NFL power rankings Week 7: Do struggling Rams, Seahawks drop out of top 10?

NFL power rankings entering Week 7 of the 2026 season (previous rank in parentheses):

1. San Francisco 49ers (1): It wasn’t pretty, but they held off Washington on Monday night to become the league’s first 6-0 team. However with Mike Evans limping off before halftime with an Achilles injury, will GM John Lynch have to delve into the wideout trade market?

2. Kansas City Chiefs (2): Andy Reid is now 23-5 in the regular season following bye weeks. Sure looks like he might get the opportunity to coach after another bye a few months from now.

3. Minnesota Vikings (9): Coming out of their bye week, they enter their Colts bye week. After that, the tests come fast and furious − the undefeated Vikes set to face opponents all currently above .500 through Christmas, the lone exception the formidable Falcons.

4. Chicago Bears (10): They looked awfully good after getting a key guy back … and we’re referring to DB Kyler Gordon, who had three sacks − again, he’s a DB − and two forced fumbles in his 2026 debut on Sunday, all in 17 snaps. He’s the first player at his position to have such a game in 26 years.

5. Denver Broncos (4): They are fortunate to be 4-2 after emerging from a brutal stretch of their schedule. But 2.9 yards per play in a game, the lowest ever by a Sean Payton-coach team? C’mon, Bo!

6. Seattle Seahawks (3): Can’t have QB Sam Darnold throwing a career-high 51 times − and getting beaten to a pulp in the process − and expect to win. Sure would help to get injured RBs Jadarian Price and Zach Charbonnet back.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars (5): CB/WR Travis Hunter played a season-high 71 snaps Sunday, quite a few of them impactful, and the Jags lost − through no fault of Hunter, who’s played nearly every defensive snap the past three weeks. Still trying to find his sweet spot, but we may finally be near it. Same can’t be said for WR Brian Thomas Jr.

8. New England Patriots (6): Given all the injuries they sustained Sunday, gonna be tough to sustain a three-game winning streak with a trip to Chicago on Thursday night next up on the docket − especially if WR A.J. Brown drops four more balls.

9. Buffalo Bills (7): They’ve won seven straight regular-season games when allowing at least 30 points. Good thing they’ve got Josh Allen. Imagine if they played a lick of defense.

JOSH ALLEN DOING JOSH ALLEN THINGS!!!!

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/F0GGilwmd6

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) October 18, 2026

10. Carolina Panthers (11): It’s truly wild that QB Bryce Young leads the NFL with 309.8 passing yards per game − same guy who never averaged better than 190 yards in any of his first three seasons.

11. Detroit Lions (12): Still 3-2 after their bye week, they’ve fallen into the NFC North basement … but that can change fast with the Packers and Vikings coming to Ford Field the next two weeks.

12. Las Vegas Raiders (15): After dropping their third in a row, they’re the most .500 team ever − now 3-3 with 162 points scored and 162 surrendered. Surely a tie with the Rams on Sunday is in the works.

13. Los Angeles Rams (8): As they enter a new Bill Parcells reality − "You are what your record says you are" − the Rams (2-4) have also added injuries to Sunday’s (latest) insult. Moving forward, they won’t have WR Davante Adams (hamstring) or DL Kobie Turner for at least the next month. NT Poona Ford is out for the year. And the kicker? Sean McVay needs another one of those, too.

14. Cleveland Browns (16): Look who’s in first place at the latest point of a season since 2014. Will a team scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. ET for the rest of the season get a prime-time flex at some point?

BROWNS WIN AND ARE IN FIRST PLACE pic.twitter.com/rTec7Vizin

— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026

15. Baltimore Ravens (13): Rookie TE Josh Cuevas comes off a big game, catching his first NFL TD and illustrating the boundlessness of Declan Doyle’s offense.

This is sick: #Ravens OC Declan Doyle lined up TE Josh Cuevas at LG, then released him into a route for a 29-yard gain.

Because Cuevas was off the line of scrimmage, he was eligible to go downfield.

This is brilliant. pic.twitter.com/jN4icyVvEG

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 18, 2026

16. Atlanta Falcons (14): Would you have guessed th

Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.