The NFL power rankings Week 6 picture shows a league with real separation at the top and at the bottom. Two teams carried unbeaten records into Week 6, with three teams undefeated overall, while three others dropped to 0-5. The ranking below is built on records, point differential, recent results and injury news from this season’s first five weeks, with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers setting the pace.
1. Kansas City Chiefs (4-0)
Kansas City is 4-0 and ranked first in the AFC after a 30-27 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. The Chiefs lead the league averaging 5.5 yards per carry and rank third in rushing at 162.3 yards per game. Patrick Mahomes has returned from reconstructed ACL surgery to anchor the offense, though the Chiefs will manage without wide receiver Rashee Rice, who left Week 4 with a hamstring strain and is expected to recover during the bye, and tight end Tyquan Thornton, who suffered a significant ankle injury in Week 4 that is expected to keep him out for an extended stretch.
2. San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco sits at the top of several statistical categories entering Week 6, according to Sporting News. Quarterback Brock Purdy improved to 5-0 in regular-season starts in Seattle and is 1-1 in the playoffs there, and he is closing in on the career passing attempts threshold needed to qualify for the all-time career passer rating leaderboard. The 49ers also rank second behind only Buffalo in third-down conversion rate, a mark that has kept their offense on schedule through the first five weeks.
3. Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota is one of the season’s surprises, ranking second in the league in time of possession at 33 minutes, 37 seconds and producing 10 takeaways in five games. That ball-control approach paired with a disruptive defense has the Vikings sitting among the teams with the best records in football, a group Sporting News noted was not widely expected before the season. The NFC North as a whole has three of its four teams above .500, and Minnesota is a big reason why.
4. Buffalo Bills
Buffalo leads the NFL in third-down conversion rate at 53.3%. The Bills needed overtime to beat the Los Angeles Rams, with Josh Allen rushing for 121 yards in that game for his first overtime win, an outcome that followed a postgame altercation between Rams offensive lineman Alaric Jackson and Bradley Chubb. The Rams, for their part, are already reevaluating their kicking unit after that loss, according to head coach Sean McVay.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville’s run defense has been the story of its season. The Jaguars allowed just 22 rushing yards against the Philadelphia Eagles and now sit at 63.8 rushing yards allowed per game, climbing from No. 3 in the league entering that matchup to the top of the rankings. A year ago the Jaguars finished No. 1 in the NFL in that category at 85.2 yards per game, and this year’s defense has been even stingier.
6. Baltimore Ravens
Tyler Huntley has kept Baltimore afloat in place of Lamar Jackson, improving to 6-6 as a starter after an overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons. Huntley threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns and added 20 rushing yards, including the game-winning score in overtime, capping a fourth-quarter comeback for the Ravens.
7. Seattle Seahawks
Running back Kenneth Walker III leads the NFL with 537 rushing yards through four games and has scored six total touchdowns, per USA Today. Seattle’s ground production has made the Seahawks a tough matchup heading into their meeting with Denver, a game previewed in part around Seattle’s turnover issues.
8. New York Giants
New York is another team exceeding preseason expectations, landing among the league’s better records alongside Minnesota, according to Sporting News. The Giants have benefited from the same kind of surprise production that has lifted other mid-table teams into the league’s upper half this season.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay’s run defense ranks second in the NFL in both yards allowed per game, at 72.8, and yards allowed per carry, at 3.28. That kind of consistency against the run has given the Buccaneers a foundation to build on as they push for playoff positioning.
24. Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers have turned the ball over a league-high 13 times in five games, a number that has undercut a roster expected to compete in the AFC West. Los Angeles opened the season with a loss to the Arizona Cardinals and has been among the teams performing well below expectations, according to Fox Sports.
27. Houston Texans
Houston entered Week 5 at 0-4 but still found a way to beat the previously winless Tennessee Titans, a result that dropped the Texans out of the very bottom of the rankings while keeping them well off the pace in a conference many expected them to contend in.
29. Arizona Cardinals
Arizona has lost 18 of its last 20 games dating back to last season, even after opening this year with a win over the Chargers. The Cardinals traded wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., a move Fox Sports said signals the organization is already looking toward next season. Arizona has said it will not change playcallers despite the 1-4 start.
30. Miami Dolphins
Miami’s minus-62-point differential is the worst in the NFL through five weeks. The Dolphins did show signs of life in their last game, scoring a season-high 24 points and out-gaining the Cincinnati Bengals 331 yards to 307. Running back Ollie Gordon has produced 188 yards and two touchdowns over two starts since De’Von Achane was lost, and Miami has already ruled out a quarterback change during the bye week.
31. Tennessee Titans
Tennessee started the season 0-5 for the first time since 2009, falling to the previously 0-4 Texans in its latest loss. One power ranker said he “felt bad” dropping the Titans to the bottom of the rankings the week before, but wrote that the loss to Houston proved the assessment correct, per Fox Sports.
32. The Rest Of The Bottom Tier
Three teams sat at 0-5 entering Week 6, and the NFC East is pushing the NFC South for the title of the league’s weakest division, according to Sporting News. One power ranker summed up the state of close losses and bad football simply: “points are points,” and added of struggling coaching staffs, “sometimes a coach’s job is just to not take his team out of the game.”
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