• Biggest riser: Los Angeles Rams (up three spots since Week 6)
• Biggest faller: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (down three spots since Week 6)
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Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
You can find a statistical review of Week 6 here.
NFL Week 7 Power Rankings
- San Francisco 49ers (no change)
- Kansas City Chiefs (no change)
- Philadelphia Eagles (no change)
- Buffalo Bills (no change)
- Miami Dolphins (no change)
- Detroit Lions (up 1)
- Dallas Cowboys (down 1)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (no change)
- Los Angeles Chargers (up 1)
- Cincinnati Bengals (up 2)
- Baltimore Ravens (down 2)
- Cleveland Browns (down 1)
- Seattle Seahawks (no change)
- New York Jets (up 1)
- Minnesota Vikings (down 1)
- Green Bay Packers (up 1)
- New Orleans Saints (down 1)
- Los Angeles Rams (up 3)
- Washington Commanders (down 1)
- Indianapolis Colts (no change)
- Atlanta Falcons (up 1)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (down 3)
- Tennessee Titans (no change)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (no change)
- Houston Texans (up 1)
- Las Vegas Raiders (up 1)
- Denver Broncos (down 2)
- Arizona Cardinals (no change)
- New York Giants (no change)
- New England Patriots (no change)
- Chicago Bears (up 1)
- Carolina Panthers (down 1)
The hopes of an undefeated season ended for San Francisco and Philadelphia in Week 6, as the 49ers lost to the Browns, and the Eagles fell to the Jets. There are now no undefeated teams left.
The 49ers had the lead until the last three minutes of the game, but penalties extended the Browns' drive and allowed them to kick a field goal. Injuries to star running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Deebo Samuel did not help, but the Niners earned their worst team offense grade of the season (59.6) and generated a season-low -0.135 expected points added (EPA) per play.
The Eagles also had the lead until the last few minutes of the game, but quarterback Jalen Hurts threw a costly interception at midfield, leading to the touchdown that erased their lead. The team earned its worst offensive grade (63.8) since Week 1 and has the sixth-hardest remaining schedule, according to PFF Greenline.
The Bills put on a lackluster performance Sunday night against the Giants. They didn't score until the fourth quarter and narrowly avoided an upset at home. Buffalo now has the second-hardest remaining schedule.
The Dolphins found themselves down 14-0 for most of the first quarter against the Panthers and even earned a sub-60.0 team offense grade after the first 15 minutes. But after punting on their first two drives, the Dolphins scored a touchdown on almost every drive after that. Mike McDaniel's squad now has the hardest remaining schedule in the NFL, and it will be fascinating to see how the team deals with it.
Biggest Riser: Los Angeles Rams
The more time passes, the more it seems the Rams have found some of their old form. Quarterback Matthew Stafford has been terrific to start the season, earning the sixth-best PFF grade at the position and recording a league-best 18 big-time throws.
The running game also exploded for 175 rushing yards in Week 6, though the team will now be without starting RB Kyren Williams for a few weeks.
Cooper Kupp has not missed a beat since returning to the lineup, as he's earned an 80.0-plus PFF grade in his last two games to enter Week 7 as the fifth-highest-graded receiver in the NFL.
Biggest Faller: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers had gotten off to a surprising 3-1 start, but the team fell flat in a 20-6 loss to the Lions on Sunday, a game in which Jared Goff threw for more than 350 yards.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield had been terrific under pressure entering Sunday, but he played far closer to his career averages in Week 6, losing 0.5 points per dropback when faced with pressure.
WAR Lost to Injuries
Injuries continue to pile up as the season progresses. He is how injuries affected Week 6, with references to 2022 wins above replacement (WAR).
The 49ers were on the receiving end of some dreadful injury luck, as both Deebo Samuel (0.29 WAR) and Christian McCaffrey (0.32 WAR) left the game and did not return.
The Lions may be without leading rusher David Montgomery (0.13 WAR), who suffered a rib injury. Look for Jahmyr Gibbs and Craig Reynolds to step up.
The Rams are another team that will be without its leading rusher for a while. Kyren Williams has run for 461 yards and six touchdowns this season but suffered an ankle injury in Week 6. On top of that, Ronnie Rivers also suffered an injury in the game. After those two, the team's next leading rusher is Matthew Stafford. So, the Rams running backs will have to step up their game to make up for these losses.
The Bears offensive line has struggled enough this season, but an injury to guard Nate Davis (0.1 WAR) may prove fatal. Chicago's offensive line ranks 19th in pass-blocking grade and 29th in run-blocking grade through Week 6.
Late-Down Decision-Making
The Bengals may have come away with a Week 6 victory, but they scored only three points and punted four times in the second half, managing just a 48.7 team offense grade over the final 30 minutes. They lost the most in terms of win probability by kicking on fourth downs. They punted six times in total against the Seahawks.
The Raiders were also conservative in their win over the Patriots, as they kicked four field goals and punted twice. However, they lead the league in EPA per play when they do go for it on fourth down.
After their loss to the Bills, the Giants have now gone for it on fourth down at the league's second-highest rate, and they are ninth in EPA per play when they do so. They will need to continue that aggressiveness if they want to be successful, as they have the seventh-hardest remaining schedule, according to PFF Greenline.
Unsurprisingly, two of the best teams in football are aggressive on fourth downs, which may be why they are so successful.
Game Finishers
The Eagles were unable to convert any of their second-half drives into points. The defense also couldn't stop the Jets from scoring, allowing them to convert 30.8% of their plays into a new set of downs or a score, about average for the league this week, but that’s all it took.
Despite the win, the Vikings struggled in the second half, generating the fewest EPA per play (-0.59) and the lowest team receiving grade in the league over the final two quarters. They’re feeling the loss of Justin Jefferson — they could not get much going on offense, and only 17.4% of their offensive plays were successful in the second half, 28th among the 30 teams that played.
The Trenches
The ordinarily stout offensive line of the Eagles struggled this week, with their 65.0 unit grade ranking 19th. Tackle Jack Driscoll allowed pressure on 19.1% of his snaps, one of the highest rates of the week.
The Bengals' offensive line has taken some promising steps of late. In Week 6, the group allowed pressure on just 7.7% of their pass-blocking snaps, the best rate of their season and the best rate in the league in Week 6.
The Vikings' offensive line didn't allow a sack and gave up a season-best 15.2% pressure rate. This may not necessarily be solely due to the offensive line, however.
Defensive Success
The Browns led the league in successful play rate on defense this week (60%). With one of the easier schedules remaining — fifth-easiest, according to PFF Greenline — they can rely on their defense to keep them in games.
The Bills had a near-10-minute drive in the second half against the Giants, with New York finishing second to last among teams in successful play rate (39.0%). However, the Giants held the Bills to their fewest passing yards (169) and lowest completion rate (59.4%) of the season.
In their loss, the Eagles were limited to a 20% successful drive rate on offense, their lowest mark of the season.
Perfectly Covering Plays
The 49ers are far and away the best team at both perfectly covering plays and forcing coverage mistakes.
Another interesting team here is the Jets, who may not be producing offensively, but that doesn’t mean guys aren’t open. Nathaniel Hackett and the Jets' skill position players are forcing broken coverage at a top-five rate, and the defense perfectly covers plays at a top-five rate.
Sustaining Drives on Offense
The Patriots are slowly getting worse at going three-and-out to start their drives and now have the second-highest rate of drives that have ended in a three-and-out this season.
The top three teams in this metric are the Eagles, Chiefs and Bills — teams people expected to win the Super Bowl before the season.
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