Week 7 NFL Picks & Power Rankings

What would you rather do on a Saturday morning afternoon than wake up early late and read weekly picks and power rankings involving 32 teams that basically are of equal strength and ability to beat, lose to or tie anyone on any given Sunday, Monday, Saturday, Thursday (and some day, when the revenue ceiling needs to be extended to a gazillion bazillion dollars, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday as well)?

CRAIG'S NFL POWER RANKINGS
BEST OF THE BUNCH
1. Patriots (5-0)
Last week: Patriots.
Why: They're 3-0 on the road and have scored 28 or more points in each of their five wins.

THE REST

2, Packers (6-0); 3, Bengals (6-0); 4, Broncos (6-0); 5, Panthers (5-0); 6, Jets (4-1); 7, Steelers (4-2); 8, Eagles (3-3); 9, Saints (2-4); 10, Falcons (5-1); 11, Rams (2-3); 12, Seahawks (3-4); 13, Cardinals (4-2); 14, Colts (3-3); 15, Bills (3-3); 16, Giants (3-3).

17, VIKINGS (3-2). (Last week: 16).

Why: You know you're getting old when you find yourself impressed by a team that wins a low-scoring, imperfect NFL game that everybody else spends a whole week whining about. Last week's 16-10 win over the Chiefs moved the Vikings to No. 2 in scoring defense (16.6).

THE REST OF THE REST
18, Raiders (2-3); 19, Cowboys (2-3); 20, Chargers (2-4); 21, Texans (2-4); 22, 49ers (2-4); 23, Dolphins (2-3); 24, Browns (2-4); 25, Redskins (2-4); 26, Lions (1-5); 27, Bears (2-4); 28, Ravens (1-5); 29, Buccaneers (2-3); 30, Titans (1-4); 31, Jaguars (1-5).

Why?: They've lost five straight and have no offensive identity. Other than that …

THREE REASONS FOR VIKINGS FANS TO BE HOPEFUL

1, The Lions are last in the league in giveaways (18), turnover ratio (minus-8), points allowed off turnovers (59) and turnover points differential (minus-41).

2, The Lions' 26^th-ranked run defense (120.7) misses Ndamukong Suh as much as he misses Detroit.

3, The Vikings have a cornerback, Xavier Rhodes, who doesn't give up easy yards to Calvin Johnson.

1, The Vikings are 1-14-1 in their last 16 division road games going back to 2009. They're even 1-4 in Detroit, for gosh sakes.

2, The law of averages suggests the Lions aren't going to lose the turnover battle in every game they play. They've lost that battle in all six games this season and seven straight overall going back to last year's postseason loss to the Cowboys.

3, The Lions held NFL rushing leader Matt Forte to 69 yards on 24 carries (2.9) last week. And they're extra motivated considering how soft they were against Adrian Peterson in Week 2.

THE PICKS

VIKINGS

Why?: I'm going with the home team and the belief that the Lions can't possibly keep turning the ball over at the rate they are now (three per game for 18 total, six more than any other team). If the Lions don't turn the ball over, it will be hard for the Vikings to keep pace in terms of scoring.

Last week: Chiefs plus-3 ½ at Vikings. The Pick: Vikings 34, Chiefs 17. The score: Vikings 16, Chiefs 10. Record: 4-1.

THE OTHER GAMES

Bills minus-4 ½ at Jaguars: Jaguars by 3

Falcons minus-3 ½ at Titans: Falcons by 10

Texans plus-5 ½ at Dolphins: Texans by 3

Saints plus-4 ½ at Colts: Saints by 3

Jets plus-8 ½ at Patriots: Patriots by 3

Buccaneers plus-3 ½ at Redskins: Redskins by 7

Raiders plus-4 ½ at Chargers: Chargers by 7

Eagles plus-3 ½ at Panthers: Eagles by 6

Ravens plus-7 ½ at Cardinals: Cardinals by 3

UPSET SPECIAL

Steelers minus-2 ½ at Kansas City: Chiefs 24, Steelers 21.

Why?: The Chiefs lost to the Bears at home two weeks ago as some morons exited survivor pools shaking their heads and asking themselves, "Did I really just put my faith in Alex Smith?" (Guilty). So based on NFL logic, it stands to reason that Kansas City will now win its next home game against a better team.

Last week/overall: 9-4/55-31. Versus spread last week/overall: 10-3/43-42.