NFL Power Rankings Week 7: 2016 Standings, Reaction for All Teams Post-MNF

Week 6 is officially in the books. The wild week of action wrapped up on Monday night with a 28-3 Arizona Cardinals blowout of the New York Jets.

There were a number of unexpected outcomes this week that will have a major impact on the football landscape as we know it. Two teams we thought were legitimate contenders—the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers—were absolutely embarrassed on the road.

The Steelers also lost their quarterback in the process.

#Steelers have a bye after the #Patriots game, which Landry Jones will start. Ben Roethlisberger will know post-surgery how long he’s out.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 17, 2016

The Dallas Cowboys showed that they might just be contenders by dominating the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. The New England Patriots rolled over their second hapless AFC North opponent in as many weeks, and the Arizona Cardinals got back to playing the type of football we grew accustomed to in 2015.

How, exactly, does this shake things up? Well, that’s what we’re here to examine.

There are our early Week 7 power rankings.

Notable Rankings

3. Dallas Cowboys

Let’s forget the whole Dak Prescott and Tony Romo debate for a second and focus on the fact that the Dallas Cowboys look like legitimate title contenders right now. The team is playing incredibly well on both sides of the ball and has beaten down two 2015 playoff teams in a row.

The Cowboys are running the football as well as anyone in the league, they are playing efficient and careful offense and they have been surprisingly good against the pass. In fact, Pro Football Focus rates Dallas second in overall offense and second in pass coverage for the season so far.

This is a dangerous combination of strengths because the Cowboys have the firepower to get an early lead, a defense that is best when playing with a lead and a ground attack that can put a game away.

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott has run for 703 yards, the second-most in a player’s first six NFL games behind only HOFer Eric Dickerson’s …

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