NFL Power Rankings: Houston Texans Lead Top Teams on the Decline

What a difference a week makes in the NFL. One week, a team could be considered the toast of the league, but all it takes is one bad performance to knock them down a peg. That certainly happened in several cases in Week 5.

It remains to be seen whether these teams will be able to bounce back from nightmarish losses, but here are three top teams that are currently in sharp decline.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers seemed to pick up where they left off last season with an impressive win over the division rival Atlanta Falcons in Week 4, but they were dealt a dose of reality by the San Francisco 49ers this past weekend.

The Niners absolutely throttled Tampa Bay by a score of 48-3, and the Bucs will be left to pick up the pieces against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Tampa has a chance against the Saints at home, but the Saints must be licking their chops after seeing what the 49ers were able to do to the Buccaneers defense.

A win would put the Bucs right back on track, but if they play a game that even somewhat resembles their effort against San Francisco, they won't be winning again any time soon.

New York Giants

The New York Giants bounced back nicely with three consecutive wins after losing to the Washington Redskins on opening weekend. However, it all unraveled last week when the G-Men lost to a fairly weak Seattle Seahawks team on home field.

New York's defense hasn't performed well. This is due, in part, to injuries. Furthermore, the offense has been turnover prone as quarterback Eli Manning often is. The Giants had to go down to the wire to beat the Arizona Cardinals and their win over the Philadelphia Eagles is looking less impressive by the week.

Overall, the Giants simply may not be as good as their talent level would suggest. A date with the Buffalo Bills this Sunday certainly won't be easy. Another loss will essentially squash all of the good momentum they had built up prior to losing to Seattle.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans began the season in spectacular fashion by blowing out the Indianapolis Colts. They continued to look good in subsequent weeks, but a Week 5 loss to the Oakland Raiders leaves them at 3-2 and on the decline.

Houston was without star wide receiver Andre Johnson and his absence was certainly felt as the Texans receivers were unable to produce against Oakland. It's uncertain how much longer Johnson will be out, but his prospects of playing on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens don't look good.

Ultimately, I believe the Texans are the AFC South's best team. However, with the Ravens on tap, I expect a second consecutive loss. How the Texans perform after that will determine whether they are truly contenders or merely pretenders.

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