What a difference a month makes.
Two weeks into the season, the Denver Broncos were one of the league’s pleasant surprises with an undefeated record and win over a division foe. Fast-forward to the present and the Broncos have dropped four in a row. Their playoff chances sit at less than 2 percent, according to ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index (FPI). Where does your team fit in the playoff race? As you read through the Week 7 Power Rankings, we have postseason odds based on FPI for every team.
How we rank the teams: Our power panel — a group of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities — evaluated how all 32 teams stack up through the first six weeks of the season.
Previous rankings: 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Preseason
Record: 6-0
Week 6 ranking: 1
Playoff chances: 99.7 percent. No team has a higher chance to make the playoffs than the unbeaten Rams. While a lot of the attention goes to Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and the Rams’ skill players, L.A.’s offensive line has been exceptional this season. The Rams have the highest pass block win rate, according to ESPN’s pass block metric powered by NFL Next Gen Stats, and lead the league by a wide margin. — Sopan Shah
Record: 4-2
Week 6 ranking: 3
Playoff chances: 89.4 percent. It looks like the only thing that could derail the Patriots’ playoff chances would be an injury to Tom Brady or his WR corps. Brady is completing 72 percent of his passes with 9.3 yards per attempt to WRs in his last three games, compared with a 57 percent and 5.5 yards per attempt during his first three games. — Doug Clawson
Record: 5-1
Week 6 ranking: 3
Playoff chances: 95.2 percent. The Chiefs have the highest playoff odds of any AFC team because of their offense. Kansas City ranks in the top five in points per game, yards per play, pass yards per attempt and Total QBR. The best news is that the bulk of the heavy lifting is done, as the Chiefs have the fourth-easiest remaining strength of schedule according to FPI. — Sterling Xie
Record: 4-1
Week 6 ranking: 4
Playoff chances: 79.5 percent. The Saints have the second-highest chance to make the playoffs in the NFC, trailing only the Rams. The Saints are averaging 36 points per game, which would be the highest single-season average since the 2013 Broncos. However, their defense might hold them back, as opposing teams are putting up a 67.5 Total QBR, which is the second-highest in the NFL. — Shah
Record: 4-2
Week 6 ranking: 10
Playoff chances: 80.5 percent. The Ravens’ next four games are all against teams above .500 (Saints, at Panthers, Steelers, Bengals). The Ravens are 2-1 against teams that entered the game with a winning record this season and have gone .500 or better against such teams since 2014 (their last playoff appearance). — Clawson
Record: 3-3
Week 6 ranking: 9
Playoff chances: 57.7 percent. Carson Wentz‘s QBR has risen in each of his four starts, culminating in a career-high 95.9 QBR in the Eagles’ Thursday night win over the Giants. Wentz is averaging a career-high 39.5 pass attempts per game and might need to continue carrying the load with Jay Ajayi out for the season and Darren Sproles out since Week 1. — Xie
Record: 4-2
Week 6 ranking: 6
Playoff chances: 50.5 percent. The Bengals rank 23rd in defensive efficiency this season. It doesn’t get any easier as they play the Chiefs and Saints in two of their next three games. — Clawson
Record: 4-2
Week 6 ranking: 14
Playoff chances: 80.2 percent. The Chargers have the best playoff odds of any team not currently leading its division. That’s largely thanks to Philip Rivers, who is averaging a career-high 8.8 yards per attempt and a career-high 15-3 TD-to-INT ratio. — Xie
Matthew Berry and Field Yates say that Saquon Barkley has cemented his spot as a top-tier running back, and they discuss who else is on that level.
Record: 3-2-1
Week 6 ranking: 12
Playoff chances: 59.4 percent. The Steelers will have the challenge of finding playing time for both Le’Veon Bell and James Conner if Bell returns for Pittsburgh’s next game. Conner is averaging 5.5 yards per touch and 4.4 yards per rush this season, both higher than Bell’s averages through six games in 2017. — Clawson
Record: 3-2-1
Week 6 ranking: 11
Playoff chances: 54 percent. The Kirk Cousins-to-Adam Thielen connection has been a major reason for the Vikings’ success. Thielen leads the league with 58 receptions and 712 receiving yards. The last Viking to lead the league in receptions was Cris Carter in 1994, and no Viking has ever led the league in receiving yards. — Shah
Record: 3-3
Week 6 ranking: 5
Playoff chances: 35.3 percent. Blake Bortles has faltered since shredding the Patriots for 376 yards and four touchdowns in Week 2. Since then, Bortles ranks 30th in QBR and has thrown six interceptions, tied for the most in the league over that span. — Xie
Record: 3-2
Week 6 ranking: 7
Playoff chances: 59.7 percent. The Bears maintain favorable odds despite giving up a season-high 31 points in their loss against the Dolphins on Sunday. Chicago ranks in the top five in points allowed per game, opposing QBR, sacks and interceptions. Mitchell Trubisky has seen an uptick in production as well: He has thrown nine TD passes in his last two games, matching the total he threw in his first 15 career games. — Shah
Record: 3-2
Week 6 ranking: 8
Playoff chances: 35 percent. The Panthers have the second-highest chance in the division to make the playoffs, and their run game is a big reason why. Carolina is averaging 5 yards per rush, mostly on the legs of Christian McCaffrey (349 yards) and Cam Newton (208 yards). — Shah
Record: 3-2-1
Week 6 ranking: 13
Playoff chances: 48.6 percent. The Packers’ playoff odds aren’t as good as the division-rival Bears or Vikings, but as long as they have Aaron Rodgers under center, you can’t count them out. After leading the Packers on a game-winning drive over the 49ers on Monday night, Rodgers has now led the Packers to victory 11 times after they entered the fourth quarter trailing. — ESPN
Record: 4-2
Week 6 ranking: 16
Playoff chances: 20.9 percent. The Dolphins have the second-worst pass block win rate in the NFL according to ESPN pressure metrics using NFL Next Gen Stats. They are holding their blocks within 2.5 seconds on 35 percent pass rushes — the average QB releases the ball in 2.5 seconds. — Clawson
Record: 3-2
Week 6 ranking: 17
Playoff chances: 25.6 percent. Alex Smith hasn’t been able to connect with his wide receivers so far. Washington WRs rank last in targets and yards per catch and 31st in receptions and receiving yards. No Redskins wide receiver has even caught five passes or eclipsed 70 yards in a game yet this season. — Xie
Record: 3-3
Week 6 ranking: 20
Playoff chances: 47.7 percent. After starting 0-2, the Seahawks have won three of their last four. During those last four games, they’ve been able to get to the QB, as they have a 36 pressure percent in that span, fourth best in the NFL. — Sopan Shah
Record: 3-3
Week 6 ranking: 15
Playoff chances: 19.7 percent. On Sunday, Marcus Mariota had the dubious distinction of being the first player to be sacked 10 or more times with less than 10 completions since Guido Merkens in 1987. Mariota has not handled pressure well this season, as his 30.8 completion percentage when under duress is tied with Josh Allen for the second-worst rate in the league. — Xie
Record: 2-4
Week 6 ranking: 19
Playoff chances: 18.7 percent. An injury-riddled Falcons defense is a big reason why Atlanta has struggled. The Falcons offense ranks in the top 10 in yards per play and Total QBR, but the defense is allowing 32 points per game, second worst in the NFL. — Shah
Record: 3-3
Week 6 ranking: 25
Playoff chances: 48.8 percent. The Cowboys’ playoff hopes will largely depend on what version of Dak Prescott they get the rest of the season. In Dallas’ three wins, Prescott has thrown for five TDs and no picks, and his off-target percentage is 15 percent. In their three losses, Prescott has two TDs to four INTs and an off-target rate of 23 percent, which would be the second-worst rate of any QB this season. — Xie
Record: 3-3
Week 6 ranking: 24
Playoff chances: 47 percent. Deshaun Watson has been sacked on 9.6 percent of his dropbacks (sixth-highest in the NFL) and contacted on 23.4 percent of his plays (fourth-highest in the NFL among QBs) this season, both higher rates than he had in 2017. — Clawson
Record: 2-3-1
Week 6 ranking: 18
Playoff chances: 0.6 percent. The Browns have a plus-9 turnover margin in three starts made by Tyrod Taylor and a minus-2 turnover margin in Baker Mayfield‘s three starts. — Clawson
Record: 2-3
Week 6 ranking: 23
Playoff chances: 7.9 percent. A big reason for the Lions’ struggles has been their inability to stop the run. They allow 5.3 yards per rush and 3.2 yards before contact per rush, both of which rank in the bottom three in the NFL. — Shah
Record: 2-4
Week 6 ranking: 21
Playoff chances: 1.8 percent. Denver’s once-vaunted defense just became the first in NFL history to allow 200-yard rushers in consecutive games in a season. The Broncos have hemorrhaged big plays all year, allowing 34 plays of at least 20 yards, second most behind the Chiefs. When the Broncos won the Super Bowl in 2015, they gave up only 46 plays of 20-plus yards, the fewest in the league. — Xie
Record: 3-3
Week 6 ranking: 27
Playoff chances: 7.6 percent chance. Sam Darnold completed 80 percent of his passes in Week 6 after completing 50 percent or fewer in each of his previous three games. Only three of his 30 passes were off target in Week 6. — Clawson
Record: 2-3
Week 6 ranking: 22
Playoff chances: 14.5 percent. After a hot start led by Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Buccanneers have come back down to earth. Tampa Bay will hope to improve its defense now that coordinator Mike Smith has been fired. His unit ranked last in the NFL in points per game, yards per play and opposing QBR. The Bucs’ opposing QBR would be the highest single-season opposing QBR since the stat’s inception in 2006. — Shah
Record: 1-5
Week 6 ranking: 26
Playoff chances: 8.1 percent. Andrew Luck leads the NFL with 288 pass attempt this season, but they aren’t doing much damage. He averages 6.2 yards per attempt (32nd in NFL) likely because his average throw distance of 7.3 yards downfield ranks 28th in the NFL. — Clawson
Record: 2-4
Week 6 ranking: 29
Playoff chances: 2.9 percent. Josh Allen has been sacked 21 times this season, second most in the NFL. He also holds on to the ball longer than anyone else in the NFL (3.15 seconds before pass). — Clawson
Record: 1-5
Week 6 ranking: 28
Playoff chances: 1.7 percent. The Giants currently rank 28th in offensive efficiency, and have finished 27th or worse each of the past two seasons. New York isn’t getting any big plays from its defense either, as the Giants’ five takeaways are tied for the second fewest this season. — Xie
Record: 1-5
Week 6 ranking: 30
Playoff chances: 1.2 percent. During a tough season, you find silver linings wherever you can. The 49ers have gotten off to better starts in each of the past two games, scoring touchdowns on their opening drive in both games after going without a touchdown on the first drive in each of the first four weeks. — ESPN
Record: 1-5
Week 6 ranking: 32
Playoff chances: Less than 0.1 percent. One thing for fans to hang their hat on is the performance of Josh Rosen. In the three games he has started, the Cardinals have averaged 250 yards per game, improving on their 190-yards-per-game average in the three games that Sam Bradford started. — Shah
Record: 1-5
Week 6 ranking: 31
Playoff chances: 0.1 percent chance. Only the Cardinals have a lower chance to reach the postseason according to FPI. Oakland has pressured the opposing quarterback on only 20.3 percent of their dropbacks, which would be the lowest rate of any defense since 2012. — Xie