NFL 2025: Post-Week 6 Power Rankings

Two weeks ago, it was easy to make sense of things: you had the 4-0 Buffalo Bills pacing the AFC, the 4-0 Philadelphia Eagles atop the NFC, and all other teams were at least a notch below these two lead horses.

Then with both teams losing in Week 5, the NFL had a staggering seven 4-1 teams and nine teams with just one loss on their record overall. It threw my Post-Week 5 Power Rankings for a loop, with the Bills backing in to the top spot and the Detroit Lions right behind them.

But Week 6 added even more chaos. The Bills and Eagles both lost again, and both coming as a bit of a surprise. It feels like Jalen Hurts and the Eagles are always in at least a one-score game, but rookie Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants handled the defending Super Bowl champions with ease on Thursday Night Football, earning a 34-17 win. Josh Allen and the Bills were expected to be able to handle Michael Penix Jr., Bijan Robinson, and the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football, but Atlanta ran away with a 24-14 win.

For the first time, we have to look at the 5-1 Indianapolis Colts and 5-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the best teams in the NFL.

I put Daniel Jones and the Colts in the #1 spot: their hot start is no longer looking like a fluke, but rather something that could potentially be sustained all-season long. Indianapolis earns the top spot with a +78 point differential through six weeks: the next best teams (Seattle, Detroit) are sitting at +49.

Baker Mayfield and the 5-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers don’t seem like a fluke either: sure, they’ve won a lot of one-score games that could have gone either way, but when the games keep going your way, that’s a sign of a good team. The Chiefs and Eagles played a slew of one-score games en route to their Super Bowl appearances last season… just saying.

After that, things get a little messy. I still think Buffalo and Philadelphia will be fine, but with two straight losses in just a six-game sample size, I can’t rank them too high.

So Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks, with a 4-2 record, some strong head-to-head wins, and very quality losses (San Francisco, Tampa Bay, both one-score) end up with a season-high #3 ranking, rising five spots. The Seahawks handled Trevor Lawrence a hot 4-1 Jacksonville Jaguars team on the road in Week 5, with a 20-12 win.

Other results that shaped my Post-Week 6 Power Rankings:

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs took care of business against the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football, with a 13-point win.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers handled the 4-1 San Francisco 49ers by 11 points.
Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears getting over .500 with a comeback win over the Washington Commanders.
Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers winning their third game in four weeks, with a last-minute 30-27 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

This is already one of my longest opening blurbs of the season, but a couple other things I have my eye on: the NFC South isn’t nearly as bad as I expected, the NFC West is going to be fun as always, the AFC West is going to get whacky down the line, and I slept on the New England Patriots; Drake Maye has New England at 4-2, atop the AFC East with realistic playoff hopes.

Read on for my 2025-26 NFL Post-Week 6 Power Rankings, and if you’d like to debate or discuss any rankings, join the conversation with Sakmann Sports on Twitter/X, on Facebook, or by commenting directly on this post!

2025 NFL Power Rankings: Preseason, Post-Week 1, Post-Week 2, Post-Week 3, Post-Week 4, Post-Week 5, Post-Week 6

Post-Week 6 Power Rankings

Indianapolis Colts (5-1) [Last Week: 5]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1) [Last Week: 4]
Seattle Seahawks (4-2) [Last Week: 8]
Buffalo Bills (4-2) [Last Week: 1]
Detroit Lions (4-2) [Last Week: 2]
Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) [Last Week: 2]
Los Angeles Rams (4-2) [Last Week: 7]
San Francisco 49ers (4-2) [Last Week: 6]
Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1) [Last Week: 12]
Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2) [Last Week: 9]
Washington Commanders (3-3) [Last Week: 10]
Los Angeles Chargers (4-2) [Last Week: 11]
Denver Broncos (4-2) [Last Week: 12]
Kansas City Chiefs (3-3) [Last Week: 15]
New England Patriots (4-2) [Last Week: 16]
Green Bay Packers (3-1-1) [Last Week: 14]
Chicago Bears (3-2) [Last Week: 21]
Atlanta Falcons (3-2) [Last Week: 23]
Carolina Panthers (3-3) [Last Week: 24]
Dallas Cowboys (2-3-1) [Last Week: 17]
Minnesota Vikings (3-2) [Last Week: 18]
Arizona Cardinals (2-4) [Last Week: 19]
Houston Texans (2-3) [Last Week: 22]
New York Giants (2-4) [Last Week: 29]
Miami Dolphins (1-5) [Last Week: 26]
New Orleans Saints (1-5) [Last Week: 28]
Las Vegas Raiders (2-4) [Last Week: 27]
Cleveland Browns (1-5) [Last Week: 25]
Tennessee Titans (1-5) [Last Week: 30]
Baltimore Ravens (1-5) [Last Week: 20]
New York Jets (0-6) [Last Week: 31]
Cincinnati Bengals (2-4) [Last Week: 32]

SEE ALSO: Broncos Outlast Jets 13-11 in Ugly Offensive Game in London

Biggest Winners

The Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, and Seattle Seahawks all rose five spots this week. It meant the most for the Seahawks: rising from #8 to #3, after beating the 4-1 Jacksonville Jaguars on the road. The Falcons upset the Bills, the Panthers upset the Cowboys, and the Giants upset the Eagles, all leading to five-spot rises.

Biggest Losers

After two weeks of the Cooper Rush experience at quarterback, I had no choice but to knock the Baltimore Ravens all the way down to #30. Lamar Jackson should be back soon, but until he’s back on the field, the Ravens are one of the worst teams in the NFL, falling ten more spots this week.

The Philadelphia Eagles fell four spots within the Top 10, after their second straight loss: this week to Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants.