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Unbiased NFL Power Rankings, Week 7: The AFC Holds The Power But Who's Number One?

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Another unpredictable weekend of football is behind us but have no fear, the Unbiased Power Rankings are here to cut through the haze and remind you which teams are legit and which ones are merely dressing up as an NFL team for Halloween.

Tier I
Rank
Team
Rating
1
New York Jets
84.0
1
Pittsburgh Steelers
84.0
3
Indianapolis Colts
83.5
4
Baltimore Ravens
83.0
5
Houston Texans
82.5
6
Tennessee Titans
73.0
7
New England Patriots
70.0
8
Atlanta Falcons
69.0
8
New York Giants
69.0
10
Philadelphia Eagles
68.0
Tier II
Rank
Team
Rating
11
Arizona Cardinals
63.0
12
Washington Redskins
58.7
13
St. Louis Rams
57.0
14
New Orleans Saints
53.5
15
Seattle Seahawks
52.5
Tier III
Rank
Team
Rating
16
Jacksonville Jaguars
50.0
17
Denver Broncos
49.0
18
Chicago Bears
48.5
19
Miami Dolphins
44.5
20
Green Bay Packers
43.3
21
San Diego Chargers
42.8
22
Kansas City Chiefs
39.0
23
Oakland Raiders
38.0
Tier IV
Rank
Team
Rating
24
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
34.0
25
Cincinnati Bengals
32.7
26
Dallas Cowboys
28.3
27
Minnesota Vikings
24.0
28
Detroit Lions
23.4
Tier V
Rank
Team
Rating
29
Cleveland Browns
18.6
29
San Francisco 49ers
18.6
31
Buffalo Bills
3.6
32
Carolina Panthers
3.4


Stay tuned for more unbiased goodness as we break down what these rankings mean for the NFL, the NFC and the NFC South including a "it's never too early" playoff preview.

Methodology: The Unbiased Power Rankings are exactly that, unbiased. We take into account a team’s wins, losses and their strength of schedule to arrive at a truly unbiased rating. We have no preseason polls, no preset baselines. Only the performance on the field - this season - matters. Emotion is not welcome here. Still interested? Here's the ingredients we use to make this delicious stew of math-based power rankings.

Each team is awarded five points for a win, regardless of the opponent or where the game is played. Each team is awarded five points for every game a defeated opponent wins. For each loss, we take the total number of opponent wins and divide by the total number of the ranking team's losses.

For example, the Atlanta Falcons have won four games this season. Four wins x five points = 20 points. Their defeated opponents have won nine games (Cardinals 3, Saints 4, 49ers 1, Browns 1). Nine wins x five points = 45 points. They've lost two games this season to team's with a combined eight wins (Steelers 4, Eagles 4). Eight wins / Two losses = 4.0 points. The Falcons Power Rankings would be 20 + 45 + 4.0 = 69.0.

Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.