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Power Rankings – Week Six

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The start to the second quarter of the season showed pretty much the same things that we saw through the first four games, with surprising wins coming out of teams that spent the majority of last season at the bottom of the pile.

Once again, I’ve put together my power rankings for your reading pleasure, taking in everything that’s happened over the past week to determine where each team stands comparison to the other 31 in the league.

As always, feel free to leave any thoughts you have in the comment section.

Top of the Heap

1. New York Jets (4-1) – Aside from their week one loss, the Jets have lived up to their billing in every single way, and they should only get better as Mark Sanchez continues to learn how to read opposing defenses. Avoiding a letdown against the Broncos on the road this week shouldn’t be overly difficult.

2. Atlanta (4-1) – The Falcons seem to have the right mix going with a strong run game and a quarterback that’s quickly becoming one of the league’s best in Matt Ryan. Beating the Eagles next week on the road won’t be easy, but if they keep playing the way they have, they’ll definitely have a chance.

3. Baltimore (4-1) – The Ravens did exactly what they needed to do in their win over the Broncos last week, crushing Denver with a suffocating defense and wearing them down with their rushing attack. Their next opponent won’t be that easy, as the Patriots have what it takes to win every week.

4. Pittsburgh (3-1) - With Ben Roethlisberger back in the huddle this week, the Steelers should be a better team than they’ve been all year, which is a scary thought considering the fact that they’ve dominated three out of four opponents. A home game against the Browns this week shouldn’t prove to be too difficult.

5. New England (3-1) – The decision to trade away Randy Moss is a bit of a head scratcher, as it leaves the Patriots without a proven deep threat to work with in their passing game. That said, the distraction that he presented each week had to be addressed, and that’s exactly what Bill Belichick did. We’ll see if it works out for them this week against the Ravens.

6. New Orleans (3-2) – The Saints already showed their flaws earlier this season, in their loss at home to Atlanta, but they took them to whole new level last Sunday in losing to a Cardinals team that was starting an undrafted rookie at quarterback. They’ll look to rebound this week with a win against their division rivals in Tampa Bay.

7. Indianapolis (3-2) – The Colts pulled out a much needed win against the Chiefs in spite of Peyton Manning, and while that is definitely something to hang their hat on in the coming weeks, they won’t be able to do that against tougher competition. They’ll get their chance to prove they can do just that next week against the Redskins.

8. Green Bay (3-2) – The Packers beat themselves once again last week against the Redskins and if they can’t get a handle on their injury situation soon, it’s going to be tough to make a return trip back to the post-season. Winning a home game against Miami is a must this week.

9. New York Giants (3-2) – After two straight wins in which they dominated their opponents, the Giants have seemingly found their stride and a large part of it has come courtesy of their defense and a fearsome pass rush. That should continue next week against the Lions.

10. Kansas City (3-1) – The Chiefs fell back to earth a bit last Sunday in losing to the Colts, but there aren’t too many teams in the league right now that can say they kept Peyton Manning off the scoreboard, so they should still be proud of what they accomplished in that game. Another tough road test awaits though in Houston next week.

Middle of the pack

11. Washington (3-2)

12. Chicago (4-1)

13. Houston (3-2)

14. Tennessee (3-2)

15. Philadelphia (3-2)

16. San Diego (2-3)

17. Miami (2-2)

18. Minnesota (1-3)

19. Dallas (1-3)

20. Tampa Bay (3-2)

21. Arizona (3-2)