NFL Top 10 Rankings - Week 7

 

 

The Dolphins are in the driver’s seat in their conference, and maybe the NFL as a whole. How replicable is their meltdown loss to the Bills a few weeks back? What matters now is that no one seems able to keep pace with them. Their wins so far this season have come against five teams with a combined five wins. They will get a chance to make their case against the Eagles on Sunday night and then the Chiefs in Week 9. The Dolphins are averaging 37.17 points per game, which is on pace to be the most of any team since the Denver Broncos in 2013 and the second most since at least 2000. Their 498.7 yards per game leads the second-place Eagles by 103.7 yards per game. And Miami leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns (15) and is averaging 6.5 yards per carry, the highest average in the league since at least 2000.

 

 

Yes, they lost to the Browns, but every other team has a loss, too, and the 49ers have the best resume so far this season. Serious question: How much would Jim Schwartz be worth for a two-week consulting fee for any team that met San Francisco in the Super Bowl? The Browns’ defensive coordinator kind of owns Kyle Shanahan, who fell to 0-3 as 49ers head coach against teams whose defenses are coordinated by Schwartz. In that span, San Francisco has averaged nine fewer points per game and 0.9 fewer points per drive against Schwartz than against everyone else. On Sunday, the 49ers scored 16 points lower than their average coming into the game. Dating to Shanahan’s time as an offensive coordinator, he is 1-9 when he goes against Schwartz. As the clock struck midnight, Brock Purdy turned back into a pumpkin, and the 49ers lost to the Browns in Cleveland. Injuries eroded their vaunted receiving corps with everyone from Deebo Samuel to Christian McCaffrey leaving the game for treatment. Can Purdy sustain his previously-impressive level of play without as much help around him. They should get right against the Vikings on Monday nightbefore a massive game against the surging Bengals.

 

 

It’s fair to point out after the Eagles’ first loss of the season that they don’t have a super impressive win. Jalen Hurts, who threw a critical interception late in Sunday’s loss, has seven interceptions on 213 pass attempts this season. Last year, he had six interceptions on 460 pass attempts for the whole season. The Eagles defense is deep and talented even without some of their best players, but this offense has some problems that the New York Jets were able to expose. Jalen Hurts was far too lax with his ball security, which has been a theme this season. On the plus side, A.J. Brown became the fifth player since 2000 to have 125-plus receiving yards in four consecutive games Sunday. His 672 receiving yards are the third most through Week 6 in the last five years in the league. They have the Dolphins coming to town this week for what should be a fascinating game.

 

 

The Lions, who are 13-3 in their past 16 games, have won four consecutive games by 14 or more points, which is their longest such streak since 1969. Lions fans deserve this after so many years on the outside looking in: a fun, entertaining, and highly competent football team. They’re well on the way towards Detroit’s first division championship since 1993 — when they played in the NFC Central. The offense is leading the way, but the run defense is sneaky good (second in the NFL, allowing just 3.3 yards per carry). Detroit almost jumped Philadelphia this week because its win against the Chiefs is more impressive than anything the Eagles have done this year. (For now, we’re willing to overlook the fact that Detroit’s win against Kansas City came with both Travis Kelce and Chris Jones out.) They will get another chance for a statement win this week in Baltimore. Detroit’s defense currently ranks fifth in yards per play allowed and 10th in points per drive allowed.

 

 

Thanks to losses by the Eagles and 49ers, the Chiefs now have the longest active winning streak in the league. Still, everything just feels harder than usual on offense. Despite facing a lackluster schedule, three of Kansas City’s five wins have come by one score, and beating the Broncos 19-8 is nothing to write home about. They should get a better test this week against the Chargers. The Chiefs have only occasionally looked like the high-scoring juggernaut fans are used to fearing, which makes it all the worse that they’re already enjoying a 5-1 record. This team hasn’t even begun to hit its stride. Patrick Mahomes is 31st in the league in air yards per attempt (6.4), and the Chiefs are 29th in air yards per reception (4.6). Kansas City’s explosive play percentage (9.7) is 19th in the league, the worst of the Andy Reid era, and the Chiefs have only one win against a team with a winning record.

 

 

We would keep being skeptical about the Bills if not for that win versus the Dolphins because none of those other wins have come against good teams. The Bills got away with one Sunday night, with a plethora of errors — missed tackles, dumb penalties, blown coverage assignments, dropped passes, the works — failing to slow them down in the face of the Giants’ own ineptitude. A win is a win, but the Bills have now lost to the Jaguars and nearly lost to the Giants since crushing the Dolphins in Week 4. A trip to London might help explain those struggles, but it has been a season of high highs and low lows for a team that has lost several key players to injury. The good news is the Patriots are up next. Buffalo’s defensive injuries are troubling long term, but Josh Allen might be enough to overcome them. Since Week 2, he is second in the league in passer rating (112.9), has 12 touchdowns versus three interceptions and has completed 72 percent of his passes.

 

 

Are the Cowboys for real or not? Wins against the quartet of teams they have beaten don’t exactly tell us a lot, but at least Mike McCarthy can spend his bye week thinking how smart he was to send Kellen Moore out of town. Dallas held Moore (the Chargers’ offensive coordinator) and Los Angeles Chargers to 53 rushing yards Monday night. The offense still struggles to create big plays, but the defense looked strong against a good Chargers attack. They need to figure out a better plan on offense over the bye week. The Cowboys defense sealed a win, but are we sure this offense can compete with the league’s best teams? Dallas will be in the playoff picture come January but it remains to be seen whether they’re a legit Super Bowl contender.

 

 

The Jaguars took care of business against the Colts, but they left the game with injuries to key players including quarterback Trevor Lawrence. They’ve got a short week to prepare for Thursday night’s game with the Saints in New Orleans, but at least they don’t have to fly home first. Trevor Lawrence has 982 passing yards and five touchdowns versus two interceptions since Week 3. Half of Jacksonville’s wins have come in London, but they’ve won three in a row and took control of the AFC South on Sunday with their second win against the second-place Colts. They should be able to win this division – watch out for those Texans – but there are questions still for this offense. On the bright side, the defense has been better than expected. Note that they enter a five week schedule from hell after their game with the Saints. 

 

 

The Browns pulled off one of the week’s biggest upsets without their starting quarterback or star running back. How about that? That defense now has staked its worthy claim as the best unit in the NFL, with PJ Walker doing enough in place of Watson against a 49ers team that's comparable to the Browns defensively. What a wild, weird season to date for Cleveland, ping-ponging back and forth between excellence and disaster. The 1,002 yards allowed by the Browns this season are the fewest allowed through a team’s first five games in 52 years. Sunday’s win, which came on a 41-yard missed field goal by Jake Moody with nine seconds left, was Cleveland’s first against a team that was 5-0 or better since 1969

 

 

Lamar Jackson’s 69.9 percent completion rate ranks fourth in the league and is on pace to be the best of his career. His passer rating (93) is on pace to be the third best of his career. The Ravens were in full control of their Week 6 game in London, but their rankings here is due more to other teams also slipping and sliding. Their defense got ran over at times Sunday and a more-committed opponent could take advantage of that. Their secondary had no interest matching up with Derrick Henry in the open field. The Ravens now lead the AFC North despite having the third-most lost fumbles and eighth-most dropped passes in the NFL. They need to show more on offense against a good team. They will get a chance this week against the Lions.