OT, Houston faced Nate Peterman -- he of the rough start to his career and no practice time -- in the waning moments. Hey, give credit to for reading the out route to and all, but my gosh, the 13-year vet has never seen an easier interception in his life. eh? Previous rank: Saw much maturation in even compared to where he was at in a month ago. The rookie QB was the beneficiary of a couple of short fields (thanks to Todd Bowles' defense), but he took what the defense gave him, knowing the appropriate time to make the aggre sive throw and when to rein it in. Impre sive. The rookie out of USC finished an admirable 24-of-30 for 280 yards with two touchdowns and a pick. That's 9 yards per throw. With a healthier secondary on the other side of the ball, I'm not sure this outfit will be an easy out down the back stretch. Previous rank: Even with the are probably going nowhere this season, at least in terms of January. That doesn't mean Dallas Keuchel Jersey pundits should look past 's play. Last season, in his first campaign with Steve Sarkisian, Ryan didn't approach the level of play he showed in his MVP campaign of 2016. But take a gander at the combined numbers over his last four games: 112 of 153 for 1,432 yards, 12 touchdowns and zero picks. The downside? Both and left Sunday's game early. Methinks Atlanta has lost enough players to injury this season. The are supposed to lead the league in IR every year -- don't the know that? Previous rank: Offensive futility has found itself an ally in the . The air raid has produced 220, 183, 83, 327, 121 and 51 yards, which is 164.2 yards per game. Actually, the only raid going on Sunday was the a sault on the Tenne see pocket. The rushing attack had its own awful Sunday, and is now averaging le s than 100 yards per game. If it weren't for the legs of QB , there would be no running game. and are both averaging under 3.5 yards per rush. If the lo s in Buffalo was a mere blip, was . Previous rank: Say this for the Bucs: They showed a ton of character This NFC South matchup receives the It appeared as though Tampa had lost early when the Bucs fell behind 21-6. Then and Co. fought all the way back, as Winston to sed three touchdown pa ses and the defense started making stops. That is, until the ' final touchdown on a pa s to . and looked confused a second before the play, then David failed to get over into the flat to pick up the RB leaking out. Every bit of which would be moot . Oy. Not sure Jackson scoring would have But Tampa's defense is a bit of a me s right now. Previous rank: The stayed with the for It was the kind of weather that mandates a team be able to run the football, or at least stop the run. Denver could do neither. Pro football has morphed into an entirely different sport than it was in the 1960s, yet that age-old axiom still comes into play, even in this pa s-happy era. followed in 's sprint steps, becoming the second straight running back to breeze past 200 yards against the ' defense. Meanwhile, Denver couldn't help by producing some kind of groundswell of its own, even though Keenum actually outplayed MVP candidate . It's challenging to convert third downs, much le s score points, with only 60 yards rushing, especially on a Freezer Bowl kind of day. Previous rank: The are dangerously close to being the worst team in the league, even though they have superior talent at key spots, relative to the franchises listed below. New York has started 1-5 for the second straight year. The offense is in disarray and the defense was destroyed while the locker room sounds like an appropriate venue for head-banging ... against the wall. Jr. made headlines again for Maybe they were playing some "Quiet Riot" at the Big Snoopy. **Side note:** Did you ever try to stick your hand in those floor fans your parents had when you were a kid? It seems as though Big Blue is out of contention already. The sad part of that equation is that the NFC East *leader* is 3-3. </content:power-ranking> Previous rank: If you watched any of on Sunday, you know there's no question the are playing hard for Sean McDermott. Thus, no move down for the , even in a lo s. The way the front seven has played, constantly making life uncomfortable for quarterbacks, Buffalo can stay in games. Cornerback was outstanding in coverage, locking up . He doesn't get to play against (or in place of) at QB, though. Previous rank: The stats don't show it, but is playing at such a high level. Yes, he did start the game with . We should note that the ball hit right in the hands. Perhaps Mack was upset that he wasn't active for the ' dropfest a few Thursdays ago and didn't want to feel left out. Luck was far from perfect (23-of-43, 301 yards, four TDs and three picks), but recall that he is throwing the football to wide receivers who couldn't start for 80 percent of the teams in the league. Too many turnovers by the offense coupled with a defense that couldn't rankle rookie ... not a good mix. Previous rank: The hung with the big, bad on Sunday, but they simply don't have the personnel at this point to ultimately keep up with playoff teams. Although can play with (and demolish) any opponent he faces, apparently. Jones added to his early Defensive Player of the Year candidacy with five tackles, 1.5 sacks, a tackle for lo s and Going to keep talking him up in this space until more pub flows his way. Previous rank: The move up a spot, the only team in this week's rankings to do so after a lo s, thanks to a valiant performance at Lambeau. Kyle Shanahan's group has yet to log a win this season in any of 's three starts, although the second-year pro out of Iowa has played well in two of them -- including Monday night's outing, which saw him post a 115.3 pa ser rating. Still, while Beathard completed 16 of his 23 pa ses, one incompletion stood out, and it came on the third-and-4 on the ' side of the field early in the fourth quarter. Beathard had his tight end (and former college teammate), , open on a short out route in the flat, but the QB double-clutched and overshot the throw. Consequently, San Francisco was forced to settle for the field goal. Beathard's late interception, when the all-out blitzed, wasn't his finest effort, either, although Green Bay's . Beathard's earlier in the evening was beautiful. The deserved to win. . Previous rank: The are so bad, not even an elite pa s rusher could save them. Oakland was not facing the kind of defense that strikes fear in the NFC West -- but wasn't pitching strikes on the London pitch, and he often didn't have time to throw them, anyway. I thought that, with RB going Beast Mode against his former team, maybe this would be the sneaky upset of the week. This team is in really rough shape. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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