No one likes to gloat, but there are some mildly self-satisfied smiles at Pickswise NFL Power Rankings HQ after we made the San Francisco 49ers our #1 team last week and they fully justified it by obliterating the Dallas Cowboys. That has created some separation between them and the chasing pack.
While there’s no change at the top, we do have a new team in the #32 slot after the Bears managed to claw their way out of the basement by beating the crumbling Commanders 40-20 on Thursday Night Football of NFL Week 5.
Among the teams moving up the board this week are the Lions, Jaguars, Colts, Saints and Raiders, while the Cowboys (surprise!), Packers, Titans and Commanders are among those heading in the wrong direction. We also have teams who just had their bye weeks to slot in for the first time, and while two of them have stayed in the same place, we also have one idle team moving up and one going down due to the movement of the teams around them.
You can also check out our early pick for NFL Week 6 and look at the latest NFL odds any time you like. Now, let’s get to this week’s rankings.
Pickswise NFL Power Rankings for Week 6
We said last week that the 49ers had earned this status and they sure justified it on Sunday. Kyle Shanahan’s squad have a league-leading points differential of +99 after 5 games which, to save you doing the math, equates to an average result of a win by 19.8 points. The Browns might have been expected to provide a proper test for them this week if they were fully staffed, but doubts about Deshaun Watson’s health persist. The sportsbooks are all on board too now, with all the major books making the 49ers their Super Bowl favorites.