Falcons Continue Climbing ESPN's NFL Power Rankings

The Atlanta Falcons have won three-straight games and are on top of the NFC South. They had a long way to climb, but are steadily moving their way up ESPN's NFL Power Rankings.

Bijan Robinson and the Atlanta Falcons continue to fly up ESPN's NFL Power Rankings. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons won their third-straight game on Sunday when they dispatched the Carolina Panthers 38-20 in Charlotte. It was also their third-straight divisional game, and heading into Week 7, they sit on top of the NFC South at 4-2 and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Falcons let the Panthers hang around a little too long before fastening the clamps on defense in the fourth quarter and winning comfortably after an A.J. Terrell interception.

NFL Power Rankings don't typically predict wins, they reflect them. With their third-straight win, the Falcons are steadily climbing ESPN's NFL Power Rankings and have moved from No. 14 to No. 12 this week.

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Some other notable teams include the Philadelphia Eagles who fell from No. 11 to No. 13 after beating a hapless Cleveland Browns team 20-16. The Eagles had been ahead of the Falcons despite a worse record and Atlanta's win in Philadelphia on Week 2.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved up two spots from No. 8 to No. 6 after hanging 51 on the Saints on Sunday. The Saints scored 27 points in a wild second quarter, but were out scored 44-0 by the Buccaneers the rest of the way.

The Saints moved down just-two spots from No. 16 to No. 18 despite having lost their fourth-game in a row.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are back in the win column after losing the last-two games. They beat a spiraling Raiders team 32-13, and ESPN was impressed enough by Pittsburgh's efforts to leapfrog the Steelers over the Falcons from No. 15 to No. 11. Maybe the head-to-head wins mean something for everyone but the Falcons.

Rather than justify their picks with an explanation, ESPN likes to have a theme of the week so their legion of writers can contribute. It helps them get their power rankings out sooner, even if it doesn't add context to the rankings themselves.

This week's theme was "Lesson Learned".

"In Week 5, QB Kirk Cousins threw for a franchise-record 509 yards against the division rival Buccaneers," wrote Marc Raimondi on ESPN. "He didn't need to replicate that performance Sunday against the Panthers, since the Falcons ran for a total of 198 yards, led by RB Tyler Allgeier's 105 yards and a touchdown. Bijan Robinson added 95 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns. After a slow start offensively, Atlanta seems to have found its groove. The team is eighth in the league in yards per game (368.3) and WR Drake London is tied for second in the NFL in receiving touchdowns (4)."

The Falcons host the Seattle Seahawks at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday. The Seahawks are 19th in total defense heading into Week 7. They've been stingy against the pass with the No. 10 ranked passing defense, but they've been susceptible against the run with the 27th-ranked rush defense.

The Falcons have proven the last-two weeks that they can beat teams running or passing. They'll need to be good at both to beat the 3-3 Seahawks.

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