With six weeks of the 2024 NFL regular season over, the pretenders and contenders are starting to take shape, and the New Orleans Saints are falling into the pretender category. Can they figure it out and get back on track?
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 Saints, along with 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 New Orleans Saints Rank in Our Week 7 NFL Power Rankings?
18) New Orleans Saints (2-4, Last Week: 18)
I’m old enough to remember when the 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.
Teams Above the Saints 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.
15) Seattle Seahawks (3-3, Last Week: 13)
Has the clock struck midnight on the Seahawks?
They opened the season with wins over Bo Nix, Jacoby Brissett, and Skylar Thompson (allowed 14.3 PPG) but have now lost three straight against the likes of Jared Goff, Daniel Jones, and Brock Purdy (35.7 PPG).
I’d argue that this team doesn’t get another game against the bottom-rung of QBs in the NFL this season, making these recent struggles a major concern. Geno Smith has a pair of multi-interception games this season and that’s two more games in which he has multiple touchdown passes.
If this defense is as ordinary as it has looked over the past three weeks, their 13th ranking we assigned them entering Week 6 could prove to be their high water mark moving forward. Seattle travels to Atlanta next week before hosting the Bills, bringing a five-game skid very much into the picture.
16) Los Angeles Chargers (3-2, Last Week: 19)
The Chargers looked good coming off their bye and have a manageable schedule coming up (the struggling Cardinals before facing the Saints, Browns, and Titans). Jim Harbaugh has himself an old-school team that aims to keep games close and make plays late.
Is that a sustainable way to make a living, given this roster? That’s to be determined, but the defense is playing at a high level, and the ground game has been good enough.
This profile would be much more appealing if they had an alpha receiver to threaten defenses, but they don’t, and that means running away from opponents is going to be difficult (they led 23-0 entering the fourth quarter in Week 6 and had to hang on for dear life because they couldn’t land a knockout blow against the Broncos).
17) Dallas Cowboys (3-3, Last Week: 15)
The Cowboys have beaten three bad offenses on the road and lost to three reasonable offenses at home. At this point, it’s hard to label them as anything other than average until they show us something different.
America’s Team goes on bye this week and better use the week off wisely as they get the 49ers, Falcons, Eagles, Texans, and Commanders in the upcoming month. The defense has been inconsistent, creating the need for elite offensive upside, something that isn’t in the cards right now without a stable run game or a running option next to CeeDee Lamb.
Teams Below the Saints in PFN’s Power Rankings
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 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.
21) Arizona Cardinals (2-4, Last Week: 16)
For the third time in six weeks, the Cardinals allowed 34-plus 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.