With six weeks of the 2024 NFL regular season over, the pretenders and contenders are starting to take shape, and the Arizona Cardinals have a path to getting back to .500 with a favorable schedule coming up.
We polled the Pro Football Network staff to generate the latest version of our consensus Week 7 NFL Power Rankings. Scroll down for our take on the Cardinals and where teams rank above and behind them.
To view the complete list, head to our NFL Week 7 Power Rankings article, where we rank all 32 teams from best to worst.
Where Do the Arizona Cardinals Rank in Our Week 7 NFL Power Rankings?
21) Arizona Cardinals (2-4, Last Week: 16)
For the third time in six weeks, the Arizona Cardinals allowed 34+ points. Their offense has the potential to be explosive when healthy (Marvin Harrison Jr. is currently banged up), but this defense puts them in a position to need to be close to perfect, and that’s not a sustainable way of winning games.
That said, with the Chargers and Dolphins up next, this could be a .500 team in short order. This is a fun team, and without much in the way of potent offenses left on the schedule, this team could be more successful than our power ranking suggests.
Teams Above the Cardinals in PFN’s Power Rankings
Looking for all 32 teams? Check out our full NFL Week 7 Power Rankings article, where you can get analysis on every team.
18) New Orleans Saints (2-4, Last Week: 18)
I’m old enough to remember when the New Orleans Saints had 91 points through two weeks and were pushing for the “Greatest Show on Turf” nickname.
Since that hot start, they’ve lost four straight, the last two coming by a cumulative score of 77-40. Spencer Rattler didn’t look completely overwhelmed (22/40 for 243 yards against the Buccaneers). He won’t be pressured to put up big numbers for the rest of his time filling in for Derek Carr (we don’t know how long that will be, but New Orleans plays the Broncos, Chargers, and Panthers over the next three weeks).
This team can bounce back when at full strength, especially with a very manageable schedule over the next two months, but they’ve lost all benefit of the doubt from that scorching start.
19) New York Jets (2-4, Last Week: 22)
Although the New York Jets made a change at head coach this week, it wasn’t enough to defeat the Bills on Monday night. While New York’s offense looked considerably better with Todd Downing taking over as the team’s play-caller, the Jets were hamstrung by 11 penalties and two missed field goals.
Things aren’t going to get any easier for the Jets moving forward, as they are slated to visit the 4-2 Steelers next week before hosting the 5-1 Texans on Halloween. Considering that the Jets are currently sitting at 2-4 and 10th overall in the AFC, they need to bounce back against stiff competition to remain in the playoff hunt.
20) Cincinnati Bengals (2-4, Last Week: 20)
Heading into Week 6, the Cincinnati Bengals were one of the easiest teams to evaluate in the NFL. Cincinnati was a top-five offense and a bottom-five defense by EPA. While Joe Burrow failed to put up gaudy numbers against the Giants, Cincinnati was able to escape with a much-needed win to improve to 2-4.
Now the Bengals will look to carry their momentum into a divisional matchup against the lowly, one-win Cleveland Browns in Week 7 before drawing the Eagles in a big Week 8 matchup if they want to save their season.
Teams Below the Cardinals in PFN’s Power Rankings
22) Indianapolis Colts (3-3, Last Week: 23)
The Indianapolis Colts have won three of four games and have seen six or fewer points decide every game this season. Without an elite unit on either side, this team will have to show well in these hotly-contested games, and Joe Flacco has proved to be the more stable option under center for those spots.
Anthony Richardson was the emergency QB for Week 6 and seems more likely than not to assume the starting role next week against the Dolphins. With a struggling run defense, this defense will need to get better if they want to remain in the playoff mix.
After the Dolphins next week, they play the Texans, Vikings, and Bills in succession – if they can’t develop consistency on the defensive end, they won’t have to worry about continuing to win close games.
23) Denver Broncos (3-3, Last Week: 21)
Snapped is the Denver Broncos’ three-game winning streak, but they could rebound in short order with games against the Derek Carr-less Saints on Thursday and the Panthers the following Sunday.
The mission of this season is clear, and it’s to develop Bo Nix. If he shows enough to be considered the centerpiece of this rebuild, Sean Payton might be onto something. In the short term, the concussion to Patrick Surtain takes away from the primary strength of this team. This team is .500 through six weeks – they’d be fortunate to go .500 the rest of the way.
24) Los Angeles Rams (1-4, Last Week: 24)
The beat-up Los Angeles Rams should benefit from the early bye as much as anyone, and they are as good a bet as anyone to move up these power rankings in rather short order.
Cooper Kupp is expected to rejoin the team this week with the Raiders coming to town, their first five-game stretch that could see this team win four times (Raiders-Vikings-Seahawks-Dolphins-Patriots). The offense figures to trend up, but if the Aaron Donald-less defense doesn’t improve (dead last in total EPA), it may not matter.
The middle class of the NFC has proven to be ordinary up to this point, leaving the door open for a team like this if they can plug a few holes coming out of the bye.
