NFL Power Rankings: Week 6 (2021)
After five weeks, there’s one thing that’s abundantly clear: there are very few good teams in the NFL, and a plethora of really bad teams.
The top third of the league has separated themselves from the pack, and since you can never count out Patrick Mahomes, I’ll throw the Chiefs in that category as well – despite their bad defense. That leaves 20-plus other teams who are simply not very good right now, and while that might sound dreary, it actually leads to excitement, upsets, and pure chaos week in and week out in the NFL.
The top four teams in my power rankings remain static from Week 5, as the Bills dominated the Chiefs, the Cardinals did just enough to beat the 49ers, the Buccaneers torched the Dolphins, and the Rams squeaked out a win in Seattle on Thursday night – a game that feels like it was an eternity ago. Where do the other 28 teams settle in? Let’s find out.
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NFL Power Rankings Week 6
Big Movers
Tennessee Titans
As I mentioned in the open, there are so few really good teams in this league right now, so I had no choice but to bump the Titans up four slots after a win over the lowly Jaguars. Their defense is going to prevent them from going deep in the playoffs, and they’re still really banged up, but they’re capable of beating any team, any week as long as Derrick Henry is touching the ball this much.
New Orleans Saints
See above with the Titans. The Saints are also coming off a terrible loss to a poor team, but they righted the ship against another struggling team - Washington. This is how it’s going to be all year for New Orleans with few receivers and Jameis Winston at the helm. Up and down, up and down.
Washington Football Team
Washington really shouldn’t have won last week, they needed a miracle to escape the Falcons. And things didn’t look very pretty this week at home against the Saints. The offense is understandably going to be bumpy - Taylor Heinicke may be a good backup but he’s still a backup. But this defense was ticketed to be one of the best units in football and it’s been one of the worst. Jack Del Rio is coming under fire, and rightfully so. What a disappointment Washington has been.
Random Musings
Buffalo Bills
You wanted a statement win? Well, you got one. The Bills avenged last year’s AFC Championship game loss in Kansas City by thoroughly dominating the Chiefs. They completely stymied the best offense in football and put up 38 points of their own behind the arm and legs of Josh Allen. He’s your MVP frontrunner right now, and if he keeps playing this way, he may have the award wrapped up before snow touches the ground in western New York.
Kansas City Chiefs
I’ve harped on the Chiefs' terrible defense all year, so I’ll give it a rest here and touch on their offense. It was statistically the best offense in football coming into this week, but Kansas City is 2-3. Did the Buccaneers give the rest of the league a blueprint on how to slow them down? Granted, only teams with similar talent to the 2020 Buccaneers defense can execute it, but we’ve seen Baltimore, the Chargers, and now Buffalo mirror Tampa Bay’s plan. Something to monitor.
Dallas Cowboys
Sooner or later, everyone is going to drop the mantra that the Cowboys will fall apart because that’s just what they do, and they’re going to realize how good this team is. They’re a legitimate Super Bowl contender not just thanks to their offense, but thanks to their defense. It may not be the most talented unit in the league, but they’re an opportunistic bunch who will take the ball away from you if they’re given the chance. Giving the ball to Dak Prescott and these weapons in short fields is going to win this team a lot of games.
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Mike Wagenman is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @mjwags23.