Despite defeating Buffalo, Atlanta moved up just one spot in Pro Football Focus’ new power rankings.

After taking down the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, it appears the Atlanta Falcons still have some ground to make up in the minds of NFL experts. While many around the league are starting to buy in, the Falcons are only a few weeks removed from their 30-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Atlanta has all the right pieces on offense and currently fields the No. 1 defense in the league, it’s just a matter of keeping the momentum growing and building upon it each week. Pro Football Focus writer Thomas Valentine shared a similar sentiment in his latest batch of NFL power rankings.

Despite defeating the previously top-ranked Bills in Week 6, the Falcons moved up just one spot to No. 17 in PFF’s Week 7 power rankings. However, Valentine did say that he thought Atlanta could be a potential wild-card threat.

The offensive duo of Bijan Robinson and Drake London combined for 396 yards of offense, and the defense continues to rock, now ranked sixth in EPA per play allowed. If — and it’s been a big if for a while — the Falcons can piece it all together, they could be a wild-card threat. – Thomas Valentine, PFF

It’s understandable why some would want to see more before jumping on the team’s bandwagon, but it’s hard to justify the Falcons not being ranked in the top half of the NFL. You would think after beating PFF’s previously top-ranked team, Atlanta would at least be up to No. 15.

Plus, one could argue that having the top-ranked defense and a top-five offense warrants a higher rating. The Minnesota Vikings were ranked 15th even though they were blown out by the Falcons back in Week 2.

The Indianapolis Colts were ranked 16th (one spot above Atlanta), despite PFF saying that they “might not have the juice to beat the Buffalo Bills of the world” when the Falcons just did less than a week ago.

Nonetheless, if Atlanta can get a win against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night, the NFL will have to start taking the team seriously. Theoretically, wins over the Bills and 49ers in back-to-back games should help the Falcons crack the top 10 by this time next week.