It feels like we know almost nothing about the new NFL season, but we're already almost 30% through the regular season.
The 49ers and Eagles are good. The Giants and Panthers are bad. Everything in between? Let's sort it out in our NFL Power Rankings Week 6.
San Francisco ascends to the top for the first time after a dominant 42-10 win. Their opponent — Dallas — drops all the way to 10th. It was a good week for cats, with the Lions and Bengals being high risers. Meanwhile, it wasn't such a great week for Packers and Patriots fans.
This seems like a good time to take stock of what we've learned so far this season by zooming in a bit before we zoom back out. Which teams' units and position groups have surprised or disappointed, and how should that reshape how we look at these teams going forward?
These are the Week 6 NFL Power Rankings.
NFL Power Rankings Week 6
| 1 | 17 | ||
| 2 | 18 | ||
| 3 | 19 | ||
| 4 | 20 | ||
| 5 | 21 | ||
| 6 | 22 | ||
| 7 | 23 | ||
| 8 | 24 | ||
| 9 | 25 | ||
| 10 | 26 | ||
| 11 | 27 | ||
| 12 | 28 | ||
| 13 | 29 | ||
| 14 | 30 | ||
| 15 | 31 | ||
| 16 | 32 |
TIER I — LOOKING PRETTY RELEVANT NOW
1. San Francisco 49ers (Last week ranking: 2)
Trending up: Brock Purdy
Just about everything is trending up for the team at the top. This is the best 49ers start in recorded DVOA history, and that goes back through all those incredible San Francisco teams in the 1980s and 90s.
Brandon Aiyuk has made a leap at WR, the defense is coming off its best game of the season and Kyle Shanahan appears to have replenished his coaching staff without missing a beat yet again. But the big swing factor here is Brock Purdy's development from system QB and potential liability into a genuine playmaker.
Purdy had his best game as a pro against Dallas, firing lasers all over the place and attacking down the field. He's raised the ceiling of this offense, more than any QB Shanahan's had here. This is not just the system or the weapons anymore; Purdy is making everyone better.
Through five weeks, Purdy is lapping the league at over 0.5 EPA per play. That's almost as much as Tua Tagovailoa and Patrick Mahomes combined. Only 10 other players are even over 0.1 EPA per play. Purdy's been so good that the 49ers' offense now ranks No. 1 in Passing DVOA, ahead of Tagovailoa and the Dolphins offense that's been breaking the NFL for a month.
49ers-Cowboys takeaways:
🔹 Sunday night was a coaching loss for Dallas
🔹 Dak Prescott was not good enough, and neither were the Cowboys
🔹 49ers are the team to beat now because of — not in spite of — serious MVP contender Brock Purdy ⬇️ https://t.co/kYvrrS81Yk— Brandon Anderson (@wheatonbrando) October 9, 2023
Purdy is unbeaten as a professional when he plays 50% of the snaps. He hasn't thrown an interception yet this season. He's the maestro of the best team in the league.
If the season ended today, Brock Purdy would be the MVP — and he'd deserve it.
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2. Philadelphia Eagles (5)
Trending down: Jalen Hurts
For my money, Sunday was Philadelphia's most impressive win of the season. The Eagles dominated a good Rams team, shutting them down in the second half and racking up 205 more yards with an impressive 13-of-18 on third downs.
The Eagles are one of two unbeaten teams, and Jalen Hurts has lost exactly twice as a starter since the start of last season. But I'm underwhelmed with his play. When I wrote my Opening Day QB Rankings, I started with Hurts at No. 10, but ended up sliding him all the way up to No. 5 and almost put him in the second tier with Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert.
That's looking like a mistake.
Hurts has looked more like No. 10 so far. He's not as explosive or aggressive a runner, and his passing efficiency has dropped significantly. He already has just two interceptions short of last season's total. Hurts certainly hasn't been bad, but he isn't playing anywhere near last year's MVP level either.
Until he does, or at least until he finds rhythm with Brian Johnson's play calling, the Eagles will have doubters.
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3. Kansas City Chiefs (2)
Trending down: Offensive line
I'm still unwilling to drop the Chiefs too far, and Kansas City is the AFC favorite almost by default at this point — with all the other contenders losing a game or two and, you know, Patrick Mahomes still existing.
Still, this offense hasn't felt right. It's lacking weapons — it's telling how panicked it felt when it looked like Travis Kelce had picked up a serious injury — and the offensive line has a major problem in RT Jawaan Taylor. The offensive line is a weak link, and Mahomes hasn't looked quite like himself.
On Sunday, the Chiefs played the Vikings basically even — they just went 9-of-15 on third down and 3-of-3 in the red zone. They played the Lions, Jaguars and Jets mostly even too and have topped 27 points only once.
You have to give them credit for getting the wins, but there's some real concern about the ceiling of this team, which is starting to look more like 11 or 12 wins rather than 14 and another MVP.
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TIER II — RESTORE THE ROAR
4. Detroit Lions (8)
Trending up: Defense
I was skeptical about the Lions coming into the season, and I got this team all wrong. Detroit is winning in all the ways I didn't expect it to — close gritty wins, defensive victories and wins without key players.
I'm certain this is the highest I've ever ranked the Lions at any point of any season in my lifetime. It's the best start to a Detroit season since … 1970?
We knew Ben Johnson's offense would be awesome, but Aaron Glenn's defense has been a revelation. Aidan Hutchinson is a superstar in the making, and Brian Branch leads an immediate-impact rookie class.
The Lions rank third in Defensive DVOA, top-eight against both the run and the pass. What?! I'm skeptical Detroit's defense is this good, but if it's even close, the Lions are in contention for everything.
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5. Buffalo Bills (1)
Trending down: Defensive health
Buffalo's loss to Jacksonville didn't really concern me. The Bills had a huge travel disadvantage and lost a close game despite playing like they were stuck in the mud with a slew of injuries. It happens.
It's all those injuries piling up that's getting really concerning.
Last week, Buffalo lost star CB Tre'Davious White for the season. This week, it was DT DaQuan Jones and LB Matt Milano, one of the best off-ball linebackers in the country, whose cover skills are key to unlocking this entire defensive scheme.
Josh Allen is talented enough to win any game on his own, but Buffalo's Super Bowl upside comes from a full team effort, and this defense just shut down that 70-point Dolphins offense. It's so disheartening to see this unit fall apart for health reasons yet again.
This is quickly turning into a team that needs Allen to play Superman, and that might be good for his MVP chances (+800, BetRivers), but it's bad for Buffalo's title dreams.
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6. Miami Dolphins (6)
Trending up: Rushing attack | Trending down: Defense
Miami piled up 524 yards on 54 plays on Sunday, an absurd 9.7 yards per play and the third-biggest yardage total so far this season — behind two other Dolphins totals, of course.
The Dolphins have the most yards ever through five games. They're averaging 37.0 PPG.
We already knew what the passing game could do, but the running game has been even more deadly, with both Raheem Mostert and De'Von Achane a threat to bust a long play at any time. Mike McDaniel is having fun.
But as awesome as the offense has been, the defense has been just as disappointing. Vic Fangio's unit was supposed to take a big step forward and make Miami real contenders, but this defense ranks bottom-10 against both the run and pass so far.
Some of that is garbage time, but Miami needs to find some answers defensively for us to take it seriously as Super Bowl contenders.
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TIER III — THESE TEAMS TOOK THE WEEK OFF
7. Baltimore Ravens (7)
Trending up: Defense
The Ravens should absolutely be 5-0 right now, but they gave away games to both the Colts and Steelers. That has cost Baltimore a real chance to get a big leg up in the division.
Still, it's hard to be disappointed when the team is playing this well despite an early barrage of injuries.
The offense is quickly adjusting to Todd Monken's new scheme, and the defense has been incredible for Mike Macdonald, given all the bodies missing. That defense should only get better with Marlon Humphrey back in the lineup.
Sunday's inexplicable loss may have given us a small buy-low window on Baltimore futures. The Ravens have only one true road game in their next six, and that's in Arizona. They have a case as the best team in the AFC, and there's value on all Ravens futures — Lamar Jackson +2000 MVP, Ravens division and AFC and title odds.
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8. Seattle Seahawks (11)
Trending up: Run defense
As the founding member of Seattle Island last fall, holy smokes could this team not tackle to save its lives. Four games into their new season, the Seahawks somehow rank No. 2 in Run Defense DVOA.
Is Bobby Wagner really that good? Is it the product of a soft schedule? Seattle's offense and defense have both been better than expected so far despite a slew of injuries on the offensive line and in the secondary.
If there's a drop-off coming, it hasn't hit yet.
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9. Cleveland Browns (7)
Trending up: Run defense | Trending down: Quarterback play
I was high on the Browns' defense entering the season because I loved the pass rush and corners, but Cleveland's run defense was terrible last year, and Jim Schwartz seems to have magically fixed that, too.
The Browns are only 2-2, but they have the best defense in the league by DVOA.
Of course, that's because the offense isn't doing its part. The Browns can't do much about Nick Chubb and RT Jack Conklin going out for the season, but Deshaun Watson has been a major disappointment. He doesn't look anything like the star Cleveland hoped for, and if he's not any good, nothing else really matters.
It's still early, so let's see if Watson found some answers and rhythm during the bye week.
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10. Dallas Cowboys (4)
Trending down: Offensive scheme
So far, the Cowboys have blown out three bad opponents and gotten embarrassed by two others. Those wins came against arguably the three worst offenses in the league. The losses came against an otherwise 0-4 Cardinals squad and now, the 49ers shellacking.
Everything about Dallas is trending down at the moment, but the offensive scheme has been most disappointing. This offense just looks outdated, and nothing the coaches are scheming up is making Dak Prescott look good or giving these talented weapons a chance to shine.
The Cowboys are tremendous front runners when things are going their way, but this team just keeps getting punched in the mouth by real opponents. The team — and the QB — haven't been good enough.
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11. Los Angeles Chargers (12)
Trending down: Pass defense
It's easy to make jokes about Brandon Staley's in-game decisions and Justin Herbert blowing another one, but the defense is the real problem for the Chargers.
The run defense was already bad and hasn't gotten any better, but the pass defense has been even more disappointing. J.C. Jackson was so bad that he got benched and then traded, and a talented secondary and pass rush just aren't living up to their billing.
Staley should get far more negative credit for his defense — supposedly his forte — than his odd game management.
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TIER IV — LOOKING FOR A SLEEPER
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13)
Trending up: Baker… Mayfield…?
How exactly is Tampa Bay 3-1? The defense has been solid — as expected — and a soft schedule has helped, but the uncomfortable truth is that the biggest reason for the Buccaneers' great start is Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield has quietly been outstanding. He ranks fifth in the league in EPA + CPOE — behind only Purdy, Allen, Tagovailoa and Mahomes — and he has career-low interception and sack rates.
Is Mayfield finally breaking out with a decent line, good play calling and the best receivers he's ever had? It's possible, but it's too soon to tell for sure.
I remain skeptical, but if Mayfield is this year's Geno Smith, the Bucs could be a big value sleeper. Mayfield would be a pretty interesting bet for Comeback Player of the Year, too (+2000, BetRivers).
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13. Cincinnati Bengals (25)
Trending down: Run defense
I overreacted when I dropped the Bengals to No. 25 last week, and now I've overreacted in the other direction, bouncing them back up to No. 13.
As awful as the season has been so far, the Bengals survived at 2-3 and are only a game back in the division with Joe Burrow coming off his best game of the season, by far. It's still an uphill battle ahead with a brutal schedule to come, but the most encouraging part about Sunday's win over the Cardinals might have been the impressive showing by the defense.
Arizona has quietly been one of the league's better offenses, and Cincinnati's defense has struggled nearly as much as the offense. The unit has been especially bad against the run, an expected area of strength. Can Lou Anarumo find some answers?
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14. Los Angeles Rams (14)
Trending up: Passing offense
Sean McVay is in his bag again, and the Rams' offense has been awesome. McVay has quietly rejuvenated the run game — which is central to his attack — but it's the passing offense that's been so surprisingly spectacular.
Matthew Stafford is fourth in the league in passing yards and second in attempts, Puka Nacua remains a revelation as a rookie, and now Cooper Kupp is back and stepped in without even missing a beat.
Kupp caught five passes for 66 yards in his season debut — wait, no, Kupp caught 5/66 in his debut drive with the Rams marching right down the field for a TD. He finished with 8/118 on 12 targets, while Nacua had 7/71 himself. And suddenly this Rams offense looks playoff-worthy and then some.
Kupp is 100-1 to lead the league in receiving yards at FanDuel. I've made goofier long-shot bets, especially with Justin Jefferson injured and missing as much time as Kupp did now.
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TIER V — THE TOPSY-TURVY AFC SOUTH
15. Houston Texans (10)
Trending up: C.J. Stroud & Bobby Slowik
The AFC South continues to look very frisky and interesting, and I still think the Texans might be the best of the bunch. Houston failed to hold off Atlanta late, but it was another step forward from C.J. Stroud after the rookie led a heck of a touchdown drive to grab the lead in the final minutes.
Stroud continues to play amazing ball, with perhaps his most impressive stat being that he just played a third consecutive game without getting sacked, behind a banged-up offensive line that's been making things up as it goes.
New Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik gets a lot of credit for that, too. He has this offense top-five in passing DVOA and he's scheming guys open, though he's stayed far too committed to a failing run game so far.
Let's see how this offense looks as the line gets healthy and finds some continuity. Every game left on the schedule is winnable, and with the way Stroud is playing, Houston has the better QB in all but two or three remaining games. This team is a real threat.
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16. Jacksonville Jaguars (18)
Trending up: Pass defense | Trending down: Offensive execution
I'll raise my hand. I certainly didn't expect the Jaguars to go to London and beat both the Falcons and Bills. Travis Etienne Jr. had a big finish and Calvin Ridley finally had another good game, but the truth is that Jacksonville is winning these games with defense more than anything else.
Jacksonville's run defense was stout last year, but the pass defense wasn't supposed to be holding Allen in check all game. Is this real? I'm skeptical, but when you hold Allen and Mahomes to 37 points combined, it sort of speaks for itself.
If we knew before the year that the defense would be this good, the Jaguars would've been a trendy Super Bowl pick. But Press Taylor's offense still doesn't look right. The offensive line is a disaster and Trevor Lawrence is suddenly eating sacks and making mistakes. Something just feels off.
The question is which unit regresses first. I still don't trust the defense, and I'm worried about this terrible schedule spot — coming home from two weeks in London with no rest for a key divisional matchup, then a short week Thursday night road game in New Orleans.
Jacksonville can't afford to give back the gains it just earned overseas.
I'm eyeing under 9.5 wins (FanDuel) as a way to fade the schedule, but if I'm wrong and the defense is real and the offense comes around too, look out.
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17. Indianapolis Colts (16)
Trending up: Defensive floor
The Colts continue to hang around. Shane Steichen has raised the floor of the team back to competency after the disaster that was the last couple of years.
Plus, the unkillable Gus Bradley continues to raise the floor of a defense lacking talent. Even with Shaq Leonard and Kwity Paye hurt and with that super young secondary, Bradley's defense is staying around league average, like usual.
Combine that with the better offense and the return of Jonathan Taylor, and that should've made the Colts sleeper contenders in the division. But that all feels offset suddenly by the Anthony Richardson injury news. Can Gardner Minshew do enough in Richardson's injury absence?
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TIER VI — THE FRAUDIEST 3-2 TEAMS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
18. New Orleans Saints (19)
Trending up: Defense
Many of the underlying metrics would push the Saints a couple of tiers up this list. I'm still not seeing it, but the defense sure looks like it didn't miss a beat despite losing so many key names on the defensive line and on the staff.
The Saints have finished in the top quarter of the NFL in Defensive DVOA in six consecutive seasons, which is remarkable considering how un-sticky defense typically is. New Orleans looks well on its way to making that seven. The Saints are top-five in Pass Defense and No. 4 overall after a dominant shutout performance in New England.
I'm not ready to believe yet after an opening schedule against Ryan Tannehill, Bryce Young, Jordan Love, Mayfield and Mac Jones, but it's not like the schedule gets much harder.
If you buy the Saints' defense, soft schedule and you think this offense comes around, many of my usual metrics purport New Orleans as a great buy-low team. The Saints are +175 to win the NFC South at DraftKings, an implied 36% versus 42% at Sumer Sports and 47% at FTN.
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19. Atlanta Falcons (20)
Trending down: Desmond Ridder's offense
It appears I may have buried the Falcons one game too early. Desmond Ridder returned home, where he remains unbeaten in his career (both college and pros), to carve up Houston's banged-up secondary for the best game of his career.
Ridder threw 37 times for 329 yards. He didn't take any sacks and helped Atlanta rack up 447 yards. This was the offense that was promised this season.
Technically that means Ridder is trending up, but the season-long numbers still say Ridder is one of the worst starting QBs in the league. He's behind only Mac Jones in Turnover Worthy Plays (per PFF), and he's making far too many poor decisions for a team that isn't even asking him to make many.
It's clear Ridder doesn't have this team's trust, and until he earns it back, Atlanta's ceiling is capped.
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20. Pittsburgh Steelers (23)
Trending down: Matt Canada's offense
How does Mike Tomlin keep doing this?!
Pittsburgh had absolutely no business winning that Ravens game, or even competing if we're being honest. Baltimore had three turnovers, two turnovers on downs, a blocked punt safety and about five bajillion drops, but other than that, the Steelers were definitely the better team.
Pittsburgh should absolutely be 1-4 but flat out stole two wins. That's sort of what Tomlin does.
The downside to stealing that win heading into the bye is that it would've been the perfect time to fire Matt Canada and install a real offense. Canada continues to force feed Najee Harris — who had an awful 14 carries for 37 yards Sunday — and he hasn't done anything to help Kenny Pickett, either.
Pittsburgh's entire offense is just jump balls to George Pickens, and Canada looks like the worst coordinator in the league.
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TIER VII — THANK U 4 TRYING
21. New York Jets (21)
Trending down: Aaron Rodgers fallout
Just about everything seems to be trending down for the Jets after the Aaron Rodgers injury. It's what we expected immediately that night, and it's how things are playing out. An elite franchise QB raises the floor of everything around him. Zach Wilson … does not.
The Jets' offense did hit 400 yards this week but went 0-for-5 in the red zone. And in the battle of Wilsons at QB, we were really all losers.
Zach has a flash here and there, but the metrics just aren't there. Garrett Wilson hasn't been good enough without a real QB, the offensive line is struggling in a big way and even the great defense isn't quite as great when it's in a hole from the offense all game. Everything is just harder across the board with Wilson instead of Rodgers. Duh.
Still, is this a buy-low spot for the Jets after a brutal opening schedule?
They have two wins already and are projected to hit 7.2 wins at FTN and 7.5 at Sumer Sports. Compare that to the in-season win total, and there appears to be real value on the over 5.5 (-135, DraftKings). There's value at +900 to make the playoffs (Caesars), too, with New York at 14 and 23% versus an implied 10%, according to the books.
A great defense and an improving run game gives the Jets a chance in most games, and New York could still trade for a QB like Kirk Cousins and make a run.
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22. Green Bay Packers (15)
Trending down: Jordan Love
It all looked so good in the opener, as Jordan Love tossed three touchdowns and lit up the rival Bears. But it's all gone downhill since.
Love has thrown five TDs and six interceptions since the opener. He's completing under 56% of his passes on the season with the worst Completion Percentage Over Expectation in the league by a wide margin. Love is inaccurate and makes bad, slow decisions. He also turns 25 in a month, so it's not like we can treat this like a rookie season.
The Packers aren't just a year away. It's starting to look like they're a quarterback away, too.
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23. Tennessee Titans (17)
Trending down: Run game
The end may finally be near for Derrick Henry.
King Henry just doesn't look the same anymore. He's run 86 times in five games — still among the league leaders — but tallied just 328 yards on the ground with an ugly 3.8 YPC. The Titans' run game ranks below league average by DVOA, and without that smash mouth run identity, the offense looks lost in the wilderness.
The Titans are an NFL mirror. Play Tennessee and you see what you are as a team. The Titans have had one blowout in each direction and three coin flip games. Expect more of the same.
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24. Minnesota Vikings (24)
Trending down: Luck
The Vikings have as many losses this season as they did all last year, and it's still hard to tell exactly why. The offense has been notably better, Justin Jefferson was lighting up opponents weekly before his injury and Kirk Cousins is playing great ball.
Minnesota continues to hang in there and compete against tough opponents.
But all that luck that went Minnesota's way last year has gone hilariously sideways in 2023.
The Vikings were 11-0 in one-score games last season before losing a one-score game in the playoffs. They're 0-4 this year in games within seven points and have had — by far — the worst turnover luck in the league, losing almost two full games of win probability so far on bad turnover luck.
Turnover value gained or lost so far this season.
Who gained most: LAC, PIT, SEA
Lost most: MIN, CLE, LVEagles are 9th, right ahead of DAL pic.twitter.com/ctOgwbNMAi
— Greg – PhillyCoverCorner (@greghartpa) October 9, 2023
Minnesota hasn't been as bad as its 1-4 record would indicate, but with Jefferson now out a month, it would be easy to see this team pulling the plug and leaning into a reset.
The Vikings are projected at 6.1 wins at FTN and 5.9 at Sumer, and that's not even accounting for the loss of one of the most valuable non-QBs in the league, or potentially Cousins if the team decides to move on in the final year of his contract.
I see value on Vikings under 6.5 +110 (BetMGM).
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25. Arizona Cardinals (22)
Trending up: Drew Petzing's offensive scheme
The Cardinals are coming off of their worst offensive game of the season and may finally be regressing to the mean with James Conner's injury. But it's still worth noting just how incredible new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing has been with this offense.
Arizona has the least offensive talent in the league, led by a quarterback who wasn't even on the roster in training camp. Petzing still has the Cards top-10 in Offensive DVOA with no notable weapons, little talent on the line and a QB off waivers.
It's a long road ahead and the Cardinals are probably fading back to irrelevancy after that surprising start, but Petzing looks like the real deal.
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TIER VIII — THIS ISN'T THE BOTTOM TIER YET?!!
26. Las Vegas Raiders (28)
Trending down: Rushing attack
Monday night felt more about the Packers than the Raiders, who didn't do anything particularly impressive and are still failing to reignite a rushing attack that was so dominant last year but ranks dead last in DVOA this one. The blocking has regressed hard and rushing champion Josh Jacobs is averaging just 47 yards per game on volume at an ugly 2.9 YPC.
On top of that, Josh McDaniels continues to commit war crimes as an in-game decision maker.
The Raiders might've been better off losing and inching one step closer to moving on.
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27. Chicago Bears (32)
Trending down: Justin Fields | Trending up: Justin Fields
Somehow in the span of one month, Justin Fields had been way worse than everyone expected in a potential breakout season, totally bottomed out and killed off all expectations and quietly looked for the last two weeks like the possible star everyone was hoping for coming into the season.
Fields barely showed any signs of life through three games, but he's thrown four TDs in back-to-back games since. He's starting to get going again as a runner, and the Bears should really be on a two-game winning streak if not for the collapse against Denver.
It feels like we all buried Fields and left him for dead, but are we totally sure the Bears are cooked?
Chicago plays the Vikings, Raiders, Chargers, Saints, and Panthers next, winnable games if Fields keeps making plays. The Bears could get through that stretch 5-5 and come out competitive if this Fields thing is real.
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28. Washington Commanders (27)
Trending down: Coaching
Washington got embarrassed by Chicago in front of its home fans and a national TV audience Thursday night, and this coaching staff has been exposed from every angle.
New offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy called 55 straight passes to end the game against Chicago, without a single designed run from the 8:49 mark of the second quarter forward. Washington passed on 30 of 32 first downs and finished with six designed runs for 10 yards.
Defensively, Jack Del Rio continues to struggle to put together consecutive good years. This defense is far too talented to be struggling this mightily.
And then there's Ron Rivera's terrible decision making and in-game leadership game after game.
It might be time to clean house in Washington.
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TIER IX — THOSE SUPER BOWLS ARE LONG AGO NOW
29. New England Patriots (26)
Trending down: Coaching
Speaking of time to clean house, everyone is starting to wonder if the same could be true in New England.
The Patriots were utterly embarrassed by a mediocre Saints team, getting shut out at home 34-0 a week after losing by 35. New England's offense ranked in the 0th percentile in EPA per play and considering the opponent and playing a home game after being embarrassed by 35, this might be one of the single worst results of the entire season.
It's hard not to wonder about Bill Belichick at this point. For years, Belichick's secret sauce has been the little things in the margins, like offensive line and special teams. Last year, the line cratered and has never recovered, as the team can't find the right five-man solution. Meanwhile, the special teams rank dead last in DVOA for a second straight season, too, even after investing heavily in the unit this offseason.
Mac Jones has been horrendous, but that feels like a coaching failure, too. New England is 1-4, with its lone win by five points over Zach Wilson. The Patriots are at a talent deficit against most opponents, and it's starting to look like the coaching advantage is gone, too.
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30. Denver Broncos (30)
Trending down: Vance Joseph's defense
It's one thing to give up 70 points to an incredible Dolphins offense. It's another thing entirely to give up 59 to the Bears and Jets the next two weeks.
Vance Joseph took over a talented defense that was one of the best in the league a year ago and somehow has this unit historically bad through five weeks. The Broncos allowed over 400 yards to a broken Jets offense, repeatedly getting gashed in the run game behind a terrible, injured offensive line.
That honestly might've been more of an indictment for this defense than the Miami game.
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31. New York Giants (29)
Trending down: Brian Daboll's offense
Remember when this team won 10 games including a playoff game? That was only 267 days ago, but it feels like 267 years ago.
Everything is bad for the Giants, but the offense has been particularly disappointing. All the things Brian Daboll did to raise this unit's floor a year ago aren't working. Evan Neal hasn't taken a step at RT as the offensive line remains shambolic, and Daniel Jones just got sacked again reading that sentence. Somebody named Eric Gray ran 12 times for 25 yards on Sunday for the Giants.
New York's one win came thanks to a second-half revival in Arizona after being shut out 20-0 in the opening 30 minutes. Outside of that half, the Giants' offense has had 46 possessions. It has one touchdown on those 46 possessions and has recorded more sacks (27) than points (24). Woof.
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32. Carolina Panthers (31)
Trending down: Bryce Young's trajectory
It's a lost season for the Panthers. They're the last winless team with a defense besieged by injuries and an offense that just doesn't have any oomph. It's way too early to know much with certainty about rookie quarterbacks, but it sure doesn't look great for Bryce Young so far.
Young threw three TDs Sunday, but he just doesn't pass the eye test in any way. He looks positively tiny out there and is making some awful decisions. He had his second multi-interception game and memorably panic threw backwards under pressure in a key moment.
The team also pulled Young for Andy Dalton on a QB sneak, which is either an indictment of Young's size or his health — but problematic either way.
This is the guy the franchise traded away everything for, including star WR D.J. Moore, who just had a monster game for the Bears. When you mortgage the future — including next year's No. 1 draft pick — to move up for a franchise QB, you don't expect to win right away, but you do expect to see some telltale signs that you got the right guy.
Carolina can't feel like that at all right now, and that's very troubling indeed.
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NFL Week 6 Power Rankings
- San Francisco 49ers (Last week's ranking: 2)
- Philadelphia Eagles (5)
- Kansas City Chiefs (3)
- Detroit Lions (8)
- Buffalo Bills (1)
- Miami Dolphins (6)
- Baltimore Ravens (7)
- Seattle Seahawks (11)
- Cleveland Browns (9)
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