Evaluating teams before, during and after a given NFL season can be difficult. Some teams dramatically overperform their talent level, either due to easy opponents or sheer luck, while others fall on the flip side of those results. Fortunately, the experts at OddsShopper are here to do the hard work for you. By aggregating the rankings from several sources, differentiating them as public or sharp, and factoring in some data points of our own, we’ll be here to chart the rising and falling teams each week. It will often prove wise to fade the teams the public is overrating while backing those they are underrating. Let’s dive right into the NFL Power Rankings for Week 6.
NFL Power Rankings for Week 6
Key Takeaways | NFL Power Rankings for Week 6
Bears Escape the Cellar
Finally, movement at the bottom of the power rankings! We're still yet to see the San Francisco 49ers get knocked out of the top spot, but the Chicago Bears finally escaped the basement with a win over the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football, their first victory in almost a year. Chicago is still bad, but they're only one standard deviation worse than the league average in my expected points added (EPA)-based power ratings.
The new bottom dwellers are the New York Giants, who scored only nine offensive points against one of the league's worst defenses. New York's awful offensive line has prevented Daniel Jones and the passing game from moving the ball, and now the Giants are 1.9 standard deviations below the league average in my EPA-based power ratings -- and their $160 million quarterback is now hurt. Woof.
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Risers: Jaguars & Bengals
The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals are finally figuring things out after slow starts. For Jacksonville, all it took was a trip across the pond. The Jaguars went 2-0 in London and now return home ranked just outside the top 10 in our power rankings. They have a ways to go to recover from their slow start in the advanced metrics, but the early returns are encouraging.
Likewise, Joe Burrow and the Bengals looked more like what we're used to seeing in last week's stomping of the Arizona Cardinals. Burrow connected with wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase for three touchdowns with Tee Higgins sidelined. The Bengals will play the Seattle Seahawks at home this week before getting an off weekend.
Fallers: Rams & Packers
I guess the Rams and Packers are who we thought they were, too. They shot up the power rankings early in the season after some impressive early performances, but Matthew Stafford and Jordan Love have since fallen back to Earth. The Rams let the Eagles run all over them on Sunday, and, while the game was close, Philadelphia drained the clock and their spirits all day.
Meanwhile, the Packers suffered a brutal road loss to the bad Las Vegas Raiders. The offense only scored 13 points as Love threw three interceptions. Although he deserves credit for connecting with Christian Watson on what should've been a touchdown but for a horsecollar tackle by Marcus Peters, Green Bay's subsequent inability to get the ball in the end zone is a sign of how far this offense has fallen since Aaron Rodgers left in the offseason.
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