Week 7 NFL QB Power Rankings

Oct 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) waves to the crowd as he runs off the field after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Trends for quarterbacks from previous weeks continued in Week 7. Peyton Manning works wonders again and breaks Brett Favre’s career touchdown record, Andrew Luck throws for 300 yards for the fifth straight week, and Aaron Rodgers continues to light up defenses.

Without further ado, Week 7’s QB power rankings…

1. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos (+1)

Manning is still the best quarterback in the league. Philip Rivers is no longer my vote for league MVP – I’m still deciding between Manning and DeMarco Murray. Four touchdowns, including one that set the all-time record for TD passes, moves Manning ahead of Philip Rivers.

2. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts (± 0)

Luck looked terrific in Indy’s shutout win over Cincinnati. Sunday marked five straight games and six out of seven games where Luck has thrown for over 300 yards. He leads the league in passing yards and is tied with Peyton Manning for first in touchdown tosses (19) – but Luck has two rushing touchdowns.

3. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers (-2)

Losing the top spot in these rankings hurts – losing to Kansas City might hurt more for Rivers. He looked somewhat out of sorts against the Chiefs. With that said, Rivers has had a fantastic year – he and Luck are really a 2A and 2B rather than just a 2 and 3 (behind Manning) this season.

4. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (± 0)

Since his “R-E-L-A-X” comments, Rodgers has thrown for 13 touchdowns and no picks. Oh, and the Packers are 4-0 over that time. At this pace, Rodgers may overtake Luck and Rivers. Those two have had a better overall season, but Rodgers has been the best October quarterback so far.

5. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys (± 0)

Romo had another solid game. He sealed the deal with a few late completions, including one to Dez Bryant. The second touchdown pass to Gavin Escobar was one of the nicest throws I saw all weekend. Romo hasn’t played on the level of the top four, however.

6. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks (+1)

With barely any help a depleted receiving corps, Wilson set a record with over 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards. Seattle didn’t win, but that shouldn’t undermine Wilson’s terrific performance. The most important part of Wilson’s fantastic game:  he didn’t turn the ball over despite putting the ball in the air and taking off with it so often.

7. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints (-1)

Brees was good, but Wilson was better. Brees was on fire for the first 50 minutes of the game, seemingly hitting on every pass. But at the end of the game, a forced throw turned into a Lions’ pick that set their offense up in scoring position, which led to the go-ahead, game-winning touchdown.

8. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions (+3)

Stafford moves up not exactly because he had a +3 type of week – rather, the two quarterbacks behind him had below-average weeks. Stafford was off in the first half, but turned it around in the second. The first interception was a forced throw (but the second wasn’t his fault). Still, he and Golden Tate were able to lead the offense to two touchdowns in the last four minutes to beat New Orleans.