NFL Power Rankings Week 6
The NFL has a patience problem.
No one has it.
Not fans. Not bettors. Not owners. Not coaches.
Ever since Jerry Glanville’s famous, “Not for long” quip about what the NFL stands for, that has been an overriding ethos in our grand National Pastime.
As I look around the league right now, a lot of the most successful teams through the league’s first five weeks are led by coaches and/or quarterbacks that have been given second and third chances. These are guys that were thrust into difficult situations before they were ready, and then cast aside when they didn’t achieve immediate success.
Baker Mayfield. Geno Smith. Jared Goff. Sam Darnold. Justin Fields. Every one of those former “busts” is currently leading a team with a winning record.
Raheem Morris. Todd Bowles. Dan Campbell. Dan Quinn. All four of them are on their second coaching stop. (Remember: Campbell was an interim head coach in Miami and wasn’t offered the full-time job.) Now they are all leading teams that I have ranked in my Top 10.
While watching the success of all these former guys that were thrown to the scrap-heap way too early, I couldn’t help but think of an exchange between Loki and Thanos in “Avengers: Infinity War”:
Loki: “I have a bit of experience in that arena.”
Thanos: “If you consider failure experience.”
Loki: “I consider experience experience.”
Experience matters. When it comes to the NFL, I want adults at the helm. It leads to a more stable product and more consistent outcomes. NFL owners and executives have proven over and over and over again over the last quarter-century that they really don’t know what they are doing when it comes to finding and grooming head coaches and quarterbacks, with quick-tempered owners and know-nothing fan bases usually driving decision-making.
Just ask Robert Saleh, who was a mild upset as the first NFL head coach fired this week. Is it Saleh’s fault that Aaron Rodgers has infected this loser organization with his pettiness and brattiness? No. But he’s taking the fall, nonetheless. And if I were a betting man (which I am), I would bet on Saleh getting another shot at head coaching down the line in a place where he will likely have success.
Maybe the cycle of hair-trigger stupidity will change. Probably not. Because the “I want what I want, and I want it now” mentality is ingrained in this culture. Sports are a symbol and reflection of our society, not the other way around. And until people realize that sometimes a little patience and experience is the best way to achieve positive outcomes, we are stuck watching the least equipped, most impatient slobs around us continue to repeat the same mistakes.
And we are stuck dealing with the fallout from their aggressive stupidity.
Doc’s Sports offers NFL expert picks for every game on our NFL predictions page.
Here is Doc’s Sports NFL Power Rankings:
1. Kansas City Chiefs (5-0) – I’m kicking myself for not getting on board with the Chiefs on Monday Night Football. I should’ve known that they would come to play in a primetime setting like that. Especially with a bye week on deck. That game against New Orleans was over about 10 minutes in. And were it not for shaky red zone execution, that one would’ve been a 30-point whitewashing.
2. Detroit Lions (3-1) – Once again I’m going to warn all my readers: there is absolutely nothing in NFL handicapping as overrated and overvalued as playing teams coming off a bye week. The Lions are 2-1 ATS out of a week of rest under Dan Campbell. But teams are generally ATS underachievers after a week of rest, especially in the role of favorite. This is a revenge game for the Lions this week after their controversial 20-19 loss at Dallas last December.
3. Baltimore Ravens (3-2) – The Ravens are now 11-1 ATS in their last 12 games as a favorite of 3.0 or less. However, they are a disastrous 4-15 ATS in their last 19 regular season games as a favorite of 6.0+ dating back to 2020. That’s exactly the role they are in this week against Washington. And considering how bad big favorites have been in general this season, the Ravens might be a tough lay.
4. Buffalo Bills (3-2) – Yes, the Bills deserve to get dragged for their poor clock management at the end of the game. But let’s call that game what it was: Josh Allen played like trash. Even on that ill-formulated last drive, he missed a wide-open receiver on third down. Allen went 9-for-30 and was throwing worm-burners all game. The Bills are 7-3 SU in their last 10 against the Jets but did lose in New York in Week 1 last season.
5. Minnesota Vikings (5-0) – If the Vikings had lost to the Jets in London – and if Aaron Rodgers hadn’t missed Garrett Wilson on that late lob throw down the sideline, one of the easiest throws he had all day, then the Vikings would’ve lost – Kevin O’Connell would’ve had only himself to blame. O’Connell’s clock management in the fourth quarter was atrocious. That’s going to be something to monitor over the next couple months as the Vikings shift from being the hunter to the hunted.
6. Houston Texans (4-1) – Kudos to the chick that promised to flash her boobs online if the Texans beat the Bills on Sunday. She garnered over one million views and earned 69,000 new followers. (And know, the “69” part of that isn’t a joke, it’s the assessment made via TMZ.) Her upstairs was better than Houston’s play on Sunday, though, and this team continues to win, but do so unimpressively.
7. Green Bay Packers (3-2) – A big part of what made Jordan Love’s breakout season last year special was the way he took care of the ball and avoided turnovers and negative plays. Where has that guy gone? Love has four interceptions in the last two games, including that laughable pick-six against the Rams, and he needs to tighten up his decision-making.
8. Atlanta Falcons (3-2) – The Falcons are in a prime letdown spot here after back-to-back, last-second, emotional divisional wins over the Saints and Bucs. Now they are on the road, off a thrilling Thursday win, as a big favorite. Remember: the Panthers were the worst team in football last year, and they managed to beat the Falcons 9-7 in a December slopfest. The Panthers are 3-1 ATS in the last four against Atlanta.
9. Washington Commanders (4-1) – Jayden Daniels is awesome. His accuracy, especially down the field and when he’s on the move, is next level. He deserves all the plaudits he’s getting right now, and Washington has averaged 38.3 points per game over their last three outings. Were it not for a couple of red zone turnovers, they would’ve cracked 40 against a decent Browns defense last week and this offense is absolutely legit.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2) – The Bucs flew out to New Orleans early this week to avoid Hurricane Milton. We’ve seen teams alter their travel arrangements around cross-country flights and natural disasters in the past, and it seems to galvanize a lot of groups. This is a veteran team, and I expect them to be focused on what is really a crucial early season game for these NFC South rivals.
11. San Francisco 49ers (2-3) – I have written about this before; I have never understood why punters can’t fill in for injured kickers in a game and vice versa. I understand that it is two different skills, different techniques, and different muscles. But it’s still kicking! And when that’s your only job, don’t you think it’s not much to ask that you be able to fill in at a moderately comparable level in a pinch? Mitch Wishnowsky drilled his 26-yard field goal. I don’t know why San Francisco didn’t play things differently and let him attempt another one when it was 23-13 late in the third quarter. That was obviously the better option than going for it on 4th-and-23.
12. Seattle Seahawks (3-2) – I think that playing on a short week helps the 49ers, who are trying to get the taste of another blown lead out of their mouths. I don’t think it helps the Seahawks, who looked tired and beat up on Sunday against the Giants. Seattle played that high-intensity game at Detroit on Monday, got slapped around by the Giants at home on Sunday, and now have to play another primetime game on short rest on Thursday. That’s three games in 11 days, and the Seahawks better dig deep if they want to snap a five-game losing streak to San Francisco.
13. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) – Beware big favorites out of a bye week. The Eagles are the largest favorite on the board this week at home against the bumbling Browns. However, favorites of 5.0 or more have been atrocious this season in the NFL and went 1-2 again last week with two more outright losses (49ers and Seahawks). Favorites in that range are on a league-wide 3-18 ATS slide.
14. New Orleans Saints (2-3) – I’ve been a Derek Carr defender throughout his career, but that was awful on Monday. Too many missed throws to open receivers. Too many questionable decisions. I know that the Saints are one of the most beat-up teams in the NFL right now. They still need more from Carr. And if they lose a fourth game in a row this week, the Dennis Allen rumblings will start to get louder.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) – How the hell does Arthur Smith still have a job as an offensive coordinator? Smith has exactly one Top 10 offense to his name in six years as either a head coach (he called the plays) or offensive coordinator. One. The last four years (including this one) his teams have finished No. 29, No. 24, No. 17 and No. 23 in total offense and No. 26, No. 15, No. 26 and No. 26 in scoring offense. He is as much of a problem as quarterback play.
16. Dallas Cowboys (3-2) – Does anyone work as hard to NOT win games that are right there for the taking as the Cowboys? Penalties, turnovers and poor red zone work really sabotaged what should’ve been a comfortable and much-needed road win for the Cowboys. Sure, they still got the W. But they made it a lot harder than it needed to be. Dallas has owned the Lions, beating them each of the past two seasons and winning five straight in the series dating back to 2014.
17. Chicago Bears (3-2) – Don’t be fooled by Chicago’s performance against the Panthers last Sunday. Carolina’s defense is horrendous. This Bears team gets credit for doing what good teams should against bottom feeders and delivering a first half TKO. But Chicago’s offensive line problems are still going to keep them from beating top tier teams.
18. Los Angeles Chargers (2-2) – I’m expecting Justin Herbert, Joey Bosa, Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater all to play for the Chargers this week. Normally I would hate the early bye week. But it really came at a good time for this banged up Chargers squad. I’m still surprised to see them favored on the road in this one, especially considering that no Chargers game has seen more than 32 combined points this year. Points against the spread take on even more of a premium with teams that play low-scoring games.
19. Cincinnati Bengals (1-4) – Do you feel comfortable laying points on the road with these guys? With THAT defense? Me neither. I don’t even know what to do with the Bungles. I’m not in a hurry to bet against Joe Burrow. But Cincinnati has allowed a putrid 129 points in their last four games (32.5 PPG) and they cannot stop anyone right now. The Bengals are just 4-7 ATS in their last 11 games after facing the Ravens or Steelers.
20. Arizona Cardinals (2-3) – Granted, Arizona has played some high-end quarterbacks and some talented offenses. However, their defense looks like a mess. They are allowing opponents to complete 72.5 percent of their passes and 8.1 yards per attempt. That’s going to be a problem this week against a very good Green Bay passing game.
21. Denver Broncos (3-2) – That is now three straight wins both SU and ATS for the Broncos, and they are 4-1 ATS this season. Denver’s defense has been doing yeoman’s work, and Vance Joseph has done a fantastic job with that stop unit. Denver is second in points allowed, third in yards per game, fifth in pass defense, second in red zone defense and third in third-down defense. They have also beaten the Chargers three straight times and are 9-1 ATS in the last 10 meetings.
22. Indianapolis Colts (2-3) – To me there is no point arguing about Joe Flacco vs. Anthony Richardson. It doesn’t matter. This team is moving the ball and scoring points no matter who is under center. The Colts can’t stop anyone. They are a purely accidental defense right now, No. 32 in total defense, No. 31 against the rush and No. 29 in passing defense. The Colts are just 2-5 SU and ATS in their last seven against the Titans.
23. New York Jets (2-3) – If the Jets want Davante Adams, they can have him. He is not their problem. Their offensive line is still horrible. New York is dead last in the league in rushing, and they can’t protect wilting-before-our-eyes Aaron Rodgers. Robert Saleh took the fall this week as the first head coach fired, but I don’t blame him for this dumpster fire of an organization.
24. New York Giants (2-3) – The talent is still lacking. But this team is playing hard. They’ve played Washington tougher than anyone else over the past month and should’ve won that game. And they had all kinds of opportunities to knock off the Cowboys. Now they are catching the Bengals off in a letdown spot after an emotional, physical loss to the Ravens. This week really could be a season-altering game for New York. We will see if they play like it.
25. Las Vegas Raiders (2-3) – Nothing is really working here. The Raiders are getting abused on the line of scrimmage, currently No. 30 in rushing offense and No. 23 against the rush. They have a -7.0 average scoring differential and a -7 turnover differential, and this team is one fluke win over Baltimore away from being in the mix for the No. 1 pick right now.
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4) – I think people are underestimating Jacksonville’s familiarity with playing overseas. They are just 6-5 straight up when playing in the United Kingdom over the past decade. However, this is the fifth time in the past four years that they have played in London, and that experience, compared to Chicago, should be worth something on the spread.
27. Los Angeles Rams (1-4) – These guys just can’t get off the field. They are allowing 50 percent third down conversions and they just don’t have enough guys that can make high-end plays. The Rams have gotten bulldozed for 165.5 rushing yards per game, last in the league.
28. Tennessee Titans (1-3) – Can someone explain to me the 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties that the league is handing out for receivers pointing for a first down? Is it because the thumb is up? If you only used one finger in the point instead of two would that make it better? This new standard is ridiculous and just doesn’t make a ton of sense.
29. Miami Dolphins (2-3) – Well, it was a win anyway.
30. Cleveland Browns (1-4) – According to Austin Gayle, the Browns offense is on pace to be the ninth worst of the 798 recorded since the start of the 2000 season. Deshaun Watson is a complete and total loser. Ken Dorsey is not a good offensive coordinator, and his scheme – shotguns and RPOs – seems completely incongruous to what Kevin Stefanski wants to run. Morale in this locker room must be pretty low, and there is not going to be a turnaround from this group.
31. New England Patriots (1-4) – This franchise seems to have come full circle. They’ve looped back around to the team that was consistently one of the worst in football from 1989-1993 before Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick rescued this organization from becoming another New York Jets. New England’s captain, Jabril Peppers, was arrested this week and there are rumors that they may throw out Drake Maye for his first start this week to get demolished while he learns on the job. There is no plan and no hope for this team.
32. Carolina Panthers (1-4) – This team is by far the worst in football right now. I have to say that at least part of it isn’t their fault, though. Carolina’s defense has been decimated by injuries and they weren’t very good to begin with. They’ve allowed 70 points in their last two games and 33.0 points per game, and I can’t help but think that things are going to get worse before they get better.
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