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NFL Week 7 Power Rankings: Baker Mayfield headlines group of redemption QBs powering playoff contenders

Written by Lucky Wilson | KJMM.COM on October 14, 2025

NFL Week 7 Power Rankings: Baker Mayfield headlines group of redemption QBs powering playoff contenders

Pete Prisco shares his Power Rankings heading into Week 7 of the 2025 season

Oct 14, 2025 at 5:00 am ET • 1 min read

Kim O’Reilly, CBS Sports

Baker Mayfield would be the NFL MVP right now since his Tampa Bay Buccaneers sit atop the NFC with a 5-1 record and he’s putting up good numbers.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has his team at 4-2 and leads the NFL in yards per attempt when most quarterbacks won’t throw down the field.

Daniel Jones has his Indianapolis Colts at 5-1, which would make them the AFC’s top seed as Jones has played at the highest level of his career.

Being in the right system with the right team really does matter for quarterbacks. These three are all playing outstanding football, and their teams are all in the top 10 of my Power Rankings. The Bucs are now first, while the Colts are fifth and the Seahawks are eighth.

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I won’t exactly lump Mayfield in with the other two, in large part because he had success early with the Cleveland Browns before a shoulder injury derailed him there, only to have two more stops before landing in Tampa.

Darnold and Jones were considered failed first-round picks by the Jets and Giants before resurrecting their careers — Darnold last season with the Vikings and Jones this year.

Mayfield has 11 touchdown passes, one interception and three game-winning drives. He has done so with a banged-up offense that saw him throwing to his fifth, sixth and seventh receivers in the second half of his team’s victory over the 49ers on Sunday.

The Seahawks beat the Jaguars this week because of Darnold’s big plays. He has 11 touchdowns and three picks while completing 70.8% of his passes.

As for Jones, he’s completing 71.7% of his passes with eight touchdowns and three picks. He’s also run for two scores.

This season is off to a crazy start, but four years ago if you said that Mayfield, Jones and Darnold would be in any MVP conversation, they would have called for you to get an immediate drug test. Now look.

Reclamation quarterbacks are real — at least for now.

Biggest Movers

Rk	Teams		Chg	Rcrd
1	Buccaneers	Despite all the injuries, they are 5-1 and hold the top seed in the NFC right now. When they get the injured back on offense, look out.	3	5-1-0
2	Packers	At 3-1-1, they came off their bye and handled the Bengals — even if it wasn’t pretty — as the defense showed better than it did in the loss to the Cowboys. They’ve been hit hard by injuries.	5	3-1-1
3	Steelers	At 4-1, they have a nice hold of the AFC North with the other teams struggling. Aaron Rodgers is playing good football with 10 touchdown passes and three picks.	2	4-1-0
4	Colts	At 5-1, they are the top seed in the AFC right now. They haven’t exactly beaten up on a lot of good opponents, which is why this week’s game against the Chargers is a big game.	2	5-1-0
5	Lions	The secondary being crippled by injuries showed up in the loss to the Chiefs. Now they face a tough Tampa Bay offense led by Baker Mayfield.	4	4-2-0
6	Broncos	They have won two straight, but the offense needs more from the passing game. Bo Nix has to be better down the field.	4	4-2-0
7	Seahawks	The defensive front was dominant in the victory over the Jaguars with seven sacks. Mike Macdonald has himself a nasty unit on defense, and Sam Darnold loves the deep ball.	7	4-2-0
8	Rams	It wasn’t pretty against the Ravens, but good teams find a way to win those games. Now they head to London to play the Jaguars.	3	4-2-0
9	Patriots	Mike Vrabel has done a nice job with this team, and Drake Maye is growing into a franchise quarterback. They are 4-2 and a real threat to the Bills.	4	4-2-0
10	Bills	They have major issues right now on the defensive side of the ball, and the offense has no speed down the field. They limp into their bye with two straight losses.	7	4-2-0
11	Chiefs	That might have been a season-saving victory over the Lions. They’ll get receiver Rashee Rice back from suspension this week, which will really help the offense.	5	3-3-0
12	Eagles	This team is a mess. The offense is disjointed and now the defense has issues. Proof again how hard it is to repeat.	10	4-2-0
13	Chargers	They found a way against Miami, even with a banged-up line. Justin Herbert knows how to win games late — at least in the regular season.	2	4-2-0
14	Jaguars	The offensive line was putrid in the loss to the Seahawks. Now they face a good Rams front in London. Good luck with that.	6	4-2-0
15	49ers	How much more can they take? They lost linebacker Fred Warner, the heart of their defense, in the loss to Tampa Bay. He’s gone for the year, joining edge star Nick Bosa, which really dampens their playoff hopes.	6	4-2-0
16	Vikings	They come off their bye with a big home game against a desperate Eagles team. It looks like J.J. McCarthy should be back under center for the Vikings this week.	1	3-2-0
17	Bears	That was a big-time road victory Monday night against Washington. Caleb Williams is much improved over last season.	4	3-2-0
18	Falcons	The defense came up big in the victory over the Bills, and running back Bijan Robinson was fantastic. Now comes a tough road test at San Francisco.	2	3-2-0
19	Commanders	They lost a tough one to the Bears, and the biggest concern remains the defense. They give up a lot of big plays because of poor tackling.	7	3-3-0
20	Texans	Coming off their bye, they face a tough road game at Seattle. Their offensive line, which has struggled, will be challenged in a big way in that one.	2	2-3-0
21	Panthers	At 3-3, they have to be happy where they are right now. The run game is impressive, even if it did come against two of the worst run defenses the past two weeks.	3	3-3-0
22	Cowboys	The run defense is awful. They’ve given up an average of 174 yards on the ground the past three weeks. The offense isn’t saving them from that mess.	3	2-3-1
23	Ravens	They head into the bye as the season’s biggest disappointment so far. Lamar Jackson is expected back after the time off, and boy, do they need him after starting 1-5.	1	1-5-0
24	Cardinals	Do they have a Kyler Murray problem? Jacoby Brissett played much better than Murray has this season in the loss to the Colts.	1	2-4-0
25	Raiders	It wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty in beating the Titans, but they are now 2-4 heading into Chiefs week. The offense will need to be better this week.	2	2-4-0
26	Giants	Jaxson Dart has brought life to this team, which it badly needed. The defense also came up big against the Eagles.	2	2-4-0
27	Bengals	Joe Flacco looked better than Jake Browning in losing to the Packers. But how much better? They have a short week with a game against the division-leading Steelers this week.	2	2-4-0
28	Browns	Dillon Gabriel threw it more than 50 times in the loss to the Steelers. That should never happen. They have to run it better.	2	1-5-0
29	Titans	They fired coach Brian Callahan on Monday, but does it matter? Cam Ward needs to pick up his play this week against the Patriots.	—	1-5-0
30	Saints	Playing teams close might be what they have to play for this season. Spencer Rattler is improving at quarterback.	—	1-5-0
31	Dolphins	Now they have Tua Tagovailoa questioning his teammates. This team is done. Also, the defense is horrible.	—	1-5-0
32	Jets	They are still winless, even when the defense showed up against Denver. Aaron Glenn has to turn it around quickly, or there will be calls for a one-and-done.	—	0-6-0