Week 7 was probably the wildest week of the season to this point. The Ravens put a beatdown on the Lions, 38-6. The Chicago Bears, led by a Tyson Bagent, put up 30 points. The Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts put up nearly 80 points with backup quarterbacks. The inept Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills while the Eagles slowed the Miami Dolphins down and held them to just 17 points (and won the penalty battle 10-0, which has some folks rather upset). And finally, the 49ers lost their second consecutive game, this time to the Justin Jefferson-less Minnesota Vikings.
The rankings this week certainly saw some changes as each of the top 10 spots changed from last week. The Packers had the biggest fall of the season, as they dropped 10 spots while the Falcons had the biggest jump, moving up seven spots after a divisional road win.
Rough week for the Prime Time Pick’em going 1-2, moving the season record to 15-8. The Thursday game this week is an interesting one, as the Bucs travel to face the Bills. Neither team is playing well at the moment, but eventually the Bills are going to figure things out, so give me the Bills. On Sunday night, we get the 2-5 Bears against the 2-4 Chargers. This is exactly the type of game the Chargers find a way to lose, but nonetheless, I’ll take them to get a win. And finally, in the Week 8 finale, I’ll take the Lions to bounce back and give a good old fashioned beatdown to the Raiders.
Here are the rankings as we head to Week 8. Teams’ previous ranking in ( ).
1. Philadelphia Eagles (5): They hadn’t played a complete game all season until Sunday night against Miami. It appears last year’s NFC Champion is once again, the clear-cut favorite in the NFC.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (4): If Taylor Swift attends all of the playoff games for the Chiefs, it would seem like a foregone conclusion that Kelce and company will be winning yet another Super Bowl.
3. San Francisco 49ers (1): Brock Purdy is finally facing some adversity after two straight losses. We assume they have enough talent to overcome their recent struggles, but if this were to continue, do they consider making a switch to Sam Darnold?
4. Miami Dolphins (2): The Dolphins are awfully fun to watch but maybe we’ve jumped on the bandwagon too soon. Their strength of victory is the worst in the NFL, as the teams they have beaten this year have a combined record of 8-25.
5. Baltimore Ravens (10): I’ve officially bought into the Ravens after seven weeks. I’m not sure Lamar Jackson is a guy that can win you a Super Bowl because of, but if their defense can play at this level, he’s certainly a guy that you can win one with.
6. Dallas Cowboys (7): Dallas comes off the bye week with a home game against the Rams. The Rams are certainly a respectable team but the Cowboys need to make sure they don’t get caught looking ahead to the following week’s game against the Eagles.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars (8): Jacksonville has quietly won four straight as they head into their bye. The schedule certainly isn’t easy as they will have upcoming games against the 49ers, Ravens, Bengals, Browns and Texans (whom they already lost to once).
8. Cleveland Browns (9): Not sure what happened to their defense this week, but they found a way to put nearly 40 points and get a one-point road victory with PJ Walker once again taking the bulk of the snaps on offense.
9. Detroit Lions (3): That was an absolutely miserable showing by the Lions – but every good team has a stinker at some point. No reason to believe they won’t bounce back and still be in line for a 12-win season.
10. Buffalo Bills (6): It’s officially time to worry about the Bills. If not for multiple goal-line stands against the Giants, they’d be 3-4. As it stands, they’re 4-3 and not really scaring anybody at the moment.
11. Cincinnati Bengals (11): Cincinnati is coming off the bye and facing a brutal stretch of games that includes the 49ers, Bills, Texans, Ravens, Steelers and Jags.
12. Seattle Seahawks (12): All of a sudden the Seahawks are in play for more than just a wild card spot. However, later this season they have a four week stretch in which they play four games against the three best teams in the NFC (Cowboys, Eagles, 49ers x2).
13. Pittsburgh Steelers (14): The Steelers have been outgained by over 600 yards this season but are somehow 4-2.
14. New York Jets (15): Regardless of if Aaron Rodgers comes back this year, the Jets can finish the season 6-5, which would give them a record of 9-8 and on the cusp of a playoff berth.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13): Tampa has scored 13 or less in three of their last four games and as you may expect, lost all three of those games. They’ve got to find a running game to help open up the passing game with Evans and Godwin.
16. Los Angeles Chargers (16): The Chargers played their worst game of the season against the Chiefs to fall to 2-4 but will look to get right this week against the Bears.
17. Minnesota Vikings (23): The Vikings have come back from the dead and despite sitting at 3-4, have six straight winnable games on the schedule and all of a sudden look like they could give the Lions a run for their money in the NFC North.
18. Los Angeles Rams (17): The Rams were outscored 14-0 in the 4th quarter by one of the worst offenses in football.
19. Atlanta Falcons (26): The Falcons have won three games on last second field goals this year and now sit atop the NFC South at 4-3. The way they’re winning though, is not sustainable.
20. New Orleans Saints (18): At the end of the day, Derek Carr’s stats looked respectable but until late in the game, he looked really bad. So bad, some were calling for Jameis Winston to get an opportunity.
21. Houston Texans (21): Houston comes off the bye with a great opportunity to get above .500 as they face the winless Panthers.
22. Washington Commanders (19): Washington should enjoy their time at home this week as their game against the Eagles is sandwiched between four road games.
23. Indianapolis Colts (22): The Colts are kicking themselves as they let a great opportunity slip away to move to 4-3 and stay within a game of the AFC South leading Jags.
24. New England Patriots (27): Bill Belichick won his 300th game but Patriots fans are probably wishing they had lost and maintained the inside track to a top 3 pick.
25. Tennessee Titans (25): The Titans come off their bye sitting in last place in the division at 2-4 and after a home game against Atlanta this week, will play three straight road games against tough opponents.
26. New York Giants (28): Tyrod Taylor led the Giants to their second win of the season but they did not score any points in the 1st, 3rd or 4th quarter.
27. Las Vegas Raiders (24): I know they were without Jimmy G, but to lose by 18 to the Chicago Bears and a division II quarterback is probably the last thing anyone could possibly have seen coming. Davante Adams is questioning some life decisions at this point.
28. Chicago Bears (29): Tyson Bagent gave Bears fans something to cheer about, but let’s not get it twisted, there’s no QB controversy in Chicago.
29. Denver Broncos (31): They’ve won two games this year against two of the worst teams in football. It’s been a long fall from grace for Russell Wilson.
30. Green Bay Packers (20): In the first half of their last four games, they’ve been shutout twice, and scored three points twice. They tend to play better in the second half of games but the coaching and preparation this team has is the worst in the league and it’s not even close.
31. Arizona Cardinals (30): Kyler Murray is back practicing and the Cardinals say they want him to play this year – but the financial hit they would take if he were to get hurt is so severe, I just can’t see it happening, especially since they have just one win.
32. Carolina Panthers (32): The Panthers remain the only winless team in football but a home game against the Texans this week is at least a game they have a shot at winning. If they don’t get it done though, they do get the Bears in two weeks.
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