NFL Power Rankings Week 6: Philadelphia Eagles and 3 Most Pathetic Teams

What separates a pathetic team from a bad one has a lot to do with how a team responds to having a losing record. A bad team can get it together, rally around one another, take responsibility for the team's shortcomings and move forward, but a pathetic team gets mired in its mistakes and continues to repeat them well long after they've been addressed, without improvement.

Such is the case for the Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos, three 1-4 teams with very little to be happy about this season.

The Eagles have learned only one thing from their missteps this season, and that's how not to avoid them. Turnovers have plagued the team all season, culminating with five lost balls in their Week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

They've turned the ball over a whopping 14 times in their four-game losing streak, which is the number one factor as to why they can put up an average of 500 yards of offense over their last two games and still lose.

At the same time, their defense can't stop anyone. Bills, Giants, Niners, Falcons: All of these teams beat the Eagles and put up no fewer than 24 points in doing so. Philadelphia has only defeated one team, the league-worst St. Louis Rams; one glance at the remainder of their schedule and it's not hard to imagine them picking up just two or three more wins if they continue down their current path.

The Arizona Cardinals are in a similar hole, dropping to the previously-winless Minnesota Vikings 34-10 in Week 5, after allowing four Vikings touchdowns in the first quarter. Of the loss, and of the team's 1-4 record, Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb pointed to a lack of discipline and professionalism plaguing the team.

That's a beyond-bad sign for a team thought as favorites to win the generally weak NFC West division. Instead, they're losing close contests to thoroughly beatable teams week after week, ultimately culminating in their blowout loss to the Vikings on Sunday.

The kind of pathetic play holding the Denver Broncos down is different from that of the Eagles or Cardinals, simply because it can be connected to just one man: Quarterback Kyle Orton. Before being benched in the second half for backup Tim Tebow in the team's eventual Week 5 loss to the San Diego Chargers, he completed just six of 13 passes for a terrible 34 yards and an interception.

Despite a renewed focus on the running game, the Broncos have managed just one win, with Orton primarily to blame. Every one of their games has ended with a margin of less than a touchdown, a situation that points to Orton's inability to make plays when it matters most.

The fact that the Broncos have turned to Tebow, not their No. 2 but their No. 3 quarterback, though he has clear limitations that have kept him off the field thus far, means that the team is grasping at straws to salvage what they can from this already disappointing NFL season.

NFL Power Rankings, Week 6*
 
1. Green Bay Packers
2. Detroit Lions
3. New Orleans Saints
4. New England Patriots
5. San Francisco 49ers
6. Oakland Raiders
7. Baltimore Ravens
8. Buffalo Bills
9. San Diego Chargers
10. Pittsburgh Steelers
11. Houston Texans
12. Tennessee Titans
13. Washington Redskins
14. Cincinnati Bengals
15. Atlanta Falcons
16. New York Jets
17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
18. New York Giants
19. Chicago Bears
20. Dallas Cowboys
21. Cleveland Browns
22. Kansas City Chiefs
23. Philadelphia Eagles
24. Seattle Seahawks
25. Carolina Panthers
26. Denver Broncos
27. Jacksonville Jaguars
28. Arizona Cardinals
29. Minnesota Vikings
30. Indianapolis Colts
31. Miami Dolphins
32. St. Louis Rams

*Subject to change depending on outcome of Monday night's Lions-Bears contest