NFL Power Rankings Week 6: Initial Standings Post Thursday Night Football

Something had to give on the Week 6 edition of Thursday Night Football. 

It did, as the now 4-2 Carolina Panthers went down 28-23 at home against the Philadelphia Eagles as Cam Newton fired off a trio of interceptions compared to Carson Wentz's three scores. The Eagles moved to 5-1 with the upset, shuffling the rankings. 

Little can advertise a week's full slate like a battle between conference heavyweights. It also goes to show the NFL continues to sort itself out from a standings perspective, which creates an interesting ripple effect on power rankings. 

To reflect the latest standing-shaking result and review league hierarchy as a whole, let's take a look at updated power rankings below.  

2017 NFL Power Rankings and Super Bowl Odds

Rank	Team
1	Kansas City Chiefs (9-1)
2	Denver Broncos (16-1)
3	Green Bay Packers (15-2)
4	Philadelphia Eagles (22-1)
5	Carolina Panthers (28-1)
6	Detroit Lions (22-1)
7	Seattle Seahawks (11-1)
8	Atlanta Falcons (10-1)
9	New England Patriots (4-1)
10	Oakland Raiders (20-1)
11	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (40-1)
12	Los Angeles Rams (40-1)
13	Washington Redskins (66-1)
14	Cincinnati Bengals (150-1)
15	Buffalo Bills (50-1)
16	Dallas Cowboys (14-1)
17	New York Jets (200-1)
18	Houston Texans (28-1)
19	Miami Dolphins (200-1)
20	Jacksonville Jaguars (100-1)
21	Pittsburgh Steelers (9-1)
22	Baltimore Ravens (75-1)
23	Tennessee Titans (33-1)
24	New Orleans Saints (50-1)
25	Minnesota Vikings (40-1)
26	Arizona Cardinals (75-1)
27	Los Angeles Chargers (300-1)
28	Chicago Bears (500-1)
29	Indianapolis Colts (200-1)
30	New York Giants (150-1)
31	Cleveland Browns (3000-1)
32	San Francisco 49ers (2000-1)

Denver Broncos

Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

The NFL's best chance at taking down the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs resides in the same division. 

The Denver Broncos have a 3-1 record, with the lone loss a 10-point affair against an upstart Buffalo Bills team. 

Denver doesn't impress offensively—but it doesn't need to. Trevor Siemian has only thrown seven touchdowns against four interceptions, with four of those scores coming in an anomaly of a game. But it's a defense that has allowed more than 20 points in a game twice. 

There's a swagger that comes with such an accomplishment, too. 

"We always want the game in our hands at the end; that's how we like it," cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said, according to ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold. "But so far this year, we've been better getting started. We have to keep that going, but we've done it so far."

There will come a time when Denver's defense will receive a big enough test capable of putting the pressure back on the offense. But those changes will be few and far between and perhaps only when the Broncos dance with the Chiefs.  

Until then, with the first meeting between the two in Week 8, the Broncos have earned a top spot and don't figure to let go.

Detroit Lions

Keeping the Detroit Lions so far up the power rankings might receive some backlash. 

But things aren't always what they seem, even for a team that has lost two out of its last three games. Those losses, while at home, came to the Atlanta Falcons by four points and the Carolina Panthers by three. 

The Lions will likely see one or both of those teams again. 

The fact is, Detroit lost two tough games but still boasts a defense only coughing up an average of 19.4 points and 74.6 rushing yards per game. Matthew Stafford has thrown nine touchdowns against one interception. 

Week 6 will provide an interest test for the Lions on the road against the New Orleans Saints as the NFC South tour continues. The NFC North as a whole isn't easy either with the Green Bay Packers looking as expected and the Minnesota Vikings hanging by a thread. 

Still, Stafford is spreading the ball around well to a surprisingly deep cast of weapons and has a complementary defense. Those are two factors that normally key consistent season-long runs, so knocking the Lions too much for a rough patch doesn't make sense. 

Jacksonville Jaguars

To say the Jacksonville Jaguars look good would classify both as an understatement and unexpected. 

The fact the Jaguars have their heads above .500 and are knee deep in the AFC South race seems like a good way to explain to someone who missed the first few weeks that 2017 has been odd. 

Now, the Jaguars aren't going to the Super Bowl (and if they do, feel free to share this), but take a look at this note from NFL Research: 

Jacksonville has been on a tear, to say the least, intercepting Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger five times in a Week 5, 30-9 road victory. It'd classify as a fluke, yet the Jaguars beat up on the Baltimore Ravens 44-7 during a trip to London in Week 3. 

Granted, it's hard to know which Jaguars team will show up on a weekly basis. Part of this stems from the fact that offenses capable of moving the ball against the defense forces the offense to rely on Blake Bortles, who has completed 54.8 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and four interceptions. In the win over the Steelers, he attempted all of 14 passes. 

This weak link might eventually cause the Jaguars to fade out. But the defense and rookie back Leonard Fournette are fun to watch, and the division is a mess with the Indianapolis Colts missing Andrew Luck and the Houston Texans down J.J. Watt. 

A soft schedule and the team taking advantage of it makes the Jaguars one of the notables to watch in Week 6 and beyond.  

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Odds courtesy of OddsShark.