2020-2021 NFL Power Rankings: Week 6
1. Kansas City Chiefs
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Even in ugly conditions, with a consistent downpour in Buffalo, the Chiefs made it look easy against a really good Bills team. Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 161 yards for his best game as a rookie. Mahomes struggled early with some accuracy, that can be attributed mostly to the conditions, but he settled down and threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns.
2. Tennessee Titans
▲1
Derrick Henry might get some MVP votes if continues on this pace for the rest of the season. He had 22 carries for 212 yards and two touchdowns, and one of those carries being a 94 yard run to the house. It’s great to see how well Ryan Tannehill is doing since leaving Adam Gase. My only issue with this team is their lack of a pass rush. Unless they blitz, they rarely get pressure with their front-four.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
▲2
The Steelers get their first big win of the season blowing out the Browns 38-7. The Browns defense had no answer for James Conner who rushed for 101 yards and one touchdown. On the other side of the field, the Browns really had no answer for the Steelers swarming defense. The Steelers intercepted Baker twice, one being a pick-six, and they held a really good Cleveland rushing attack to 75 yards. This team doesn’t have any visible weaknesses right now, but that could be the lack of competition.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
▲10
What a bounce back game from the Buccaneers. They completely dominated the Packers after being down 10-0 early. After the early deficit, they scored 38 unanswered points and held an explosive Packers offense to five total yards in the second quarter. Levonte David and Devin are by far the best inside linebacker duo in the NFL. The Packers simply could not keep up with their speed. Another pleasant sign for the Buccaneers was the return of Rob Gronkowski who had five catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.
5. Baltimore Ravens
▼1
The Ravens staved off the Eagles fourth quarter comeback to win 30-28. Lamar Jackson had a pretty good game running for 108 yards and throwing for 186 yards, but they struggled to move the ball consistently in the fourth quarter. The defense, though, gave up 194 yards rushing to the Eagles who don’t run the ball particularly well.
6. Seattle Seahawks
-
The Seahawks were on a bye this week.
7. Green Bay Packers
▼5
It couldn’t have been a worse week for the Packers to have their worst game of the season. Nothing went well for the offense or defense against Tampa Bay. The Packers simply could not keep up with the speed and ferocity of the Tampa defensive front and Devin White and Levonte David were consistently making plays in the Packers backfield. The Packers offensive line could not handle the different stunts and blitz packages Todd Bowles threw at them, and after only giving up two sacks in weeks 1-5, they gave up 5 sacks against Tampa.
8. Buffalo Bills
▼1
After boasting one of the best defenses in the league in 2019, the Bills in 2020 have an average to below average defense. Their defense currently ranks 15th in total yards per game at 359.9 yards. That is nowhere near their rankings from last year, and on Sunday, they gave up 161 yards to the Cheifs rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The Bills offense cannot run the football either, so for them to be successful, they rely on Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs in the passing game.
9. Chicago Bears
▲4
The Bears consistently win ugly and are 5-1 on the season. They don’t run the football well and they aren’t particularly good in the passing game either, but they win games. After their defense took a step back in 2019, they’ve returned to peak form in 2020 and are holding teams to 10 points per game.
10. Los Angeles Rams
▼1
All four of the Rams wins come against the NFC East. That being said, the Rams barely lost to the Bills, and would have won if not for a weak defensive pass interference call in the red-zone. The Rams still have four wins and are only one game back in the NFC West. The Rams currently have the second best scoring defense in the league and unfortunately had their worst game against the 49ers.
11. Las Vegas Raiders
-
The Raiders had a bye week
12. New Orleans Saints
-
The Saints had a bye week.
13. New England Patriots
▼5
This was a really strange game for the Patriots.
14. Cleveland Browns
▼4
A really weird loss for the Buccaneers. Not only were they missing most of their offensive fire power, but Tom seemed to forget what down it was at the end of the game. After going up 10-0 after the first quarter, they couldn’t seem to convert field goals into touchdowns. While the defense did hold the bears to under 40 rushing yards, they couldn’t seem to stop Nick Foles consistently.
15. Miami Dolphins
▲1
The Panthers are one of the pleasant surprises of the season. They have played far and away better than anyone expected them to and currently have a winning record. Since McCaffery injuty, Mike Davis stepped in and is one of the better running backs in the league. Teddy Bridgewater looks like a legit franchise quarterback and Matt Rhule has this team playing great, despite their lack of talent.
16. San Francisco 49ers
▲6
The Dolphins absolutely dismantled the 49ers winning 43-17. After Ryan Fitzpatrick put up a stinker last week, he picked apart a really good 49ers defense and ended the game with a 99.2 QBR. Not only did the offense have a historical day, but the defense really confused Jimmy Garappolo causing him to get benched in the fourth quarter.
17. Indianapolis Colts
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The Colts defense looked pedestrian against the Browns rushing attack on Sunday. They gave up 125 yards on the ground against the Browns and looked outmatched against the Browns offensive line. Offensively, they cannot get any type of consistency from Philip Rivers in the passing game. Rivers currently has four touchdowns to five interceptions on the season, and T.Y. Hilton hasn’t had a 100 yard receiving game since Andrew Luck was the quarterback.
18. Arizona Cardinals
▲1
Eventually the Chargers are going to win a close game. Justin Herbert looks like he is going to run away with rookie of the year. Herbert threw for four touchdowns and connected on a number of deep shots. The problem with this team is they cannot stay healthy year-to-year and again really missed Keenan Allen after he left with an injury. This team has a bright future, but they need to help their rookie quarterback.
19. Carolina Panthers
▼4
The Cardinals got to beat up on the Jets this weekend and are back over .500. Kyler Murray threw for 380 yards and one touchdown, and the team ran the ball for 137 yards. Hopkins caught most of Murray’s passes for a total of 131 and a touchdown. The defense also sacked Joe Flacco three times and held the Jets to ten points.
20. Los Angeles Chargers
▼2
The Vikings gave the Seahawks all they could handle and almost pulled out a victory if not for a questionable 4th down call from Zimmer at the end of the 4th down quarter.
21. Houston Texans
▲4
The Vikings finally get their first win against the Texans behind a 130 yard rushing performance from Dalvin Cook. Thielen and Jefferson also found their grooves both having 100+ receiving yards. The defense is still trying to find their footing, but is improving holding the Texans to less than 70 yards rushing.
22. Detroit Lions
▲4
Joes Mixon finally has a breakout game and as a result the Bengals get their first win. Mixon ran for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Burrow threw for 300 yards and one touchdown. The defense still has lots of work to do, but did a good job limiting Gardner Minshew and the Jaguars.
23. Denver Broncos
▲7
The Panthers are now 2-0 since McCaffery got hurt in week two. Mike Davis has filled in nicely in his absence averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Teddy Bridgewater is as stable as it gets at the quarterback position. The NFC south has two really good teams, and I can see the Panthers challenging both of them.
24. Philadelphia Eagles
▼1
The Eagles defense dominated and smothered the 49ers offense this week. Wentz began to look like his old self creating plays and escaping the pocket for big runs. He also found himself a new favorite target in Travis Fulgham with all of the injuries they have at the wide receiver position. If this team wants to stay in the mix for the NFC East, they will need to find some consistency on offense.
25. Atlanta Falcons
▲4
Matt Stafford really enjoyed having Kenny Golladay back in the line-up. Golladay finished the game with 62 yards and one touchdown. The Lions need to improve their running game with Swift, Johnson, and Peterson if they want to beat top-10 teams. Matt Patricia is getting a pretty long leash, considering how many games they’ve lost since hiring him, but his seat is getting hotter with each loss.
26. Dallas Cowboys
▼6
The Texans can’t seem to do anything right this year. Offensively, they can’t create any positive plays without Watson’s brilliance. Defensively, their defense is lacking the talent they once had. I’m not sure what this team can do to turn around this season, but something needs to change.
27. Minnesota Vikings
▼7
The Jaguars seem to have lost all of their early season magic and are now coming back to earth. DJ Chark is quietly having one of the best seasons for a wide receiver. On Sunday, he had eight receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Laviska Shenult also showed flashes of his potential with 5 receptions for 86 yards. The Jaguars are a long way from another appearance in the AFC Championship game, but they’ve got some foundational pieces for the future.
28. Cincinnati Bengals
▼4
The Falcons stood no chance against the Packers on Monday night. Not only are they struggling with injuries at almost every position, but they can’t seem to execute defensively or offensively. After Calvin Ridley had two historic games catching passes for 100+ yards in each, he was held to zero catches on Monday.
29. Jacksonville Jaguars
▼2
The Washington defense was torn apart by Baltimore’s explosive offense. Haskins didn’t play terribly, but he didn’t make any game changing plays to keep Washington in the game. That being said, he doesn’t deserve to be benched in week five for Kyle Allen. This defensive front sorely misses rookie standout Chase Young who is battling injuries.
30. Washington Football Team
▼2
The Broncos desperately miss Drew Lock and Von Miller. Fortunately, Drew Lock will be back in the near future after an AC joint injury he suffered in week one. Melvin Gordon had his best game as a Bronco rushing for 100+ yards, and Juedy had his first touchdown “mossing” a defender on an underthrown ball by Rypien. The emergence of Tim Patrick is also a bright spot in a otherwise disappointing season for the Broncos.
31.New York Giants
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Daniel Jones needs to figure out how to not turn the ball over. Through his first 16 games in the NFL, he’s turned the ball over 29 times. Until he figures out how to make good decisions with the football I’m revoking the nickname Danny Dimes. The defense did give the Rams issues last week and is playing pretty well against the run.
32.New York Jets
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Free Sam Darnold.