We’re about halfway through October, and the best division in football is (checks notes) the NFC East? Sorry, we should say the NFC Beast.
A lot of the early-season conversation in the league was about how fantastic the Eagles looked and how Jalen Hurts was the latest successful quarterback development story. Much of that is still valid, except the suddenly surging Cowboys and Giants are right on Philadelphia’s tail. In the long run, with just one divisional matchup between this trio so far — plenty of chaos will ensue in the coming months.
But the NFC East isn’t the only division experiencing significant movement as the leaves start to turn orange around the country. A host of contenders are increasingly learning that this season’s NFL might be more about survival than accumulating “convincing” wins.
As we prep to head into another thrilling week of pro football, we broke down the latest and greatest in the Week 6 edition of For The Win’s power rankings for the 2022 NFL season.
32
Carolina Panthers
Last week’s rank: 31
The defense finally gave up under Matt Rhule, and he was fired as a result. Now interim head coach Steve Wilks gets to head into Week 6 with PJ Walker at quarterback in place of an injured Baker Mayfield. That may, somehow, be an upgrade. It still isn’t *good.*
31
Washington Commanders
Last week’s rank: 30
Just five weeks into their season, the Commanders are already at the point where they’re pointing fingers at each other. It’s probably not a great sign that one of the people playing the blame game is Ron Rivera with his current starting quarterback Carson Wentz. Rivera isn’t wrong per se, but you’d still rather see a coach not throw their players under the bus when the time comes.
30
Chicago Bears
Last week’s rank: 28
Chicago looked cooked early against the Vikings, but Justin Fields rallied his troops and put together one of his finest games as a pro to provide a spark of hope in what’s increasingly looking like a lost season. The Bears still have a long way to go, but Week 5 was an indication of their young quarterback’s potential. Now it’s up to Matt Eberflus and an undermanned roster to help him realize it.
29
Denver Broncos
Last week’s rank: 21
At this rate, with the way the Broncos are struggling, Russell Wilson’s massive $245 million contract will come under greater scrutiny. So, how about this: Wilson’s lowest dead cap hit doesn’t dip below $40 million until 2026 … when it’s still $31.2 million. Broncos country — let’s brace ourselves.
28
Atlanta Falcons
Last week’s rank: 23
The Falcons are a bigger problem for the NFC than we’d expected; Atlanta has a knack for sticking around even when it’s handily out-gained on the stat sheet. That alligator blood manifested itself vs. the Buccaneers, where we were one absolutely horrible roughing the passer call away from a potential Marcus Mariota game-winning drive — even after Tampa Bay took a 21-0 lead into the fourth quarter.
27
Pittsburgh Steelers
Last week’s rank: 27
There was never any real chance the Steelers — with rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett making his first career start — would leave Buffalo with a win. But it is a bit alarming how utterly uncompetitive they looked. At 1-4, with a green signal caller, Mike Tomlin is very much in danger of finishing with his first-ever losing season.
26
Detroit Lions
Last week’s rank: 19
All three of Detroit’s losses in a 1-3 start came by four points or fewer, casting the impression this team was just a few tweaks away from a possible playoff run in a weak NFC. Then the Patriots ran roughshod over them with their third-string quarterback and a once-explosive offense shrunk like melon thrown into a furnace. There’s still time to recover, but at 1-4, there’s not much left.
25
Houston Texans
Last week’s rank: 32
Thanks to Dameon Pierce running like a man possessed, the Texans got their first win under Lovie Smith. No one will remember a grimy 13-6 effort. They will, however, give brownie points to Houston for humbling a darling quarterback like Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars. These Texans are awful overall, but they’re feisty. The latter is the best you can hope for.
24
Cleveland Browns
Last week’s rank: 24
Jacoby Brissett has thrown interceptions late in the fourth quarter of all three of the Browns’ losses. That’s the difference between 2-3 and 5-0. Still, Deshaun Watson won’t be this team’s panacea. Cleveland’s defense has given up at least 23 points in four of its five outings so far in 2022.
23
New England Patriots
Last week’s rank: 29
Bailey Zappe won his first NFL start by following Bill Belichick’s low-octane rookie QB gameplan to a T. More importantly, he got 161 rushing yards from Rhamondre Stevenson and a defensive effort that shut out a Lions team that had averaged 35 points per game coming into Week 5.
22
Seattle Seahawks
Last week’s rank: 17
Given the way Geno Smith is lighting up just about every defense that lines up in front of him this season, stop us if you’ve heard this before: Pete Carroll is once again wasting great quarterback play with an inept defense. Seattle is last in yardage and 31st in points allowed.
21
Las Vegas Raiders
Last week’s rank: 25
The Raiders came into Kansas City on a mission, punching the Chiefs in the mouth with an early 17-0 lead. But then Patrick Mahomes got heated, and the Big Red Machine eventually imposed its will on a Las Vegas squad whose only discernible identity is canned frustration. It’s not over until it’s officially over, but it’ll be tough for Josh McDaniels’ group to salvage anything meaningful out of a 1-4 start.
20
Arizona Cardinals
Last week’s rank: 22
Arizona nearly pulled off the upset against the undefeated Eagles, which gives it something to build from, if nothing else. The Cardinals don’t do any one thing particularly well, and Kyler Murray’s regression as a passer is concerning. But 2-3 in the NFC is still in the thick of the playoff hunt, and DeAndre Hopkins will return soon. There’s still optimism in the desert.
19
Indianapolis Colts
Last week’s rank: 22
The Colts left Denver with a win, but it was far from the prettiest or most inspiring effort about the rest of their 2022 campaign. For posterity: Through five games, Indianapolis has scored six touchdowns. Meanwhile, Travis Kelce just scored four touchdowns on seven catches in one game. At 2-2-1, Indy’s season is technically alive and kicking, but not with that kind of pathetic offense.
18
New York Jets
Last week’s rank: 20
This is the first time the Jets have had a winning record since 2018. Robert Saleh isn’t reinventing the wheel; he’s trusting his offense to run efficiently and create space for Zach Wilson to make easy throws. So far, the second-year quarterback has come through, though stiffer tests await after toppling the Dolphins and Steelers in consecutive weeks.
17
Jacksonville Jaguars
Last week’s rank: 11
After back-to-back disappointing defeats, the prevailing message hovering over the Jaguars seems to be “take a breath.” Jacksonville is, after all, still in the early stages of a rebuild. That said, with seven turnovers in his last two games, the once-ascending Trevor Lawrence is back to the drawing board. How Doug Pederson gets his prodigy quarterback out of said rut will likely determine the rest of Jacksonville’s season.
16
Los Angeles Rams
Last week’s rank: 14
Les Snead’s preference for star power over depth is haunting him. After losing Andrew Whitworth to retirement, Austin Corbett to free agency, and, over the last two weeks, David Andrews to injury, his offensive line has been woefully equipped to buy Matthew Stafford time in the pocket. The result is a wretched run game and a passing game that’s connecting on big throws downfield far less often than it did in 2021’s Super Bowl campaign.
15
New Orleans Saints
Last week’s rank: 18
What is this New Orleans team? Is it the group that struggled to generate any consistent offense for most of the first quarter of the year? Or are the Saints poised to build on a 200-plus-yard ground attack that helped them to 39 points against Seattle? In a weak division, Dennis Allen’s crew can make a run, but they’ll have to be more consistent on offense first.
14
Green Bay Packers
Last week’s rank: 6
It wasn’t just that the Packers lost to a depleted Giants team in London, it’s that they wasted a 17-3 lead in the process. Green Bay’s run defense remains a glaring issue, and Aaron Rodgers’ magic appears to be wearing out. He had two passes batted down at the line of scrimmage in the red zone on what could have been a game-tying drive. Even worse, he didn’t even get a last-ditch hail Mary off, getting strip-sacked in the process.
13
Cincinnati Bengals
Last week’s rank: 4
An inexplicable play-calling sequence at the goal line cost the Bengals what would’ve been an outright lead in the AFC North, and it isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Zac Taylor is increasingly showing he might actually be a good head coach but an awful play-caller, and that dynamic is hurting the defending AFC champs dearly. The good news? The Bengals get to play cannon fodder like the Falcons, Browns, and Panthers in three of their next four games.
12
Los Angeles Chargers
Last week’s rank: 13
Justin Herbert is among the NFL’s most-pressured and most-sacked quarterbacks, but the Chargers are above .500. For this injury-decimated team playing without its starting left tackle in Rashawn Slater and a top pass rusher in Joey Bosa, simply staying afloat with their star quarterback might be the best effort they can muster up for now.
11
Tennessee Titans
Last week’s rank: 13
Tennessee went from 0-2 to first place in the looted bomb shelter currently masquerading as the AFC South. After two weeks of wringing our hands and worrying about Derrick Henry, he’s run for 301 yards and four touchdowns in the Titans’ three-game winning streak. Now we wait and see if rookie Treylon Burks’ return from injury can add some much-needed value to Ryan Tannehill’s passing game.
10
Miami Dolphins
Last week’s rank: 5
Skylar Thompson played the bulk of Sunday’s game at quarterback. This was a problem, but it wasn’t *the* problem. The larger concern is that a defense that ranked fourth in run game DVOA allowed Breece Hall to spring for nearly 200 total yards and the Jets scored five rushing touchdowns in a 40-17 frog-stomping in Week 5.
9
Minnesota Vikings
Last week’s rank: 9
Minnesota jumped out to a 21-3 lead against the Chicago Bears, then shrunk back and watched in horror as Chicago earned a 22-21 lead in the fourth quarter. Kirk Cousins rallied his team for a home win, but it wasn’t an especially encouraging one.
8
New York Giants
Last week’s rank: 16
In no reasonable reality is this retooling Giants roster 4-1 and in striking distance of the NFC’s top seed. But with the NFL’s second-leading rusher in Saquon Barkley and a suddenly relentless defense sparked by rookie Kavyon Thibodeaux — Brian Daboll, the clear Coach of the Year frontrunner, has his players believing in something special.
7
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last week’s rank: 7
They held off the Falcons, even if they needed one of the softest roughing-the-passer penalties in NFL history to do so. You never count out Touchdown, Tom, but it’s also fair to note that while he’s thrown for more than 700 yards the last two weeks, he needed 52 pass attempts in each game to get there.
6
San Francisco 49ers
Last week’s rank: 12
This 49ers defense is no joke. Through five games, Nick Bosa and Co. have allowed just six touchdowns. Three of those scores came in Week 1 against the Bears in monsoon-level conditions. San Francisco doesn’t have dynamic quarterback play, but it might not need it with this kind of dominant, championship-level defense.
5
Baltimore Ravens
Last week’s rank: 8
With an occasionally porous defense for a contender, the Ravens remain a quite flawed football team. That said, a much-needed close win in a slobber-knocker over the Bengals is exactly what the doctor ordered. Baltimore hasn’t fared well in these sorts of contests this season. The Ravens’ evident grit — and luck — will have to continue to maximize a potentially promising year.
4
Dallas Cowboys
Last week’s rank: 10
Cooper Rush keeps winning games, but the bigger story is a defense that crashed through the Rams’ cheesecloth offense line and absolutely ruined Matthew Stafford’s Week 5. The Cowboys have the chops to disrupt anyone’s passing game from the pocket, even without Randy Gregory on the roster, thanks to Dorance Armstong and Micah Parson evolving into quarterback-hunting goblins. Tony Pollard’s heavy lifting in the ground game despite limited touches is also a proper development.
3
Buffalo Bills
Last week’s rank: 3
The Bills did what they had to do by hanging 31 points on the Steelers in the first half — including four Josh Allen touchdown passes — and never looking back. If Buffalo didn’t call off the dogs soon after, it felt like a scenario where a team scores 50 or even 60. But this was a tune-up for the real show. The hated Chiefs are next, and there won’t be any easing up off the gas.
2
Kansas City Chiefs
Last week’s rank: 2
We learned a lot about the new-look Chiefs against the Raiders. Even after falling behind by three scores, Kansas City, Patrick Mahomes, and red zone demon Travis Kelce never stopped pushing full steam ahead for the victory. The Chiefs have the “switch,” — meaning they can turn “it” on at any given moment, regardless of any poor starts. That is an absolutely terrifying prospect for anyone trying to knock off the NFL’s gold standard.
1
Philadelphia Eagles
Last week’s rank: 1
The Eagles are starting to show signs of vulnerability lately, and with the NFC (B)east coming on, their sparkling early-season success is looking less and less sustainable. But not every win has to be resounding or convincing. Just like they did in Arizona, Jalen Hurts and Co. will have to grind out more than a few in the win column if they want to meet their Super Bowl aspirations.
