Post-Week 6 Power Rankings

As the season continues, the league continues to prove its unpredictability. Week in and week out, there is no lack of shuffling and surprises from top to bottom. This week brought plenty of both all across the board. After another wild slate of games, let’s stack up the league 1-32:

1 – Cardinals (6-0) 1

Still the NFL’s only unbeaten team and back up to #1. It’s what the Cardinals deserve after a resounding, dominant victory against Cleveland. Remind me again why they were underdogs in that game? Even without their HC Kliff Kingsbury, Arizona dominated from start to finish thanks to efficient offense and suffocating defense. Kyler Murray notched another MVP-caliber game under his belt with 4 TD passes, and the defense forced 3 turnovers to help slam the door shut on the reeling Browns. It was the type of game I love seeing out of the Cards, and when they play like this, it’s hard to foresee any team beating them.

2 – Rams (5-1) 1

I fully expected the Rams to blow the Giants out on Sunday, and yet I was still vastly impressed with their performance. They were clicking on all cylinders in a classic game for their brand. They threw it with efficiency, pounded the ball on the ground, and played sensational defense. Matt Stafford threw 4 touchdowns, 2 of which going to Cooper Kupp, Darrell Henderson rushed for a score and caught another, and the defense forced 4 turnovers to make life hell all game long for New York. It was probably the most complete game the Rams have played this season, and while it was against a terrible team, I really loved what I saw. I hope for their sake that they can keep this up, which shouldn’t be a problem as they enter a Charmin soft part of their schedule.

3 – Buccaneers (5-1) 1

To anyone who thinks that Tampa “slipping up” a bit towards the end of their game on Thursday night was detrimental: grow up. The Bucs were absolutely dominating the Eagles. The game was already won. At no point did anyone on earth think Philly was going to win. And, when it came down to securing the win, that’s exactly what the Bucs did. And they made it look effortless. I was thoroughly impressed with what I saw from this team, especially defensively. They held the Eagles to just 213 total yards and weren’t letting up at all in the first half. For a unit that has been riddled with injuries, that stood out to me. The offense was awesome because of course it was, as Tom Brady threw for 297 more yards to become the first QB this year to eclipse the 2,000 yard mark. The only question with this team was the defense, so if they can keep this level of play up, then there will only be answers. I like the chances of that.

4 – Bills (4-2) 3

Let me get something out of the way. The Bills were 100% the better football team on Monday night. They outgained the Titans, had the ball longer, had 12 more first downs, and had the ball in prime scoring position late in the game. But, sometimes when you’re in 1st place in Mario Kart, you accidentally slip on a banana peel. Josh Allen’s unfortunate slip on 4th and 1 is the direct reason Buffalo lost this game, but did it occur to anyone that maybe they shouldn’t have been in that position to begin with? Perhaps they shouldn’t have been incapable of running the football. Or maybe their elite defense should have actually shown up to shut down a team that lost to the Jets. Instead, they were run all over by Derrick Henry, and it was their downfall. We already knew about the lack of a run game, but I don’t think this defense is that bad. I’d be shocked if they play that poorly again. That being said, I have to knock the Bills down for that reason this week.

5 – Cowboys (5-1) 1

Very few teams continue to impress me like the Cowboys have. They had no business being in the position(s) they were in late in the game on Sunday, and even though they were, they did everything they had to do to win. And I never doubted it. Let’s just look at the numbers for a second. Dallas put up an insane 567 yards of offense with 445 coming through the air, outgained New England by 232 yards, held the ball for 13 more minutes, and nearly doubled the Patriots in first downs. But, a late coverage bust forced them to come from behind and eventually win it in overtime. It was a dominant performance, especially offensively, as Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb were the stars of the show. Prescott did injure his calf late in the game, but an upcoming bye week should be helpful for a quick recovery. Dallas now has the top total offense, a top 5 passing offense, a top 2 rushing offense, and the top scoring offense in the NFL. That seems pretty good.

6 – Ravens (5-1) 3

The Ravens continue to prove me wrong time and time again. Sunday’s blowout of the Chargers didn’t make any sense, and yet it perfectly encapsulated what this team is about. It wasn’t flashy, it wasn’t on Lamar’s shoulders, and nobody really stood out. It was a team effort that resulted in arguably the most impressive victory of the season thus far. This is a team that lost its entire backfield going into the regular season. So, naturally, all 3 RB acquisitions, who were all practice squad players, scored touchdowns in this game. As I said, this wasn’t Lamar’s finest game, but he led the offense perfectly and played his role to put plenty of points on the board. And the defense did the rest. A potent, explosive Chargers offense held the ball for just 22 minutes to the tune of just 208 yards and 6 points. It took a minute, but this team, which is now the best in the AFC (record-wise), is officially a contender in my eyes.

7 – Packers (5-1) 1

The Packers beat the Bears and Aaron Rodgers was awesome in doing so. This is a sentence that has been said twice a year for almost my entire life. Approximately nothing stood out about Green Bay’s performance in Chicago outside of a pretty awesome quote from ARod. Once again, this team isn’t doing anything explosive or flashy, but they’re playing efficient offensive football and pretty good defense despite a plethora of injuries and problems on that side of the ball. It’s certainly a winning formula, but I’m still being cautious for the time being.

8 – Chargers (4-2) 3

I’m very disappointed with this team. They were absolutely smothered on Sunday. They were never in that game. It seemed like they didn’t even show up. No team in the NFL isn’t without its stinker or two during the course of a season, but that was a pretty bad one. I still believe in this team’s talent and coaching, but I was genuinely shocked to see a team that I thought was that good be that bad. Do better. I know you have it in you.

9 – Bengals (4-2) 1

Before you cry that the Bengals only won in blowout fashion because it was against the Lions, please consider that the Lions have given teams like Baltimore, Green Bay, Minnesota, and San Francisco all that they can handle. Cincy was wildly impressive on Sunday, as they continued to play complete football led by an explosive offense which has found its balance. Joe Burrow is still as awesome as ever, throwing for 3 TDs, Jamarr Chase is still playing at an elite level, and Joe Mixon is finally figuring it out in the backfield. The defense only gave up 228 yards of offense and allowed their own offense to possess the ball for 12 more minutes. I just really love the brand of football that the Bengals are playing, and if they can keep it up, they have a real shot at not just the playoffs, but maybe even this division.

10 – Chiefs (3-3) 2

The headlines would tell you that the Chiefs were back to their old ways on Sunday, but that wasn’t really the case. This team played very, very poorly in the first half, and was down going into the break. Yes, they came out and scored 21 unanswered in the second half, but Washington’s defense will let anyone rip them apart. Patrick Mahomes started out very sloppy, and it still feels really strange seeing him be so stupid with the ball in his hands. But, to his credit, he made no mistakes in the second half and ended up with a pretty impressive statline. Also, the defense, which was the worst scoring defense in football going into the game, only allowed 13 points and didn’t let Washington do anything all game long. Perhaps they can carry that momentum going forward. Lord knows they need it.

11 – 49ers (2-3)

The Niners had a bye this week, which was probably very good for them. They should be getting Jimmy Garoppolo back this week for a primetime showdown with the Colts, and that should help their offense get back on track. I still have very high hopes for this team, but they need to stay healthy for that hope to stay alive. This week of rest certainly helped with that.

12 – Raiders (4-2) 4

Good for the Raiders to not just win, but win in fantastic fashion after the most turbulent week any of us have ever seen. It’s like nothing ever happened. It was a victory on the back of Vegas’ remarkably explosive passing attack, which is back to looking how it did earlier this season. Henry Ruggs III is emerging as a legit WR1, and Derek Carr is still one of the NFL’s premier gunslingers. The defense let up a bit towards the end, but the game was never in question. It was perhaps the best win of the year for the Raiders at a time when they need it most. Perhaps it was too early to bury them.

13 – Vikings (3-3)

It’s good to see the Vikings on the winning side of these wild games. Granted, they should have never let the Panthers back into Sunday’s game, but the fact that they won erases all of that. Kirk Cousins was splendid yet again with 373 yards and 3 TDs, including the winner in OT, and Dalvin Cook returned to form with a whopping 140 yards and a score on 29 carries. Minnesota will win plenty of games as long as they perform this well, and I have a feeling those wins will come a lot easier than Sunday’s.

14 – Browns (3-3) 7

Yikes. There is just a lot of bad happening to Cleveland. Not only were they absolutely embarrassed on their own turf on Sunday by a real elite team, but they may be the most injury-riddled team in football at the moment. Baker Mayfield’s shoulder issues are only getting worse, Nick Chubb and Jarvis Landry are still out, Kareem Hunt is now on IR, OBJ is banged up (and also not very good), both starting tackles missed Sunday’s game, the list goes on and on and on. Now, the team turns to Case Keenum as the starting QB on Thursday night as the short week barely allows anyone to heal up. All of a sudden, this young season is turning upside down on the Browns.

15 – Titans (4-2) 5

I’m blocking out all the noise with this team. You guys know how I feel about the Titans. Yes, beating last week’s #1 team is impressive, and yes this team is 4-2, but something still feels off to me. It really shouldn’t be like this, though. As I said above with the Bills, Tennessee didn’t deserve to win this game, but sometimes in the NFL you get a fortunate bounce or slip. I’ll give the Titans credit for this: the defense made some key plays and Derrick Henry is still the most dominant offensive force in football. If they can keep up this level of play, then they’ll keep running away with this division. But still, that’s not really saying much.

16 – Saints (3-2) 2

The Saints were on a bye this week, so for once I didn’t have to be confused after one of their games goes final. I have no doubt that the confusion will return with swiftness after Monday night’s showdown with Seattle.

17 – Patriots (2-4)

New England has been remarkably unlucky in big games this season. They have had wins stolen from right in their back pocket against some of the NFL’s best teams. But, this is the NFL, and you can’t make too many apologies for that. I still think the Patriots have to feel good about themselves, especially as Mac Jones continues to play well and efficient at QB. The rest of the team is starting to pick up the slack a bit, but the defense is still a problem. Giving up nearly 600 yards of total offense is not a winning formula. It’s weird that we’re at this position with a team like the Pats, but football is never without its plethora of surprises.

18 – Steelers (3-3) 4

Hey look, the Steelers beat a very bad team missing its QB which was the only thing holding them together! Let’s go crazy! Ok, let me be nice for once. Pittsburgh actually looked good once again on Sunday night, even if their opponent wasn’t a worthwhile one. The passing offense did its usual thing, and they could somewhat run the football. But the real star of the show was the defense, which seems to be back to its usual form. They made huge plays at every level all throughout the game, and T.J. Watt looked like the $100 million man he is. They shut the door on the Seahawks in OT and put their offense in a position to put the game away. As I said several weeks ago, this is a good formula to beat teams that are worse than you are, so as long as the Steelers are playing inferior competition, they’ll be back to their winning ways. The bad news? They don’t have many more inferior teams left on their schedule.

19 – Broncos (3-3) 4

The Broncos have quickly fallen apart after being 3-0, and it’s only getting uglier. This defense still can’t stop a nosebleed, and while the offense put up some nice garbage time stats, they too were extremely poor once again on Sunday. I have no idea what caused this team to fall of a cliff, but they are in free fall, and I don’t see them pulling a parachute anytime soon. It’s a brutal schedule that’s only getting tougher, and I don’t think this team has what it takes to compete against any remotely good teams. They tricked us.

20 – Panthers (3-3) 2

The Panthers have quickly fallen apart after being 3-0, and it’s only getting uglier. Wait, didn’t I just say that? Anyways, Carolina has been nothing short of terrible in the last 2 weeks, and it’s everyone’s fault. The offense has been asleep without Christian McCaffrey, and it’s largely because Sam Darnold is back to seeing ghosts. Even worse is the defense, which was once “elite”, but now almost gave up 600 total yards of offense. It’s simply falling apart at the seams for the Panthers, and even when McCaffrey comes back, which won’t be for a while, I just don’t see this situation getting any better. They tricked us.

21 – Colts (2-4) 2

The Colts are back! That is, against bad teams. Granted, this team should be back at .500 and definitely have a lot of things going for them. Carson Wentz is playing very well, Jonathan Taylor is back to playing like a top RB, and the defense has returned to form. I’ll try not to overreact to a blowout of the Texans, but I will also be fair and acknowledge that I really like the direction this team is headed in. I just need to see it more consistently, and hopefully against better teams, to bump this team further up.

22 – Seahawks (2-4) 3

Seattle played a lot better than I expected on Sunday night. It wasn’t because of any single factor, but they were very solid. The pass game wasn’t exactly prolific, but they were able to run the football, and their defense played very tight in the second half to force OT. Still, there’s really nothing positive happening in Seattle for as long as Russell Wilson is out, and if they thought the Steelers were tough, they should see the rest of this schedule.

23 – Bears (3-3) 2

As I said above, the Bears losing to the Packers is nothing new in my life. It was another shaky offensive performance for Chicago, but I was impressed with how they were able to run the ball without David Montgomery and Damien Williams. Rookie RB Khalil Herbert had himself a day, and maybe when these RBs are fully healthy, they could form one of the better rushing attacks in football, even with a terrible offensive line. The defense also didn’t play terrible, but Aaron Rodgers will always be too much to overcome for this franchise. I can’t blame them too much.

24 – Eagles (2-4) 1

The Eagles were absolutely dominated by the Buccaneers, but for one, it was Tampa, and for two, I liked the fight they showed late in the game to come back and make things interesting. It wasn’t an impressive performance by any means, but you’ve gotta love the grit of a bad team. At the very least, this team isn’t as bad as the Giants or Washington. A team like the Eagles will take everything they can get.

25 – Washington (2-4) 1

Let’s let some numbers talk. Washington now has the worst scoring defense in football and is the only team allowing more than 30 points per game. They also have the worst pass defense and second worst total defense in all of football. Talking about how bad this defense is ad nauseam is getting boring. The offense is also a problem all of a sudden, as they only put up 13 points, their worst total of the season, against what was the worst scoring defense in football. Taylor Heinicke is falling apart and the run game is nonexistent. There’s nothing positive happening at all for this team. I’m officially burying them.

26 – Falcons (2-3)

Following a trip across the pond, the Falcons had Week 6 off. This week, they have another favorable matchup against a reeling Dolphins team, and should be able to return to .500. Somehow, I feel like that’s a bad thing for this team.

27 – Jaguars (1-5) 5

Let me get something out of the way. I don’t think the Jaguars are better than the 5 teams below them. But those teams have just been so bad that I have to put them below Jacksonville in a week that they finally got off the schneid to snap the second longest losing streak in NFL history. Good for the Jags. It wasn’t the prettiest, but they made the plays on both sides of the ball to come away with a win in their home away from home. I’m happy for them.

28 – Dolphins (1-5)

I genuinely think this team has an argument for being the worst team in the NFL. I never would have thought I’d be saying that 6 weeks into the season. Not a single thing is trending in a positive direction in Miami. The offense is terrible because Tua is terrible, the defense is still remarkably porous, and they just became a trivia answer by losing to the Jaguars. At least they’re finally waking up and apparently moving on from Tua. It’s the least they can do to get better, even in the slightest.

29 – Giants (1-5) 2

It’s hard to imagine that things are getting even worse for the Giants, but they are. Sunday’s performance was nothing new, but the worst part of it all was Daniel Jones going back to being the turnover machine that he has been for his entire young career. Jones gave the ball away 4 times as he was swarmed all game long by one of the NFL’s best defenses. The absence of Saquon Barkley is being felt greatly, and the one potential bright spot in Kadarius Toney has now been dimmed as he is also injured. It’s time to make some fundamental changes in New York. I think it has been time for a while now.

30 – Lions (0-6) 1

The Lions are now the only winless team in football, and while I’ve liked the fight they’ve showed in so many of their games this season, there was no fight in this team whatsoever on Sunday. They were ran over from start to finish by a much better football team. I don’t really have any takeaways. Jared Goff is playing very poorly and the team is likely to move on from him after this year, but that’s nothing unexpected. At least this team is on the fast track to drafting Malik Willis. There is light at the end of the tunnel, Detroit. I promise.

31 – Jets (1-4)

Thankfully for my eyes and yours, the Jets had the week off after playing in London a week ago. Not seeing Zach Wilson play QB made my weekend that much better. Unfortunately, this team returns to the field this week and will likely be fighting to have their spot back at #32. We’ll see if the Texans vacate that spot.

32 – Texans (1-5) 2

Sunday was another vintage 2021 Texans performance. Absolute annihilation on both sides of the ball, a complete lack of anything resembling an offense, and just depressing football. It still amazes me that this team beat the Jaguars and was competitive against the Patriots. They are simply a disgrace of a football team, and I am sick of watching them play.

All stats taken from ESPN.