NFL Power Rankings Week 7

1. Los Angeles Rams (6-0)

Todd Gurley rushed for a career-high 208 yards as the Rams remained perfect on the season.

Todd Gurley leads the NFL with 11 touchdowns. (Isaiah J. Downing/USA Today Sports)

2. New England Patriots (4-2)

The Patriots handed the Chiefs their first loss of the season in a 43-point scoring effort in which they did not punt or commit a single penalty—the first time in the Super Bowl era that a team played an entire game without punting or being charged a penalty.

3. Kansas City Chiefs (5-1)

The Chiefs were unstoppable on offense in the second half, scoring 31 of their 40 points after intermission. Tyreek Hill had 142 receiving yards with three touchdowns for the game and Kareem Hunt posted 185 yards from scrimmage with one receiving touchdown. Patrick Mahomes played well, recording 352 passing yards and four TDs, but he did throw two costly interceptions in the first half—one of which came in the redzone.

4. New Orleans Saints (4-1)

The idle Saints lead the NFC South by a full game after Carolina lost at Washington.

5. Los Angeles Chargers (4-2)

The visiting Chargers destroyed the Browns behind Melvin Gordon and Tyrell Williams. Gordon rushed for 132 yards and scored a career-high three touchdowns. Williams caught two TDs and totaled 118 receiving yards.

6. Minnesota Vikings (3-2-1)

Adam Thielen leads the NFL in receiving yards (712) after collecting 11 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s win over Arizona. He also has the longest streak of 100-yard games (6) to start a season in the Super Bowl era (one shy of tying the NFL record) and has caught a league-high 58 passes, the most a player has recorded through the first six games in NFL history. He is on pace to grab 154 receptions for the season.

7. Philadelphia Eagles (3-3)

Carson Wentz completed 26 of 36 passes for 278 yards and three TDs in a commanding road win versus the division-rival Giants.

8. Baltimore Ravens (4-2)

The Ravens recorded a franchise-record 11 sacks and pitched a shutout on the road at Tennessee.

9. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2-1)

The run defense remains elite, allowing only 62 rushing yards to the Bengals. On the other side of the ball, James Conner managed 111 rushing yards and two TDs on just 11 carries, continuing to look dominant in the absence of Le’Veon Bell.

Twitter Ads info and privacy

10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2)

The Bengals surrendered over 480 yards for the second time in the past three weeks, failing to record a sack as Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger won in Cincinnati for the third consecutive year.

11. Carolina Panthers (3-2)

Rookie D.J. Moore lost two fumbles in the first half, leading to 10 points for the Redskins. The Panthers’ comeback came up short as they fell to 0-2 on the road this season. Up next is a matchup against the defending champions in Philadelphia.

12. Miami Dolphins (4-2)

Brock Osweiler played terrific in place of injured starting QB Ryan Tannehill, throwing for 380 yards and three TDs against Chicago’s vaunted defense. Albert Wilson, a speedster and suddenly a big-play specialist, caught six passes for a career-best 155 yards with two touchdowns in the overtime win.

Twitter Ads info and privacy

13. Chicago Bears (3-2)

Losing to a backup quarterback off a bye week is unacceptable for the Bears, who looked flat defensively against the Dolphins despite the extra time off.

14. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3)

Blake Bortles is unwatchable right now and the defense looks soft, giving up 206 rushing yards in an embarrassing 40-7 loss at Dallas.

15. Tennessee Titans (3-3)

The Titans gave up more sacks (11) than Marcus Mariota had completions (10). They failed to score and have managed a mere 12 points in the past two contests.

Rest of the Pack

16. Washington Redskins (3-2)

17. Green Bay Packers (3-2-1)

18. Seattle Seahawks (3-3)

19. Dallas Cowboys (3-3)

20. Cleveland Browns (2-3-1)

21. Detroit Lions (2-3)

22. Houston Texans (3-3)

23. New York Jets (3-3)

24. Denver Broncos (2-4)

25. Atlanta Falcons (2-4)

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-3)

27. Buffalo Bills (2-4)

28. New York Giants (1-5)

29. Indianapolis Colts (1-5)

30. Arizona Cardinals (1-5)

31. San Francisco 49ers (1-5)

32. Oakland Raiders (1-5)

Tom Brady Accepts Blame for Patriots' Loss: 'About as bad as you can do for a QB'

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady did not mince words when asked about his performance in his team's shocking 35-28 loss to the visiting Philadelphia Eagles. The future Hall of Famer threw two interceptions in the defeat, one of which was returned 99 yards for a touchdown by the Eagles' Malcolm Jenkins.

“The first interception was bad quarterbacking,” Brady said. “The team trusts you to put the ball in your hands and make good decisions with it, and that was a terrible decision. So it’s unfortunate because those cost you the game, and I’ve got to do a better job.” 

It was a rough afternoon for Tom Brady, who threw two picks in New England's second straight loss. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

With the score knotted at 14 and 7:42 remaining in the third quarter, Brady tried to force a pass to receiver Danny Amendola at the goal line on third-and-5 that Jenkins returned to the house.

“It was just a dumb play,” Brady said of his pick-six pass. “There was really not much chance of a completion, so I should’ve just probably thrown it out of the back of the end zone or found someone else to throw it to. We would’ve kicked three points...That's about as bad as you can do for a quarterback."

Brady threw another interception later in the quarter. He completed just 29-of-56 passes with a season-low 71.4 passer rating.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick claimed the Patriots did not executive properly in any phases of the game, including defense and special teams.

“Just overall, we obviously didn’t do anything well enough (Sunday),” Belichick said. “Didn’t do enough on offense, turned the ball over, gave up two third-down touchdowns on defense, didn’t play well in the kicking game. Just really didn’t do anything well enough to really win.”

The second consecutive loss for the Patriots (10-2) dropped them to the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoff picture as the Denver Broncos (10-2) moved into the No. 2 seed. The Cincinnati Bengals (10-2) vaulted to the conference's top seed. 

Philadelphia Eagles Win McCoy-Alonso Trade

USA Today Sports

            In a blockbuster move, the Philadelphia Eagles will trade star running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso.

            There are rarely player-for-player deals of this magnitude executed in the NFL. This deal is particularly intriguing because two well-known players were swapped by two high-profile coaches—the Bills’ Rex Ryan and the Eagles’ Chip Kelly.

            McCoy instantly becomes the face of the Bills’ offense, which ranked 25^th in rushing in 2014. In his six seasons with the Eagles, McCoy posted four 1,000-yard rushing campaigns, including a career-best 1,607 yards in 2013. Over the past five years, McCoy has rushed for more yards (6,155) than any other running back in the NFL. Overall, the former second-round draft pick rushed 1,461 times for 6,792 yards and 44 touchdowns in his tenure in Philadelphia. He also hauled in 300 receptions for 2,282 yards and 10 touchdowns.

            Alonso—the former Oregon Duck who played his senior season under the tutelage of Kelly—joins a strong linebacker crew in Philadelphia. Alongside Mychal Kendricks, Alonso can help form one of the fastest interior linebacker duos in the NFL. Alonso finished as the runner-up to New York Jets defensive end Sheldon Richardson for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2013. In his rookie season, Alonso led the Bills with 159 tackles and was tied for the team lead with four interceptions. He had two fumble recoveries and appeared in all 16 games. However, the 24-year-old sat out the entire 2014 season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee in a July workout at Oregon.

Who Won the Trade?

            The stunning trade leaves the Eagles thin at running back with just Darren Sproles and Chris Polk on the depth chart. Kelly, though, can address this in the upcoming draft—one that features plenty of talent at tailback. The Eagles could wait until the second or third-round and still land an explosive halfback. University of Miami’s Duke Johnson, Indiana’s Tevin Coleman and Auburn’s Cameron Artis-Payne all possess the necessities to fit in with Kelly’s unique offense—that is line up out of the shotgun often, run inside and outside the tackles and be a reliable threat in the passing game.

            The Eagles moved on from McCoy at the right time. He turns 27 in July and has a $10.25 million cap hit for 2015. His current contract runs through the 2017 season, earning base salaries of $6.9 million in '16, and $7.6 million in '17. McCoy had no interest in restructuring his deal—signed in May 2012—so the Bills must pay a hefty price for their running back over the next three seasons. Alonso, meanwhile, is still on his rookie contract, which pays him just under $1 million next season.

            Alonso will fit well in the Eagles 3-4 defense. Alonso and his soon-to-be-teammate Kendricks are both quick with great coverage skills. Reuniting with his college coach should help further develop Alonso, who will likely improve Philadelphia’s struggles against the run (15^th) and pass (31^st) from last year.

            McCoy is still a top-flight halfback with the potential to 
thrive in a ground-and-pound offense that the Bills are expected to utilize next season. But the career lifespan of running backs in the NFL is not long. Come next season McCoy will be 27—the cliff age of running backs, according to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. And as good as McCoy has been for the Eagles, he is not irreplaceable. 

            Acquiring a rising star in Alonso—who has shown flashes of Luke Kuechly—puts the Eagles in great shape for the future. Shedding immense salary cap is an added bonus in a fantastic trade for Philadelphia. The Bills may win the trade in 2015—but in five years we are more likely to be raving about Alonso, the stud linebacker who reformed Kelly's defense for several seasons.