NFL Power Rankings Week 6: Falcons Look Like Contenders, Cowboys, Vikings Done?
The NFL power rankings have seen quite a shakeup from Week 5, with plenty of wild finishes and some unexpected results boosting some teams in the rankings, while others seem to be cooked.
Take the Atlanta Falcons. A strong showing in Week 5 saw them ascend the charts this week, and they look the part of NFC South title contenders.
Meanwhile, the wheels seem to have come off in Dallas and Minnesota, as both the Vikes and Cowboys suffered devastating losses this week.
What kind of impact will it have on the standings? Let's find out.
Skidsville: 32-21
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32. Carolina Panthers: Does John Fox know you're allowed to run more than you throw? His seat is scalding right now.
31. Buffalo Bills: When Ryan "Juust a bit outside" Fitzpatrick is your team's savior at quarterback, you're in trouble.
30. San Francisco 49ers: The saddest part about San Fran's owner's prediction that they'll win the NFC West after starting 0-5? It's a real possibility.
29. Cleveland Browns: The celebration ended pretty quickly in Cleveland, when Jake Delhomme reminded them why they liked Seneca Wallace so much.
28. Detroit Lions: Well, that was a convincing win. Why can't they do that every week?
27. Dallas Cowboys: If they actually had a coach, they'd be a decent team.
26. Minnesota Vikings: They'd be higher if Brett Favre was still alive.
25. Oakland Raiders: Don't get too excited, Raiders fans. You guys still can't stop the run.
24. St. Louis Rams: I guess all that "The Rams are back!" talk was a little premature. Holy cow.
23. San Diego Chargers: Once again, we have no idea who this team actually is.
22. Denver Broncos: If they were a little more consistent, they could get out of the 18-25 range.
21. Seattle Seahawks: They have to do something other than stink on the road for me to put them higher than this.
20. Arizona Cardinals
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Why They're Here: They have three wins in 2010, so I guess we can't leave them out of the top 20.
Why They Could Be Higher: The'yre leading their division, and they have Larry Fitzgerald, so there's that, I suppose.
Why They Could Be Lower: I've never seen a team look worse at 3-2 than the Cardinals have this season. It's been awful.
19. Jacksonville Jaguars
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Why They're Here: The Jags are part of the four-way beat-down that is the AFC South, with all of the teams tied a 3-2. So we can't leave them out of the top 20.
Why They Could Be Higher: Scoring an upset of Indy in Week 4 was huge for Jacksonville, and Maurice Jones-Drew looks to have found his sea legs.
Why They Could Be Lower: That defense can't stop anything. It really has gotten ugly on the defensive side of the ball.
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18. Cincinnati Bengals
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Why They're Here: Back-to-back losses to the Browns and Buccaneers have seen the Bengals slide down the rankings fairly quickly.
Why They Could Be Higher: The Bengals hold a good win over a strong Ravens team, and their offense has performed fairly well in 2010. Their defense has had moments of dominance.
Why They Could Be Lower: The Browns? Seriously? And a team with dreams of winning its division crown has no business losing to the Bucs at home.
17. Tennessee Titans
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Why They're Here: Another one of the AFC South's 3-2 teams, the Titans have looked good in three weeks, and bad in two others.
Why They Could Be Higher: The Titans have looked fantastic in their wins in 2010.
Why They Could Be Lower: They've looked pretty awful in their losses. Vince Young has yet to have a strong performance, much less an excellent one.
16. New York Giants
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Why They're Here: What a difference two weeks makes, eh? A pair of dominant wins and suddenly the Giants are one of the NFL's hottest teams.
Why They Could Be Higher: Wins over highly ranked Chicago and Houston could have propelled the Giants even higher into the rankings.
Why They Could Be Lower: Those two straight losses had the Giants looking pretty bad, and there's nothing to say they won't revert to old ways in the coming weeks.
15. Miami Dolphins
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Why They're Here: A couple of strong wins and a couple of rough losses have the Dolphins sitting squarely in the middle of the pack.
Why They Could Be Higher: Their offense has shown signs of life a couple of times this season.
Why They Could Be Lower: They looked downright awful against New England in Week 4, and could be overachieving a bit getting this high in the rankings.
14. Philadelphia Eagles
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Why They're Here: The Eagles are 3-2, sit second in the NFC East, and their offense is capable of going off. But they haven't looked great in their two losses, either.
Why They Could Be Higher: When they're clicking, the Eagles' offense is nearly unstoppable. With all of their weapons, Philly's defense could be excellent, too.
Why They Could Be Lower: The defense has been atrocious through five weeks, and Kevin Kolb hasn't looked nearly as good as Vick did.
13. Houston Texans
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Why They're Here: Houston is in a bit of a tailspin right now, having lost two of three and nearly falling to the lowly Raiders in between.
Why They Could Be Higher: A win over Indianapolis is big for them, and their offense has more balance than ever before.
Why They Could Be Lower: Houston's defense has looked flat out awful through five games, and the offense has sputtered in both their losses.
12. Washington Redskins
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Why They're Here: Don't look now, but the Redskins are 3-2 and leading the NFC East.
Why They Could Be Higher: The offense is capable of big games, while the defense finally showed what they could do against Green Bay in Week 5.
Why They Could Be Lower: The Redskins' offense sputters pretty regularly, and the defense has gotten torched over the top all season long.
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Why They're Here: The Bucs are 3-1, and other than a bad loss to Pittsburgh, have looked like a team close to contending.
Why They Could Be Higher: 3-1 for this team is impressive, considering their modest expectations coming into 2010. Winning in Cincinnati is never easy.
Why They Could Be Lower: The Bucs didn't really beat anyone in the opening portion of the season, and the Bengals don't look as good as they did last year.
10. Kansas City Chiefs
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Why They're Here: The Chiefs are 3-1, leading the AFC West, and have a defense that suddenly looks intimidating.
Why They Could Be Higher: The Chiefs have looked strong in 2010, using their defense and running game to keep teams from running them out of the stadium. They hung tough with a good Colts team in Week 5.
Why They Could Be Lower: Their passing game has been flat out awful for most of the year, and the Colts proved they can be beaten.
9. Green Bay Packers
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Why They're Here: We know they're good. But two losses in three weeks, and a narrow escape against Detroit isn't going to cut it, if you want to be a Super Bowl contender.
Why They Could Be Higher: A tough loss to Washington with a concussed Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, and their defense is downright terrifying.
Why They Could Be Lower: If Rodgers has to miss any time with the concussion, this team is in deep, deep trouble.
8. New Orleans Saints
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Why They're Here: Yes, I know they've lost two of three. And I know Brees has struggled with teams taking away the deep ball. But the Saints were competitive in each of their two losses, and they'd be 4-1 if Garrett Hartley knew how to kick a football.
Why They Could Be Higher: The Saints have showed poise and versatility in 2010, winning close games behind a terrifying secondary and an efficient offense.
Why They Could Be Lower: Seriously? Arizona? They can't stop anything!
7. Indianapolis Colts
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Why They're Here: The Colts' offense has been excellent in 2010, and they're tied for first in their division. But a couple of losses have people wondering about this team's long-term prospects.
Why They Could Be Higher: When they're clicking offensively and defensively, no one can beat the Colts.
Why They Could Be Lower: The defense is in serious trouble with Melvin Bullitt hurt. They need to shore up their issues in a big hurry, because Peyton can't win them all by himself.
6. New England Patriots
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Why They're Here: The Patriots have looked good through four weeks, but they're not without issues, so we can't put them in the top 5.
Why They Could Be Higher: Tom Brady has a ton of talented young weapons to utilize, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis is an excellent running back who brings balance to the Pats' offense.
Why They Could Be Lower: The defense looked downright terrible against the pass until last week against Miami, and it remains to be seen whether the offense can keep up the success without Randy Moss.
5. New York Jets
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Why They're Here: By virtue of beating the Patriots and figuring out their offensive woes, the Jets have once again positioned themselves as AFC East favorites.
Why They Could Be Higher: Their defense is still formidable, the offense is clicking, and they just added Santonio Holmes off suspension. The best might be yet to come in New York.
Why They Could Be Lower: The Jets' defense isn't untouchable anymore, and anyone who thinks Braylon Edwards is a reliable wideout hasn't watched him drop so many passes this year.
4. Chicago Bears
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Why They're Here: Hey, wait a second. Matt Forte can run the ball? Since when?
Why They Could Be Higher: The Bears showed they can win without concussed quarterback Jay Cutler in Week 5, and they're winning the NFC North.
Why They Could Be Lower: If Cutler misses any more time, Chicago is going to be in serious trouble going forward.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
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Why They're Here: 3-1 without Ben Roethlisberger, and a defense that is arguably the NFL's most feared in 2010. This team could be the NFL's best when all is said and done.
Why They Could Be Higher: Big Ben returns this week, giving Pittsburgh another weapon, to go along with Rashard Mendenhall and their unstoppable defense.
Why They Could Be Lower: It remains to be seen how much rust Ben has to shake off this week, and he could struggle to find a rhythm now that he's back.
2. Baltimore Ravens
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Why They're Here: The Ravens' defense has looked good. Their offense has looked good in the last three weeks. They gave Pittsburgh their only loss of the season. What's not to like?
Why They Could Be Higher: If the offense has gotten it's act together (which it looks like it has), this team is extremely dangerous.
Why They Could Be Lower: The Ravens do have that loss to Cincinnati on their record, and their offense has yet to fire on all cylinders in a given week.
1. Atlanta Falcons
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Why They're Here: Other than a Week 1 loss to Pittsburgh, Atlanta's offense has been phenomenal in 2010. The defense looks much improved, and they're 4-1 with a win over the defending Super Bowl champs.
Why They Could Be Higher: They can't.
Why They Could Be Lower: The Falcons have been shut down this season, so they're not unbeatable, and their hold on the top spot is tenuous from week to week.
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