Coming into the season, some experts thought the Dallas Cowboys would not win six games by the end of December. Yet, Dallas appears to be one of the best teams in the NFL, ranking with the likes of the Denver Broncos as the elite through seven weeks. The Cowboys are the only team with six wins after beating the struggling New York Giants on Sunday, making fans in Big D wonder if this could be the year for Tony Romo and the band.
2014 NFL power rankings: Packers, Ravens pushing toward the top in Week 8
Despite the top two teams remaining the same, there was plenty of shifting in the rankings following a wild Week 7.
Mike McGinnis
Elsewhere, the champs continue to plummet. After starting the season 3-1, the Seattle Seahawks lost to the Cowboys at home before being upset by the lowly St. Louis Rams, dropping them five places in the rankings. The Rams utilized a pair of trick special teams plays to top Seattle, putting the Seahawks at 3-3 and third in the NFC West. Seattle is in a tough spot, still with two games left against both the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals, and dates remaining with the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
Reaction to Week 7
Speaking of the Chiefs, Kansas City came out of its bye week and defeated the host San Diego Chargers on a last-minute 48-yard field goal by Cairo Santos, vaulting the Chiefs five spots. With the win, Kansas City concludes a brutal stretch in which it faced four playoff teams from 2013 in five games. Now, the Chiefs will be home for the Rams and New York Jets.
On Sunday night, Peyton Manning set the all-time career passing touchdown record while his Broncos hammered the 49ers, 42-17. Denver could do no wrong, moving into first place in the AFC West and maintaining the top spot in our rankings. San Francisco finally saw the effect of having Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Aldon Smith and others sidelined, getting beaten in every facet without much fight. The 49ers dropped five spots and now get a well-timed bye week.
| Team | Record | SB Nation | ESPN | NFL.com | Football Outsiders | Average |
| Denver Broncos | 5-1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6-1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 3.25 |
| Green Bay Packers | 5-2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 5-1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 5-1 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 7.75 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 5-2 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 6.25 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 5-2 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5.25 |
| Detroit Lions | 5-2 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 10.25 |
| San Diego Chargers | 5-2 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7.75 |
| New England Patriots | 5-2 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 9.75 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 4-3 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 20 | 13.75 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 3-3 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 9 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 3-3 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 12.25 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3-2-1 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13.5 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 4-3 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14.75 |
| Buffalo Bills | 4-3 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Cleveland Browns | 3-3 | 17 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 18 |
| Miami Dolphins | 3-3 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 10 | 15.75 |
| Carolina Panthers | 3-3-1 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 25 | 20 |
| Chicago Bears | 3-4 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 19 | 19.75 |
| New York Giants | 3-4 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 22 | 21 |
| Houston Texans | 3-4 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 22.5 |
| New Orleans Saints | 2-4 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 22.25 |
| St. Louis Rams | 2-4 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 28 | 25 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 2-5 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 18 | 23.75 |
| Washington | 2-5 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 25.25 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 2-5 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 30 | 27.5 |
| New York Jets | 1-6 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 28.25 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1-5 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 32 | 30.25 |
| Tennessee Titans | 2-5 | 30 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 28 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 1-6 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 |
| Oakland Raiders | 0-6 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 29 | 31.25 |
The four polls we use:
We use four different rankings for our weekly average. The thought is to get a wider sense of where all 32 teams are being valued with seven weeks complete. Our power rankings sources are from our in-house rankings, ESPN and NFL.com. We also factor in DVOA rankings from Football Outsiders to add an objective statistical measurement to the formula.
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