(RADIO.COM Sports) For two weeks, the Seahawks were at No. 1 in our RADIO.COM Sports NFL Power Rankings, but that felt more indicative of what Russell Wilson has done this season than what Pete Carroll's team is as a whole.
The Seahawks slipped up Sunday, blowing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter of an eventual overtime loss to Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. But their offense still scored 34 points. Perhaps you can wonder why Carroll didn't let Wilson cook sooner, but unleashing the offense has proved to be a stroke of genius, as the Seahawks are averaging more than 33 points per game.
Even in a game in which Wilson was intercepted three times, he still threw for 388 yards and tossed three touchdowns, all of which were caught by Tyler Lockett in a career game.
The problem is that for as much as you associate Carroll-led Seahawks teams with playing great defense, they've been abysmal on that side of the ball. Through six games, the Seahawks are allowing a league-worst 479.2 yards per game, and opponents are averaging 28.6 points per game against them. It's at the point that if the Seahawks don't score 30-plus points per, they could be in trouble.
The Seahawks are still among the elite teams in the NFL, but they need safety Jamal Adams back and could stand to make another impact addition to their defense before the trade deadline next Tuesday.
Here are our full RADIO.COM Sports NFL power rankings ahead of Week 8.
Extremely deep Steelers are 6–0
Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers are undefeated.
Steve Roberts/USA Today Sports
1. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: No. 2)
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: No. 3)
3. Seattle Seahawks (Last week: No. 1)
4. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: No. 4)
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last week: No. 6)
Perhaps they don't have a star like Antonio Brown or Le'Veon Bell as they have in years past, but this Steelers team is one of the deepest groups that Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger have had together. Much has been made of the team's elite defensive talent, but the offense flexed its depth in a win against the previously undefeated Titans on Sunday. After back-to-back explosive performances, Chase Claypool was used largely as a decoy, catching just one pass for minus-2 yards. Still, the Steelers moved the ball effectively, as both JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson had nine catches. Ray-Ray McCloud is a gadget weapon in the offense, one that it feels like the team will continue to lean on more as the season goes on. After an underwhelming 2019, James Connor is averaging 4.7 yards per rush in 2020. If Pittsburgh comes through with a convincing victory in Baltimore this weekend, it's possible the Steelers jump to the top spot.
What does loss of Odell Beckham Jr. mean for Browns?
Odell Beckham Jr. is out for the season.
Justin Casterline/Getty Images
6. Green Bay Packers (Last week: No. 7)
7. Tennessee Titans (Last week: No. 5)
8. New Orleans Saints (Last week: No. 8)
9. Cleveland Browns (Last week: No. 9)
10. Arizona Cardinals (Last week: No. 12)
Odell Beckham Jr. had three touchdowns -- two receiving, one rushing -- in Cleveland's 49-38 victory in Dallas in Week 4. At that time, it felt like the Browns had figured out how to utilize one of the most explosive weapons in the sport. However, Beckham had just 83 receiving yards in the following two weeks and suffered a season-ending torn ACL on Sunday. After Beckham left, Baker Mayfield had arguably the best game of his career, completing nearly 80% of his passes and tossing five touchdowns. No team improves with the loss of Beckham, but you wonder if Mayfield won't be at peace without feeling like he has to involve Beckham. Even without him, the Browns still have Jarvis Landry, Austin Hooper and David Njoku in the passing game, among others. As we inch closer to the return of Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt also continues to be a valuable weapon on the ground and out of the backfield. Of course, the Browns didn't want to lose Beckham, but his absence doesn't dash the hopes of a playoff berth for the first time since 2002 in Cleveland.
Since 4–0 Start, Bills have been pretty underwhelming
Devin Singletary and the Bills have struggled to get things going on the ground in 2020.
Elsa/Getty Images
11. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: No. 11)
12. Buffalo Bills (Last week: No. 10)
13. Los Angeles Rams (Last week: No. 15)
14. Chicago Bears (Last week: No. 13)
15. Las Vegas Raiders (Last week: No. 14)
After the first four weeks, the Bills were 4-0 and Josh Allen was one of the top NFL MVP candidates. When we update that race at the halfway point of the season, Allen will be lucky to be in the top five. That said, after consecutive losses and a underwhelming win against the lowly Jets, Allen is far from the team's biggest concern. The Bills are allowing 126.7 yards per game on the ground and aren't returning the favor with their own running game. At 97.0 rushing yards per game, the the Bills have the 29th-ranked rushing attack in the league. After an impressive rookie season in which he average 5.1 yards per carry, Devin Singletary has regressed to 3.8 yards per carry in his sophomore campaign. Third-round pick Zack Moss has been relatively underwhelming in his rookie season, though he did rush for 47 yards on seven carries Sunday, so perhaps that's a sign that his role is going to expand in the second half of the season. As is, the Bills are the favorite to win a pretty hapless AFC East, but to make any sort of playoff run, they'll need to rely less on Allen to be a superstar every week.
It's Tua time in Miami
Tua Tagovailoa is set to make his first start.
James Gilbert/Getty Images
16. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: No. 17)
17. Miami Dolphins (Last week: No. 18)
18. Los Angeles Chargers (Last week: No. 20)
19. Detroit Lions (Last week: No. 21)
20. New England Patriots (Last week: No. 16)
The Dolphins have won three of their last four games, including outscoring the 49ers and Jets by a combined 67-17 margin in their last two games. Still, it was hardly a quiet bye week in Miami, as the team made the decision to turn to No. 5 overall pick Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback. The move was inevitable, but the timing was pretty surprising. Ryan Fitzpatrick was in a hot stretch and seemed distraught by the news. In five years, we won't wonder whether the Dolphins should have stuck with a 37-year-old Fitzpatrick, but might we wonder if Brian Flores should have waited an extra week or two if the Dolphins get off to a slow start against the Rams this coming Sunday? Fitzpatrick was bound to go cold -- that's what he's done his entire career. If the Dolphins had waited for that, it would've made for a pretty smooth transition. Now, you wonder if there will be some on the team that feel Fitzpatrick didn't get a fair shake, even if we knew that him being benched was coming at some point.
At 2-4-1, the Eagles, we guess, are favorites to host a playoff game
Carson Wentz and the Eagles are leading the lowly NFC East.
Joe Lamberti/USA Today Sports
21. Carolina Panthers (Last week: No. 19)
22. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: No. 22)
23. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: No. 23)
24. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: No. 26)
25. Washington Football Team (Last week: No. 31)
For the first time in close to 20 years, the Eagles look like a roster that needs to be completely overhauled. For a few years now, the receiving corps has been underwhelming. A once-stout offensive line got old in a hurry and needs to be rebuilt rather than continuing to attempt to get one more year out of Jason Peters. Jim Schwartz's defense has had some impressive moments, but the Eagles are giving up 28 points per game and are led by Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham on that side of the ball, two players almost certainly closer to the end of their respective peaks than the beginning. Because of the state of the NFC East, the Eagles may win the division for the second consecutive season and third time in four years. They can't, however, let a home playoff game fool them -- this isn't a team that's close to competing for a Super Bowl, and the Eagles need to operate with that in mind next offseason.
Cowboys turning in putrid 2020 campaign
Andy Dalton was concussed this past week.
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
26. Houston Texans (Last week: No. 24)
27. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: No. 25)
28. Atlanta Falcons (Last week: No. 28)
29. Denver Broncos (Last week: No. 27)
30. New York Giants (Last week: No. 30)
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: No. 29)
32. New York Jets (Last week: No. 32)
Once seen as a potential Super Bowl contender, the Cowboys are instead enduring a disastrous first season under Mike McCarthy. The latest blow was Andy Dalton getting concussed on a dirty hit -- one that drew next-to-no reaction from his teammates -- in a 25-3 loss to the Washington Football Team. To make matters worse, the Cowboys are set to play their second nationally televised game in three weeks, as they'll travel to Philadelphia to play the Eagles on Sunday Night Football. If Dalton can't clear concussion protocol, Ben DiNucci will start for the Cowboys, aided by a defense that has given up 34.7 points per game in 2020. It's ugly in Dallas right now, and it seems that it could get even worse in the coming weeks.
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