NFL Power Rankings: Which Divisions Does ESPN Paint as League's Best?

Upon examining ESPN's Week 6 power rankings, three divisions field two teams apiece in the top 10. However, one division shows up three times in the top 15: the NFC East.

But does that mean it's the best division in the NFL? The first appearance of an NFC East team comes at No. 10, with the 3-1 Washington Redskins. The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys round out the top 15 at No. 14 and 15, respectively.

This pileup of teams speaks more to the unpredictable nature of the teams that make up the NFC East rather than to their dominance. And in my rankings, the only NFC East team in the top 15 is the Redskins, with the Giants and Cowboys ranked 18th and 20th, respectively.

In terms of the actual best division, those three with two teams each in the top 10 make a much better case for themselves.

The AFC East's New England Patriots (No. 2) and Buffalo Bills (No. 6) and the NFC North's Green Bay Packers (No. 1) and Detroit Lions (No. 4) are far better than any one team in the NFC East.

Of those two divisions, the NFC North clearly wins out; the Lions and Packers are the NFL's only undefeated teams, while both the Patriots and the Bills have serious question marks surrounding how sustainable their early success will be as the season wears on.

The AFC North also has two teams in the top 10—the No. 5 Ravens and No. 8 Steelers, while the 3-2 Bengals are unfairly ranked at just 20. However, all three of these teams are too inconsistent to say definitively that the division is the league's best just yet.

So, through five weeks, it looks like the NFC North is the best in the NFL, despite poor performances out of two of its four teams. The NFC North wins out on the strength of its two undefeated teams being, without question, the best teams in the league.

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