NFL Week 7 Power Rankings: Yes, the Cardinals are for real

Martine Gaillard is joined by Sam Acho to discuss the latest news in the NFL, including the tough choice of deciding who the best team in the league is.

Once again, we've got a new No. 1.

Following their decisive win in Cleveland on Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals are undoubtedly the team to beat right now, turning most NFC West predictions on their heads.

Parity reigns through six weeks, and now is the time we start to see contenders truly emerge.

Week 6 brought some stunning victories and several closely contested matchups. It also brought the beginning of some much-needed rest, with bye weeks starting up.

As we look ahead to Week 7, here's where each team ranks right now.

THE NO-DOUBT CONTENDERS

1.Arizona Cardinals (6-0; Last week: 4)
2.Dallas Cowboys (5-1; Last week: 2)
3.Baltimore Ravens (5-1; Last week: 7)
4.Buffalo Bills (4-2; Last week: 1)
5.Los Angeles Rams (5-1; Last week: 5)
6.Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1; Last week: 6)
7.Green Bay Packers (5-1; Last week: 8)

Every team in this top tier is capable of putting up 40-plus points any given week.

Arizona finally securing the top spot wasn’t fully settled until Buffalo’s dramatic road loss to the Titans on Monday. We’re not worried about the Bills long-term, but that loss showed you can’t take anything for granted on a week-to-week basis and that a team’s record isn’t always indicative of how they match up stylistically with an opponent.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are simply undeniable right now. Kyler Murray is in the MVP mix, the defence is holding up its end of the bargain and they’ve already beaten the Rams, Browns and Titans on the road this year. Baltimore looked awesome and humbled the Chargers. Lamar Jackson has been a cheat code ever since that huge fourth-quarter comeback in Week 5’s win over the Colts. - Johnston

PARITY PARTY

8.Los Angeles Chargers (4-2; Last week: 3)
9.Kansas City Chiefs (3-3; Last week: 11)
10.Cleveland Browns (3-3; Last week: 9)
11.Tennessee Titans (4-2; Last week: 14)
12.Cincinnati Bengals (4-2; Last week: 12)

Just as we were all piling the praise onto the Chargers and polishing our Herbert-for-MVP takes, the Chargers went and put up a measly six points while getting run over by a Baltimore club that's clearly not messing around. Considering their history, it might take a little extra time to earn back everyone's trust if they're to return to that top tier.

We got a glimpse of what the Browns look like without Nick Chubb, and it wasn't pretty. Considering the injury bug keeps on biting, it feels like we've got more ugly days ahead for Cleveland. Facing the Broncos' defence this Thursday with little time to rest is certainly not helping.

The Bengals and Chiefs both benefitted from easy opponents on Sunday, with Cincinnati continuing their red-hot campaign and Kansas City moving back up these rankings a little after an underwhelming few weeks.

As for the Titans... is there any team more confusing than Tennessee this year? They either win big or suffer the most embarrassing of losses (to the Jets...!). They're knocking on the door of the top 10, but we've still got questions. - Sadler

EYES ON THE POST-SEASON

13.San Francisco 49ers (2-3; Last week: 10)
14.New Orleans Saints (3-2; Last week: 13)
15.Las Vegas Raiders (4-2; Last week: 23)
16.Minnesota Vikings (3-3; Last week: 16)
17.Pittsburgh Steelers (3-3; Last week: 17)
18.Indianapolis Colts (2-4: Last week: 24)

We’re back in on the Raiders after they looked completely rejuvenated under interim head coach Rich Bisaccia. The 49ers have the highest ceiling of any team here, unfortunately injuries won’t allow them to reach that potential. We’ll see how their bye week helped them when Indy visits this week for the Sunday nighter. The winner of that matchup should remain in the playoff hunt for the time being. The loser will not. - Johnston

GETTING IN THEIR OWN WAY

19.Carolina Panthers (3-3; Last week: 15)
20.Philadelphia Eagles (2-4; Last week: 18)
21.New England Patriots (2-4; Last week: 20)
22.Chicago Bears (3-3; Last week: 21)
23.Denver Broncos (3-3; Last week: 19)
24.Seattle Seahawks (2-4; Last week: 22)
25.Washington Football Team (2-4; Last week: 25)
26.Atlanta Falcons (2-3; Last week: 26)

After sprinting out of the gates with a trio of wins to start their respective seasons, the Panthers and Broncos have both fallen all the way back down to earth, faltering in the face of their first big tests with three straight losses. Where do they go from here?

Of the teams in this tier, the Patriots might have the most deceiving record. Their season-opening loss to the lowly Dolphins now looks like a blip at this point considering that was Miami's only win, while heavyweights like Tampa Bay and Dallas only beat them by a single score. - Sadler

NOT QUITE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL, BUT CLOSE

27.New York Jets (1-4; Last week: 28)
28.New York Giants (1-5; Last week: 29)
29.Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5; Last week: 32)
30.Miami Dolphins (1-5; Last week: 27)
31.Houston Texans (1-5; Last week: 30)

Trevor Lawrence and Urban Meyer earned their first NFL wins when the Jags beat the struggling Dolphins in a London game that saw Tua Tagovailoa return from broken ribs. We’re not quite convinced Meyer won’t still be fired at some point this season, but that win saved his job temporarily. A few other coaches in this tier could start sweating if their teams don’t soon show signs of life. - Johnston

THE ONLY ONE WITH NONE

32.Detroit Lions (0-6; Last week: 31)

Head coach Dan Campbell's display of emotion after Detroit's Week 6 heartbreaker against the Vikings felt like it should've been followed by a rallying, rousing, run-through-a-wall-for-your-leader victory against Cincinnati. Instead, they fell flat at home against the Bengals with a performance that had Campbell already calling out his quarterback and hinting at a roster shake-up.

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