A crazy start to the 2025 NFL season continues, with the Week 6 power rankings including more shuffling and the first new No. 1 team of the year.
1. Detroit Lions (4-1) | Last week: 3 (+2)
Right now, the Lions are the clear top team in football to me. The tone and energy they play with is currently unmatched. I’d like to see a little more consistent dominance from the offensive line (which was without Taylor Decker at left tackle in the Week 5 blowout at Cincy), but the group can get there. And it was fantastic news that cornerback Terrion Arnold’s shoulder injury isn’t close to as bad as initially feared.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (4-1) | Last week: 1 (-1)
Denver’s defense wasn’t a good matchup for Philly, but the offensive struggles were amplified in their first loss. Facing the Giants two times in the next three games, the offense under first-year coordinator Kevin Patullo needs to get right soon, though.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-1) | Last week: 6 (+3)
Five games in, and the Bucs are already extremely battle-tested and winning close battles versus strong opponents—which is ideal for a team hoping to play in some massive games in January (and maybe February). Rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka had another huge performance and is already a star for Tampa.
4. Buffalo Bills (4-1) | Last week: 2 (-2)
It was just one game—and a very uncharacteristic one with the turnovers—for a team considered a Super Bowl favorite, but I think the Sunday night loss to the Patriots is a potential sign that this Bills team is probably not good enough to win it all when stacking up their roster with other top squads. Of course, they have Josh Allen, who always gives them a shot; but too much might be asked of him every week. We’ll see what happens when they get healthier, though.
5. Indianapolis Colts (4-1) | Last week: 13 (+8)
Jumping up to the top five based on a win over the struggling Raiders might seem too much—but the total domination was exactly what you want to see, and the way Indy has looked this season remains extremely impressive. For a negative, the loss of kicker Spencer Shrader for the season due to a knee injury was a big blow.
6. San Francisco 49ers (4-1) | Last week: 11 (+5)
The haters who made it like Mac Jones was some type of joke of a quarterback probably feel foolish, as he was lights out in an upset win at the Rams—showing a ton of grit while getting to 3-0 as a starter in 2025. For San Francisco to be at 4-1 despite being hammered by injuries is highly impressive.
7. Denver Broncos (3-2) | Last week: 9 (+2)
While keeping in mind the issues with the Eagles offense, that’s still a signature win for a Broncos team that struggled to beat elite non-divisional rosters like Buffalo and Baltimore last season. As the go-ahead two-point call showed, Sean Payton is super confident in his guys. Denver should get to 4-2 when taking on the Jets in London.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-1) | Last week: 10 (+2)
The awesome Monday Night Football win for the Jaguars was another sort of encapsulation of Trevor Lawrence through a handful of NFL seasons—some inconsistency but plenty of ability. Devin Lloyd’s 99-yard pick-six of Patrick Mahomeswas obviously a key play in the win, and Jacksonville is just finding a way to get it done.
9. Kansas City Chiefs (2-3) | Last week: 4 (-5)
The Chiefs tumble back down a bit in the power rankings after the loss at the Jags drops them to 2-3—but the offense continues to show encouraging signs of potential dominance. I think they’ll get back up the rankings soon. The return of star receiver Rashee Rice looms, as they’ll be without him for one more game Sunday night versus the Lions.
10. Green Bay Packers (2-1-1) | Last week: 8 (-2)
Green Bay returns from their bye week to host a Bengals team that just added veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, who helped Cleveland get a win against the Packers in Week 3.
11. Los Angeles Chargers (3-2) | Last week: 5 (-6)
They started hot, but losing running back Omarion Hampton (ankle, out at least four games while on IR) during the loss to the Commanders on top of the offensive line injuries made it an uphill climb for the Chargers to hold on. However, the offense clearly must be better—and the defense was even more disappointing with some poor tackling and angles for the second straight week, as Tom Brady rightly called out on the broadcast.
12. Los Angeles Rams (3-2) | Last week: 7 (-5)
As someone who played the Rams D/ST for my fantasy team last week, it’s difficult to wrap your head around them not challenging the depleted receiving group of the Niners more in the loss. I’m a fan of Mac Jones, and credit to him for getting the ball out, but it was shocking to watch.
13. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) | Last week: 14 (+1)
Pittsburgh had the bye week to prepare for Browns rookie Dillon Gabriel making his second career start, but stopping running back Quinshon Judkins is probably the top priority for a unit that has had some issues defending the run.
14. Washington Commanders (3-2) | Last week: 17 (+3)
The Commanders had an excellent bounce back from the loss to the Falcons, with the defense flying around to make plays—while the offense, with Jayden Daniels back after missing two games, got a serious boost from rookie runner Bill Croskey-Merritt crossing 100 yards rushing for the first time.
15. Seattle Seahawks (3-2) | Last week: 12 (-3)
Starters were missing for Seattle’s defense, but the Bucs were banged up, too. The shootout loss was almost a waste of an outstanding effort from the offense, including four touchdowns by Sam Darnold—who was throwing dots—unfortunately ending with an interception on a tipped pass. Seattle’s struggles at home (4-8 under Mike Macdonald) are difficult to believe in such a great homefield environment.
16. Atlanta Falcons (2-2) | Last week: 16
The early bye for Atlanta came ahead of a Monday night matchup with a Buffalo team coming off a loss. A heavy dose of Bijan Robinson is the likely formula to a win.
17. Houston Texans (2-3) | Last week: 20 (+3)
No matter how depleted the Ravens are, the four-touchdown performance by C.J. Stroud—with contributions across the board from his weapons—was an encouraging sign for an offense that might be finding what it does well under new offensive coordinator Nick Caley. Houston is now on the bye week.
18. Dallas Cowboys (2-2-1) | Last week: 22 (+4)
The Cowboys did not have any letdown from the emotional 40-40 tie against the Packers, demolishing the Jets in a win that wasn’t as close as the 37-22 score might indicate. Dak Prescott is dealing through five weeks.
19. New England Patriots (3-2) | Last week: 23 (+4)
Like the Broncos mentioned above, beating the Bills in Buffalo could be a signature win that gives the Patriots confidence moving forward. It’s about consistency now, but Drake Maye showed his playmaking ability and took care of the ball in the best victory of his young career.
20. Minnesota Vikings (3-2) | Last week: 18 (-2)
Jordan Addison went from benched in the first quarter for missing a team walkthrough to catching the game-winning touchdown to cap the Vikings’ trip to Europe with a 1-1 mark. They have a bye before hosting the Eagles, and eyes will be on the quarterback situation with Carson Wentz leading the game-winning drive while J.J. McCarthy looks to get healthy.
21. Baltimore Ravens (1-4) | Last week: 15 (-6)
To hear that the Ravens have given up more points than the championship 2000 unit is insane, and it speaks to how bad things are in Baltimore. Of course, the injury-riddled defense must get a lot better to allow a path of riding Derrick Henry to keep things close while Lamar Jackson (hamstring) remains out.
22. Chicago Bears (2-2) | Last week: 21 (-1)
We’ll see what Ben Johnson cooked up during the bye week, with it coming ahead of a critical October NFC matchup with the Commanders. There are some interesting storylines with Johnson turning down Washington a couple of offseasons ago, plus the Hail Mary loss for Chicago in 2024.
23. Arizona Cardinals (2-3) | Last week: 19 (-4)
It’s still difficult to fathom the blown loss for the Cardinals, from Emari Demarcado’s dropped ball on a long would-be touchdown run that might’ve iced the game—to the interception that was fumbled and recovered for a touchdown by the Titans. Now it’s about how Jonathan Gannon gets his guys to respond in a potential turning-point spot.
24. Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) | Last week: 24
A midseason acquisition of Joe Flacco worked out for the Browns a couple of seasons ago, and now the Bengals are going to rely on the former Super Bowl MVP to avoid mistakes and keep them in the playoff race for a potential Joe Burrow return in December.
25. Carolina Panthers (2-3) | Last week: 29 (+4)
Rico Dowdle was one of the stars in Week 5, with over 200 rushing yards in a comeback win against the Dolphins—paired with late heroics by Bryce Young, who has shown ability to come through at the end of games—getting the Panthers to 2-3 despite looking a lot worse than that for stretches.
26. Cleveland Browns (1-4) | Last week: 25 (-1)
Dillon Gabriel did a good job of playing efficiently in his first career start while taking on Brian Flores’ defense. The rookie is in a positive situation with the way Quinshon Judkins is running the ball, and he’ll look to avoid mistakes versus an opportunistic Pittsburgh defense on Sunday.
27. New Orleans Saints (1-4) | Last week: 30 (+3)
I continue to be highly impressed with the way Kellen Moore is getting his team to respond as a first-year head coach, and he notched is first win with the defense getting a takeaway on five consecutive series to help pull away from the Giants. Kool-Aid McKinstry starred with two interceptions of Jaxson Dart.
28. Miami Dolphins (1-4) | Last week: 28
The Dolphins were in control at 17-0 and then re-took the lead after Carolina battled back before ultimately not coming away with the win. Miami probably feels like they’ve let their games against the Patriots and Panthers slip and should be 3-2, but of course the record is what it is.
29. New York Giants (1-4) | Last week: 26 (-3)
The good feelings for the Giants lasted one week so far, as now they’ll face the Eagles, Broncos, and Eagles over the next three weeks after an ugly performance at New Orleans. New York has made far too many blunders with personnel and decisions under general manager Joe Schoen—which is magnified again this week with Saquon Barkley coming to town for the second time.
30. Las Vegas Raiders (1-4) | Last week: 27 (-3)
With the way the Raiders have looked this season, looking back it’s almost surprising they were able to escape Week 1 with a victory. I’ve mentioned the offensive line struggles and Geno Smith not playing well, but the defense is coming off its most disappointing outing in the loss to the Colts.
31. Tennessee Titans (1-4) | Last week: 32 (+1)
Head coach Brian Callahan and the Titans were desperate for that type of comeback and win at the Cardinals, and now it’s about building on it—with this weekend versus the Raiders a definite opportunity to do so.
32. New York Jets (0-5) | Last week: 31 (-1)
The Jets are the first 0-5 team with no takeaways in NFL history. Much of the season to this point has involved falling behind and then Justin Fields making some plays in what some might consider garbage time. They need to force a Broncos turnover or two while taking care of the ball in London.