NFL Week 6 power rankings: 49ers are new No. 1, Seahawks fall

The National Football League is now through five weeks. Things are starting to sort themselves out, but there is more unknown than not heading into Week 6. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. With 12 more weeks remaining in the season, there should always be fluidity.

There are a handful of teams with 0-1 losses, and there are a handful of winless teams or squads with just one, but there is a whole lot of .500 caliber teams in the middle (for now). Half of those teams will rise to the occasion and become legit threats, and half will plummet into the bottom of the barrel.

A stunning Monday Night Football game that lived up to the hype ended Week 5 on a strong note, as the Buffalo Bills pulled off a miracle in overtime against the Los Angeles Rams. Both teams are capable of finding ways to win, but someone had to go down with just minutes remaining in extra time.

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This is how the rest of the league stacks up from 1 to 32:

1. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week: 3)

1. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week: 1)

3. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week: 4)

6. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week: 10)

9. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week: 6)

1. New England Patriots (Last Week: 15)

13. New York Giants (Last Week: 12)

1. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 11)

15. Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 17)

The entire NFC North is in this tier. The Chicago Bears took a bad loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, but they still stay ahead of them and the Detroit Lions because Caleb Williams is likely to be coming back in Week 6. If it’s a true power ranking, the Bears have proven that they are ahead when their star quarterback is under center.

There is a lot of AFC West and NFC West in this tier as well. Those divisions will all enter the late stages of the season with multiple teams believing that they can be in the playoffs. They won’t all get in, but there will be good football teams on the outside this year.

The New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars are AFC teams that deserve respect. None of them have Josh Allen, which should be seen as important when power ranking teams, but this conference is wide open as it stands because Buffalo’s defense is not performing up to par. The Kansas City Chiefs were on a bye, and although it may not be fair, getting to 5-0 with a win over the defending Super Bowl champions is impressive for the San Francisco 49ers.

Are the Baltimore Ravens going to hold off the rest of the teams in their division? A wonderful Sunday night victory over the Atlanta Falcons led by Tyler Huntley in place of the injured Lamar Jackson makes it clear that good things could be on the horizon for them if their star quarterback gets healthy.

16. Cleveland Browns (Last Week: 14)

17. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week: 16)

18. Carolina Panthers (Last Week: 19)

1. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: 18)

2. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 22)

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The other three AFC North teams remain in this division. One of them is sure to fall out, but the 3-2 Cleveland Browns are throwing a wrench in this whole thing. As for the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons, someone has to win the NFC South. It won’t be the New Orleans Saints or Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who find themselves low in the next tier.

21. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week: 21)

22. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: 26)

25. New Orleans Saints (Last Week: 24)

1. Washington Commanders (Last Week: 23)

2. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week: 27)

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 30)

1. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week: 29)

2. Tennessee Titans (Last Week: 31)

The disaster performance at the end of the game by the Philadelphia Eagles, again, finally dropped them in this tier. It may be a while before they are the Eagles, who have mostly been a mainstay in the playoffs for years.

Philadelphia’s NFC East counterpart, the Washington Commanders, had a win staring them in the face as well, but they blew that opportunity with bad clock management. The Dallas Cowboys are also playing lousy football, making things easy for the suddenly resurgent New York Giants to run away with the division.

Who will win a game first – the Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans, or Miami Dolphins? Are they all going to find at least one victory this season? Based on the way they play, it doesn’t feel that way, despite there always being one win for every team.

With the exception of the underperforming NFC East teams, the Houston Texans are the most surprising team in this tier. They have a great defense and a quarterback who has impressed before. Can they pull themselves out of it now that they have a win? Only time will tell.

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