It was a week that left Dallas and Minnesota fans feeling more hopeless than we even thought possible. Brett Favre suffers 2 fractures in his ankle and the iron man streak might finally come to an end. Tony Romo goes down with a broken collar bone and will be out 6 to 8 weeks. Two big favorites to represent the NFC in Super Bowl XLV are now leaving us all wondering if they can even manage a .500 season let alone a playoff spot. Jerry Jones’ plan of owning the first team to ever host a Super Bowl is all but out the window. The firing of Wade Phillips is now not a matter of if, but when.

Week 7 was full of surprises. Drew Brees throwing 4 picks in a 30-17 loss to…Cleveland?! Sure, we all saw that coming. The odds of that happening had to range somewhere in the same vicinity of the cast of Predator producing 2 future United States Governors. When’s Carl Weathers going to run for election? Get to the choppah! It’s time for the rankings.

Bottom of the Barrel:

  1. Minnesota (NR) Brett Favre continued his onslaught of passes to the other team, throwing 3 picks to his former Packers. Adrian Peterson ran well and remained fumble free, but one guy can’t win the game alone. Record: 2-4

  2. Cleveland (3) Shocked the world with a 30-17 win over Nawlins. Had 2 great trick plays on special teams and played their best defense of the year, making Drew Brees look like anything but a Super Bowl MVP. This is the 3rd year straight that Cleveland has beaten the defending Super Bowl Champions. Record: 2-5

  3. Cincinnati (10) Went down big to Atlanta in the early going, 24-3. Palmer brought them back with his best game of the year, but they still fell short and in the record their record is all that counts. 2-4

  4. Denver (9) The Broncos were absolutely humiliated by Oakland, 59-14. They gave up 165 yard to Darren McFadden on just 15 carries. Making Oakland look that good is a crime against sports fans everywhere. Record: 2-5

  5. San Diego (7) Much like Cincy, the Chargers came back from a large deficit to make it close with the Patriots. A 50-yard field goal attempt that bounced off the right upright would have tied it and maybe sent it to overtime. Record: 2-5

  6. Dallas (6) They find new ways to lose each week. They blew a 20-7 lead over the Giants on the Monday nighter and now that Romo is out, they should only find themselves further down on this list. Record: 1-5

  7. Detroit (5) Had a bye week, but move down a spot due to Cleveland’s surprise win. A week off came at a good time with their next 2 being against the Redskins and Jets. Record: 1-5

  8. Carolina (2) They finally can mark one down in the W column, beating the 49ers 23-20. Not exactly an accomplishment, but it means there’s one more team worse than them. Record: 1-5

  9. San Francisco (4) Mike Singletary claims they will still make the playoffs. Their next 3 are against St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Arizona. I’ll still take that bet. Record: 1-6

  10. Buffalo (1) Could’ve, should’ve and would’ve relinquished the #1 ranking that nobody wants if they could have hung on against Baltimore. They play their opponents tough, but don’t have win to show for it. Record: 0-6

Climbed Out: Oakland (8)

**Top of the Pops: **

  1. Philadelphia (7) Led over the Titans through 3 quarters, then gave up 27 in the 4th. They’re gonna cling onto that 10th spot for now, but Green Bay or Washington could just as easily be put here. Especially since both have beaten the Eagles head to head. Phily’s win against Atlanta last week keeps them around for the time being. Record: 4-3

  2. Kansas City (NR) The Chiefs return to the top 10 after putting up 42 points on Jacksonville, with Dwayne Bowe and Thomas Jones having a great game. They now hold a 1 and a half game lead in the AFC West. Record: 4-2

  3. Atlanta (8) Matt Ryan and Roddy White continue to light up opposing defenses, dropping 39 on Cincinnati. They nearly gave away a 24-3 lead though so they have to stay put this week. Record: 5-2

  4. Tennessee (9) They kept on rolling without Vince Young. Kenny Britt had a career day, burning Philadelphia’s secondary for 225 yards and 3 touchdown receptions. You could make a good argument for placing them higher, but with none of the top 6 teams losing, I can’t justify moving them down a notch. Record: 5-2

  5. NY Giants (6) Bounced back from being down 20-7 vs. Dallas to win 41-35. Bradshaw and Jacobs combined for 200 yards rushing and Manning found the endzone 4 times through the air. This is their 4th straight win. Record: 5-2

  6. Baltimore (4) Despite pulling off the overtime win against the winless Bills, they drop a spot for 2 simple reasons. 1) They trailed by 14 points 2 separate times in the game and 2) They also blew a 10 point lead in the 4th. Record: 5-2

  7. Indianapolis (5) Peyton and the Colts had a bye, but move up one spot thanks to Baltimore’s near catastrophe. We will see what they’re made of when they take on Houston next Monday night without 2 major weapons in Dallas Clark and Austin Collie. Record: 4-2

  8. New England (3) Looked dominant over the Chargers for the most part of the game, then let them make it interesting late. They picked up their 4th straight win and haven’t lost a step since trading Randy Moss to Minnesota. Record: 5-1

  9. Pittsburgh (2) They had a little help from the refs this week, but a win’s a win. 23-22 over a tough Miami team who I thought would be at the top of the AFC East. The Steelers are first in the league against the run and allowed just 62 yards to Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined. Record: 5-1

  10. NY Jets (1) Also had a bye week, so they’ll hold steady at the #1 spot. No easy task in Week 8 however when they host Green Bay and look to get their 6th straight win. Record: 5-1

Fell Out: Nawlins (10) 

**MVP Race: **

  1. Joe Flacco (NR) He was one of my darkhorse MVP candidates in the preseason predictions. His rating is only 84.2, but he’s a big reason why they’re winning by making the most of the new weapon he’s been given in Anquan Boldin. 3 TDs and 250 yards in the win against Buffalo.

  2. Lawrence Timmons (7) He drops a couple spots after not accomplishing much in the win over Miami. Only 3 tackles, but he’s still 7th in the league in that statistic on a defense full of ball hawks and punishing linebackers.

  3. Matt Ryan (NR) Atlanta’s QB makes his debut on the list after having his best statistical game of the year against a good Cincinnati secondary. 300 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, 73% completion and a rating of 118.

  4. Adrian Peterson (8) Ran for 131 yards and a touchdown against Green Bay, averaging almost 5 yards per carry. He might be listed as the league’s 2nd leading rusher, but he is only 24 yards behind Ahmad Bradshaw who has yet to have a bye week. Peterson has already had his.

  5. Roddy White (NR) There might just be a new best wide receiver in the NFL. White racked up 200 yards and scored twice against the Bengals to vault himself into the 6th spot. He has at least 83 yards in 5 of his 7 games this season.

  6. LaDainian Tomlinson (5) The man who most thought had nothing left in the tank is averaging 5.3 yards per carry. He dropped to 12 in the league in rushing this week, but keep in mind that only one other running back besides him was on a bye this week.

  7. Arian Foster (4) Who was that other running back? You guessed it. Foster averages 5.5 per carry and almost 106 yards per game. Not bad for a back whose team completely lacked a running game last season. 

  8. Chris Johnson (3) He didn’t play much of a factor in the win against Philadelphia, running for 66 yards on 24 carries. He remains 3rd in the league in rushing however and leads all rushers with 7 trips to the endzone. 

  9. Tom Brady (2) The Golden Boy holds steady at #2 after a less than stellar performance against San Diego. However, he does what always does. He managed the game well and didn’t make mistakes. 

  10. Peyton Manning (1) Yes the entire top 5 stays the same this week, with Manning leading the pack. He had a bye this week also, but his 13 TDs to just 2 INTs says it all. He’s doing what’s expected of a 4-time league MVP, leading the league in QB rating at 103.4, 3rd in completion percentage and 4th in yards.

Fell Out: Clay Matthews (6), Drew Brees (9), Philip Rivers (10)

And those are your Week 7 rankings. See ya next week, same time.