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NFL Power Rankings 2014: Broncos and Eagles supreme, Cowboys rising fast in Week 7

In a freakish turn of events, two teams from the NFC East and two from the AFC West sit atop the NFL Power Rankings today. If you had asked me if that would happen before the season, I'd have laughed in your face.
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Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The awesome thing about this week is that all of the teams in my Top 13 either won or tied, except for the Seattle Seahawks. As I pondered the possibility of dropping them all the way to 14th, I realized that would make me just as bad as Peter King who moved the Dallas Cowboys all the way to #1 in his rankings because he is a homer.

Overall, I had to make some tough decisions since all the good teams pretty much won and then realized these were power rankings and just arbitrarily ranked them wherever they hell I wanted to rank them.

Check out last week's rankings and tell me how wrong or stupid I was. At the end of the day, the Broncos are best today!

RNK
TEAM
INSTANT ANALYSIS

1

Denver Broncos

Record 4-1. Peyton Manning had an off kind of day today as the Denver Broncos offensive line was unable to keep him clean during parts of the game on Sunday, but the Broncos defense came to play for the second consecutive week giving truth behind Julius Thomas saying its too easy.

2

Philadelphia Eagles

Record 5-1. The Philadelphia Eagles completed destroyed the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football, which is the first complete game the Eagles have put together all season. This was enough, in my opinion, to leap frog over the Chargers. When Nick Foles and that offense has a running game, they are pretty much unstoppable. Oh, and now they are being dissed by the media because the Cowboys are also 5-1.

3

San Diego Chargers

Record 5-1. The San Diego Chargers found themselves in a dogfight this weekend against the winless Oakland Raiders, which can happen at times in divisional games. The Chargers came alive in the fourth quarter to secure victory, keeping them a half game ahead of the Broncos for the AFC West lead. In fact, it's now the AFC West show in the NFL with the Chargers and Broncos proving they are among the leagues best right now - especially with the Seattle Seahawks choking it big time at home against the Dallas Cowboys.

4

Dallas Cowboys

Record 5-1. Media frenzy enabled. They seem to love nothing more than to jump on the Dallas Cowboys bandwagon whenever possible and beating the defending Super Bowl champions in Seattle is certainly reason enough to jump on board. Tony Romo and especially DeMarco Murray are performing well beyond anything I expected. It was nice to see Dez Bryant school Richard Sherman though. I would advise Pete Carroll to avoid putting Sherman on any #1 receiver in the future, he obviously can't hack it.

5

New England Patriots

Record 4-2. Tom Brady haters(one Bronco Mike in particular) go even deeper into hiding after Brady threw for 350+ yards and four touchdowns in a blowout win over the Buffalo Bills. The New England Patriots are sitting pretty and in sole possession of first place in the AFC East.

6

Indianapolis Colts

Record 4-2. Early on it looked like the Indianapolis Colts would obliterate the Houston Texans, but then J.J. Watts introduced himself to Andrew Luck and the Colts dang near blew that 24 point lead on Thursday Night Football. The AFC South is theirs to lose now.

7

Arizona Cardinals

Record 4-1. The Arizona Cardinals were faced with the perfect trap game after a huge letdown loss to the Denver Broncos the previous week, but they gutted it out for a tough win at home against the Washington Redskins. Who would have thought the Cardinals would be in sole possession of first place in the NFC West after six weeks? I didn't.

8

Seattle Seahawks

Record 3-2. Surprise! Being the defending Super Bowl champion means you will have a big ole target on your back all 16 games. The fall begins this week and it is doubtful they will be able to fight their way back into first place in these power rankings. Anyone else enjoy watching Richard Sherman choke a big one against Dez Bryant on Sunday?

9

Green Bay Packers

Record 4-2. With a franchise quarterback, anything is possible. Aaron Rodgers is that and the Green Bay Packers are competitive because of him right now. The drive for a touchdown on the road against the Miami Dolphins was incredibly impressive. They will take the NFC North. Without a doubt.

10

San Francisco 49ers

Record 4-2. Early on it looked like the San Francisco 49ers were going to choke it big time against the St. Louis Rams, which means the Broncos would have had to face a desperate playoff team and that's never fun. However, 24 unanswered points put the game away from Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers.

11

Baltimore Ravens

Record 4-2. Finally! I time when I can use the word "elite" and Joe Flacco in the same sentence and have it NOT be sarcastic. He led the Baltimore Ravens to a complete demolishing of the hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday with a five touchdown pass performance. The Ravens and Bengals are headed for a showdown for the AFC North and even though the Bengals took one early, I think the better team is rising to the top here near midseason.

12

Carolina Panthers

Record 3-2-1. Beats a loss! Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers played their butts off and should have came out with a win, but given how it played out late a tie sure beats a loss and this team is certainly trending upwards.

13

Cincinnati Bengals

Record 3-1-1. Missed field goal. The mothership pegged the Cincinnati Bengals as the best in the NFL two weeks ago, which was way premature. 3-0 doesn't mean jack in the NFL and two weeks later I am willing to bet few even have this team pegged as a top 5 team in the NFL. Opps!

14

New Orleans Saints

Record 2-3. They needed a Bye Week, so who cares.

15

Chicago Bears

Record 3-3. Jay Cutler. I hate you. I believed in you against the Carolina Panthers and you choked it like a punk then I fade you against the Atlanta Falcons and you play like Peyton FREAKING Manning. Seriously. I hate you. Stop peeing in my cheerios.

16

Cleveland Browns

Record 3-2. So, does anyone remember the last time the Cleveland Browns won by three touchdowns against the Pittsburgh Steelers? I didn't look it up, but I imagine its in the 1980's sometime. The Browns are a .500 football team! Finally! Cinderella Season... Enabled.

17

Detroit Lions

Record 4-2. Whooptie Doo. This team is just not utilizing their talent as well as they should and I would recommend caution to anyone who is thinking about jumping on the Matthew Stafford bandwagon. Buyers beware!

18

Houston Texans

Record 3-3. Two tough losses in a row have got to be a bit demoralizing, but having Arian Foster bust out for a huge game should at least give the Houston Texans offense some optimism moving forward. He is the engine that drives that lumbering Ryan Fitzpatrick clunker.

19

Miami Dolphins

Record 2-3. The Miami Dolphins are good one week and terrible the next, so put very little stock into their performance this week. They are better than the New York Jets, but that is all I know about this team.

20

Buffalo Bills

Record 3-3. The Buffalo Bills are due for a sharp correction back to reality here and with a blowout home loss to a hated division rival it is now clear they are pretenders to the throne, not legitimate threats to it.

21

Kansas City Chiefs

Record 2-3. They had a Bye Week, so who cares.

22

Atlanta Falcons

Record 2-4. So, how about a little coaching change? The Atlanta Falcons have way too much talent to be 2-4 right now. If only they could go bring back to the future.

23

New York Giants

Record 3-3. Eli Manning and the New York Giants ran into a buzz saw on Sunday Night Football and its the kind of divisional loss that could carry into subsequent weeks. Plus, the loss of Victor Cruz removes what little options Manning has to get the ball down the field. Getting to 8-8 is going to be a challenge.

24

St. Louis Rams

Record 1-4. For a minute there, I thought the St. Louis Rams were about to shock the Monday Night Football world. Then the 49ers woke up and the Rams were shut down for good. It would have been easier had the home team crowd not been outnumbered by the visiting team crowd. I guess St. Louis is more interested in the Cardinals of baseball than the Rams of football right now.

25

Pittsburgh Steelers

Record 3-3. After beating up on cupcakes for three wins out of five, the Pittsburgh Steelers are getting exposed for the frauds they were early on. The six wins I thought they would get is looking more like seven or eight now though. When was the last time the Steelers finished in the cellar in the AFC North?

26

Washington Redskins

Record 1-5. I am not sure what Kirk Cousins was looking at when he tossed that pick six to end the game, but it was one of the worst decisions I've ever seen. It was doubtful he would have been able to lead the team from deep in his own end zone into field goal range in less than a minute anyway, but still. He threw another three interceptions this week and Robert Griffin III has got to be feeling good about his chances of seeing the field again in 2014.

27

Minnesota Vikings

Record 2-4. The Minnesota Vikings are about to enter a complete free-fall. Adrian Peterson was the linchpin to their offensive success and, frankly, its unlikely they will recover from his loss at all. In fact, the organization should just cut him and be done with it.

28

Tennessee Titans

Record 2-4. Oh yeah, now you'll hold off a comeback when I pick against you. the Tennessee Titans blow a 25 point lead last week to the Cleveland Browns when I picked them, but hold off a 9 point lead against the Jacksonville Jaguars this week when I pick against them. Give me a friggin' break!

29

New York Jets

Record 1-5. Rex Ryan will be fired this year, but is it really a team he built? I am not so sure about that, but hey, poorly run organizations tend to fire the wrong people in order to avoid admitting their own mistakes. The Jets are among the leagues worst teams right now.

30

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Record 1-5. This team is a complete mess. I was right, though, to call their win over the Steelers fools gold, because the Steelers suck too. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a train wreck. How many excuses does Lovie Smith have left?

31

Oakland Raiders

Record 0-5. For the first time all season, the Oakland Raiders showed some life. Perhaps firing Dennis Allen was just what the doctor ordered, but it also helped that Derek Carr played a great game. If that rookie can progress into a solid NFL quarterback then we could be seeing this franchise turn the corner. Just not yet...

32

Jacksonville Jaguars

Record 0-6. They had their best chance of winning a game this season and blew it. We could be looking at a team that will not win a single game in 2014. I wonder if Jacksonville Jaguars fans would love to see Jack Del Rio back on the sidelines. Probably not, fans are incredibly shortsighted about things, especially when it comes to blaming coaches.