NFL Power Rankings after Week 6: Bills Eagles fall again, Bucs top, Chiefs back in top 5

The NFL looks a whole lot different than it did a couple weeks ago. The Eagles and Bills were undefeated. The Bucs were a fun team to watch but weren’t considered contenders yet. The Lions were lighting teams up and Joe Flacco still played for the Browns. Everything has been flipped upside down since then, and here we are a third of the way into the season tying to figure out what’s what and who’s who after Week 6.

1) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1), last week 5

While everyone else in the league continues to drop like flies, the Bucs are the only ones staying steady despite having one of the most banged up offenses in the league. They finally got through a game without needing a heroic game winning drive in the final seconds of the game. There were heroics, but they came early in the fourth quarter, and it was again Baker Mayfield providing those heroics on a 3rd and long scramble in which he willed his way to the maker to keep the drive alive and keep the Niners offense off the field. Not only have they been the most entertaining team, but they have been the most consistent team, with the best player in the league. Let’s see if that holds true on Monday night when they play the Lions in Detroit.

2) Detroit Lions (4-2), last week 1

When the Lions are hot, they are hot but when they are not, they are not. In their four wins, they averaged 40 ppg, in the two losses they are averaging 15 ppg. Dan Campbell knew his team was going to need points to win the game in KC, but the Chiefs defense was able to limit Jared Goff to 203 yards and the run game to under 100 yards, which isn’t easy to do with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery in the backfield.

3) Indianapolis Colts (5-1), last week 4

The Lions lost, and so did the Eagles, and the Colts have a case to be the top team in the Rankings, but I’m not ready to do that just yet. If there was any doubt, then their game against the Cardinals and back up QB Jaboby Brissett assured me that it’s not time just yet. It’s a win, and they are an impressive 5-1, but Daniel Jones and Johnathan Taylor ain’t ready for the top spot. To be honest, it might be a blessing for then considering the recent history of our last two top ranked teams, the Eagles and the Lions.

4) Kansas City Chiefs (3-3), last week 9

The Chiefs will be fine. That’s what we ended last week’s KC portion of the rankings with, and guess what? They are. The defense that got torn to shreds by the Jags and the media alike responded by holding the Lions top rated offense to just 17 points while Mahomes had a three TD game and made each and every play he needed to when his team needed him to even with a banged up offensive line. I like the little scrap at the end too. Not that I condone it, but the whole team coming to back Juju Smith-Schuster shows you these guys are not clicking on the field but in the locker room too.

5) Philadelphia Eagles (4-2), last week 2

Another week down and another week that Saquon Barkley fails to look like even a shade of what he was last year. Is it the offensive line? Is it the new offensive coordinator? Or is it Barkley? I’m not quite sure, and I’m not sure if they know what’s going on in Philly but two straight losses should be enough to defibrillate what has been a lifeless run game a month and a half into the season.

6) Buffalo Bills (4-2), last week 3

Two straight losses for the Bills, and look how quickly things can go wrong in the NFL. Buffalo was undefeated with a QB that looked like he was on pace for back to back MVP seasons, but in a matter of 10 days Buffalo lost the lead in the division and everyone is starting to wonder if the the Bills have peaked, and are falling into a descent in the division. Their wins aren’t that impressive. Let me remind you the teams they beat have a combined record of 3-21 through six weeks. They are heading into a much needed BYE week, and will look to right the ship and get healthy after a couple of disappointing weeks.

7) Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1), last week 10

Turns out all the hustle and bustle in the offseason was worth it. The Aaron Rodgers saga. The T.J. Watt negotiations. The free agent deals and summer time trades. Pittsburgh one of two one loss teams in the AFC, and lapping the rest of the teams in the AFC North. It may not be the explosive offensive attack that some were expecting with Rodgers and DK Metcalf, but this is a balanced team playing complimentary football. Lets see how they respond after the win on a short week against a division rival this Thursday.

8) Seattle Seahawks (4-2), last week 14

After giving up 38 points to the Bucs last week, Mike Macdonald tightened the screws on his defense in preparation for their showdown against the Jags. They silenced the Jags offense that had suddenly been getting rave reviews following their win over the Chiefs, and Sam Darnold was efficient and mistake free in their road win over Jacksonville. The Seahawks are 3-0 on the road, but strangely 1-2 at home.

9) Los Angeles Rams (4-2), last week 8

They are 4-2, and their only two losses came at the hands of the Eagles and the Niners in OT. Two really good teams, so you would expect them to go to Baltimore and blow out the Ravens who were without Lamar Jackson and a handful of stars on the defensive end. That’ not exactly what happened on Sunday when they were held to less than 250 total yards, and scored a couple of TDs in the 3rd quarter, but didn’t wrap the game up until late. It’s a road win after a long trip across the country, and next week they have an even longer trip across the pond. A trip that Puka Nacua might have to miss after spraining his ankle against the Ravens.

10) Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2), last week 6

You just can’t get too high on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Why? Because they constantly let you down as soon as you build them up. Last week we asked if the Jags are for real after beating the Chiefs on Monday night? Then they reverted to their old selves scoring just 12 points on a day that the defense didn’t create a turnover for the first time this year. We questioned what this team would look like with out the defense coming to the rescue every week, and the answer wasn’t pretty.

11) Green Bay Packers (3-1-1), last week 11

Coming off a BYE, taking on a tanking team with a brand new QB seemed like a recipe for a blowout win for the Packers. That wasn’t really the case in Green Bay when they took on the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincy was in it to the end as Green Bay struggled to close out the Bengals. It probably shouldn’t have been that close, but with the way things have been going in Green Bay lately, they’ll take the win. Even if it isn’t the most impressive of wins.

12) Denver Broncos (4-2), last week 12

The Broncos beat the Jets, but barely. I get it, it’s a game overseas against a desperate team that has yet to win, but this was a chance to Denver to make a statement and they weren’t able to do so. The defense had a great game, holding New York to barely over 100 yards all game, but the offense was not able to pull away and ended up having to rely on their defense to save them late.

13) New England Patriots (4-2), last week 15

Three straight wins for the Patriots and all of the sudden they are the leaders of the AFC East. I don’t think anyone imagined a changing of the guard in that division would be taking place this quickly. There is still a lot of time left, and I’m not crowning anyone just yet but for a young team to follow up a win over the Bills with a road game that everyone expected them the falter in says something about how Mike Vrable has these guys believing in themselves. They didn’t beat the Saints by a lot and the 11 penalties they committed will be something that coach Vrable will want to clean up, but no better way to do that than in a couple of cup cake games coming up against the Titans and Browns.

14) Washington Commanders (3-3), last week 13

Jayden Daniels and the Commanders looked like they were on their way to another win over Caleb Williams and the Bears on Monday night, but the self inflicted mistakes cost the Commanders. They turned it over 3 times, but the most costly one came on a 3rd and 1 when Jayden Daniels muffed a snap and fumbled the hand off to Bill Croskey-Merrit. That gave the Bears the ball at midfield and the Bears closed out the game with a game winning field goal as time expired. These two teams should spare us the first 59:50 of the game and line up for one game winning play because the last two games between these teams have been won in the final second of the fourth quarter.

15) Atlanta Falcons (3-2), last week 20

The Falcons went into their BYE week on a high and came out of their BYE week buzzing. For the first time in a long time Monday Night Football went to Atlanta and the most electric player in the NFL put on a show. Bijan Robinson put on a show in a career high night and Drake London had 140+ yards receiving in the first half. The stars are finally looking like stars in Atlanta and that makes everything look easier for Michael Penix who looked like a QB that had much more experience than his 8 starts split between last year and this year.

16) Houston Texans (2-3), last week 16

BYE

17) San Francisco 49ers (4-2), last week 7

The hits just keep coming for the Niners. I know a lot of teams are banged up, but San Fran has been the most cursed by the injury bug over the last two seasons, and on Sunday they saw the heart of the locker room and they soul on the field go down with a season ending injury. Fred Warner is sideline for the year, and where do the Niners turn from here? They are 4-2 even after their loss to the Bucs, but how long can they keep their heads above water?

18) Minnesota Vikings (3-2), last week 18

BYE

19) Los Angeles Chargers (4-2), last week 19

No offensive line, none of their top two running backs and a two game losing streak that erased the sintinalting start from the Chargers. Needless to say the Chargers were desperate to turn things around and they did so thanks to their third string running back Kiama Vidal and Herbert tossing a couple TDs on a day he passed the ball 39 times. Is it sustainable? Who knows. Is it good enough to beat the Dolphins? Only with a last second field goal.

20) Chicago Bears (3-2), last week 22

Last year’s game against the Commanders was the turning point in the Bears season. The Hail Mary sent the Bears into their BYE week down and out and they ended up losing 10 straight games following the week off. This year it’s reversed, the BYE came before the game against the Commanders and it was the Bears winning it at the last second. Let’s see if this triggers a streak of wins that the Bears can build on. So far the No. 1 and No. 2 pick in the 2024 Draft have had a couple of instant classics in their first two match ups. Let’s hope that trend keeps going for a long time.

21) Dallas Cowboys (2-3-1), last week 17

We all know the formula for the Cowboys to win. They have to score 35 plus points because their defense can’t stop a nose bleed. They weren’t able to do that on Sunday in Carolina as one of their former running backs ran them over like road kill. Hard to think of what this team would look like if they had kept Micah Parsons and Rico Dowdle, but I can almost guarantee they wouldn’t have two wins through six weeks.

22) Carolina Panthers (3-3), last week 25

Rico Dowdle is a monster. And the monster was unleashed again against his former team on Sunday. He had unfinished business to tend to and he did so as the Cowboys visited town. He rushed for 183 yards, and another 56 yards receiving. The Panthers have a brand new toy they discovered only because their RB1 got hurt, but they have ridden Dowdle to two straight wins and a .500 record through six weeks.

23) New York Giants (2-4), last week 28

The new kids on the block are making a big ruckus in the Big Apple. New York’s win over the Charges garnered a lot of attention as the brazen duo of rock star rookies suddenly put the Giants on the map. That was the flash of lightening that caught the eye of everyone around the league but the rumbling we heard from the Meadownlands was the thunderous runs of Cam Skattebo who downed the Super Bowl champs with a hat trick of TDs. The Chargers win was a nice headline, the Eagles win was a warning that the Giants might be building something special at Metlife Stadium.

24) Arizona Cardinals (2-4), last week 23

The Cardinals have been in a month long slide, losing four straight games after winning their first two. We kind of felt like they weren’t as good as their 2-0 record indicated after playing the Saints and Panthers, but Sunday’s game in Indy might have been the best this team has looked in a while and it was with Jacoby Brissett in under center. When your team plays better with your back up than they do with your QB1, that’s never a good thing.

25) Cleveland Browns (1-5), last week 24

It has not been a very warm welcoming to the NFC for Dillon Gabriel. He had to go to London and play a tough Minnesota defense and returned back states’ side only to play a Pittsburgh defense that was coming off a BYE looking to tee off on the rookie. Gabriel got sacked six times, and threw the ball 52 times. You can’t just depend on your rookie to go out and throw it all game long and expect to win games. He needs some helps in the run game, and that’s up to the coaching staff to get Quinshon Judkins the ball more than 12 times.

26) Baltimore Ravens (1-5), last week 21

We are getting dangerously close to asking the question, should the Ravens sit Lamar for the rest of the season? They are way behind the Steelers in the division race, and you figure you need 9 or 10 wins to get the Wild Card spot. That means they would have to play just about perfect football for the rest of the way, should Jackson come back in the next week or two. This is not where the Ravens expected to be at this point of the year, but now they might have to start thinking about the long term, and not just this season.

27) Cincinnati Bengals (2-4), last week 32

The Joe Flacco experiment is underway in Cleveland. While it didn’t change the result of the game, and it didn’t keep the Bengals from losing their fourth straight game. While the Bengals are in a free fall, there might have been signs of hope to come with Flacco in at QB instead of Jake Browning. He was with the team for just a matter of days, and didn’t take many down field chances but didn’t turn the ball over either. They stayed in the game until the end against a Packers team that was looking to land a knock out blow early.

28) Las Vegas Raiders (2-4), last week 29

The Raiders needed a game against the Titans like a Sunday morning casino goer needs a $1,000 dollar chip he found on the floor at the all you can eat waffle bar. It was far from perfect, but Maxx Crosby terrorized the No. 1 overall pick of the Draft, and Geno didn’t throw an interception. I just hope that guy at the waffle bar doubled down on the Raiders before hitting the airport and heading back home.

29) Miami Dolphins (1-5), last week 26

There is a storm brewing in South Beach. It’s not because of they 1-5 record. It’s not because their coach has been on the hot seat since preseason. Its because their QB went to the press and aired out the teams dirty laundy in front of the cameras. That’s the quickest way to lose a locker room, and it came from a guy who is supposed to be the leader of the team. The problems used to be week to week in Miami but this could linger for long after this season ends.

30) New Orleans Saints (1-5), last week 27

The Saints aren’t a good team. I think we have established that, however they have proved themselves capable of competing in games over the last three weeks and that’s probably more than even Saints fans expected coming into the season. Spencer Rattler may not be the QB of the future in NO, but he is getting better and that is a direct result of head coach Kellen Moore’s taking him under his wing.

31) Tennessee Titans (1-5), last week 30

The first victim on the head coaching firing line is Brian Callahan. If we are being fair, he wasn’t given much time to turn things around in Tennessee. His first year he inherited a team with no QB that just traded away Derrick Henry. This year he had a rookie QB with a bunch of aging veterans around him. The Titans had to expect a rough season after the decisions the front office had been making, and it seems like Callahan was used as the scapegoat. The one thing Tennessee and Cam Ward are going to need is consistency on the sidelines, and just six weeks into the season the rookie QB has already seen a coaching change.

32) New York Jets (0-6), last week 31

The last thing the Jets winless Jets needed was to have to travel to London to play a game against one of the league’s best defenses. The poor Londoners had to sit through one of the biggest snoozefests in recent history as Justin Fields passed for just 45 yards and got sacked nine times. The Jets have to be rethinking they decision to bring in Fields as their QB of the future, and the Londoners have to be thinking when will the NFL stop giving us these dinky games that are doing nothing to build the sport internationally.

Related stories

NFL

Ertz doesn’t hold back on praise for Daniels despite late fumble

NFL

Five-time Super Bowl winners waive trailblazer after costly ban

Get your game on! Whether you’re into NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class soccer goals, or MLB home runs, our app has it all.

Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more – plus, stay updated on the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.