I stopped writing NFL Power Rankings a couple of seasons ago ’cause nobody was reading ’em. You know – every sports media website in the world has some form of these power rankings up, so there’s a lot of competition, and the little guys like us lose out in those scenarios. It makes it somewhat pointless to do stuff like this, but whatever happened with Google’s core web vitals update back in May seems to have kicked our traffic into another gear. I guess they like us? Anyway, it made me think that maybe it was worth giving these bad boys another try. So, like I said before I stopped writing these, my NFL Power Rankings are based solely on what has happened on the field so far. I’m not taking preseason expectations or projections into consideration. These rankings are based strictly on what I’ve seen so far this season. Let’s get to it.
NFL POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 6, 2021
1. Arizona Cardinals (6-0) – If there’s a way to beat this team, nobody has figured it out yet. I never understood why this team was a three-point underdog to the Cleveland Browns, and they validated my skepticism on Sunday with a downright dominant win. So many damn weapons on this offense. JJ Watt was out there strip sackin’ Baker Mayfield. Kyler Murray is firmly in the MVP conversation if he’s not the MVP frontrunner at this point. This team is GOOD. They should get to 7-0 next week when they host the lowly Texans.
2. Green Bay Packers (5-1) – Make it five in a row for the rolling Packers, and yes Bears fans, unfortunately for you, Aaron Rodgers does still own you. He’s now 22-5, including five straight wins, against the Bears. This team is going to be a Super Bowl contender as long as Rodgers is doing his thing. I expect they’ll get to 6-1, hosting the Washington Football Team on Sunday.
3. Los Angeles Rams (5-1) – Matthew Stafford is out there spreading the ball around, throwing no-look passes, and hooking up with Cooper Kupp. They absolutely pounded a beat up and struggling New York Giants squad 38-11, and that’s exactly what you’d expect a good team to do.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1) – It wasn’t pretty, but the Bucs continue to just go out there and get it done. The Eagles were feisty on Thursday Night Football, but the Bucs overwhelmed them early enough that the comeback proved to be too daunting. The Bucs host the Chicago Bears this Sunday afternoon.
5. Dallas Cowboys (5-1) – The New England Patriots play some ugly games, and they win by muddying things up for their opponents and dragging them down into the mud. The Pats did their absolute best to do that to the Cowboys on Sunday, and for a moment, it looked like they were going to be successful. But, this Cowboys squad showed some real gumption in pushing this game into overtime and then winning it on the arm of Dak Prescott finding Ceedee Lamb for a big score. If we weren’t already, it’s time to start considering this Cowboys team a legitimate Super Bowl contender. They get a chance to rest with a bye this week.
6. Baltimore Ravens (5-1) – If Sunday’s 34-6 win over the upstart Chargers wasn’t vintage Baltimore Ravens football, I don’t know what is. That defense was frenetic and stifling, keeping MVP contender Justin Herbert company in check, they ran the ball at will, and Lamar Jackson made plays. Quintessential Ravens football, as this team is as hot as fire right now. They host the Bengals in a big time AFC North match-up this weekend.
7. Buffalo Bills (4-2) – Look, despite losing to the Titans this week, this is still obviously a damn good Bills team. Maybe we just saw that that hot start was more about the level of competition than we initially wanted to say. Josh Allen is still in the MVP race, and he had two chances to punch the ball in on Monday night. If he gets either of those, we’re talking about a 5-1 football team. This is a game of inches after all, so we can’t knock them down too far. The Bills have a bye next week
8. Los Angeles Chargers (4-2) – Color me shocked after the Chargers came out and got absolutely nothing going against the Ravens after the hot run they were on. There’s still plenty of reason to be optimistic about this team, and they’ll get a bit of a chance to regroup with a bye this week.
9. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) – This Bengals offense is star-studded, and it validated itself when it hung in there with a Super Bowl contender in Green Bay. It furthered that validation by going out there and throttling the Detroit Lions. The Lions are a bad football team – but it’s a mark of a good football team to compete with anyone and beat up on the teams that you’re clearly better than. A tough task is on deck this week as the Bengals travel to Baltimore, but they absolutely have a shot against the Ravens.
10. Tennessee Titans (4-2) – The Titans make their debut in the top 10 this season after an absolutely gutsy performance on Monday Night Football, upsetting a Bills team that many said was the best team in all of the NFL. They really got it going in all phases of the game, with the defensive front proving to be an absolute menace against Josh Allen and the Bills offensive line. The offense hung 34 on a defense that had previously only allowed around 12 points per game. Complete win for a team that has a lot of heart and seems to always rise to the occasion under Mike Vrabel. They host the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday, and this race to the top of the AFC may have another horse in it.
IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY…
AFC
- (1) Baltimore Ravens (BYE)
- (7) Pittsburgh Steelers @ (2) Los Angeles Chargers
- (6) Las Vegas Raiders @ (3) Tennessee Titans
- (5) Cincinnati Bengals @ (4) Buffalo Bills
NFC
- (1) Arizona Cardinals (BYE)
- (7) Minnesota Vikings @ (2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- (6) New Orleans Saints @ (3) Dallas Cowboys
- (5) Los Angeles Rams @ (4) Green Bay Packers
PREDICTIONS
- Top 5 NFL Draft order: 1. Lions, 2. Texans, 3. Jaguars, 4. Dolphins, 5. Jets
- AFC Championship: Bills @ Ravens
- NFC Championship: Buccaneers @ Cardinals
- Super Bowl: Bills vs. Cardinals
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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