‘05 Power Rankings: Week 6

By Dave Shepherd | Wednesday, October 19, 2005 | ( 0 )

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Let's take a look at this week's NFL Power Rankings:

1 (1) Indianapolis Colts (6-0)
A terrible start Monday Night against the Rams, but St. Louis forgot to play defense and offense after that. The Colts are by far the class of the NFL, and right now they look invincible. Now they get to go play Houston? this one won't even be close.

2 (4) Cincinnati Bengals (5-1)
QB Carson Palmer tied Peyton Manning's NFL record for nine straight games with a rating of over 100, and he's looked like a number one pick. He'll find it tough to continue that streak against a talented Pittsburgh team, who will look to keep the ball out of his hands.

3 (3) Dallas Cowboys (4-2)
They didn't play great against Eli Manning's Giants, but they did enough for the win. They'll have to play much better this week as they travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks.

4 (7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1)
After stumbling against the Jets without Carnell Williams, the Bucs returned to form, obliterating the Dolphins at Raymond James Stadium. QB Griese is expected to be out for the season, so it will be up to Chris Simms or newly acquired Tim Rattay to shoulder the load.

5 (8) San Diego Chargers (3-3)
They handled Oakland pretty easily, and how about LaDainian Tomlinson? He's 2/2 for 2 touchdowns - throwing the ball. Drew Brees didn't play bad either, but as usual, Tomlinson is the key to San Diego's victory.

6 (2) Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2)
They could've run the ball on every play, but QB Tommy Maddox would have fumbled the snap. He blamed everything for his miserable performance: not enough reps, the cross winds, the crowd - everything but himself. Steelers fans will be happy to know Big Ben is expected to return this week against Cincinnati.

7 (10) Seattle Seahawks (4-2)
They handled Houston, as everyone does. Don't expect Shaun Alexander to repeat his four touchdown performance this week against the Cowboys. If he gets over 100 yards rushing, the Seahawks will have a good shot at winning the game.

8 (6) Atlanta Falcons (4-2)
They only beat the Saints by 3, thus the drop. The Saints played well, but if Atlanta wants to continue to establish itself as an NFC power they'll have to do better than that.

9 (11) Denver Broncos (5-1)
They haven't turned the ball over in a long time, which is quite the surprise when your quarterback is Jake Plummer. It seems like he's finally stopped trying to force the ball into coverage. It'll be interesting to see if the Denver Broncos can keep up with the New York Giants high-powered offense.

10 (9) Philadelphia Eagles (3-2)
They come off the bye-week to play the recently dominant San Diego Chargers. Let's see if they've fixed whatever it was that had them falling behind in the first quarter.

11 (18) Carolina Panthers (4-2)
They struggled with the Lions, probably more than they should have, but the middle teams in the rankings are so close it allowed the Panthers to jump a bunch of them heading into the bye-week.

12 (13) Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2)
The only team in the AFC South that has even an outside shot at catching the Colts, although I highly doubt it will happen. Regardless, going into the bye-week at 4-2 should feel pretty good to the Jaguars.

13 (5) New England Patriots (3-3)
They've got half of their road games out of the way, and they still have all their divisional games left to play. They should be fine. After all, is there really any AFC East team that looks like they can beat out the Pats for the division title?

14 (14) Washington Redskins (3-2)
After a loss to Kansas City they get a bye-week? I mean the 49ers come to town. That's a good thing; a bye-week is more work than the 49ers.

15 (12) Miami Dolphins (2-3)
They continue to play like all-stars at home, but they've got to improve on the road. An 8-8 season won't be good enough to make the playoffs in the AFC.

16 (15) New York Giants (3-2)
Their offense was finally slowed down against the Cowboys last week, which is not a good sign when you have to play the Denver Broncos. However, the weak secondary of the Broncos should give Eli Manning a good chance to mirror his older brother once again.

17 (24) Baltimore Ravens (2-3)
Stopping Cleveland's offense doesn't require a fantastic display of skill, but the Ravens did it. They should be able to produce another win against Chicago.

18 (16) Kansas City Chiefs (3-2)
They played better against Washington, but a trip to Miami could have them stumbling again. The offense and the defense will both need to play better.

19 (21) Green Bay Packers (1-4)
They have a chance to make a three-way tie for the lead of the NFC North this week when the Vikings come to town. It's pretty sad that there's going to be a team that is either 6-10 or 7-9 making the playoffs.

20 (17) Tennessee Titans (2-4)
The Titans have been surprisingly competitive all year, and if a few more bounces had gone their way they'd be doing great. This week they should have a chance to get a few of those bounces against the abysmal Arizona Cardinals.

21 (27) Buffalo Bills (3-3)
Kelly Holcomb seems to have taken control of the Bills, and unlike J.P. Losman, he's giving them a chance in every game. If he can keep this up, the Bills could make the playoffs.

22 (26) Chicago Bears (2-3)
They sit on top of the NFC North, not that that's anything to brag about. Indianapolis has as many wins as the entire NFC North combined.

23 (23) Arizona Cardinals (1-4)
The Seahawks are far and away the best team in the NFC West, and after all the preseason expectations in Arizona, what happened? This team just hasn't been able to compete. Maybe it is just the same old Cards.

24 (19) Detroit Lions (2-3)
If this team had Jeff Garcia playing quarterback, they'd run away with the NFC North. Joey Harrington just doesn't look like an NFL starter. He's got the weapons, so it's either coaching or quarterbacking. Place your bets.

25 (20) Oakland Raiders (1-4)
The best they can hope for is a wild card spot. The offense struggled badly without Randy Moss, and if Porter can't step up to fill the void, it'll be another bad year in Raider Nation.

26 (29) New Orleans Saints (2-4)
In the NFC North they'd be tied for first, in the NFC South they're pretty much out of the race, unless Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and Carolina struggle, which is unlikely. They put a valiant effort up against Atlanta though, and they'll need a repeat of that against St. Louis.

27 (22) St. Louis Rams (2-4)
Did anyone else think the Rams looked better without Mike Martz? Maybe it's because they actually ran the ball. They were also smart enough to use Marshall Faulk. When you have that much talent, you should use it.

28 (25) Cleveland Browns (2-3)
Romeo Crennel didn't inherit a great team, but he's done what he could with it. They have a chance at beating the Lions, and they could use the win to stay in the competitive AFC playoff picture.

29 (28) New York Jets (2-4)
They got handled by Buffalo, and now they have to play the Falcons in Atlanta, on a Monday Night. This should be a blow out, unless Testaverde can pull out a miracle.

30 (31) Minnesota Vikings (1-4)
They moved up a spot! The good news continues for the Vikings - they're playing a weak Packers team this week! Too bad about all the scandals floating around the team.

31 (30) Houston Texans (0-5)
Despite their best efforts, the Texans remain out of the basement. Look for that to change this week against the unstoppable Colts.

32 (32) San Francisco 49ers (1-4)
Keep your head up Alex Smith; with Tim Rattay gone, you're the man in San Fran. You don't have to win to get out of the basement, just stay competitive against the Redskins. The Colts should handle the rest.

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