XXL Season 29 Week 7 Power Rankings 1.) Dallas Cowboys (6-0): The Cowboys are blowing the league out through 6 weeks with 184 points scored to only 50 against. Dez Bryant is pulling in big grabs averaging 84.7 yards a game and surpassing 500 yards through 6 games. It will be interesting to see if this team can keep up the hot pace, and if Dez can keep up with the hot hands. 2.) Detroit Lions (6-0): The Lions when led by Hanso always seem to be towards the top. Golden Tate has been a key figure in the offense, but it is important to not overlook this defense. Miles Killebrew comes storming into Week 7 with 7 INT’s. Expect big numbers from this Lions team the rest of the way. 3.) Miami Dolphins (5-1): This Dolphins team is the real deal and it seems this offense led by Kenyan Drake is going to continue to put points on the board. This is another defense opponents should NOT sleep on. 3 Players on Defense have 4+ INT’s. Let me just warn you now, beware where you throw the football. 4.) Pittsburgh Steelers (5-1): A veteran on the sticks and a veteran leading the offense is how this Steelers team stays towards the top. Ben Roethlisberger has thrown for 1,418 yards with 8 TD’s to only 1 INT. It also doesn’t hurt to have Le’Veon Bell with 10 rushing TD’s through 6 Weeks. This Offense is explosive and I expect it to continue to rack up points on a weekly basis. 5.) New York Jets (5-1): The reigning Super Bowl Champion rounds out the top 5. Gamer has thrown for just under 1,500 yards through 6 games. Chrsitian Hackenberg? Who needs Fitzpatrick? This guy has a 77% completion rate. It also helps when you have the veteran Brandon Marshall racking up 88 average yards a game. A repeat may be on the horizon, but this year may be different. 6.) Washington Redskins (5-1): Leaving the AFC South in Madden 16 Goku decided it was time to head east to the NFC East. Boy what a move that was. All he has done is win since taking over the Redskins. He moved Cousins got Mariotta and added a weapon in Demarco Murray. This surprise team is the real deal and it can be expected that a legitimate threat sits in Washington. 7.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-1): An XXL Legend leads this NFC South team right into first place in the division. Jameis Winston has 8 TD’s to 3 INT’s and has played out of this world. Doug Martin has lead the team from the backfield averaging 6.6 YPC with 6 TD’s on the season. This team is destined for the playoffs it’s up to BigTyme if he will lead them there. 8.) Minnesota Vikings (4-1): Bets out of Vegas had the Lions running away with the division, but that’s far from the case. The Vikings have held strong all year behind strong defensive play. Anthony Barr is leading the team with 6 INT’s. While Bridgewater is doing what he has to do on the offensive side of the ball throwing for a 75% completion percentage. The Lions sit atop the North, but how long will it last? 9.) Indianapolis Colts (4-2): The passing attack has led this Colts team to a 4-2 record. Andrew Luck having thrown for 1,853 and 17 TD’s to just 6 INT’s through 6 games. Donte Moncrief is averaging 27.3 yards a catch with 600 total yards on the season. Not far behind comes T.Y. Hilton averaging an even bigger number of 31.6 yards per catch. The Colts will go as far as the passing game lets them. It will be interesting to see how this team continues during the middle of the season. 10.)Denver Broncos (4-2): Rookie QB Paxton Lynch has stepped up in a big way for this Broncos Team. Throwing for 1,446 yards with 12 TD’s and only 4 INT’s. Henry Melton leads the way on the defensive side of the ball with 4 sacks. With the division clashing through the mid weeks it will be interesting to see where this Broncos team will be when the next Power Rankings are released. 11.)Jacksonville Jaguars (3-2): One of the youngest teams in the NFL is also one of the scariest teams in the NFL. Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns will have you spinning in circles quickly. Julius Thomas is averaging 24 YPC and has 5 TD’s. The Defensive line of the Jags also brings the pressure, so you better get that ball out quick. The AFC South is a dog fight and I expect it to continue to be that way in the coming weeks. 12.)San Diego Chargers (3-3): New comer to XXL, but he fits right in. This team is led by both Offense and Defense. Philip Rivers has thrown 9 TD’s to just 3 INT’s, while Kevin White continues to rack up yards on a weekly basis. Looking at the defense the first word that comes to mind is WOW. Joey Bosa leads the way with 5.5 Sacks and a rookie LB by the name of Jatavis Brown leads the way with 7 INT’s on his own. 13.)New York Giants (3-3): Wasn’t this Odel Beckham Jr’s team? Not anymore Olivier Vernon has 10 sacks through 6 games. This guy is an absolute monster, and continues to terrorize opposing QB’s. This team has some ground to make up, but there is plenty of time and I expect this Giants team to make a run. 14.)Oakland Raiders (3-3): The Raiders took a step in the right direction with a win against the Chiefs. Mario Edwards is leading the way with 6.5 sacks with 2 others with 5. The key to the success for this team will be getting the offense clicking and for Carr to ease off the gas pedal when it comes to throwing INT’s. I expect a rebound and a push run for the playoffs in the coming weeks. 15.)Atlanta Falcons (3-3): Julio Jones anyone? Already passing 1,100 yards on the season, Julio is a big candidate to get to 2,000 yards and 20 TD’s for the season. On the negative side of that, Matt Ryan has thrown 14 TD’s to 14 INT’s. The Falcons are dealing with a bit of the injury bug on defense, but this NFC South race is far from over. I expect the Falcons to jolt their way up the standings in the coming weeks. 16.)Baltimore Ravens (3-3): The youngest member of the league already has big wins against key opponents. Little Gyatso has hit a bump in the road, but with Steve Smith Sr. lined up I expect him to turn things around quickly. This AFC North race is going to be a fun one to watch develop over the next couple weeks. 17.)Arizona Cardinals (3-3): The Cardinals are a surprise team this year with David Johnson leading the charge. With 8 TD’s and 6.8 AVG YPC this run game is legit! It also helps when rookie Robert Nkemdiche is bowling over QB’s with 6.5 sacks thus far into the season. The NFC West is up for the taking and the Cardinals have a very good shot of finding themselves in the post season. 18.)Tennessee Titans (3-3): For a man who says “I am not sure how I did that”, a lot this guy sure has played great defense. Kevin Dodd has lead the Titans on defense while the defense as a whole has only given up 104 points. Paddle will need to start clicking on offense to really start maximizing his abilities, and he has the tools to do this. 19.)San Francisco 49ers (3-3): No C.K. no problem. Blaine Gabbert has played exceptionally well through 6 games. With Torrey Smith and Jeremy Kerley catching passes for this 49ers team I expect the offense to keep clicking and make a real run to the top of the division. 20.)Philadelphia Eagles (2-3): This Eagles team is waiting for that one moment in the season that changes it all. Carson Wentz has been good, but could he be better? With 9 TD’s to just 5 INT’s it will be hard to ask for any better of Wentz, but that is something that may have to happen for this Eagles team to get back towards the top of the NFC East. 21.)New England Patriots (2-4): In a bit of a shock ARosa finds himself out of the top 10, and for that matter out of the top 20. Is there any sense to worry if you’re a Pats fan? Well that’s easy….HECK NO! If anyone is capable of turning a season around it is this guy. An XXL great with Gronk and Brady leading the way, I expect a 180 degree turn around over the next few games. 22.)Chicago Bears (2-4): The man of 1,000 trades finds himself 2-4 to start the year. This team has weapons all over and I believe Jonezy is just starting to click with two of his best weapons in Freeman and Blount. Both are play makers out of the back field and this team just scored a huge upset over the Jaguars last week. 23.)Houston Texans (2-4): If I am allowed to pick a team that I see making it into the playoffs it is this one. The offense is too explosive to bid against them and you can expect Hopkins and Fuller to lead the way. Quietly Lamar Miller has averaged 6.0 per carry, so this team is far from out. 2-4 is where they stand right now, but do NOT expect them to stay there for long. 24.)Buffalo Bills (2-4): The Bills are having a hard time getting things going offensively. With McCoy getting hurt it really hurt the attack that the Bills have. Malvin has had to lean on Tyrod Taylor heavily through the first 6 games. This team will not go away without a fight and I expect the Bills to turn things around in a vicious way as they continue to get comfortable and healthy. 25.)St. Louis Rams (2-4): In what has been the biggest surprise of the season XSTL sits at #25. I believe the injury to Gurley really hurt this team offensively. With rookie Jared Goff under center this team will need the likes of Tavon Austin and Brian Quick to start pitching in to take some of the pressure off the young rookie. However, like ARosa if you think this team is out you better think again. 26.)Carolina Panthers (2-4): Cam has not played like Cam thus far this season. With 10 TD’s to 19 INT’s, F3 will hope he can turn that around in the next few weeks. Kelvin Benjamin has been a bright spot for this Panthers team with 17.3 AVG YPC. The Panthers will need a big next few games to get back into contention in the tough NFC South. 27.)Kansas City Chiefs (1-4): The Chiefs are a team that hasn’t been playing terribly bad, but they have not been playing terribly good either. Alex Smith has thrown the ball for a 65% completion percentage, but Jamaal Charles has been held to 54.8 yards a game. PC is a veteran and veterans overcome. For this reason I see the Chiefs making a real push to get back into contention. 28.)Green Bay Packers (1-4): The Packers have the tools and the weapons it’s just the chemistry that we are waiting on. Aaron Rodgers is one of the game’s best and I expect him to get more comfortable with his new manager as the season rolls along. I also expect a big next couple of weeks from Eddie Lacy. 29.)Cleveland Browns (1-5): RG3 has been doing his job as QB for this Browns team. Throwing for over 1,300 yards. However the points have not come like he’d like through the first 6 games. I believe this team has the tools to make a run, but it remains to be seen if the chemistry will click. 30.)Seattle Seahawks (0-5): Making a big move this past week Mike Evans has flown out west. This will spark this Seahawks team who just threw for close to 600 yards in their game against the Falcons. The weapons are there and this team has a good chance of turning its season in the right direction behind Ezekiel Elliott and that tough defense. 31.)Cincinnati Bengals (0-6): This is a tough pill to swallow being on Auto Pilot for the first 3-4 weeks of the season. Also losing A.J. Green and Giovani Bernard did not help this Bengals team. This season is not over by any means, but this team will be very scary when all of its weapons are healthy. 32.)New Orleans Saints (0-5): A long time great has joined us again and the league could not be more excited. Still getting use to the game his first season has been difficult, but with Brees and Cooks leading the offense I would not sleep on the Saints. Especially as he gets comfortable in the league and playing SIM style again. Beware of the Saints as the middle weeks come up.
