NFL Week 7 Power Rankings
The 2021/22 NFL season is now about 1/3 of the way through and I thought it would be fun to go back and see how the state of the league has changed since I first made my pre-season power rankings a few weeks back.
Hers's a little table I made displaying how I felt about teams before the season, and how the season has played out in reality so far. The results are seriously interesting! The rankings are entirely my opinion.
| CURRENT Team Power Rankings Heading to Week 7 | Difference From My Pre-Season Ranking |
|---|---|
| 1. Arizona Cardinals | +13 |
| 2. Baltimore Ravens | +8 |
| 3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers | -2 |
| 4. Green Bay Packers | 0 |
| 5. Los Angeles Rams | +3 |
| 6. Tennessee Titans | -1 |
| 7. Dallas Cowboys | +13 |
| 8. Buffalo Bills | -2 |
| 9. Los Angeles Chargers | +3 |
| 10. Kansas City Chiefs | -8 |
| 11. Cleveland Browns | -8 |
| 12. Pittsburgh Steelers | -3 |
| 13. Las Vegas Raiders | +2 |
| 14. Cincinnati Bengals | +11 |
| 15. Minnesota Vikings | +2 |
| 16. New England Patriots | -5 |
| 17. New Orleans Saints | +5 |
| 18. Chicago Bears | +6 |
| 19. Indianapolis Colts | -3 |
| 20. San Francisco 49ers | -2 |
| 21. Denver Broncos | +2 |
| 22. Atlanta Falcons | +7 |
| 23. Carolina Panthers | -2 |
| 24. Seattle Seahawks | -17 |
| 25. Washington Football Team | -6 |
| 26. Philadelphia Eagles | +5 |
| 27. Miami Dolphins | -14 |
| 28. New York Jets | -1 |
| 29. Jacksonville Jaguars | +1 |
| 30. Houston Texans | +2 |
| 31. Detroit Lions | -3 |
| 32. New York Giants | -6 |
Teams that have regressed the most so far: Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks have been hanging in there, but with them losing star QB Russell Wilson for a fair number of weeks, it's been tough for them and I don't really see them bouncing back and staying relevant with backup QB Geno Smith.
The Dolphins have been a mess, and it is mildly surprising, mildly confusing. But honestly, I just don't think Tua Tagovailoa is a franchise QB. He is small, and there's really nothing special about the guy honestly. He could MAYBE be a game manager and/or a nice backup, but I don't think Tua is the answer for Miami, at all.
I heard recently that Deshaun Watson could be a Dolphin quite soon, we shall see. Since the team is 1-5 it could be too late to salvage this season, but still, the team and franchise would really be MUCH better with Watson as a whole going forward into the 2020's.
But for now, the team is struggling and there's so many question marks.
Teams that have shown the most improvement according to my rankings: Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals
The Cowboys look pretty explosive so far this year, and it has for sure surprised me. Their receiving core is pretty great, and I get the impression that their running game is ok. Their defense is scrappy enough I suppose. Overall that is how I feel about this team, they are scrappy. QB Dak Prescott has been playing well.
The Arizona Cardinals are undefeated and they beat my beloved Titans. QB Kyler Murray and the offense is as good as it has ever looked since Kyler Murray was drafted. Murray's improvement is tremendous for the team, he is really developing nicely I believe. The defense is improved and underrated in my opinion. This team is going to be scary. Being undefeated puts a big target on a team's back, lets see how they handle the next eleven games. But they look great.
The Cincinnati Bengals and young QB Joe Burrow have been progressing nicely. Rookie receiver Ja'Marr Chase looks to be a great addition to the team. I believe in this team's improvement mostly because of those two players and because as a Titans fan I saw first hand how good Burrow is. They play in a tough division in the AFC North, so I give them credit for that.
The Ravens and Chargers are also teams that are better than I thought they would be in 2021.
The Chiefs and Browns are two teams I expected more from so far. Of course injuries are in the mix and everything, but still those two teams have struggled significantly so far, it will be interesting to see if they can bounce back in the next eleven games.
One team I was basically spot on with is the Green Bay Packers. I had them at #4 in the pre-season, and I still consider them to be the fourth best team in the league.
It's been a wild and fun season so far. A lot of good games and good plays!!
Any of my rankings super outrageous to you? Which teams are contenders in your opinion? Any early Super Bowl predictions?
