2024 NFL Power Rankings Week 7: Are any AFC division runner-ups good?

We love the NFL for its unpredictability, but it’s also fun when something turns out exactly the way we thought it might. In this case, it’s the incredible effect Derrick Henry has had in Baltimore. Not only has the perennial All-Pro turned the Ravens into the most devastating rushing attack in the league, but he has also helped Lamar Jackson unlock an even higher degree of efficiency — which is terrifying to think about.

4. Detroit Lions (4-1; ↔)

Super Bowl odds: +950

You can’t convince me the Lions weren’t a little extra motivated to stick it to the Cowboys after last year’s heartbreaking loss. Well, mission accomplished. That was about as thorough a performance as we got in Week 6. The only downside: As good as Detroit’s offense is, it’s going to have to keep humming. Unfortunately, the loss of Aidan Hutchinson to a broken tibia could loom large.

5. Houston Texans (5-1; ↔)

Super Bowl odds: +1100

Always nice when things go the way they’re supposed to. The Texans were never threatened in Foxborough, and their pass rush made life miserable for Drake Maye. A much bigger test is coming, with a trip to Lambeau Field up next.

6. Buffalo Bills (4-2; ⬆️ 1)

Super Bowl odds: +1000

The box score doesn’t look impressive, but I was encouraged by Buffalo’s defense on Monday in New York. Taylor Rapp, Taron Johnson and Terrel Bernard made so many big hustle plays. A.J. Epenesa and DaQuan Jones stepped up to key the pass rush. Not a dominant effort but a really gritty one to eke out a division win.

7. Atlanta Falcons (4-2; ⬆️ 1)

Super Bowl odds: +2800

The offense is getting all the attention, but don’t sleep on a sneaky solid Atlanta defense. It’s a unit that’s allowed only 11 receptions of 20-plus yards, which is second fewest in the NFL. Opposing teams are averaging 5.9 air yards per attempt against the Falcons, which also ranks second.

8. Washington Commanders (4-2; ⬇️ 2)

Super Bowl odds: +4000

They say there are no moral victories in the NFL, but I’m not sure. I think it matters that the Commanders, led by a rookie quarterback and employing a woeful defense, went to Baltimore and gave the Ravens everything they could handle. Officially, it’s a loss. But I feel even better about this Washington team than I did a week ago.

9. Green Bay Packers (4-2; ↔)

Super Bowl odds: +2000

Credit where it’s due. I thought the Packers were in for a dog fight against Arizona. By the time the second quarter started, the only uncertainty in that game was figuring out which Packer receiver was going to score the most touchdowns. We knew the offense could score a ton of points, but it felt big to see the Green Bay defense put its foot down and smother an opponent.

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2; ↔)

Super Bowl odds: +4000

It’s easy to get excited by the possibilities if the Buccaneers can maintain that kind of success in the run game. You’re not going to run for 277 on a regular basis, but it’s going to do wonders for Baker Mayfield if this offense can achieve some degree of balance.

11. San Francisco 49ers (3-3; ↔)

Super Bowl odds: +650

With even mediocre red zone production, the 49ers are probably 5-1 right now — maybe even 6-0, considering they turned the ball over on the goal line in Minnesota. It’s a better team than the record suggests, but it’s also a team that’s nowhere near as crisp as we’re used to.

12. Chicago Bears (4-2; ⬆️ 4)

Super Bowl odds: +4500

I think it’s fair to point out that all four of the Bears’ wins have come against struggling teams. Exciting as their three-game winning streak is, this team remains untested. With that out of the way, how can you not be encouraged by the leaps we’re seeing from Caleb Williams every week?

13. Philadelphia Eagles (3-2; ⬇️ 1)

Super Bowl odds: +1400

It was nice to see A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith get back to business, but forgive me if I’m not impressed. The Eagles looked sloppy and flat for a lot of the win against Cleveland, and Nick Sirianni’s outburst at the end of the game didn’t do much to help the vibes.

14. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2; ⬆️ 3)

Super Bowl odds: +5000

We’ve all been conditioned to associate the Steelers with ground-and-pound football, but that really hasn’t been the case for much of 2024. Until Sunday. If Najee Harris can keep that going, it makes Pittsburgh a much more dangerous team.

15. Los Angeles Chargers (3-2; ⬆️ 5)

Super Bowl odds: +5000

Through five games, I haven’t seen much that suggests the Chargers have a high ceiling. But it’s becoming increasingly obvious that they have a high floor — which is a nice change for them. Stability and sound, fundamental football is why they hired Jim Harbaugh after the turbulence of the past few years.

16. Seattle Seahawks (3-3; ⬇️ 1)

Super Bowl odds: +5000

I’m just not sure the Seahawks can beat good teams without better offensive line play. Geno Smith is wonderful at getting rid of the ball quickly to negate a pass rush, and he was still pressured on roughly half of his dropbacks against San Francisco. Plenty of issues in Seattle, but that feels like the biggest one.

17. Cincinnati Bengals (2-4; ⬆️ 3)

Super Bowl odds: +3400

To be clear, beating the Giants in a 17-7 slop fest was not an impressive win. Joe Burrow himself called it ugly. But the Bengals move up because they did get a victory when very few teams in the league’s middle class managed to win. And, more importantly, they staved off a 1-5 record that almost certainly would’ve ended their playoff hopes.

18. New Orleans Saints (2-4; ⬇️ 5)

Super Bowl odds: +6500

Spencer Rattler played pretty well for a fifth-round draft pick who got thrown into the fire against a Todd Bowles defense. Surprisingly, the rookie QB was nowhere near as big of an issue as the veteran defense, which forgot how to tackle against Tampa Bay.

19. Dallas Cowboys (3-3; ⬇️ 5)

Super Bowl odds: +3400

You can point out that the Cowboys are ravaged by injuries, but it feels like a weak excuse. A lot of the problems that continue to plague this team — like a terrible run defense, an iffy offensive line and an unimaginative passing game — were problems when they were healthy, too. Maybe they’re just mediocre.

20. Denver Broncos (3-3; ⬇️ 2)

Super Bowl odds: +15000

My working theory on the Broncos is that they can win if their defense sets the terms. Bo Nix can execute a winning game plan if the Broncos are getting stops, but this just isn’t a team that’s going to score a ton of points. That helps explain why they’re the only team with a top five scoring defense that isn’t above .500.

21. New York Jets (2-4; ⬆️ 2)

Super Bowl odds: +3000

The Jets drew 100 penalties and blew three opportunities in the red zone on Monday night against Buffalo, so I get it if fans are frustrated. Still, am I crazy to be encouraged by that performance from Aaron Rodgers and the offense? If we see that consistently over the next few weeks, I think there’s reason for optimism.

22. Indianapolis Colts (3-3; ⬆️ 4)

Super Bowl odds: +9000

More than any other team in the league, I don’t know what to make of the Colts. Their starting quarterback has missed half the season, and their defense has been shredded on several occasions. All that said, they’re 3-3 and three of their four wins have come against teams above .500. Hard team to read so far.

23. Arizona Cardinals (2-4; ⬇️ 4)

Super Bowl odds: +8500

I don’t blame the Cardinals for losing to a good Packers team in Green Bay. I am disappointed that they didn’t even put up a fight. It’s a flawed roster, but it’s just disheartening to see two steps backward for every step forward.

24. Los Angeles Rams (1-4; ↔)

Super Bowl odds: +13000

Big week for the Rams. They might get Cooper Kupp back from his ankle sprain, and they’ve got a winnable game against the Raiders on Sunday. Feels like a week that could determine if this season is salvageable or a lost cause.

25. New York Giants (2-4; ⬇️ 1)

Super Bowl odds: +19000

The Giants are a mediocre team, but their pass rush has been as fun as advertised. Dexter Lawrence is making a strong case for NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and Brian Burns is top 20 in pressures among edge rushers. It’s going to keep the Giants in some games.

26. Las Vegas Raiders (2-4; ⬆️ 1)

Super Bowl odds: +39000

Brock Bowers and Maxx Crosby are fun players. That’s about as much as I can muster about this team right now.

27. Tennessee Titans (1-4; ⬆️ 1)

Super Bowl odds: +15000

I’m not trying to convince you the Titans’ defense is an elite unit, but it’s allowed just 89 points this year, as a whopping 20% of the team’s point total has come directly from opposing defensive and special teams touchdowns. This team is in a 1-4 hole due mainly to a truly abysmal offense.

28. Cleveland Browns (1-5; ⬆️ 1)

Super Bowl odds: +20000

At this point, we’re running out of stats that explain just how bad Deshaun Watson has been for the Browns. By almost every available metric, Cleveland’s $230 million quarterback is off to the worst start in modern memory. Head coach Kevin Stefanski says there’s no plan to sit him, which makes it hard to take the Browns seriously as a threat to win more than a handful of games.

29. Miami Dolphins (2-3; ⬆️ 2)

Super Bowl odds: +8500

There’s still no timetable on when Tua Tagovailoa might return, so this upcoming stretch feels important. The Dolphins’ next two opponents, the Colts and Cardinals, are a combined 5-7. If they can steal a win or two, the season might be salvageable when their quarterback gets back to the lineup.

30. New England Patriots (1-5; ⬆️ 2)

Super Bowl odds: +50000

That’s why you start the rookie. Granted, the concerns about playing Drake Maye against Houston’s ferocious pass rush were well-founded, considering the way the Texans knocked him around. But Maye gave the Patriots a spark and a level of explosiveness we just weren’t seeing before.

31. Carolina Panthers (1-5; ⬇️ 1)

Super Bowl odds: +50000

The Andy Dalton bump was a fun couple of weeks, but it feels like things are regressing to the norm now. Dalton still gives this team the best chance to win, but this just isn’t a very talented roster.

32. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5; ⬇️ 7)

Super Bowl odds: +11000

I don’t like to question the effort level of professional athletes, but it feels like fair game when Jaguars safety Andre Cisco says publicly that it felt like there was a lot of quit on the field in London. Jacksonville has been bad and frustrating through six weeks, and now it seems like the vibes are teetering on the brink. This isn’t the worst roster in the NFL, but the Jaguars are playing the worst ball in the league.

David Helman covers the NFL for FOX Sports and hosts the NFL on FOX podcast. He previously spent nine seasons covering the Cowboys for the team’s official website. In 2018, he won a regional Emmy for his role in producing “Dak Prescott: A Family Reunion” about the quarterback’s time at Mississippi State. Follow him on Twitter at @davidhelman_.

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