NFL Power Rankings: Eagles, Patriots and 49ers Impress Heading into Bye Week

Week 6 of the 2011 NFL season proved to be unusually fruitful for teams heading into their Week 7 bye. Five out of the six squads with a week off coming up pulled out victories, with the lone loser (the Buffalo Bills) suffering defeat to a New York Giants team that will likewise have next Sunday off.

And while all five of the victorious squads will have something to smile about for the next two weeks, these three in particular had rather impressive outings on which to build during the bye.

Philadelphia Eagles

It's tough to say whether or not it's too soon to write off the Eagles, though they finally resembled something closer to a decent team on Sunday. Michael Vick didn't perform particularly well, completing just 18 of his 31 pass attempts with just one touchdown against an interception.

However, Vick's play hadn't been that big of a problem for Philly this season. Sure, the offensive line's pass protection still left something to be desired, but, on a more encouraging note, the defense held the Redskins to just 13 points and 287 yards. Best of all, the Eagles' run defense, arguably the most suspect part of the team to this point, held the 'Skins to just 42 yards on the ground.

Philly's 2-4 record still stinks, but at least Andy Reid and his players have something to build on before hosting the Cowboys in Week 8.

New England Patriots

A 20-16 home victory for the Patriots over the Cowboys might not seem that noteworthy on the surface, until you note New England's defensive shortcomings this season.

As far as yardage is concerned, the Pats didn't improve all that much, giving up 377 total yards, including 300 through the air to Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.

Then again, teams aren't awarded wins and losses based on yardage totals, but rather on points (duh!). Dallas' 16 points, aside from being well below the Cowboys' per-game average of 24.8 points, were the fewest allowed in a single game by the New England defense all season.

The Pats will need just that sort of defensive effort when they get back to the business of playing football in Week 8 against the Steelers.

San Francisco 49ers

Say what you want about Jim Harbaugh's decorum after Sunday's game, but can you really blame the guy for getting excited about another big road win for his team, even if it resulted in an unusually hard slap on the back and a bizarrely firm handshake?

Either way, the 49ers are for real, folks. They've won three games in the Eastern time zone, which, if you weren't aware, is rather impressive for a West Coast club. What's more, they would probably be undefeated if not for Tony Romo's breathless heroics in Week 2.

Harbaugh's boys will finally get to relax a bit up in San Francisco before the Browns swing by the Bay Area after a bye week.

Josh Martin's Week 5 NFL Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers

2. New England Patriots

3. Baltimore Ravens

4. San Francisco 49ers

5. Detroit Lions

6. New Orleans Saints

7. San Diego Chargers

8. New York Giants

9. Pittsburgh Steelers

10. Buffalo Bills

11. Oakland Raiders

12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

13. Dallas Cowboys

14. Cincinnati Bengals

15. Tennessee Titans

16. Atlanta Falcons

17. Washington Redskins

18. Houston Texans

19. Chicago Bears

20. Cleveland Browns

21. Philadelphia Eagles

22. Seattle Seahawks

23. New York Jets

24. Kansas City Chiefs

25. Minnesota Vikings

26. Carolina Panthers

27. Denver Broncos

28. Jacksonville Jaguars

29. Arizona Cardinals

30. Miami Dolphins

31. St. Louis Rams

32. Indianapolis Colts