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The Cowboys made waves on Monday, sending a first-round pick to the Raiders for Amari Cooper. Dallas can’t afford to be too patient with their new wide receiver while he adjusts to a new offense, as the Cowboys’ pbading attack ranks among the worst in the league. In a tight division race, the Cowboys need Cooper to produce quickly.
Who else can be those crucial difference-makers? As you sift through the Week 8 NFL Power Rankings, we have a player on all 32 teams who needs to crank it up a few notches to help shore up a weakness.
How we rank the teams: Our power panel — a group of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities — evaluated how all 32 teams stack up through the first seven weeks of the season.
Previous rankings: 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Preseason
Record: 7-0
Week 7 ranking: 1
Need more from: P Johnny Hekker. There’s not much to gripe about with the Rams’ 7-0 start, and they don’t punt often — but when they do, Hekker hasn’t been as productive as last year. The Rams are averaging the third-fewest yards per punt this season after averaging the fourth most last year. — Michael Schwartz
Record: 6-1
Week 7 ranking: 3
Need more from: CB Kendall Fuller. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Fuller is allowing 9 yards per target when he is the nearest defender, 10th-most among cornerbacks who have been targeted at least 30 times. The Chiefs will need his contributions as they are being attacked deep. Opponents have a 9.5 air yards per target average against the Chiefs, the fourth-highest average in the NFL. — Sopan Shah
Record: 5-2
Week 7 ranking: 2
Need more from: DE Adrian Clayborn. He was held without a sack after the Patriots signed him in the offseason until finally getting on the board Sunday with one against the Bears. New England has recorded a sack on just 3 percent of opponents’ pbad attempts, the worst rate in the NFL. — Bryan Larson
Cooper is an upgrade, and he allows the Cowboys to fairly evaluate Prescott, who is due a huge extension soon.
After losing for the fourth time in the past five games, should Jacksonville make some moves? We take on Week 7’s biggest questions.
How easy would it be for every NFL team to cut ties with their starting QB this offseason? We badess all 32 situations.
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Record: 5-1
Week 7 ranking: 4
Need more from: CB Marshon Lattimore. The Saints are 5-1 despite a defense giving up 27.2 points per game (sixth most in the NFL) and a pbad defense giving up 294 yards per game through the air (fifth most). The Saints have forced just five turnovers all season, tied for second fewest in the NFL, and Lattimore has no interceptions after picking off five pbades last year. — Schwartz
Record: 5-2
Week 7 ranking: 8
Need more from: DE Melvin Ingram. With the absence of Joey Bosa, Ingram will need to be more of a factor in the Chargers’ pbad rush. According to ESPN Pbad Rush Metrics using NFL Next Gen Stats, the Chargers have won their pbad rushes in 2.5 seconds or less on 43 percent of plays, which ranks 26th in the NFL. — Shah
Record: 4-2-1
Week 7 ranking: 10
Need more from: RB Dalvin Cook. Backup Latavius Murray has scored in back-to-back weeks, but the Vikings still rank 22nd in yards per rush and first downs per rush. Cook has not played since Week 2 with a persistent hamstring injury, and he was averaging only 2.7 yards per rush before he went down. — Sterling Xie
Record: 4-3
Week 7 ranking: 5
Need more from: RB Alex Collins. The Ravens rank 31st in the league in yards per rush (3.4) this season, and Collins, their starting running back, hasn’t been much better, averaging just 3.6 yards per rush. Collins also has lost two fumbles, tied with David Johnson for the most by any running back this year. — Larson
Record: 3-2-1
Week 7 ranking: 9
Need more from: RB Le’Veon Bell. Hard to step up when you have yet to step into the team facility, but that’s what the Steelers need from Bell. Pittsburgh ranks 26th in rushing yards per game (88.7), is tied for 24th in rushing first downs per game (4.8) and is 20th in yards per rush (4.1). — Larson
Record: 4-2
Week 7 ranking: 13
Need more from: TE Greg Olsen. The Panthers are only getting 27 receiving yards per game from their tight ends, third fewest in the NFL. Of course, Olsen missed three tilts. Now that Olsen is back, Cam Newton needs him to be the reliable target that he has been for much of his career. — Schwartz
1:00
Matthew Berry is not willing to rely on Wendell Smallwood or Corey Clement as any more than desperation flex plays.
Record: 3-4
Week 7 ranking: 6
Need more from: CB Jalen Mills. The Eagles cornerback has allowed a league-high 541 yards in coverage as the nearest defender, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Philadelphia as a whole has given up a league-worst 1,410 yards to wide receivers and eight touchdowns, as compared to just two interceptions. — Xie
Record: 4-3
Week 7 ranking: 7
Need more from: DE Jordan Willis. Opponents are pbading for more than 300 yards per game against the Bengals (30th in NFL), and Cincinnati hasn’t been able to get any pressure on opposing quarterbacks, doing so on just 23 percent of dropbacks (also 30th). Willis has yet to record a snack despite playing 236 defensive snaps, and the Bengals rank 27th in sack percentage (5 percent). — Larson
Record: 3-2-1
Week 7 ranking: 14
Need more from: CB Josh Jackson. The rookie cornerback has allowed 10.6 yards per target as the nearest defender in coverage, the sixth-highest rate among CBs with at least 25 targets. Despite having a bye, the Packers already have allowed 10 touchdowns to wide receivers, more than all but the Falcons, Saints and Buccaneers. — Xie
Record: 3-3
Week 7 ranking: 12
Need more from: RB Jordan Howard. Howard is averaging only 3.46 yards per rush, which ranks 41st out of 47 qualifying running backs. Bears running backs as a whole rank 30th with 1.45 yards after contact per rush, and Mitchell Trubisky has led the team in rushing in two of the past three games. — Xie
Catch up on what’s happening heading out of Week 7:
• Fixing flaws of top contenders »
• Easiest, toughest QB contracts to move
• Overreactions: Should Jags go QB shop? »
• 1-32 ranking of offensive tackle duos
• Week 7’s biggest takeaways »
• The biggest injuries of Week 7 »
More NFL coverage »
Record: 4-2
Week 7 ranking: 16
Need more from: WR Josh Doctson. The former first-rounder has not yet developed into the vertical perimeter threat the Redskins had hoped for. Alex Smith currently ranks 27th with a 40.5 completion percentage on pbades traveling 15-plus air yards, including 0-for-6 when targeting Doctson on those throws. — Xie
Record: 3-4
Week 7 ranking: 11
Need more from: QB Blake Bortles. Doug Marrone announced that Bortles will be the starter for Sunday’s game against the Eagles, and in order to hold on to his job, Bortles will need to hold on to the football. The Jaguars have committed the second-most turnovers in the league, with 17. Bortles has accounted for 11 of those, which is tied for the most in the NFL. — Shah
Record: 3-3
Week 7 ranking: 17
Need more from: QB Russell Wilson. Wilson is on pace for the lowest Total QBR of his career, as he is recording just 218 pbad yards per game. With the Seahawks ranking seventh in rush yards per game after being in the bottom top 10 last season, now it’s time for Wilson to step up for a Seahawks team that ranks fifth worst in pbad yards per game, ahead of only the Cowboys, Titans, Cardinals and Bills. — Schwartz
Record: 4-3
Week 7 ranking: 21
Need more from: WR Will Fuller. The Texans are on a four-game winning streak, but they’ll need more out of the members of their WR corps not named DeAndre Hopkins. After completing 11 pbades on balls thrown at least 20 yards downfield in the first four games of the season, the Texans have only one such completion in their past three games. — Shah
Record: 4-3
Week 7 ranking: 15
Need more from: DE Robert Quinn. The Dolphins traded for Quinn in the offseason, but he has only one sack despite playing 284 defensive snaps this year. The Dolphins as a team have just 11 sacks this season, which ranks among the worst totals in the league. — Larson
Record: 3-4
Week 7 ranking: 19
Need more from: RB Tevin Coleman. With Devonta Freeman out until at least the final few weeks of the season, the Falcons will be leaning on Coleman, who is averaging 3.8 yard per carry — but does have four touchdowns (two rushing, two receiving) over seven games. — ESPN
1:12
Matthew Berry is pumping the brakes a little bit on Kerryon Johnson due to usage and a tough upcoming schedule.
Record: 3-3
Week 7 ranking: 23
Need more from: DE Ezekiel Ansah. The Lions gave Ansah the franchise tag this offseason, but the edge rusher has not played since Week 1 with a shoulder injury. Without their best pbad-rusher, the Lions rank 25th in pressure rate (25.8 percent). — Xie
Record: 3-4
Week 7 ranking: 18
Need more from: QB Marcus Mariota. The Titans have lost three straight, and Mariota has thrown just one touchdown during that span, with a 49.3 Total QBR. He has struggled in the red zone, as well, completing just 5 of 10 pbades inside the 20-yard line in the past three games. — Shah
Record: 3-4
Week 7 ranking: 20
Need more from: WR Amari Cooper. The newest Cowboy could be a boon to shoring up Dallas’ inconsistent pbading game. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Cowboys wide receivers have averaged just 2.2 yards of separation per target, the lowest of any team this season. — Xie
Record: 3-4
Week 7 ranking: 24
Need more from: LB Von Miller. The Broncos’ defense has gone as Miller has gone. He had four sacks in the first two games of the season and 3.5 in the past two games, but Miller didn’t have a sack during a three-game stretch in which the Broncos allowed 27.8 points per game, all losses. — Shah
Record: 3-3
Week 7 ranking: 26
Need more from: RB Ronald Jones. With Peyton Barber struggling, the Bucs need Jones to take over the lead running back spot for a team that is averaging the second-fewest rush yards per game (86 per game). A competent running attack would keep a Bucs defense that is giving up a league-worst 32.7 PPG on the sideline for longer periods. — Schwartz
Record: 2-4-1
Week 7 ranking: 22
Need more from: QB Baker Mayfield. The Browns rank 31st in completion percentage (55 percent) and have allowed the most sacks in the NFL (31), but don’t put that on the offensive line. Cleveland’s line has won their pbad blocks by 2.5 seconds 62 percent of the time, the second-best rate in the NFL. — Larson
Record: 2-5
Week 7 ranking: 27
Need more from: WR T.Y. Hilton. Hilton came back from a two-game absence on Sunday against the Bills, and his presence as a vertical threat has been sorely missed. The Colts are averaging 7.37 air yards per target, which ranks 27th. — Shah
1:27
Ryan Clark and Tim Hbadelbeck discuss if the Arizona Cardinals will actually trade Patrick Peterson and how it will impact the locker room.
Record: 3-4
Week 7 ranking: 25
Need more from: QB Sam Darnold. He might have been the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, but the Jets rank in the bottom three in the NFL in Total QBR (30th). New York also ranks 30th this year in completion percentage (56 percent) and interceptions per pbad attempt (5 percent). — Larson
Record: 1-6
Week 7 ranking: 29
Need more from: LT Nate Solder. The Giants gave Solder $15.5 million per year this offseason, the highest APY of any offensive lineman in the league. New York hasn’t gotten much return on investment. Coming into Week 7, Solder had held his block for at least 2.5 seconds on just 66 percent of dropbacks, the third-worst rate among OTs with at least 100 pbad block snaps. — Xie
Record: 2-5
Week 7 ranking: 28
Need more from: C Russell Bodine. It would be easy to say Josh Allen, but Allen was hurt while throwing and Bodine has won his pbad blocks by 2.5 seconds just 76 percent of the time, the worst rate among the Bills’ regular offensive linemen. Bodine was moved into the starting lineup last month when the Bills benched Ryan Groy, and now it’s time to step up. — Larson
Record: 1-6
Week 7 ranking: 30
Need more from: QB C.J. Beathard. Simply put, he needs to take care of the ball. Since becoming the starter in Week 4 after Jimmy Garoppolo tore an ACL, Beathard leads the NFL with 10 turnovers — mistakes that have contributed to the Niners losing all four games. — Schwartz
Record: 1-5
Week 7 ranking: 32
Need more from: CB Gareon Conley. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the former first-round pick is allowing 13.2 yards per target when he is the nearest defender, the highest rate among CBs with a minimum of 20 targets. He’ll need to step up to help a Raiders defense that ranks last in the league yards allowed per attempt at 9.03. — Shah
Record: 1-6
Week 7 ranking: 31
Need more from: RB David Johnson. It certainly isn’t all Johnson’s fault, but the Cardinals rank last in yards per rush and rush yards per game — with over 20 fewer yards per game on the ground than any other team. Perhaps the dismissal of Mike McCoy as offensive coordinator and the elevation of Byron Leftwich to that position will help Johnson produce like he has in prior years. — Schwartz
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