Week 7 got a little interesting didn’t it? A pair of upsets shocked the NFL over the weekend and began a big question across the league. Is there a truly dominant or elite team in the NFL this season, aside from New England? As we approach the midway point of the season there are a bunch of teams in contention but many of them have a fatal flaw that can be exploited.

We found out for certain that despite the dominant play of the Minnesota defense, the offense is capable of letting down the whole team. Atlanta may have a terrific offense, but a familiar problem is starting to rear its ugly head. They have a lot of trouble against a good passing game. Pittsburgh will only go as far as its health on offense will allow it. Denver is still bringing Trevor Siemian along, so if the running game falters, or sustains another injury (CJ Anderson may be out a few weeks with a bone bruise) they could be in some trouble.

I could go on and on picking apart the weak links of the upper echelon teams in the NFL. Trust me, there are plenty of problems to keep these coaches busy throughout the coming weeks. Many teams will be heading into bye weeks over the next three weeks so we’ll see what adjustments they’ll make as we move forward.

It certainly makes for a very interesting time for analysts and prognosticators as they pick the top teams in the league. As you could probably imagine, I have a few changes to make in my own power rankings this week. Plus, I’ll touch on a team that may be bringing itself back from the dead.

So let’s jump right into the mix and go over my top five teams and the watch list heading into Week 8.

(1) New England Patriots (6-1) – Last Week: 2

Well that didn’t take long for Minnesota to cede the top spot. I wasn’t lying when I said the first Minnesota loss would vault the Patriots back to the top of this list. This is clearly the best team in the NFL right now. The offense is humming with Tom Brady back at the helm and a healthy Rob Gronkowski in the fold. Defensively this team will allow some yards but scoring points is a tough task. This week New England gets a chance to avenge its only loss of the season as they travel to Buffalo to face Bills team that will likely be without Lesean McCoy, among others. If there is one thing the Pats don’t do, it’s lose twice to the same team in a season. Big revenge game on Sunday.

(2) Dallas Cowboys (5-1) – Last Week: 3

Okay hear me out on this one. Dallas is one of the most complete teams in the NFL right now. The weakness is on defense but they are able to mask it by controlling the tempo of the game with its offense. The Cowboys do this better than just about every team in the league. I brought up last week that the Cowboys are converting third downs at a ridiculous rate, and that’s normally a third and short situation. They also convert first downs on two plays more than any other team in the league. Smartly, Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett decided to keep Tony Romo on the bench and let Dak Prescott continue this amazing run he is on to start the year. I believe there is a passing of the torch in Dallas. This week will not be an easy task in a divisional game against Philadelphia. A classic matchup of the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object is forming between the Dallas offense and the Philadelphia defense. The return of Dez Bryant only adds to the intrigue of this matchup. I’ll be talking about this game more in-depth tomorrow.

(3) Minnesota Vikings (5-1) – Last Week: 1

I touched on my big takeaway for the Vikings in Week 7. Teams were bound to feast on that injured offensive line, which already had struggled prior to those injuries. This is a team built to play with a lead right now until they can get right in terms of health. Special teams miscues doomed the Vikings against the Eagles on Sunday, and those are rare to see from this team. I still think this is one of the best teams in the NFL because of this defense. They will win Minnesota a lot of games considering it only gave up 21 points in a loss (the most they have given up all season). Minnesota will have a great opportunity to get back on the winning side of things on Monday Night Football against the Bears.

(4) Seattle Seahawks (4-1-1) – Last Week: 4

Thank goodness Seattle “forced” a tie against Arizona on Sunday night. If Seattle didn’t have the Legion of Boom, that game could have gotten very ugly. Luckily, this defense showed once again why it is one of the best units in the league. The issue for me with Seattle is the inconsistent play of this offense, due in large part to the poor play of this offensive line. They couldn’t hold a block for more than two seconds against the great Arizona pass rush, which limited all aspects of this offense. The lack of improvement game-to-game on the offensive side of the ball is frightening, but this defense will continue to keep them in ball games. Seattle may have just the right remedy on the schedule this week, the New Orleans defense. This could be a huge confidence builder for a unit that desperately needs to improve. The game is in the Superdome, which will make for a tough assignment for the Legion of Boom though. Interesting matchup there.

(5) Denver Broncos (5-2) – Last Week: Watch List

Man, I really wanted to put Oakland here. I just can’t bring myself to do it. The Denver defense is just that great. As long as the Broncos have this, they will be in every game they play this season. Now, CJ Anderson may be out as a noted earlier, but Denver has the backup plan already in motion with Devontae Booker. He actually out-touched Anderson on Monday night and looked great toting the rock. The Broncos will have the opportunity to get a bit of revenge this week against the Chargers. Philip Rivers is one of the few quarterbacks to have success against this defense, but its tough to beat a good team twice in this league.

Watch List: Oakland (5-2), Kansas City (4-2), Green Bay (4-2), Pittsburgh (4-3), Philadelphia (4-2)

Okay so this is where you would usually see the Eliminator or teams that are drawing close to the ban saw. Well there is going to be a little bit of a wait and see mentality here as we go along. I already eliminated about a quarter of the league, and I think that is enough for now.

That being said I may have jumped the gun a little too fast on one team, the San Diego Chargers. This is a team that is a few bizarre bounces away from having one of the best records in the league. A disastrous start has led to a truly remarkable few weeks from the Bolts.

Philip Rivers is keeping this team in every game despite the early losses of Keenan Allen and Danny Woodhead. This receiving core, including the tight ends, still has plenty of talent for Rivers to work with. Not to mention, Melvin Gordon has clearly put his rookie struggles behind him as he leads the NFL in touchdowns (10).

Now the Chargers will most likely lose to the Broncos this week, but keep an eye on this team because they are the epitome of a “tough out” and could be playing spoiler for the remainder of the season. The AFC West is going to be a tough division to win, but San Diego could sneak into the Wild Card if things finally start going its way. The comeback upset against Atlanta was a good step in the right direction. There are loads of winnable games in the second half of the season for the Chargers, including a rematchs against Kansas City and Oakland at home. This team may be coming back from the dead before all is said and done.

Stay tuned to Shooting the Moon for “Reality of Fantasy” a little later today. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.