Week 6 NFL Power Rankings: Can Anybody Catch the Eagles?

Now that every team has played five games, the NFL season is just over 25% of the way through. With each week, the league's wheat gains a bit more separation from the chaff. Luckily, we're here to help you sort through the mess. These are the 100% accurate Week 6 NFL Power Rankings.

Despite a surprising scare from the Arizona Cardinals, the Philadelphia Eagles remain the NFL’s only undefeated team. Through five games, the Eagles have shown that they can win any kind of contest—they’ve outgunned teams in shootouts, erased big deficits in comeback wins, boat raced lesser opponents and now squeaked out a nail-biter on the road, holding on for a 20-17 win after Cardinals’ kicker Matt Amendola shanked a potential game-tying field goal. Next week, the Eagles will face the rival Dallas Cowboys, their most significant test to date; expect them to pass with flying colors. 

Coming off a 38-3 dismantling of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the only thing that would make the Bills more dominant would be if they could somehow trade for a star running back—such as, say, Christian McCaffrey. 

Down 17, who cares? Patrick Mahomes is inevitable.

Justin Jefferson, the best wide receiver in the world, leads the NFL in receiving yards and big plays (catches for more than 20 yards). Despite a brief lull in production in Week 2 and Week 3, Jefferson has largely been unguardable. In each of the last two games, Jefferson has racked up 10+ catches and 145+ yards Outside of Jefferson, the Vikings have been buoyed by strong performances from outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith, who has racked up seven tackles for loss, the second most in the league.

Over the off-season, Lamar Jackson refused to negotiate a contract extension with the Ravens, betting that he could play himself into a megadeal that would make God weep. He was right. In Baltimore’s 19-17 win against the Bengals, Jackson showed why he’s such a devastating dual-threat quarterback, accounting for 56 of the 60 yards on Baltimore’s game-winning drive. 

Led by Defensive Player of the Year favorite Micah Parsons, the Cowboys have stomped out to a 4-1 record behind their elite defense. While Cooper Rush has ably served as their starting quarterback in Dak Prescott’s absence, the real catalyst for Dallas’ ongoing four-game winning streak has been a defense that’s held every one of their opponents this year under 20 points. For the season, the Cowboys rank third in both points and yards allowed, holding strong against top-shelf quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Joe Burrow and Matthew Stafford. 

If the Giants seemed like pretenders with a record propped up by beating down bottom-feeders, Sunday’s upset of the Green Bay Packers offered proof otherwise. This team, against all odds and better logic, is actually good. Against the Packers, resurgent star running back Saquon Barkley continued his season-long streak of untacklability, ripping off separate 40 yard runs and 41 yard catches. 

I could fix her. 

After an offseason that seemingly signaled widespread change, this year’s 49ers look a lot like last year’s 49ers. With Jimmy Garappolo once again under center, San Francisco has weathered a rocky start to the season to trounce the Panthers 37-15 and reestablish their Super Bowl contender bona fides. Lost in all the quarterback room intrigue, defensive end Nick Bosa leads the NFL with six sacks, although a strained groin may keep him out next week against the Falcons. 

Game manager and known ayahuasca-enjoyer Aaron Rodgers still hasn’t established real chemistry with any of his receivers. Although the Packers’ defense has kept the team aloft, Green Bay is just 1-2 against teams with winning records after dropping a 27-22 London game against the Giants. 

Amidst the rush to crown Justin Herbert our Once and Future Football King, a single, pesky issue remains: are we sure the Chargers are good? The Chargers are an outwardly good 3-2, but they have a -14 point differential and have a below average offense and defense according to Football Reference’s Simple Rating System. Still, the team has so much theoretical talent that it’s hard to be too fatalistic, even if injuries prevent them from becoming a fully-operational powerhouse before the ‘yoffs. 

Despite entering the season with expectations to maybe win three games the entire year, [*Fireman Ed and, like, half of the ONE37pm editorial staff break down my door, put me in Clockwork Orange-style eye clamps to look at Sauce Gardner highlights and seize my laptop from my hands*] Gang Green, baby! J-E-T-S! JETS, JETS, JETS!

After an 0-2 start, the Titans have won three straight games, propelled by Derrick Henry’s punishing running style and a situationally stout defense. To be sure, the Titans have hardly been world-beaters during this streak; their winning ways are as much a byproduct of a soft stretch in their schedule as it is proof of their goodness. But still, this is what decent teams do. Beating bad teams is the easiest way to prove that you aren’t a bad team yourself. 

The easiest way to go from the darling of the entire NFL to getting waxed 40-17 by the Jets is to give both your starting and backup quarterbacks brain damage. Skyler Thompson should run for his life before Miami's team of brain trauma "specialists" can get their hands on him 

The Bengals aren’t as good as they looked last winter and they aren’t as bad as they looked in early September. As such, the mean of “nearly winning the Super Bowl” and “total crap” resides somewhere around “tolerably good.” Although the Bengals lost 19-17 to the Ravens on Sunday Night Football, they managed to keep Joe Burrow relatively clean, allowing only two sacks for 15 yards. 

Cooper Kupp has accounted for approximately 1/3rd of all of Los Angeles’ offense. For Kupp and his fantasy owners, this is very good; for an NFL offense that's seeking a modicum of balance, it's markedly less good. Accordingly, the Rams were totally bottled up by a very good Dallas defense, losing 22-10. Despite their coterie of superstars, the Rams somehow have the second worst point differential in the NFC through the first five games. 

The Colts are confusing—they’ve beaten the Chiefs and gotten shut out by the Jags. Last Thursday, the Colts played a putrid football game, allowing six sacks and 12 quarterback hits and showing a total inability to move the football for the first 57 minutes. And yet they somehow won, outlasting the Broncos 12-9 in overtime. On the whole, this is either a terrible good team or a pretty good terrible one. 

Anointed by the power rankers as a trendy sleeper team, the Jaguars betrayed our trust in them by losing 13-6 to the previously-winless Houston Texans. Wunderkind quarterback Trevor Lawrence muddled through his worst performance of the season, barely completing more than half of his passes and tossing two interceptions. In retrospect, it was probably too hasty to declare that Jacksonville was capital-b Back after just a handful of games because this is the same organization that’s won a combined four games in the previous two years. A Jaguar can’t change its stripes.

As he's wont to do a few time a season, tight end/quarterback/kick returner/mascot Taysom Hill went berserk on Sunday, rushing for 112 yards and three touchdowns, throwing for a 22 yard score and even chipping in 69 kick return yards. Although New Orleans’ offense has been fairly sterile to start the year, a matchup against the Seahawks’ porous defense proved to be an effective remedy. On Sunday, the Saints romped to a 39-32 win. For reference, the Saints scored a total of 39 points in Weeks 4 and 5. 

It’s become old hat that running backs don’t really matter. Nick Chubb, though, really, really does. With Jonathan Taylor injured and Derrick Henry still working his way into his normal form, Chubb is the clear-cut best running back to start the year, leading the league in rushing yards (593) and rushing touchdowns (7). Despite splitting snaps as part of a platoon with Kareem Hunt, Chubb has been utterly unstoppable, rushing for over 100 yards in four out of five games. Separately, Chubb has also scored at least one touchdown in four of five games. He’s a monster—albeit thankfully not in a Deshaun Watson sense.

It’s a testament to the team’s lassitude that not even Kyler Murray can make the Cardinals feel exciting.

Bill Belichick and his gang of unsmiling hardos beating the everlasting crud out of the lovable Lions 29-0 is the best proof that karma doesn’t exist

If not for a world-historically specious “roughing the passer” penalty, the Falcons potentially could’ve upset the Bucs and claimed first place in the NFC South. Alas, Atlanta came up just short, falling 21-15 in a game that the refs practically to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

To the delight of everybody, the Seahawks have let Geno cook. To the frustration of Seattleites, the Seahawks have let themselves get cooked by just about everyone.

Beyond moving the Bears one loss closer to a high draft pick, Sunday’s 29-22 defeat to the Vikings was also Justin Fields’ best game of the season. Believe it or not, Fields’ 208 passing yards are his high-water mark for the season. Encouragingly, Fields appears to have grown more comfortable within the Bears' confined passing attack, steadily increased his passing yardage over the last four weeks.

Oof—Dan Campbell looked like a much better coach on Hard Knocks. 

Congrats on the win! Seriously, who knows when you’ll get to celebrate like this again!

To a degree, the true upside of starting Kenny Pickett is that he makes even a 38-3 undressing semi-watchable. The future is now in Pittsburgh; here’s hoping it’s better than the present.

Blowing a 17 point lead as your shiny #1 receiver trips over his teammate on a game-deciding fourth-down is an awfully on-the-nose metaphor. 

What’s the biggest difference between the 1-4 Commies and their 4-1 and 5-0 divisional rivals? "Quarterbacks,” quoth head coach Ron Rivera. Admitting that your team’s marquee offseason addition is worse than luminaries such as Cooper Rush and Daniel Jones is never a good sign.

For reasons that still remain unclear, Matt Rhule bet his job on Baker Mayfield. Predictably, he lost. Still, there are worse fates than being paid $40 million to do nothing.

Russell Wilson needs to trust his receivers more to make plays over the middle of the field. Similarly, Nathan Hackett needs to face an international tribunal for his head coaching crimes.