NFL power rankings after Week 7, 2026

Minnesota takes over first because it's the only unbeaten team left and San Francisco lost at Atlanta. The 16-10 win over Indianapolis wasn't pretty: 275 total yards, 3 of 11 on third down, and Will Reichard's 52-yard field goal was the last score. Kyler Murray went 14 of 24 for 150 and a touchdown to T.J. Hockenson. What carries the Vikings is the defense. Their 74 points allowed in six games is the fewest in the league by 29, and Indianapolis managed 218 yards. The case against first is the slate: Minnesota's beaten opponents are a combined 16-25, and the only one above .500 is the 5-2 Bears, beaten 9-3 in Chicago. Record is the first cut here, and 6-0 is 6-0.

San Francisco loses first place by losing, which is how this works. The 49ers outgained Atlanta 400 to 295 and still lost by nine, because they turned it over four times, two Brock Purdy interceptions and two lost fumbles, against zero giveaways for the Falcons. Purdy went 27 of 40 for 288 and a touchdown, and Eddy Pineiro missed an extra point. San Francisco still owns the league's best point differential at plus 58 and the only road win over Seattle, 32-29 in Week 5. It stays second rather than falling further because one road loss to a 3-4 team doesn't undo six wins, and because nobody at 5-1 or 5-2 has a stronger body of work.

Buffalo was on bye and moves up a spot anyway, because Kansas City got held to three points in Seattle. The Bills and Chiefs are both 5-1, and the stated tiebreak is quality of wins first: Buffalo's beaten opponents are 12-21, Kansas City's 11-22. That's one game, so the quality of the losses decides it. Buffalo's defeat was 26-29 at home to a New England team now 4-3; Kansas City's was by 17 on the road. Buffalo also has three road wins, at Houston, at the Rams and at Las Vegas, to Kansas City's two. The Bills have scored 197 points in six games, the most per game in the league, and Josh Allen has 17 total touchdowns.

Kansas City drops one after being held to three points: no touchdown, 213 total yards, 3 of 11 on third down, and Patrick Mahomes 19 of 33 for 165 with an interception. Harrison Butker made a 50-yard field goal and missed from 58 and 45, and Seattle converted 11 of 16 third downs. The Chiefs keep a plus 40 differential, second only to San Francisco's plus 58 among one-loss teams, and their 31-10 win over Denver, now 5-2, is the best single result in this tier. What costs them third is the stated tiebreak, where Buffalo's beaten opponents are 12-21 against Kansas City's 11-22, plus a road loss in which they never reached the end zone.

Chicago climbs three with a 30-24 win over a New England team that came in 4-2. Caleb Williams went 22 of 33 for 308 and two touchdowns, Luther Burden III caught four passes for 130 yards and a score, and Cairo Santos hit from 58 in the fourth quarter. The Bears lead the four-team group at 5-2 with plus 37, 22 points better than anyone else in it, and their two losses are to the unbeaten Vikings and a 4-3 Green Bay. Cleveland has the better beaten-opponent record at 15-19 against Chicago's 14-20, but that's a one-game gap against a 50-point differential gap, so Chicago goes first. Road wins at Carolina and Atlanta back it up.

Cleveland is here on the strict reading of the stated tiebreak, and it's still the most arguable call on the page. The Browns own the best beaten-opponent record in the 5-2 group at 15-19, built on home wins over Pittsburgh and Baltimore, but minus 13 is the worst differential of any team in the league with a winning record, and all five wins have come by four points or fewer, 16 points of margin in total. At Tennessee they outgained a 1-6 team 491 to 322, turned it over twice, and needed Andre Szmyt's 32-yard field goal at the gun. Quinshon Judkins ran for 96 and two scores. Deshaun Watson has taken 25 sacks, the most of any quarterback.

Denver moves up two after winning 30-16 in Arizona, where Bo Nix ran 62 yards for a touchdown, threw a 52-yarder to RJ Harvey and led the Broncos in rushing. Wil Lutz made three field goals. Denver holds the best loss quality in the league: its only defeats are at the 5-1 Chiefs and the 6-1 49ers, a combined 11-2. That's what puts it ahead of Pittsburgh, along with a 13-20 to 13-21 edge on beaten opponents and a .522 slate against .458. What keeps it behind Cleveland is the stated tiebreak, and what keeps it out of the top five is plus 3. Denver has beaten Jacksonville and Seattle, both at home, and has no road win over a team above .500.

Pittsburgh climbs three after a 16-10 win over New Orleans at the Stade de France, a neutral site that counts as neither team's home game. Aaron Rodgers went 19 of 30 for 212 and threw the touchdown pass that moved him past Peyton Manning for third all time. Jaylen Warren ran for 101, Chris Boswell made three field goals, Payton Wilson's red-zone interception set up the go-ahead kick, and Daniel Carlson missed from 52. The Steelers are plus 15 with both losses on the road, at New England and at Cleveland. They go last in the 5-2 group because their beaten opponents are 13-21, the weakest in it, and their best win is a three-point home game against Cincinnati.

Jacksonville was on bye and falls four, entirely because four teams at 5-2 now sit above it on win percentage, which is the first cut here. Nothing in the resume got worse. The Jaguars hold plus 50, third best in the league, and the best set of wins of any 4-2 team, with beaten opponents a combined 15-12 including a 35-6 home win over New England and a 22-17 win in Cincinnati. Their losses are 13-20 at Denver and 31-34 to Houston at a neutral site, where Trevor Lawrence threw four touchdown passes. At 4-2 with a .537 slate and the third-best differential in the league, Jacksonville has a better argument than ninth, and the tiering is what holds it there.

Cincinnati is up five, the biggest rise of any team that played, on a 35-13 win in Baltimore in which it scored 35 straight points after trailing 13-0. Joe Burrow went 22 of 30 for 292 and four touchdowns to four different receivers, and Tee Higgins caught six for 148. Baltimore outgained the Bengals 359 to 357 and lost by 22. Cincinnati is plus 41, and Burrow's 71.7 percent completion rate is the best of any passer with 200 or more attempts. The reason it goes ahead of Detroit is that road win: beating a 4-3 team by 22 on its own field counts for more than a three-point home win over Green Bay. Cincinnati's beaten opponents are 9-18.

Detroit moves up three after beating Green Bay 20-17 on Jake Bates' 22-yard field goal as the clock expired. Jared Goff went 22 of 32 for 303 and two touchdowns to Jameson Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown caught nine for 153, and Jahmyr Gibbs carried 29 times for 116. The Lions lost two fumbles and still won, helped by Green Bay missing two field goals. Detroit is plus 19 with a 10-18 beaten-opponent record, marginally better than Cincinnati's 9-18, which is why this order is close. Cincinnati gets it on a 22-point road win at Baltimore and a 22-point differential edge. Detroit's two losses came at Buffalo and at a Carolina team now 3-3.

The Giants are up four after winning 27-21 in overtime at Houston, where Cam Skattebo ran for 124 including a 42-yarder in overtime that set up Devin Singletary's 30-yard touchdown. J.J. McCarthy went 20 of 28 for 252 with no turnovers, Malik Nabers caught seven for 111, and New York outgained the Texans 420 to 237 without giving the ball away once. Their 4-2-1 record sits on its own between the 4-2 and 4-3 tiers. What holds them twelfth is the schedule: the Giants' opponents are a combined 14-33-1, the weakest slate in the league, their beaten opponents are 8-20, the weakest of any team with a winning record, and the differential is plus 2.

New England is the week's biggest faller, down seven after losing 24-30 in Chicago and dropping out of the two-loss tier. Drake Maye threw for 321 and two touchdowns with an interception, and Rhamondre Stevenson caught a 48-yard score out of the backfield, but the Patriots went 2 of 7 on third down and were outgained 405 to 380. The drop is tiering, not collapse. New England still holds the best set of wins of any 4-3 team at 15-12, including the only road win over Buffalo anyone has, 29-26 in Week 4, and its slate at 28-19 is the toughest of any team with a winning record. All three losses came away from home.

The house rule gives the reigning Super Bowl champion first place until its results say otherwise, and Seattle broke that rule in Week 3 at Washington. It hasn't been restored. Beating Kansas City 20-3 is the best single result of Seattle's season and the best anyone produced this week: the Chiefs came in 5-0 and got 213 yards and no touchdown, while Seattle gained 410 and converted 11 of 16 third downs. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught nine for 150 and a score and Emanuel Wilson ran for 100. But 4-3 is 4-3, with losses at a 1-4-1 Washington, at home to San Francisco and at Denver. Plus 43 is fourth best in the league. The rule stays broken and Seattle climbs three on merit.

Green Bay falls five after losing 17-20 at Detroit on a field goal at the gun, which drops it out of the 4-2 tier. Jordan Love went 27 of 45 for 274 and two touchdowns with an interception, and Christian Watson's 595 receiving yards lead the team, but the kicking decided it: the Packers missed two field goals in a three-point loss. Green Bay is minus 1, one of only two teams with a winning record and a negative differential, the other being Cleveland. Its 12-16 beaten-opponent record puts it ahead of Baltimore's 9-19 on the stated tiebreak. Its best win is 31-7 at home over Chicago, and the three losses came to Minnesota, Atlanta and Detroit.

Baltimore drops four after giving up 35 straight points at home to Cincinnati in a 13-35 loss. The Ravens led 13-0, outgained the Bengals 359 to 357 and lost by 22, which takes some doing. Tyler Huntley went 23 of 34 for 298 with an interception, Zay Flowers caught eight for 137 including a 48-yard touchdown, and Derrick Henry was held to 45 yards on 17 carries. Baltimore goes last among the 4-3 teams because its beaten opponents are 9-19, the weakest in that group, and plus 2 gives it nothing to fall back on. Its best win is still 41-23 at Indianapolis in Week 1, and Indianapolis is now 2-5.

Carolina falls four after a 13-43 home loss to Tampa Bay, the largest margin of any Week 7 game. Bryce Young went 14 of 27 for 163 with two interceptions and was sacked five times, the Panthers lost two fumbles, one returned 32 yards for a touchdown by Calijah Kancey, and Carolina attempted no field goals. Darren Waller's 50-yard touchdown catch was the lone bright spot. At 3-3 Carolina sits by itself between the 4-3 group and the 3-4 group on win percentage. Its beaten opponents are 9-11, and it still owns a 34-3 win at Atlanta and a 32-26 home win over Detroit, which is better work than minus 7 suggests.

Atlanta goes to the top of the 3-4 group on the strength of what it has actually beaten. Michael Penix Jr. went 25 of 34 for 213 and three touchdowns with no interceptions against the 49ers, Nick Folk made three field goals, and Atlanta forced four turnovers while committing none in a 29-20 win over a team that came in 6-0. The Falcons' beaten opponents are 12-9, a .571 mark that only New Orleans beats, and they've won at Green Bay and at New Orleans. The slate has been hard at a combined 29-19, including a 31-point home loss to Carolina. Minus 2 is the price of those losses, but three wins over teams this good outrank the alternatives here.

The Rams move up two after a 35-21 win in Las Vegas. Matthew Stafford went 23 of 29 for 195 and three touchdowns, two of them to Davis Allen, and Kyren Williams and Blake Corum both cleared 90 rushing yards. Stafford's 1,989 passing yards lead the league. Los Angeles is plus 11 against a 27-20-1 slate, and its 9-11-1 beaten-opponent record puts it ahead of Dallas and Las Vegas on the stated tiebreak. The four losses are the story of a team that keeps losing close: 7-27 to San Francisco in Melbourne, 26-30 at Denver, 34-37 at home to Buffalo, and 16-18 at home to Arizona in a game the Cardinals won without a touchdown.

Dallas climbs four after a 38-21 win at Philadelphia, its best result of the season. Javonte Williams ran 25 times for 155 yards and a touchdown, Dak Prescott went 15 of 27 for 212 and three scores, CeeDee Lamb caught two of them, and Brandon Aubrey made a 55-yarder. The Cowboys scored 18 unanswered to close it and outgained the Eagles 416 to 321 without a turnover. Dallas is plus 9, but the resume underneath is thin: beaten opponents a combined 5-14-1, with wins over a 1-4-1 Washington, a 2-5 Houston and a 2-5 Philadelphia. Only Las Vegas has a weaker set of wins among teams with three victories, and that's what keeps Dallas behind the Rams and Atlanta.

New Orleans drops three after a 10-16 loss to Pittsburgh at the Stade de France, a neutral site for both teams. Tyler Shough went 30 of 38 for 278 and a touchdown to Devaughn Vele, but the Saints ran for almost nothing, Shough's seven yards led the team, and Daniel Carlson missed from 52 in the fourth quarter. New Orleans still leads the league in beaten-opponent record at 8-5-1, because both its wins came on the road over teams now above .500: 24-17 at Baltimore and 34-27 at the Giants. Nobody else in the league has two road wins like that. It is the only thing holding the Saints at the top of the 2-5 group, because minus 32 argues for less.

Tampa Bay is the week's biggest climber, up six after a 43-13 win at Carolina that was the largest margin of any Week 7 game. Bucky Irving ran for 106 and two touchdowns, Yaya Diaby had three sacks, Calijah Kancey returned a fumble 32 yards for a score, and Baker Mayfield needed only 11 throws. The Buccaneers forced four turnovers and committed none. Tampa Bay is 2-5 and plus 11, one of three teams with a losing record and a positive differential, and its slate at 30-16 is the second toughest in the league. All five losses came by seven points or fewer, to Cincinnati, Cleveland, Minnesota, Green Bay and Pittsburgh.

The Jets slip one after losing 25-28 at home to a Miami team that had been without a win. Geno Smith went 23 of 30 for 287 and three touchdowns, two to Mason Taylor, who also caught the two-point conversion that made it 28-25 with 3:24 left, and Braelon Allen ran for 104. New York lost anyway, because Miami converted a fourth-and-1 at the Jets' 49 with about two minutes to go and never gave the ball back. The Jets hold 24th on a 6-8 beaten-opponent record that includes a 17-12 home win over a Cleveland team now 5-2, the best team anyone ranked below them has beaten.

Houston falls three after losing 21-27 in overtime at home to the Giants, a game in which it was outgained 420 to 237 and still forced the extra period on C.J. Stroud's three-yard touchdown to Xavier Hutchinson with 52 seconds left. Ka'imi Fairbairn made field goals from 58 and 57. The Texans went three-and-out to open overtime and lost on a 30-yard run. Stroud has thrown one interception on 247 attempts, second only to Jared Goff's zero on 223, but has only 11 touchdowns and has taken 15 sacks. Houston is minus 5 with a 34-31 neutral-site win over Jacksonville and a 26-3 win at Tennessee, and four of its five losses came at home.

Indianapolis slips one after a 10-16 loss at Minnesota in which it managed 218 total yards and scored once, on Jonathan Taylor's 38-yard run in the first quarter. Daniel Jones went 13 of 22 for 108 with an interception. Taylor finished with 95 yards and his eight rushing touchdowns are tied for the league lead, which is most of this offense: Jones has four touchdown passes against seven interceptions on the season. The Colts are minus 26 with beaten opponents a combined 3-9-1, a 19-17 home win over Houston and a 30-13 neutral-site win over Washington. Indianapolis converted 8 of 15 third downs in Minneapolis and still lost by six.

Arizona holds 27th after a 16-30 home loss to Denver in which Jacoby Brissett threw 48 times for 272 yards and Chad Ryland made three field goals. Trey McBride caught 10 for 111 and a touchdown, and his 59 receptions lead the league. Arizona's minus 66 is the worst differential in the league and its 208 points allowed are the most. It stays ahead of Philadelphia on the stated tiebreak: the Cardinals' beaten opponents are 3-10, including an 18-16 win at the Rams without reaching the end zone, while the Eagles' are 2-10-1. Four of Arizona's five losses came by 10 points or more, two of them by 24.

Philadelphia drops two after losing 21-38 at home to Dallas, a fifth straight defeat. Tanner McKee went 23 of 35 for 211 and a touchdown to Makai Lemon with an interception to DeMarvion Overshown, Saquon Barkley carried seven times for 62 and a score, and the Eagles led 21-20 in the third quarter before giving up 18 unanswered. Philadelphia is minus 48, and its beaten opponents are a combined 2-10-1, the weakest set of wins in the league: a two-point home win over a 1-4-1 Washington in Week 1 and a 24-20 win at a 1-6 Tennessee in Week 2. Its 127 points in seven games are the fourth fewest.

Washington was on bye and slips one. At 1-4-1 its .250 win percentage sits between the 2-5 group and Miami. The Commanders' one win is 33-31 at home over Seattle in Week 3, which remains the result that broke the champion's hold on first place in this ranking, and their tie was 27-27 at home against the Giants. Washington is minus 40 with 132 points scored in six games. The schedule has not been soft at a combined 21-20-1, and the two heaviest losses were 20-37 at Dallas and 13-30 to Indianapolis at a neutral site. Nothing in the body of work argues for a higher spot.

Miami climbs two for its first win of the season, 28-25 at the Jets. Malik Willis went 14 of 21 for 208 and two touchdowns, both to Caleb Douglas, the second a 63-yarder in the fourth quarter, and Ollie Gordon II ran 25 times for 103 and a score. The Dolphins committed no turnovers and sealed it by converting a fourth-and-1 at the Jets' 49 with about two minutes left. Miami is still minus 59 with 98 points in six games, the second fewest in the league, and its schedule at 26-13 is the toughest anyone has played. One road win over a 2-5 team moves it off the bottom, and no further.

Tennessee drops one after losing 24-27 at home to Cleveland on a field goal at the gun, a game it led twice. Tony Pollard ran 25 times for 129 yards and three touchdowns, the best individual day any Titan has had this season, and Cam Ward went 20 of 31 for 181 with an interception and no touchdown passes. Tennessee was outgained 491 to 322. The Titans are 1-6 and minus 48, with one win, 26-20 at Indianapolis in Week 6, and 108 points in seven games, the third fewest in the league. Four of their six losses came by six points or fewer, which is the only part of this that reads better than the record.

The Chargers were on bye and are last because they are the only team in the league without a win. Los Angeles is 0-6 with 90 points scored, the fewest in the league by eight, and a minus 61 differential. The schedule has been genuinely hard at a combined 24-16, with road losses at Buffalo and Seattle and a 6-22 loss at Kansas City in Week 6. The closest they have come are a 17-23 home loss to Denver in Week 5 and a 23-30 loss at Seattle in Week 4. Miami moved ahead by winning at the Jets, so the Chargers hold the bottom spot on the one measure that decides it here.