Power Rankings: Patriots Rank In Top Half Despite Ugly Week 7 Loss

Even with the Patriots being 2-4 for the first time in 20 years, they are still in the top half of SI's NFL Power Rankings.

Sports Illustrated released their Week 8 power rankings on Tuesday and it seems as though they believe the New England Patriots can turn things around after a three-game losing streak. 

They have New England at No. 14, which might seem like last place considering all the success the Patriots have had in recent history.

Here's what The MMQB's Conor Orr had to say.

"Are you going to put them any lower than 15th? Are you really that brave? I don’t need to be part of Belichick’s game of three-dimensional chess. This team is still good. I believe!"

It's hard to imagine New England staying this far up as the season progresses. It only seems like things will get worse moving forward.

Cam Newton is having a horrid season so far. He was able to get off to a good start, but in his last two games has thrown for a combined 255 passing yards, no touchdowns and five interceptions.

Newton was brought into the organization to be a leader on offense. These last two games have shown that he might not be the right guy for the job.

Another player who got off to a good start was Chase Winovich, but his snap totals have only decreased as we move deeper into the regular season. Winovich went from playing in 75 percent of New England's defensive plays to only making 13 appearances against the 49ers.

Moving forward the Patriots schedule does a little easier over the next couple weeks. They play the Buffalo Bills in Week 8 followed by a trip to MetLife Stadium to play the New York Jets. However, problems arise when they have to face teams like the Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals in the weeks to follow.

It seems as though pundits don't want to risk once again being wrong about the team, but this season is different. Tom Brady is no longer here. 

It seemed like a loss that Bill Belichick could survive, but so far this season Brady's absence has been a crucial blow to the offense. It's difficult to imagine New England winning the AFC East nevermind making a run if they were to make the playoffs. 

So don't expect New England to fall to 32nd by the end of the season. But their days of being a top 10 team in the NFL are long gone.

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