The NFL Blog: Power Rankings (After Week 6)

Power Rankings After Week 6

1. Tennessee 5-0 (1st)
2. Buffalo 4-1 (3rd)
3. Pittsburgh 4-1 (8th)
4. Washington 4-2 (2nd)
5. New York Giants 4-1 (4th)
6. Indianapolis 3-2 (NR)
7. San Diego 3-3 (NR)
8. Dallas 4-2 (5th)

-Previous week’s ranking in parenthesis;

Out: Carolina (6th); Philadelphia (7th);

Explanation: The struggles of the NFC East teams threw a wrench in my power rankings but they didn’t shake things up all that much. In terms of my top 8, if you didn’t play in week 6 you were better off. The Titans were idle and thus they remained undefeated at 5-0 and stayed atop my rankings for a 3rd straight week. I had the Redskins ranked 2nd last week but I had to move them down after they suffered an unimaginable let down against the Rams at home. While Washington’s loss was certainly the worst out of the 3 NFC East losses, I’m less concerned about the Skins than the other two NFC East losers. The Skins dominated the Rams in yards and first downs but they turned it over 3 times and got crushed on some really fluky plays. Washington really played well outside of their 3 fumbles. Basically, I think the loss was a complete fluke and that they’ll get back on the right track from here. But the loss did seem to show a lack of focus, and they can’t be that good if they’re capable of losing to the Rams at home. Anyway, I only moved the Skins down 2 spots to 4th because of the things stated above. The Bills didn’t play in week 6, and again, that was better, because I couldn’t think worse about a team if they didn’t play. I decided to move the Bills back up to 2nd from 3rd as they should have Trent Edwards back healthy in week 7. The Steelers were also off in week 6 and I moved them all the way to 3rd from 8th, a 5 spot jump. I did this, obviously, because the teams in front of them were so unimpressive. Also, Pittsburgh’s wins over Houston and on the road against the Browns and Jacksonville keep looking better. The Giants had been in the #4 spot but I moved them down a spot to 5th after they lost for the first time on the season in week 6, getting hammered by the Browns on MNF. Everyone is capable of playing a bad game and Eli hadn’t had a bad game in a long time, but you have to be a little bit concerned about Manning possibly falling into some old habits. Only 2 teams fell out of my top 8 this week and they came out of the 6 and 7 slots. The Panthers had been 6th in my rankings but I dropped them out of the top 8 after they got destroyed by the Bucs on the road. Dropping the #7 Eagles out of the top 8 might be the most curious decision of the week, seeing as how they won by 14 at San Francisco. But the Eagles were not impressive in this one and the Niners really helped them out. Plus, as always the Eagles are really banged up. I moved the Colts and the Chargers back into the top 8 and placed them in the number 6 and 7 spots respectively. The Colts’ offense finally looked liked itself in week 6 as they blew away Baltimore 31-3. The Chargers trashed the Patriots on Sunday night, 30-10, despite continuous injuries to a number of their weapons. The Cowboys filled the final spot in my rankings, falling 3 spots from 5th to 8th. Not only did the Cowboys lose for the second time in three games, they suffered injuries to their QB, punter, and their second string RB/kick returner. The Boys were already without Terrance Newman and Safety Roy Williams and now they have lost Adam Jones for at least 4 games. However, the Cowboys traded for WR Roy Williams and that could make their offense much harder to contain. If the Cowboys get healthy at the right time they might peak in the second half this year.