2021 NFL Power Rankings, Week 7: Ravens win big, Cowboys steal one in OT

The Baltimore Ravens won big this weekend as the Dallas Cowboys stole a win on the road. Those games and others shake things up in our 2021 NFL Power Rankings.

For weeks, we all heard that the Baltimore Ravens were lucky. Sure, they had some fortuitous breaks, including Justin Tucker drilling a 66-yard field goal to knock off the Lions, but for the most part, they were just a good team that founds ways to win.

Then in Week 6, they got a chance to prove they’re an elite team — and they didn’t disappoint. Baltimore embarrassed the Los Angeles Chargers and made Justin Herbert look human in the process.

There were other exciting games, including the Dallas Cowboys win in overtime in New England. After trailing for much of the day, Dak Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb for a game-winner, moving them to 5-1 in a crowded NFC.

Let’s dive right in to see how those games, and many others, shook up our 2021 NFL Power Rankings.

New 2021 NFL Power Rankings after Week 6

If there were any silver lining for the Detroit Lions this weekend, it would be that they finally didn’t lose in heartbreaking fashion. After falling to the Baltimore Ravens on a long field goal and then the Minnesota Vikings two weeks later, it was starting to seem as though they were just cursed to lose games in the final minutes.

That didn’t happen this week, because they were never in the game. The Cincinnati Bengals made it look easy, putting up 27 before the Lions put any points on the board. By midway through the fourth, Detroit was playing against backups as they fell to 0-6, making them the No. 32 team in our 2021 NFL Power Rankings.

It’s been a long season already for the Houston Texans in 2021. They continue to get blown out and it feels like forever ago when they pulled off a win in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Since that win, they lost to the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills (40-0 in that one, yuck), and New England Patriots. On Sunday, Indianapolis made it five in a row and this one was over quickly.

There’s just not much positive to find about this roster and it feels as though this is a lame-duck season for head coach David Culley and quarterback Davis Mills.

Week 7 NFL Power Rankings

The New York Giants continue to play well early in their games only to completely fall apart afterward. That was the case again in Week 6 as they were up 3-0 on the Los Angeles Rams as they were making it tough on Matthew Stafford.

Then in the second quarter, the Rams scored 28 points on them. Yes, 28.

That opened the floodgates as the Giants fell to 1-5 on the season and 0-3 at home. Daniel Jones was also a mess as he threw three interceptions and was an ugly 29-of-51 on passing attempts. It’s tough to watch and the coaching staff could suddenly start to feel some heat if things don’t vastly improve.

After falling behind 20-3 against the Falcons in London last week, the New York Jets turned it up a notch and made it a game. They got the score to 20-17 in the fourth quarter, but then the Falcons put it away with a long drive. The final score was 27-20 as the Jets scored a field goal but couldn’t recover the onside kick.

At 1-4, they don’t have a lot of hope for the postseason this year but they should be proud of the fight they showed in Week 5. Now, they enter Week 6 on a bye and can spend a little more time refining things in practice. Again, they aren’t likely to make a run but the goal is to build toward the future and they can still do that.

Tua Tagovailoa was back for the Miami Dolphins but it didn’t matter. They lost their fifth game in a row, this time falling to the previously winless Jacksonville Jaguars who seemed right at home in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Miami seemed to have a shot after going up 20-17 but the Jaguars hit a 54-yard field goal to tie it up and then after a failed fourth-down conversion from the Dolphins, Jacksonville got within range for a 53-yarder that sent Miami out of London with a loss.

After winning 10 games last season, the Dolphins are in a complete free fall in 2021. They have a lot to figure out and they’re quickly running out of time to do so this season.

The London Jaguars had themselves a fun time this weekend. Jacksonville was playing overseas once again, and they were able to secure their first win of the season in front of their second home crowd (although it was their first time playing in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium).

It ended up being an exciting game as the Jags pulled it out in the closing seconds thanks to a 53-yard field goal from Matthew Wright. His kick ended the second-longest losing streak in NFL history (20 games). It may have also ended their kicking woes as the Jags entered Week 6 without a made field goal, but Wright hit three in this one, including a 54-yarder that tied it up at 20.

Trevor Lawrence led an impressive final drive as the team won despite Urban Meyer’s best efforts to throw it away with some bad decisions including a fourth-down call that could have put the team up by seven, but instead allowed Miami to take a late lead. They’re still not much of a threat but they can at least handle teams such as the Dolphins.

After taking a trip across the pond in Week 5, the Atlanta Falcons will now take a week off in Week 6. One of four teams on a bye, the Falcons scored a win over the Jets and while that might not be super impressive, they still needed something positive to happen.

Now sitting at 2-3, they have an extra week to prepare for the Miami Dolphins who have had issues of their own. Should they be able to secure a win there, they could be in good shape as they have back-to-back NFC North battles after that against the Panthers and Saints.

There’s still time for them to save this season but they have to make sure they play much better after the bye.

The Philadelphia Eagles fell to 2-4 on the season as they lost to the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. While some say there are no moral victories, the Eagles should at least be proud of the fact that they came back from a 28-7 deficit and pulled it to within six with just under six minutes to go.

Then, Tom Brady did what he normally does and broke hearts by methodically killing the clock. Philly just needs to figure out how to perform more like the team we saw in the final 30 minutes of that game than the one that showed up for the first 30 minutes.

If they get down, they could be a much better team.

It was a tale of two halves for the Washington Football Team. They were taking it to the Kansas City Chiefs at home in the first half and while the lead was just 13-10, they looked as though they had a chance to keep it going. They were getting after Patrick Mahomes and forced two interceptions. They were also able to put up a couple of long drives as well.

Then in the second half, the Chiefs took it to them. Washington surrendered 21 unanswered points and in the end, they lost 31-13. Now at 2-4, things seem to be pretty bleak for this team that looked to be a dark horse in the NFC East when the season began.

One of the hottest teams in the league for the first three weeks is suddenly one of the coldest teams over the past three weeks. The Denver Broncos beat the New York Giants, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New York Jets to start the season but since their schedule toughened up, they went the other way.

Denver lost to the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4 and 5 and then had to host the Las Vegas Raiders this weekend. Against interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, Denver struggled as Teddy Bridgewater threw three picks and they lost 34-24.

Now they have a quick turnaround as they play on the road against the Cleveland Browns this coming Thursday night.

NFL Power Rankings After Week 6

Once again, the New England Patriots deserve a lot of credit. They fought hard against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4 and had a shot to win it in the end. Tampa Bay walked away with the win 19-17, but the Pats looked solid. The same happened this week as they again hosted one of the top NFC teams, the Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas should have won this one easily but New England led for most of the game and the Cowboys needed a touchdown in overtime to steal the win. Having said all that, they’re still 2-4 and while Mac Jones has looked great as a rookie, there’s still a lot to fix with the Pats.

A 2-0 start had thins looking fantastic for Kyle Shanahan and his San Francisco 49ers. Then, they lost three straight games by one score or less. Green Bay knocked them off 30-28, Seattle won 28-21, and the Cardinals beat them 17-10.

In their loss to Seattle, Jimmy Garoppolo went down and Trey Lance finished with 157 yards and two scores but only completed 50 percent of his passes. He wasn’t much better in Week 5, completing 51.7 percent but scored no touchdowns and had an interception.

San Francisco is on a bye in Week 6 and they can use that to get healthy. Even if they do, they find themselves in a tough hole at 2-3 with Arizona and Los Angeles playing so well in the NFC West.

NFL Power Rankings after Week 6: Top 20

With a record of just 1-4 on the season, the Indianapolis Colts were able to find some success this weekend as they were all over the hapless Houston Texans. The Colts had a solid game from Carson Wentz and running back Jonathan Taylor had a career game which included the longest run in the league this season as he ripped off an 83-yard run.

Not everything was good though as both T.Y. Hilton and Parris Campbell were each hurt in this one — and for Hilton, it was especially concerning since he just made it to his first game of the season.

Now at 2-4, the Colts still don’t feel like a threat. Their only wins on the season came against Miami and Houston who have a combined record of 2-10. But hey, at least they got the wins that they should.

After a 3-0 start to the season, the Carolina Panthers have been falling apart. They’ve now lost to the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Minnesota Vikings over the past three weeks ‚— although this latest one might be the most frustrating for them.

Carolina fought back from a 28-17 deficit in the fourth quarter to tie things up and send it to overtime. Unfortunately, they couldn’t stop Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota offense as the veteran quarterback hit K.J. Osborn from 27-yards out to seal the win.

Now, they have a matchup with the New York Giants next week, which could be exactly what they need to get back on track.

Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings were able to get to 3-3 on the season after holding on for the win against Carolina this weekend. Up 28-20 with less than five minutes to go, they were unable to stop Sam Darnold and the Panthers as they tied it up and sent the game to overtime.

Minnesota kept their composure and put Carolina away with an impressive nine-play drive that covered 75-yards and ended with a touchdown from Cousins to K.J. Osborn. Now, they get a week off before a Halloween date with the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. That should be one that tells us a lot about this roller-coaster team.

The Seattle Seahawks deserve a lot of credit for how hard they fought in their Sunday Night Football contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers. On the road and without their star quarterback — Russell Wilson had to have surgery on his hand — they clawed back into the game after falling behind 14-0 in the first half.

They were able to cut the lead on an Alex Collins touchdown run and a Will Dissly touchdown reception from Geno Smith. They later tied it up on a 40-yard field goal from Jason Myers and did so again when Myers hit one at the end of regulation — after a weird segment that included D.K. Metcalf fumbling the ball and the refs stopping the clock to review the play.

In the overtime period, T.J. Watt made a huge sack on Smith on their first possession, then did the same on their second, this time causing a fumble that ended up putting Pittsburgh in position for the game-winner from Chris Boswell.

Sunday Night Football ended with an overtime game between the Pittsburgh Steelers who were hosting the Seattle Seahawks. Up 14-0 at the half, the Steelers allowed Seattle back into the game and after drilling a late 52-yard field goal, they were unable to stop Geno Smith as he moved the Seahawks into range for a kick that sent it to overtime.

Fans in attendance weren’t thrilled with how all that went down as it seemed for a second the clock hit all zeros — but the game was stopped for a review. Of course, watching from home it was easy to see Smith spiked the ball with one second so it was a moot point, but it was still understandable why the crowd was so angry.

Seattle had a couple of chances to win in overtime but T.J. Watt ended both of those. FIrst was a third-down sack, then a strip-sack after the Steelers had to kick it away that set them up for the win.

Pittsburgh is now headed to their bye week and will take on the Browns on Halloween day.

Justin Fields had another start and fell to 2-2 as he and the Chicago Bears lost to the Green Bay Packers in Week 6. Fields had some issues in this one, throwing for just 174 yards with one touchdown and one pick.

Chicago’s defense did all they could, keeping the Bears in the game for as long as possible. However, Fields’ inability to move the ball consistently hurt their chances and they fell to 3-3.

The good news for Chicago was that Khalil Herbert played well with 97 yards on 19 rushes and a touchdown — which was the first of his career. There’s no shame in losing to an elite team but next week, things won’t get any easier for the Bears either as they face Tampa Bay.

The Cleveland Browns fell to 3-3 and had their worst loss of the season this weekend. While they could walk away from their loss to Kansas City and Los Angeles and say they should have won, this game seemed to be over from the coin toss.

Arizona was all over them and won 37-14. Baker Mayfield turned it over three times and was briefly injured. Also hurt was Odell Beckham, Jr. who returned, and Kareem Hunt who was carted off the field.

In all, it was about as bad of a Sunday as the Browns could have asked for as they fall further behind in the AFC North race.

Social media was going crazy during the first half of the Kansas City Chiefs game in Washington. Facing the team without a name, Patrick Mahomes and the offense managed just 10 points in the first 30 minutes — and Mahomes had two interceptions as well.

They were trailing 13-10 but then in the second half, they got things figured out. Kansas City scored 21 points while blanking the Football Team in the second half. While it won’t fix everything, that was the exact type of 30 minutes of football they needed to get things back on track.

Now sitting at 3-3, the Chiefs face the Titans next week which could tell us a lot more about how good this team really is.

NFL Power Rankings after Week 6: Top 12

Once again, the Cincinnati Bengals proved they made the right call when they took Ja’Marr Chase over Penei Sewell — who just so happened to be on the field against them this weekend. Chase continued to prove he’s one of — if not the best — deep ball receiver in the NFL.

He and Joe Burrow were connecting on deep balls throughout the day although Burrow hit three others for his touchdown passes. With roughly eight minutes to go in the game, the Bengals quarterback was relaxing on the sideline watching as his team moved to 4-2 on the season.

They’re in the mix for the AFC North and while they could still use some help on the offensive line, their ability to beat teams deep is a huge reason they’ve started out playing so well.

Plays on Monday Night Football vs. Buffalo Bills

Nashville will be the site of a Monday Night Football showdown between the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills. Tennessee lost in Week 1 to the Arizona Cardinals and then knocked off the Seahawks and Colts before suffering a shocking loss to the New York Jets in Week 4.

They got back on track with a lopsided win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Now at 3-2, they have a tough task against the Bills who enter the game on a four-game winning streak.

Even if they lose, Tennessee remains the favorite in the AFC South. However, if they win, they’re suddenly a team to watch in the conference.

NFL Power Rankings: Top 10 after Week 6

So far in 2021, the New Orleans Saints have been on a bit of a roller-coaster. They won in Week 1 against Green Bay then lost to Carolins in Week 2. It was another win followed by a loss as they took out the New England Patriots in Week 3 before suffering an unexpected loss to the Giants in Week 4.

Washington was the unlucky team that met them on their upswing as they won in Week 5 before heading to a bye this week. Perhaps they will skip the loss they’re supposed to have by not playing this week. At least then, they should finish with a winning record. Right?

For much of this early part of the season, the Los Angeles Chargers looked to be one of the best teams in the AFC. That wasn’t the case for them on Sunday, however.

Baltimore made it look easy against the Chargers who seemed to be jet-lagged after flying across the country for this game. Justin Herbert wasn’t very accurate, the running game was non-existent, and head coach Brandon Staley even made some questionable calls including going for it on fourth down from his own 19 — of course, he was probably just desperate at that point.

Thankfully for the Chargers, it only counts as one loss. But this was an ugly one.

NFL Power Rankings after Week 6: Raiders on the rise

Throughout this week, the Las Vegas Raiders were in the news for all the wrong reasons. We won’t dive into that since it’s been discussed plenty already but instead, we dive in with their play on Sunday.

With interim head coach Rich Bisaccia in charge, they scored an impressive road win. Las Vegas was able to drown out all the nouse as they outscored the Denver Broncos 34-24. And with the Los Angeles Chargers losing as well, they’re now tied at 4-2 in the AFC West — and they were able to force Denver to their third loss in a row.

However, the real story here is Bisaccia. The veteran coach has been on the sidelines since 1983 and was able to serve as the head coach for the first time at any level, and he secured a win. Not bad at all coach.

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers continue to look like one of the best teams in the NFC. They’ve now won five in a row and what was most impressive about their latest win is the fact that they weren’t at their best and they still won.

Green Bay wasn’t moving the ball through the air with ease as we have seen in the past, with Rodgers finishing with 195 yards. They did get 154 yards on the ground but the Bears defense just made it difficult on them for much of the game.

Still, great teams find a way to win even when things aren’t perfect. Green Bay did that and they did it by two scores.

If the Dallas Cowboys could figure out two things, they could be unstoppable. One is how to start quicker.

Week after week, they start out slowly and then turn it on in the second half. That was the case again as they even needed overtime to beat New England this weekend.

The second thing they need to clean up is penalties. Dallas finished with 115 yards taken away due to penalties and that made it much tougher on them than it needed to be.

Even with those shortcomings, they’re 5-1 and have a vastly improved defense as well as a quarterback in Dak Prescott who is playing out of his mind. Dallas now enters their bye week which gives them plenty of time to figure those two issues out.

NFL Power Rankings after Week 6: Top 5

A 38-11 win was not only convincing for the Los Angeles Rams as they made it look easy against the New York Giants, but it also moved them to 5-1 on the season. Following a slow start where the Giants defense was getting after Stafford, the Rams offense figured things out and poured on 28 points in the second quarter.

Stafford finished 22-of-28 with 251 yards and four touchdowns. He continues to play well for the Rams and they look like legit contenders now — especially with their 3-0 record on the road.

Next up for Los Angeles is the Detroit Lions which should be a lot of fun as this high-flying team is set to face off against Stafford’s old club — the same one that can’t buy a win.

Just about everything was going right for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. They took a 28-7 lead into the half and while the Eagles went all-in on a comeback, they were able to run off the final 5:54 as they moved to 5-1.

Then after the game, things got tough. Or, at least they did for Vita Vea who was caught by cameras struggling to get his shoulder pad and jersey off.

Vea got some assistance and was finally free to enjoy the win with his team, but it was touch-and-go for a second for him.

Tampa Bay now gets a mini-bye as they play the Bears at home in Week 7.

This one was a statement win for the Baltimore Ravens. They entered the week 4-1 and became the first team in the AFC to secure a fifth win. And did so by blowing out the Los Angeles Chargers who were also 4-1 before the game began.

Before this game, there were whispers that the Ravens were just getting lucky and that they might be a bit overrated. That’s going to be a hard thing to try and say after they made Justin Herbet look average and completely shut down the Chargers run game.

If that wasn’t enough, their entire offense looked elite as their run game was on fire and Lamar Jackson just continued to move the ball down the field with ease.

Plays on Monday Night Football vs. Tennessee Titans

Heading into this weekend, the Buffalo Bills have established themselves as one of the best teams in the NFL. They had a surprising loss in Week 1 but since then, they’ve been on a roll and now look for win No. 5 in a row against the Titans.

Their previous game was against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Bills made a statement as they won 38-20. They’ve also scored two shutout wins, knocking off Miami 35-0 in Week 2 and the Texans 40-0 in their Week 4 meeting. As its stands now, they’re the favorites in the AFC and it’s hard to envision anyone knocking them down a peg anytime soon.

This one was a statement game. After the Arizona Cardinals won last week despite not playing at their best, they entered Week 6 as underdogs on the road. They also had to play without Kliff Kingsbury as the head coach was out due to a positive COVID-19 test.

They didn’t allow any of that to become an excuse and simply went out and beat the Cleveland Browns in convincing fashion. Arizona won running away with it, 37-14.

Now, they not only stand atop our 2021 NFL Power Rankings, but they continue to be the only team in the NFL without a loss yet. There’s a long way to go but this team is legit.