NFL Power Rankings Week 6: Same Old Texans, Brand New Niners

San Francisco returns to the elite while the same old Texans are in Houston. Frank Doyle ranks ‘em after Week 6.

1 (-). Green Bay Packers, (6-0, 5-1-0 ATS).
Green Bay took its foot off the gas during the entire second half on Sunday against the Rams and it still didn’t matter. The Packers won and covered in neutral.

2 (+1). New England Patriots, (5-1, 3-2-1 ATS).
Tom Brady gets it done.

3 (+4). San Francisco 49ers, (5-1, 6-0-0 ATS).
San Francisco is the only team in the league that is perfect against the NFL betting spread.

4 (-2). New Orleans Saints, (4-2, 3-3-0 ATS).
Drew Brees had a bad day at the office on Sunday. It happens.

5 (+1). Baltimore Ravens, (4-1, 4-1-0 ATS).
The Ravens roasted Houston, but Houston didn’t put up that much resistance.

6 (-2). Detroit Lions, (5-1, 4-2-0 ATS).
They were never going to go 16-0. The Lions are still a good team.

7 (-2). Buffalo Bills, (4-2, 4-1-1 ATS).
Buffalo is second last in the league in total defense. That’ll cost the Bills as the weeks go by.

8 (+3). Oakland Raiders, (4-2, 4-2-0 ATS).
The injury to Jason Campbell is huge and potentially very damaging for the Raiders.

9 (+1). San Diego Chargers, (4-1, 2-3-0 ATS).
The Chargers aren’t quite firing on all cylinders. Question is, does San Diego have all cylinders in the first place?

10 (+2). Pittsburgh Steelers, (4-2, 2-4-0 ATS).
The Packers could take their foot off the gas and get away with it. The Steelers nearly got stung doing it. That’s the difference.

11 (+3). Tampa Bay Buccaneers, (4-2, 3-3-0 ATS).
The Bucs’ win over New Orleans kept their season alive.

12 (+1). New York Giants, (4-2, 3-2-1 ATS).
It’s not easy to tell which Giants will turn up on any given Sunday.

13 (-4). Washington Redskins, (3-2, 3-2-0 ATS).
It sounds counter-intuitive but it makes more sense for the Redskins to stick with Rex Grossman than to change now. Dance with the one who brung ya.

14 (+2). Cincinnati Bengals, (4-2, 5-1-0 ATS).
The Bengals are having one hell of a year with rookie Andy Dalton at quarterback.

15 (-). New York Jets, (3-3, 2-3-1 ATS).
The win over Miami kept the Jets’ season alive, but the Fish aren’t what they were.

16 (-8). Houston Texans, (3-3, 3-3-0 ATS).
The three saddest words in the Lone Star State? “Same old Texans.” Huge game next week at Tennessee.

17 (-). Chicago Bears, (3-3, 2-4-0 ATS).
A trip to London, England, is something the Bears don’t need as they fight to keep pace in the NFC North.

18 (+1). Tennessee Titans, (3-2, 3-2-0 ATS).
Tennessee plays Houston on Sunday – will it be for the AFC South?

19 (-1). Dallas Cowboys, (2-3, 2-3-0 ATS).
Dallas really did its best at New England. Don’t count the Cowboys out of the NFC East yet.

20 (-). Philadelphia Eagles, (2-4, 2-4-0 ATS).
Another team that kept its season alive on Sunday.

21 (-). Atlanta Falcons, (3-3, 2-4-0 ATS).
The Falcons went back to basics on Sunday and came up trumps. Can they keep it up to challenge for the competitive NFC South?

22 (-). Arizona Cardinals, (1-4, 1-3-1 ATS).
A bye week stops the Cards from dropping five straight.

23 (-). Cleveland Browns, (2-3, 1-4-0 ATS).
Poor Peyton Hillis. Another victim of the Madden Curse. As if they didn’t have enough curses in Cleveland.

24 (+1). Seattle Seahawks, (2-3, 3-2-0 ATS).
Spent their bye week wondering just how they beat the Giants.

25 (+1). Kansas City Chiefs, (2-3, 3-2-0 ATS).
Huge game for the Chiefs at Oakland this weekend. If they can make something happen Kansas City is suddenly back in the mix in a division that does not look like the league’s best right now.

26 (-2). Carolina Panthers, (1-5, 4-1-1 ATS).
It had become easy to forget that Cam Newton is still a rookie. The defeat in the Georgia Dome was a grounding experience for a man who remains on of the league’s great prospects for the future.

27 (-). Denver Broncos, (1-4, 1-4-0 ATS).
It’s Tebow time in Colorado! Has any game between teams with one win between them over ten games been as eagerly anticipated as Denver’s trip to Miami on Sunday?

28 (-). Minnesota Vikings, (1-5, 3-3-0 ATS).
They have to start Ponder. They just have to.

29 (-). Indianapolis Colts, (0-6, 2-4-0 ATS).
New Orleans beat Indianapolis in Super Bowl XLV. The Colts are long odds to avenge that this Sunday in the Superdome.

30 (-). Miami Dolphins, (0-5, 1-4-0 ATS).
Time for another search for the next Shula and Marino.

31 (-). Jacksonville Jaguars, (1-5, 1-5-0 ATS).
If I owned the Jags, I’d so move them to LA.

32 (-). St. Louis Rams, (0-5, 0-5-0 ATS).
Green Bay toyed with the Rams like a pussy cat with a ball of yarn. Humiliating.