NFL Power Rankings entering Week 7: Chaos creates shakeup at the top

Week 6 of the 2023 NFL season saw the final two unbeaten teams fall, ensuring once again that no team will end the regular season with zero losses. The San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles both played tough road games and came out with a loss. Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins look to be fully back on track after having the largest margin of victory of any team this week.

It was a week that saw plenty of bad and sluggish football, with only 10 teams scoring more than 20 points in their games. Did that mean there were plenty of moves and shakers in the power rankings, though?

Each week of the season, Bears Wire will unveil power rankings of all 32 NFL teams. Here are the rankings entering Week 7.

1. Miami Dolphins (5-1)

• Week 6 result: 42-21 win vs. Carolina Panthers

• Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Miami is so good, they can fall behind by two scores early in the first quarter and still drop 40 points in a laugher. Their defense could use some work but if their offense continues at this pace, they won’t need much help.

2. San Francisco 49ers (5-1)

• Week 6 result: 17-19 loss at Cleveland Browns

• Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Despite losing their biggest offensive players, the 49ers were still in this game and had a shot to win. Rookie kickers can come back to bite you, however. San Francisco should still be okay, even with the injuries to some of their star players. But perhaps the formula to stop Brock Purdy has finally been revealed.

3. Detroit Lions (5-1)

• Week 6 result: 20-6 win at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• Last week’s ranking: No. 5

The Lions might be the most complete team in the league right now. They’re playing with a swagger we haven’t seen in a long time. This team fights for one another and made easy work of the Buccaneers on the road.

4. Philadelphia Eagles (5-1)

• Week 6 result: 14-20 loss at New York Jets

• Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Jalen Hurts had perhaps his worst game in years as the last-standing undefeated NFL team suffered a loss. The Jets defense had the Eagles’ number all game long, but they could have leaned on their effective running game to put this one on ice. Let’s see how the Eagles adjust going forward.

5. Kansas City Chiefs (5-1)

• Week 6 result: 19-8 win vs. Denver Broncos

• Last week’s ranking: No. 4

The Chiefs are still one of the top teams, but their offense isn’t what it used to be. They need to tighten up when they face stiffer competition, otherwise they could start to tumble down the rankings by racking up losses.

6. Buffalo Bills (4-2)

• Week 6 result: 14-9 win vs. New York Giants

• Last week’s ranking: No. 6

Did the Bills have a London hangover? They struggled mightily against the lowly Giants and just barely got the win (with an assist from the officials). Like the Chiefs, they’ll need to step it up as well against tougher competition.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2)

• Week 6 result: 37-20 win vs. Indianapolis Colts

• Last week’s ranking: No. 7

The Jaguars are starting to pounce on their opponents after back-to-back solid weeks. But the injury to Trevor Lawrence could squash all of the good vibes. If he’s out for an extended period of time, they could fall fast. It doesn’t help they have a Thursday night game, either.

8. Baltimore Ravens (4-2)

• Week 6 result: 24-16 win at Tennessee Titans (London)

• Last week’s ranking: No. 11

When it comes to games being played in London, you just want to get out with a win any way you can. The Ravens took care of business in an ugly one thanks to their defense. Getting to London early to acclimate didn’t hurt, either.

9. Cleveland Browns (3-2)

• Week 6 result: 19-17 win vs. San Francisco 49ers

• Last week’s ranking: No. 13

If the Browns can just get a little bit from their offense, their defense will do the rest. They’re quietly putting together one of the best defensive seasons in recent memory and can stifle any offense.

10. Dallas Cowboys (4-2)

• Week 6 result: 20-17 win at Los Angeles Chargers

• Last week’s ranking: No. 9

The Cowboys won the war of coaching wits against the Chargers, even if they lost several battles in the process. It’s a good thing they have talent across the roster to make up for it, too.

11. Seattle Seahawks (3-2)

• Week 6 result: 13-17 loss at Cincinnati Bengals

• Last week’s ranking: No. 8

Seattle played well enough to get a win over the Bengals, but struggled to finish when in the red zone. They’re going to be a tough opponent week in and week out, but they’re just outside the upper echelon of NFC teams.

12. Cincinnati Bengals (3-3)

• Week 6 result: 17-13 win vs. Seattle Seahawks

• Last week’s ranking: No. 16

Cincinnati won big in Week 5 and won ugly in Week 6. They’re still not back to the dominant team from the last couple seasons, but they’re finally stringing together wins. It helps when Joe Burrow is healthy, too.

13. Houston Texans (3-3)

• Week 6 result: 20-13 win vs. New Orleans Saints

• Last week’s ranking: No. 17

Could the Texans actually be for real? They’re only .500 but they’ve gutted out some tough victories and have a real shot in a weak AFC South. Even if C.J. Stroud through the first interception of his career, he’s got this team playing at a high level.

14. Los Angeles Chargers (2-3)

• Week 6 result: 17-20 loss vs. Dallas Cowboys

• Last week’s ranking: No. 12

Even though they’re battling injuries and ailments, this Chargers team is too good to be 2-3 at this point in the season. They played a decent game against the Cowboys, too, but couldn’t manufacture a final drive to win or force overtime after a back-breaking interception.

15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2)

• Week 6 result: 6-20 loss vs. Detroit Lions

• Last week’s ranking: No. 10

The shine is starting to come off Tampa’s hot start. They’re capable of beating the bad teams in the NFL, but struggle mightily against elite competition. They will still compete in a wide-open division, but they’ll need to generate more offense if they have any hope of a playoff berth.

16. New York Jets (3-3)

• Week 6 result: 20-14 win vs. Philadelphia Eagles

• Last week’s ranking: No. 23

Don’t look now, but the Jets might be figuring things out. Even with Sauce Gardner out, the Jets defense shut down Philadelphia’s offense and got quality play out of their offense to get the win. It’s not pretty, but it’s an effective brand of football.

17. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2)

• Week 6 result: No game (bye week)

• Last week’s ranking: No. 15

18. Los Angeles Rams (3-3)

• Week 6 result: 26-9 win vs. Arizona Cardinals

• Last week’s ranking: No. 22

Cooper Kupp is officially back and the Rams have a strong running game. Or at least they did before Kyren Williams went down with an injury. Still, if the Rams can start to put up points consistently, they’ll move their way up the rankings.

19. Washington Commanders (3-3)

• Week 6 result: 24-16 win at Atlanta Falcons

• Last week’s ranking: No. 24

Sam Howell didn’t need to throw over 50 passes in this game, but still managed three touchdown passes. That was also the number of picks the Commanders made off Desmond Ridder. Washington bounced back after a bad loss to get back to .500, a record they could maintain for the duration of the season.

20. Atlanta Falcons (3-3)

• Week 6 result: 16-24 loss vs. Washington Commanders

• Last week’s ranking: No. 14

Desmond Ridder followed up the best game of his career with one of his worst. To add insult to injury, the Falcons still had plenty of chances to win, but couldn’t manufacture a scoring drive in the fourth quarter. It may be a new week, but it’s the same story for Atlanta, who fell back to .500.

21. Green Bay Packers (2-3)

• Week 6 result: No game (bye week)

• Last week’s ranking: No. 20

22. Indianapolis Colts (3-3)

• Week 6 result: 20-37 loss at Jacksonville Jaguars

• Last week’s ranking: No. 18

It turns out Minshew Mania is only a limited-time event. The Colts struggled once again against Jacksonville and Gardner Minshew struggled mightily. Even if Jonathan Taylor and Zach Moss end up creating a dynamic duo at running back, it won’t matter if they can’t throw the ball. This team could continue to fall.

23. New Orleans Saints (3-3)

• Week 6 result: 13-20 loss at Houston Texans

• Last week’s ranking: No. 19

It’s becoming clear that New Orleans can’t get it together on offense. If their defense can’t make repeated stops, this team isn’t going to be very competitive. Derek Carr and the offensive staff aren’t gelling together, just watch their final sequence of the game.

24. Tennessee Titans (2-4)

• Week 6 result: 16-24 loss vs. Baltimore Ravens (London)

• Last week’s ranking: No. 21

Speaking of inept offenses, the Titans are stuck in the mud when it comes to their offensive production. They’re incapable of relying on the quarterback to make plays in the moments that matter the most and now they’re down to Malik Willis with Ryan Tannehill going down with an injury.

25. Minnesota Vikings (2-4)

• Week 6 result: 19-13 win at Chicago Bears

• Last week’s ranking: No. 25

Minnesota got the victory on Sunday, but their offense is night and day when they don’t have Justin Jefferson. Performances like that won’t cut it against many teams, but it did against the Bears, who had no answer for defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ blitzes.

26. Las Vegas Raiders (3-3)

• Week 6 result: 21-17 win vs. New England Patriots

• Last week’s ranking: No. 26

The Raiders are easily the worst .500 team of the season up to this point, but they’re still finding ways to win so they deserve some credit. They do have a weak schedule to thank for that, though, after taking down the Patriots. Don’t let the record fool you, this team needs to show a lot more before they can be moved up in the rankings.

27. New York Giants (1-5)

• Week 6 result: 9-14 loss at Buffalo Bills

• Last week’s ranking: No. 27

At least the Giants kept this one close, but they should have had a win if not for their unacceptable clock management issues. The shine is completely gone from Brian Daboll’s star. It only shows on his head, now.

28. Chicago Bears (1-5)

• Week 6 result: 13-19 loss vs. Minnesota Vikings

• Last week’s ranking: No. 28

Are the Bears closer to the team that struggled to get any offense going over the first few weeks? Or the team that launched an offensive assault against two teams in the span of four days? It’s clearly the former after their Week 6 performance.

29. Arizona Cardinals (1-5)

• Week 6 result: 9-26 loss at Los Angeles Rams

• Last week’s ranking: No. 29

The Cardinals were fun to watch at the beginning of the season when they were losing. Now they’re just mainly losing. But Kyler Murray might be ramping up so that make for an interesting product again. Even if it isn’t good.

30. Denver Broncos (1-5)

• Week 6 result: 8-19 loss at Kansas City Chiefs

• Last week’s ranking: No. 30

Kansas City did their best to serve up a win to the Broncos and they didn’t want anything to do with it. This team is on the verge of a fire sale with a bleak future ahead of them.

31. Carolina Panthers (0-6)

• Week 6 result: 21-42 loss at Miami Dolphins

• Last week’s ranking: No. 31

Can the Panthers consider their two-score lead over the Dolphins a victory? Absolutely not, but it might be the closest thing to one they see for a while. The Panthers are engulfed in turmoil and now get the chance to see what they could have had when they face C.J. Stroud and the Texans.

32. New England Patriots (1-5)

• Week 6 result: 17-21 loss at Las Vegas Raiders

• Last week’s ranking: No. 32

Walk off into the sunset, Bill Belichick. It’s time.

Story originally appeared on Bears Wire