NFL Power Rankings going into Football Sunday Week 6
The Bills, Chargers, Bucs, and Cardinals continue to dominate while the Raiders, 49ers, Seahawks, and Panthers have fallen off of a cliff
Jacksonville Jaguars, 0-5
This really shouldn’t be a surprise. The team hasn’t won in what will be 20 games if they lose to the Dolphins on Sunday. Urban Meyer has lost the locker room, no one likes him, but the Jaguars are continuing to give him a chance to rebuild the relationship with his team.
Either way, this season is about letting Trevor Lawrence develop each week (which he is doing quite nicely) and giving the football to James Robinson, and letting him work most of the game. The game plan should really be that simple.
New York Jets, 1-4
How is a 1-4 team worse than the 0-5 Lions? Well, at least the Lions are competitive against really good teams. The Jets aren’t and the only reason they beat the Titans is that the Titans were missing A.J. Brown and Julio Jones with a mixture of also getting supremely lucky in a game the Titans should have won easily.
Don’t let that 1 win fool you. Zach Wilson is still wildly inconsistent, Corey Davis is the only guy who can play on the offensive side of the football, and the defense (even with it playing well) cannot do enough to stop teams from beating them. I don’t know if they will win another game this season.
Houston Texans, 1-4
Another 1-4 team that is worse than the Lions is the Texans, who actually played a very good game against the Patriots last weekend. This was due to Davis Mills having the game of his life so far after being awful the two weeks previous. Mills won’t play like this every week and the Texans need that performance every week to even have a chance with teams.
Detroit Lions, 0-5
The Lions really should have picked up 2 wins already this season (against the Ravens and the Vikings). They have to be the unluckiest team of all time, but their defense doesn’t look half bad and D’Andre Swift, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Jamaal Williams are playing very well.
I think Dan Campbell is a decent football coach solely because of the passion and love he puts into his team. These are all positives for the future and the Lions were never supposed to compete this year anyways. They are better than their 0-5 record.
Miami Dolphins, 1-4
Just barely better than the Lions are the 1-4 Dolphins that have been absolutely embarrassed by teams this year and will continue to be for the rest of the year. The defense was supposed to be the strong suit of this team, but Tom Brady just had the best statistical game of his career against them and Josh Allen had over 400 yards against them a couple of weeks before as well.
Jacoby Brissett (and even Tua Tagovailoa who may come back as soon as tomorrow), Mike Gesicki, Jaylen Waddle, and Myles Gaskin can only do so much for this team. They could fall to 32nd in the rankings with the way they are playing.
New York Giants, 1-4
Plagued with injuries, the Giants won’t be competitive this weekend against the Rams and will fall to 1-5 in a season that many people, including myself, had high hopes for. On the bright side, Kadarius Toney is insanely talented and could become one of the best receivers in the NFL one day.
Devontae Booker could have a big day if he slides into Saquon Barkley’s RB1 position well, and Daniel Jones is on pace to play this weekend too. However, nothing will save this season and they should be playing for next year already because no one is catching the Cowboys in that division.
Atlanta Falcons, 2-3
The Falcons have used a favorable schedule so far to jump to a 2-3 record on the season going into their bye week, but Matt Ryan has been super inconsistent and so has the defense.
Atlanta can thank Cordarelle Patterson for their offensive production as he is having a miraculous season for far, but not even Patterson putting up video game numbers is enough to win games against good teams. The Falcons are going to have to get Kyle Pitts more involved to turn their season around.
Indianapolis Colts, 1-4
The Colts would have been in the top 20 on this list if they had held onto their big lead against the Ravens on Monday night. Whatever could go wrong in the second half for the Colts did, and Head Coach Frank Reich tried to use “prevent offense” to hold onto the lead, which never works.
Kyle Shanahan did this twice in the Super Bowl, one time with the Falcons, and one time with the 49ers, which we both know did not go well. For those who are unaware of what “prevent offense” means, it is when everything is going right for your team and you have a substantial lead, but instead of continuing to do what was working you make conservative play calls for the rest of the game, completely shifting the momentum of the game to the other team.
This is exactly what Reich did and it cost the Colts the win. The blocked field goal also did not help the Colts since they had the game won even with “prevent offense”. Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman Jr., and Carson Wentz all had huge games which is promising for the Colts, but they need to pick up wins quickly before it is too late. The Colts actually still have a chance to win the division but they desperately need a win against the Texans this weekend.
Minnesota Vikings, 2-3
The Vikings are 2-3, but they should have lost to the Lions who are 0-5. This is because Kirk Cousins refused to target Adam Thielen and it really cost the team a ton of points.
The Vikings may put together a .500 season just because of their really good offense, but they won’t ever be ranked much higher than 24th considering their limited upside on defense and their inability to beat good teams.
Washington Football Team, 2-3
The Washington Football Team hasn’t played good defense all season long and they cannot rely on three players (Taylor Heinicke, Antonio Gibson, and Terry McLaurin) to carry this team to wins.
I would be surprised if this team wins more than 8 games unless their defense finally performs at the level that they performed at last season.
Philadelphia Eagles, 2-4
Jalen Hurts looked terrible on Thursday Night Football against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. Yes, we all know he can run as he rushed for another two touchdowns on Thursday night, but the inconsistencies when Hurts throws the ball are evident.
Sometimes he makes an incredible pass that can only be made by a few Quarterbacks and sometimes he throws the football ten feet behind or in front of his receivers. Hurts threw an interception and completed only 12 out of 26 passes for 115 yards.
The Buccaneers have a good rushing defense and three of the Eagles’ offensive linemen are hurt, but Hurts should not have played this badly. Either way, no one is beating the Cowboys in the NFC East so Philadelphia has to see how Hurts and the offense progress throughout the rest of the season.
Pittsburgh Steelers, 2-3
The Steelers have a dominant defense, but not enough offensive firepower to win games. Again, this is because Ben Roethlisberger cannot throw the football as he used to and he isn’t mobile resulting in the offensive scheme being very limited.
Teams have figured Pittsburgh out, and after an impressive Week 1 win against the Bills, the Steelers haven’t looked that good, even against the Broncos.
Chicago Bears, 3-2
You may be wondering why a 3-2 Bears team is ranked behind other 2-3 teams like the Seahawks and the 49ers but if you watch the Bears play on television you will understand that they are much worse than their record. Their wins have come against teams having “off” days such as the Raiders, the Bengals, and the …well the Lions always have an off day.
Nonetheless, the Bears still won’t get Darnell Mooney or Allen Robinson II involved with Quarterback Justin Fields, which limits their offensive potential tremendously. Matt Nagy has a really good Bears defense which has won them close games, but his playcalling on the offensive end is atrocious and will undoubtedly continue to lose the Bears very winnable games.
Tennessee Titans, 3-2
Just because the Titans are 3-2 does not mean that they deserve to be higher on this list. They lost to the Jets, possibly the worst team in the NFL. Just let that sink in. If that is not enough to convince you that this team has issues, they also only have wins against the 1-4 Colts, the 0-5 Jaguars, and the 2-3 Seahawks (barley).
This team is leading the weakest division in football and could get into the playoffs, but that does not mean that they are good. Julio Jones should be back this weekend and Ryan Tannehill needs to get him involved to take pressure off of Derrick Henry who is carrying the whole team on his back. Their matchups do not get any easier as the Titans will face the Bills this weekend.
Seattle Seahawks, 2-3
Russell Wilson is out for most of the rest of the season according to multiple sources. He was put on the injury reserve Thursday and there is no telling when or if he will return this season.
To be blunt, this team has no chance at making the playoffs without Wilson and barely has a shot to win many games period without him. He is that valuable to this offense. Hopefully, Geno Smith can continue to target Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf regularly until Wilson makes a return, otherwise, it won’t get better for this team.
New England Patriots, 2-3
Mac Jones and the dominant New England defense had looked fine this season until giving up over 300 passing yards to rookie Davis Mills and the Texans, a game they very well could have lost.
The Patriots are hit or miss, but they will be around .500 all season long, and they need to continue to get Damien Harris touches if they want to squeeze into the playoff race.
San Francisco 49ers, 2-3
The 49ers have lost three straight games and their playoff hopes are slowly dwindling away right before our eyes. What started as a promising season now looks very grim for the 49ers as they lost another close game where they could have won easily.
Trey Lance and the 49ers’ offense got into Cardinals territory over 80 percent of the time in the game, yet only put up 10 points due to continued bad playcalling on 4th down. Lance was stopped at the end zone to turn the ball over on downs, Lance threw a costly interception, and the offense was stopped on 4th down a lot.
Regardless of the result, the 49ers’ defense was elite against a team that had just put up 37 points in a blowout win against the Rams in the previous week. Lance is obviously inexperienced and the 49ers have a much-needed bye week to weigh their options for the rest of the year.
However, Jimmy Garroppolo will have to start against the Colts in Week 7 since Lance sprained his knee during the Cardinals game. The Colts vs. 49ers matchup next weekend is going to be crucial to both teams who will desperately need wins to keep any hope of the postseason alive.
New Orleans Saints, 3-2
The Saints did exactly what I said they would do in last week’s power rankings. They have a dominant defensive game and win, then they have an awful game and lose the following week. Luckily for the Saints, they can rest easy at 3-2 with a bye week after dominating the Washington Football Team.
They know that the Panthers continue to lose, and they will just be sitting back and watching this weekend. The Saints aren’t in a fantastic position as of right now, but they are in a good enough position to feel safe in the playoff race at the moment.
Denver Broncos, 3-2
Just like the Raiders, the Broncos 3-0 start was too good to be true. Back to back embarrassing losses have come with big question marks on this team’s outlook for this season. They play in a tough division that includes two playoff-bound teams (Chiefs, Chargers) and will look to be on the cusp of making a wild card game.
Teddy Bridgewater, Courtland Sutton, and the dominant defense all look fantastic. The issue is that the Broncos have a weak run game and just aren’t talented enough on the offensive end to win against good teams. Plain and simple.
Carolina Panthers, 3-2
Another team that’s playoff hopes are dwindling away are the Panthers. Sam Darnold regressed from his great start to the year with some awful interceptions thrown to the Eagles last weekend.
He managed the game terribly as well and it showed as the Eagles came back and won in the final minutes of the game. It also doesn’t help to be without your best player as the Panthers have lost both games the last two weekends without Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey won’t be back until Week 9 and the Panthers will continue to lose without his presence. The defense has yet to show up in big games and will have to do so the rest of the season for this team to squeeze into the playoffs, but without McCaffrey it is not looking good.
Las Vegas Raiders, 3-2
The wheels have fallen off of this Raiders team as they now have lost two games in a row (one against the Bears) and their coach just resigned. This team doesn’t know its identity at the moment but a hot 3-0 start is the only thing holding this team together this weekend since they still have a shot at the playoffs, even after two embarrassing losses to make them 3-2.
The Raiders have a tough divisional matchup against the Broncos this weekend and it would help their confidence if they could come out with a W. For that to happen, Derek Carr needs to target Darren Waller more because Waller is one of the best players in the AFC period. It is a crime that he hasn’t gotten him the ball a lot since Week 1.
Kansas City Chiefs, 2-3
How can anyone rank the Chiefs in the top ten? Yes, they have superstars on offense, but their defense is so bad that they could be heading for a first-round playoff exit this season if they keep it up. Patrick Mahomes hasn’t played to his MVP level against good teams so far this season (the Chargers, Ravens, and Bills), but those are three of the best teams in football so the 2-3 record is misleading.
Patrick Mahomes is still Patrick Mahomes. Tyreek Hill is still Tyreek Hill. Travis Kelce is still Travis Kelce. The Chiefs will still make the playoffs and finish as a top 7 team in football. But right now, they haven’t won any big games and even though they will, they haven’t played like a top 10 team.
Cincinnati Bengals, 3-2
Joe Burrow and the Bengals have played really well this year. It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise considering Burrow is a winner everywhere he goes, and this offense includes playmakers like Ja’Marr Chase, Joe Mixon, Tyler Boyd, and Tee Higgins.
The defense has played amazing all season long and the Bengals should cruise to 4-2 when they beat the Lions tomorrow. However, the Lions have been making things tough on teams so don’t expect this game to be a blowout.
Cleveland Browns, 3-2
The Browns have been up and down on both sides of the football all season long. They are victims of two losses by 5 points or fewer to the Chiefs and the Chargers, but if they want to consider themselves a dominant team they will need to win a game against a dominant team like the Cardinals this weekend.
A win against the Cardinals would solidify the Browns as a top 7 team, but Nick Chubb is out which could be a serious issue if Kareem Hunt isn’t able to take on the rushing load of this offense.
Green Bay Packers, 4-1
The Packers probably should have lost to the Bengals last weekend, but they escaped with a victory. They will undoubtedly beat the Bears this weekend to improve to 5-1 and are on track to repeat as their division winners.
Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams look great, the defense looks much improved, and Aaron Jones also looks great on the offensive end.
Dallas Cowboys, 4-1
The Cowboys have one of the best offenses in the league led by Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliot, CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, and Dalton Schultz, but it’s been the defense that has stepped up in big moments to win them games.
Trevon Diggs is putting together one of the best seasons a Cornerback has ever had and even though regression is likely considering it is almost impossible to get an interception every game, Diggs is right in the mix for Defensive Player of the Year and MVP.
Micah Parsons is already a Pro-Bowler as well, and the Cowboys are in a prime position not just to win their weak division, but make a run in the playoffs this year. However, they are still the Cowboys who seem to always come up short, so who knows.
Baltimore Ravens, 4-1
The Ravens should have lost to the Colts last Monday night, but a lot of things went the Ravens’ way and they jumped on the back of Lamar Jackson’s historic 37-43 for 442 passing yards and 4 touchdowns performance to lead them to victory. Mark Andrews also finally had his breakout game, which obviously jumpstarted this offense as well.
The Ravens continue to play good defense when it matters and come up clutch behind Lamar Jackson on the offensive end when the game matters most. The Ravens need to continue to target their big Tight End Mark Andrews in the end zone if they want to continue to put up a lot of points. They cannot just rely on Marquise Brown for all of the receiving duties.
The Ravens win a ton of close games, and they will be in another close game tomorrow when they play the Chargers, who are another team that has won almost every close game.
Los Angeles Rams, 4-1
The Rams will probably finish higher than 5th in the power rankings when the season is over, but as of right now, things haven’t looked particularly smooth for the Rams. They almost blew a lead to Geno Smith and the Seahawks, and the week before they got embarrassed at home by the Cardinals.
Even the 49ers who are 2-3 and have tons of injuries played the Cardinals way tougher than the Rams which could be concerning in the head-to-head matchup between those two teams.
The Rams should cruise to 5-1 when they beat the injury-plagued Giants this weekend, but they have to address their “dominant” defense which ranks 26th in the NFL against the pass and only 19th in the NFL against the run as well.
Los Angeles Chargers, 4-1
Why would the Chargers fall to 4th from 2nd on this list after a huge win in Cleveland against the Browns? Well, the Bucs are already 5-1 and have been cruising lately, the Bills demolished the Chiefs in Kansas City, and the Cardinals are undefeated so that is why.
Another reason is it should be concerning for the Chargers that their defense allowed 42 points to a Cleveland team that only put up 14 points against the Vikings in the previous week.
The Chargers gave up less than 25 points in every game going into last weekend’s matchup, but their defense looked to be figured out and the Ravens should use the same strategy the Browns did to put up big points against them as well this weekend.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 5-1
The Bucs did not look amazing on the offensive end in the second half against the Eagles on Thursday night but the final score of 28-22 is misleading. The Bucs could have put up way more points than 28, but played extremely conservative and ran the ball a ton in the second half.
Tom Brady threw two touchdowns before appearing to re-injure his thumb, throw an interception, and fail to throw another touchdown the rest of the game. As long as Brady stays healthy and the defense makes key plays down the stretch, this team should have the highest chance in the NFC to get back to the Super Bowl.
Buffalo Bills, 4-1
Josh Allen has a great argument to be the MVP of the league after throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for another as well last Sunday night against the Chiefs. Allen is using all of his weapons on the offensive end including Dawson Knox, Emmanuel Sanders, Stefon Diggs, Zack Moss, and Cole Beasley and it is paying dividends since no team knows how to defend them yet (besides the Steelers in Week 1).
The defense also looks as dominant as it ever has, and if the Bills continue to demolish teams on both sides of the football, they will continue to have the best chance in the AFC to make it to the Super Bowl. This could be their year.
Arizona Cardinals, 5-0
They did not play fantastic against the 2-3 49ers with a rookie QB making his first start, but their defense dominated the game and helped them pull out the 17-10 victory.
The Cardinals very well could have lost that game, but every single thing seems to be going right for this team so far, and Kyler Murray is on track to be the favorite to win the NFL MVP if he keeps his production up and the Cardinals keep winning.
Buddha Baker, J.J. Watt, and Chandler Jones have this defense rolling as well and it would be an even bigger confidence booster to beat the Browns to improve to 6-0 tomorrow.
Really great article B!