NFL Power Rankings Week 6: Welcome To The Bottom, Patriots

After the completion of week 5 of the NFL season, there are some shakeups to the top 5 and bottom 5 of the NFL. And, that includes the appearance of the Patriots in the bottom 5 for the first time in over two decades.

After the completion of week 5 of the NFL season, there are some shakeups to the top 5 and bottom 5 of the NFL. And, that includes the appearance of the Patriots in the bottom 5 for the first time in over two decades.

28. Chicago Bears (1-4)

Last Week 40-20 (W) @ Commanders
This Week: VS. Vikings

The Chicago Bears nearly sneak out of the bottom five following an impressive performance on the road against the Commanders. And, despite choking away a big lead in week 4, against the Broncos, they’ve strung two competent football games in a row together. Yes, Denver beat them, but the Bears are better than the Broncos right now.

And, it starts and ends with Justin Fields. He was ranked as my worst quarterback in the league just a few weeks ago. Since then, aside from that fourth quarter against Denver, he’s been terrific. Fields has 617 yards passing with eight touchdowns to go against just one interception the last two weeks, and he’s unlocked this offense that was a laughingstock through three weeks.

I, like many, had completely given up on Justin Fields as a starting quarterback in the NFL. If this stretch of games turns out to be a turning point for him into the player many thought he can be, then the franchise is sitting pretty, considering they own the Panthers’ first round pick as well as their own heading into the 2024 NFL Draft.

29. New England Patriots

Last Week: 34-0 (L) VS. Saints
This Week: @ Raiders

For the first time in Bill Belichick’s tenure in New England, the Patriots’ are a flat-out embarrassment. Back-to-back blowout losses to the tune of 71-3 have Bill Belichick as an unpopular guy in the region for the first time in a long time. It seems as if this year could be the end of his incredible, record-setting tenure that turned an area where football was an afterthought into one that loves the Patriots as much as they love the Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins.

The biggest issue of many is that Mac Jones has completely regressed from the guy that took the team to the playoffs as a rookie in 2021. He’s been benched in back-to-back games now, and appears to be one of the worst quarterbacks in the National Football League. His camp is spreading the word that they’re unhappy with the weapons at his disposal. There’s some truth to that, but Mac Jones stinks right now.

The defense looked pretty good to start the year, but injuries to LB Matthew Judon and CB Christian Gonzalez have completely sapped the defense of difference makers. The offense is doing them no favors either, as they’re on the field all the time. Still, the unit should be playing better than it is.

It’s time for a rebuild in New England. It was one heck of a run.

30. Denver Broncos (1-4)

Last Week: 31-21 (L) VS. Jets
This Week: @ Chiefs

It wasn’t even a blowout, and yet, the Denver Broncos suffered the most embarrassing loss of the season so far against the Jets on Sunday.

Of course, that’s because of all the trash talk Broncos head coach Sean Payton talked on former Broncos head coach and current Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett during the offseason. And, after calling Hackett’s job last year one of the worst coaching performances in NFL history, Payton was thoroughly out coached by the Jets and Robert Saleh.

The Broncos have traded three first round picks and three second round picks for Payton and quarterback Russell Wilson. Those were, obviously, both bad trades. It’s clear at this point that’s a big mistake. It’s hard to argue that the Broncos have the bleakest future of the 32 teams.

31. New York Giants (1-4)

Last Week: 31-16 (L) @ Dolphins
This Week: @ Bills

The Giants should be thankful that the Carolina Panthers are winless, because this team is trending as one of the all-time worst teams in NFL history. They’ve now played ten halves, and only one of them, the second-half comeback against the Cardinals, has been remotely competitive. They’re downright awful.

The offensive line is one of the worst offensive lines in recent memory league wide. With star tackle Andrew Thomas out with injury, they’ve given up 18 sacks the last two weeks, a number that is beyond embarrassing. Daniel Jones has been responsible for some of those with poor play, but he’s probably seeing ghosts considering all the pressure he’s facing. 2022 top-ten pick OT Evan Neal may be the worst starting lineman in all of football. The score of that Dolphins game does not even come close to tell how much the team was dominated.

That was most reflected on defense. The Giants surrendered over 500 yards, and were saved from complete embarrassment by three Dolphin turnovers. Kayvon Thibodeaux is showing flashes which is encouraging, but defensive coordinator Wink Martindale seems lost as this defense continues to give up tons of points each week.

It’s time for this franchise to do a proper rebuild. I just think owner John Mara isn’t smart enough to realize it.

32. Carolina Panthers (0-5)

Last Week: 42-24 (L) @ Lions
This week: @ Dolphins

The league’s last winless team is also the league’s worst team, and it’s a struggle to see exactly how this team will win a football game. They will win a game this year, likely multiple games, but it’s a bad football team.

The good news is that Sunday’s loss saw Bryce Young have his first three-touchdown game of his career. And, Young did a much better job avoiding sacks, as the Lions only had one on Sunday despite numerous pressures. That’s pretty much it for the positives.

The defense is actually not a bad unit when healthy, but injuries are starting to pile up in the secondary, and the Lions took advantage of conservative defensive play-calling to cover for the back-end by running the ball effectively.

Overall, it’s just a really bad football team. The worst part? The Bears own their first-round pick, as they dealt it to trade up to get Bryce Young.

5. Detroit Lions (4-1)

Last Week 42-24 (W) vs Panthers
This Week: @ Buccanneers

When’s the last time that the Detroit Lions were routinely making the top five of NFL power rankings lists, as they will this week? It’s been quite a while, but head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes have done a tremendous job in this rebuild that many thought would take years following the trade of Matthew Stafford prior to the 2021 season.

Many throughout the league mocked Campbell when he preached that the Lions were going to win by being a tough and physical football team. They said the league had moved too far into finesse football. But, he’s proved them all wrong, and this is a team that’s red-hot. Dating back to last year, they’re 11-3 in their last 14 games, and that culture he said he would establish certainly has been.

Of course, it helps that Jared Goff is playing like the guy that got MVP consideration for the Rams in 2019. Thrown in the Stafford trade to help make the money work, he was thought to be a guy that would start while the Lions looked for their next franchise quarterback. Instead, he may very well be the starting quarterback in Detroit for a long time. After throwing for 4400 yards and 29 touchdowns against just 7 interceptions last year, he’s on a similar trajectory this year.

Defensively, the secondary is a work in progress, but the front is awesome, led by Aidan Hutchinson. The Lions had to be thrilled when the Jaguars decided to not take the hometown kid Aidan Hutchinson with the first-overall pick in 2022. Detroit snatched him up without thinking twice, and he’s already one of the league’s best defensive players. Hutchinson leads the league in pressures and has 4.5 sacks after 9.5 as a rookie.

There’s a long way to go still. But, right now, they look like the third-best team in the NFC and a fringe Super Bowl contender. That’s a sentence that hasn’t been written about the Lions in quite some time.

4. Kansas City Chiefs (4-1)

Last Week: 27-20 (W) @ Vikings
This Week: VS. Broncos

No Taylor Swift, no problem for the Kansas City Chiefs, who went to Minnesota and dispatched a Vikings team much better than their 1-4 record.

Patrick Mahomes rebounded from an uncharacteristic performance against the New York Jets to look like an MVP-caliber player once again. When Travis Kelce’s foot got stuck in the turf, causing him to tumble to the ground without contact, Kansas City fans’ hearts had to have sunk. But, what looked like it may have been a catastrophic injury wasn’t enough to keep him from returning to the game in the second half, and he ended up with 10 catches and a touchdown. Speaking of ten, that’s how many different Chiefs caught passes from Mahomes, as it looks like that the plan isn’t to try to establish any sort of hierarchy at wide receiver and instead do it by committee.

The Chiefs defense continues to be the story. A very good Vikings offense was held to just 329 yards and was stout against the run once again. They’re designed to get after the passer, so if the run defense continues playing this well, that’s a big development.

They’re going to likely demolish the Broncos on Thursday Night Football, and right now the most intriguing question about the Chiefs is whether they will shop at the trade deadline for a wide receiver or not.

3. Miami Dolphins (4-1)

Last Week: 31-16 (W) VS. Giants
This Week: VS. Panthers

After going on the road and losing to the Bills, the Miami Dolphins offense looked once again like an offense that could smash NFL records this year as they tallied up 524 yards of offense. Only three turnovers stopped the Dolphins from putting up another 50-point performance. Tyreek Hill had another big game, Jaylen Waddle started to get re-integrated in the offense following a slow start due to injury, and rookie running back De’von Achane is second in the league in rushing despite having one total carry in the first two games of the season. The bad news is that Achane suffered a knee injury, the severity of which is unknown as of Monday night.

The defense was stout against an awful Giants offense. They did what they should do against the league’s worst offensive line, tallying seven sacks. There’s not a lot you can say about this unit that was answered over the weekend, as the Giants are just that bad. They still need to prove themselves against the better offenses in the league.

Neither side of the ball will be challenged against the worst team in the NFL, the Carolina Panthers, this weekend.

2. Philadelphia Eagles (5-0)

Last Week: 23-14 (W) @ Rams
This Week: @ Jets

The Philadelphia Eagles haven’t been quite as dominant as the team ahead of them, but they’ve been pretty impressive themselves. And, their win on the road against the Rams on Sunday may have been the most impressive of their 5-0 start.

It’s not as if Jalen Hurts had been playing badly at the very start of the season. But, there was definitely some rust that needed to be shaken off. Safe to say that he’s done that. Despite a bad interception in the end zone on Sunday, otherwise played an outstanding game and has 622 yards the last two games through the air as AJ Brown, Devonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert have feasted through the air. Hurts added 72 yards on the ground as well on Sunday. As his legs go, the offense goes.

Defensively, the unit got off to a slow start, but eventually that incredible front wore the Rams down. Jalen Carter may already be the best player on the defense, and Hassan Reddick closed the game out with two massive sacks. A brutal stretch of games are coming that will tell us a lot more about this team. But, right now, they’re right where they want to be.

1. San Francisco 49ers (5-0)

Last Week 42-10 (W) vs. Cowboys
This Week: @ Browns

In what was maybe the most anticipated game of the season, the San Francisco 49ers had a chance to make a statement against the fringe-top 5 Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. And, a statement was made.

San Francisco absolutely dominated the Cowboys, out-gaining them by a 2:1 margin and winning 42-10 in a game that was only that close because head coach Kyle Shanahan called the dogs off.

Even on a night where Christian McCaffrey was well under 3.0 yards per carry, quarterback Brock Purdy continued his MVP-caliber play, throwing for 252 yards and four touchdowns as George Kittle caught three.

As good as they were on offense, the story Sunday night was the 49ers’ defense. The unit, led by a masterful performance by all-pro linebacker Fred Warner, held Dallas to under 200 yards. They simply looked faster than a Cowboys offense that seemed slow and predictable in their play calling. With a deep and versatile front able to get pressure from anywhere while just rushing four, and Randy Gregory getting ready to join the team following his acquisition from the Broncos, it could get even better.