• For the first time in the 2025 season, Philadelphia doesn’t check in at No. 1.
• One new team entered the top five this week with two more right on the fringe.
• Another squad is occupying last place for the first time.
• 

NFL power rankings entering Week 6 of the 2025 season (previous rank in parentheses):

1. Detroit Lions (5): While many teams have legit claims, they’re our new No. 1. Winners of four in a row, by an average margin of 19 points, nobody in the league is playing better. And Ben Who? The Lions’ 174 points scored are the most through five games in franchise history. Sunday night’s trip to Arrowhead should verify or debunk how accurately we’ve slotted Dan Campbell’s troops.

2. Buffalo Bills (2): Perhaps they haven’t beaten anyone of note aside from a fully healthy Ravens squad on opening night. But Sunday night’s loss was uncharacteristic, insomuch as Buffalo’s three giveaways cost them the turnover battle for the first time since the 2023 regular-season finale. A two-game road swing (Atlanta, Carolina) through the NFC South should get them right.

3. Philadelphia Eagles (1): My esteemed colleague Chris Bumbaca wrote it best − Philly can’t or won’t feed Saquon Barkley, the best running back on the planet five minutes ago. And the A.J. Brown issues continues to persist. But let’s not forget that this team didn’t truly take flight until October a year ago.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6): They’ve scored at least 20 points in 20 consecutive games, the league’s longest streak. They nearly scored 20 two times over in Sunday’s 38-35 shootout win at Seattle, the Bucs’ latest harrowing, last-minute escape … and one that will further burnish QB Baker Mayfield’s early MVP credentials.

5. Green Bay Packers (4): Beaten up in the trenches and coming off a 40-40 loss − yes, that’s what it was − to Dallas, they needed the week off.

6. Jacksonville Jaguars (14): Liam Coen, Coach of the Year? Devin Lloyd, Defensive Player of the Year? Trevor Lawrence, Comeback Player of the Year? This all seems quite lofty, but give the 4-1 Jags their props, especially after breaking the Chiefs’ 23-game streak of burying opponents they’d led by at least 14 points.

7. San Francisco 49ers (15): Not sure who they have left standing aside from Fred Warner and Christian McCaffrey − yet Kyle Shanahan has somehow steered this motley crew into the NFC’s top seed for the time being, thanks in large part to an early season sweep through their NFC West foes.

8. Los Angeles Rams (3): Tough loss to the depleted 49ers. But how much would you want to play for a fully accountable coach like Sean McVay, whether or not he really needed to fall on his sword?

9. Indianapolis Colts (11): Their league-best +74 point differential speaks to how well Shane Steichen’s offense is playing … and whom it’s played.

10. Denver Broncos (12): It’s tempting to move them even higher after two impressive wins, including Sunday’s victory in Philly, allayed any concerns about their uneven start. Coming off a six-sack performance, the league’s best D continues to shine.

11. Washington Commanders (13): QB Jayden Daniels returned to action and summarily became the first player to with at least 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in his first 20 NFL games. Good thing he’s right given Washington will play in prime time three of the next four weeks.

12. Seattle Seahawks (9): The surprising defensive letdown Sunday was nearly offset by Sam Darnold continuing to provide ample evidence that Seattle could be settled at quarterback for a half-dozen years or more.

13. Pittsburgh Steelers (10): Pretty nice when you can take the weekend off and watch your lead over all of your divisional foes grow by a game.

14. Kansas City Chiefs (8): Social media informs us that they are winless since Taylor Swift’s new album dropped. Seems like the extent of their problem(s).

15. New England Patriots (22): Their next three opponents have a combined three wins. Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye seem on the cusp of resurrecting this franchise from its recent dormancy.

16. Dallas Cowboys (20): Jake Ferguson’s 41 catches are tied for the most ever by a tight end through a season’s first five games. We are now contractually obligated to remind you that he is the grandson of former Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez.

17. Houston Texans (21): They’ve won their past two games by an aggregate score of 70-10. But a Week 6 bye could blunt their momentum and cost them to surrender more ground to the Colts and Jags, who are already two games clear of the reigning AFC South champs.

18. Minnesota Vikings (17): The Eagles, Chargers and Lions are on the other side of their Week 6 bye. Do they really want to drop QB1 J.J. McCarthy and his injured ankle into that meat grinder?

19. Chicago Bears (18): And now a return to Washington’s Northwest Stadium, scene of the Hail Mary crime that sent this club into a 10-game losing streak a year ago.

20. Los Angeles Chargers (7): QB Justin Herbert’s four INTs already exceed last season’s total (3). Guess that’s bound to happen when a team built to protect him and run the ball is suddenly without its top two offensive tackles and top two running backs for the foreseeable future.

21. Baltimore Ravens (16): Even assuming the Rams drop them to 1-5 ahead of a Week 7 bye, the schedule still suggests Baltimore could still go on quite a run starting in Week 8 … provided QB Lamar Jackson and some this team’s other sidelined studs are able to suit up.

22. Arizona Cardinals (19): Third-string running backs are bound to do third-rate things − and for a team that isn’t fortunate enough to be in third place after three straight losses coming on the final play.

23. Carolina Panthers (24): DE Derrick Brown may be the league’s most underappreciated defender − his return from last season’s knee injury coinciding with this defense’s return to respectability after being one of the worst in league history a year ago.

24. Atlanta Falcons (25): Still not sure why this team merited six standalone broadcast windows, including appearances on Monday and Sunday nights in its next two contests.

25. Cincinnati Bengals (23): Free Jameis Winston, Mike Brown. Do it! Your out-of-whack roster might depend on such a deal to remain viable into November.

26. Cleveland Browns (28): New QB1 Dillon Gabriel could stand to cut it loose a little more next week but did enough to earn a win in his debut.

27. New Orleans Saints (31): WR Rashid Shaheed has scored 15 NFL touchdowns. Their average length covered? How about 50.1 yards. (Hat tip: NFL Network.)

28. New York Giants (26): After not giving the ball away once in QB Jaxson Dart’s starting debut, they turned it over five times in his road debut … which was (literally) infinitely worse.

29. Las Vegas Raiders (27): How badly is it going? They failed to record a sack Sunday, ending a league-best streak of 40 games with at least one.

30. Miami Dolphins (29): How does a player with RB De’Von Achane’s speed average 1.6 yards per carry in a game during which he gets 10 attempts? (Answer: A truly dreadful O-line.)

31. Tennessee Titans (32): No. 1 pick Cam Ward may be a rookie, but he’ll never throw a better interception.

32. New York Jets (30): The last NYJ coach to take the team to London, Robert Saleh, was immediately fired after losing in the U.K. … and, unlike successor Aaron Glenn, Saleh wasn’t 0-5. Just sayin’, A.G.