NFL power rankings, built on results through October 12. The order is computed from results; the notes explain it.
San Francisco and Minnesota are both 5-0 at the top of the table, with Kansas City 4-0 just behind them. Six teams sitting near the top have not beaten a single opponent with a winning record, which is the difference between a fast start and a real one. Three unbeatens is a genuine summit; what is stacked beneath them is not yet trustworthy.
1. Kansas City Chiefs — 4-0
Kansas City is 4-0 and has beaten Las Vegas (3-2) and Denver (3-2), and the Chiefs trailed the Raiders after three quarters before scoring 20 in the fourth to win 30-27. They score 29.5 a game and allow 19.2, and they have won both of their one-score games. The schedule has been soft, but they have answered every test and look like the league's best team.
2. San Francisco 49ers — 5-0
San Francisco 49ers sit 2 of 32 at 5-0, unchanged on last week.
3. Minnesota Vikings — 5-0
Minnesota is 5-0 and owns wins over Chicago (3-2) and Green Bay (3-2), among the best any team has. The defense allows 12.8 points a game, fewest in the league, while the offense scores 21.8, 21st. The defense is carrying this team; the offense is the question.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars — 4-1
Jacksonville sits 4 of 32 at 4-1, built on a defence allowing 14 points a game, second of 32. The Jaguars have beaten Cincinnati, New England and Cleveland, all 3-2, and beat Philadelphia after trailing through three quarters. The offence's uneven weeks are the part that keeps this from looking settled.
5. Buffalo Bills — 4-1 (up 3)
They are scoring 32.8 points a game, more than anyone in the league, and they need every one of them: they allow 28.2, 28th of 32. Beating Detroit (3-2) is a genuine win, but a 37-34 escape from the Rams and a 26-29 loss to New England show how narrow this is. The offence is carrying a defence that has not held up.
6. Baltimore Ravens — 4-1 (up 3)
Baltimore is 4-1 and scoring 29.2 a game, sixth in the league, and it came from behind to beat Atlanta 30-23 after trailing through three quarters. But the wins have all come against losing teams — Atlanta at 2-3 is the best of them. The offence is real; the résumé has not been tested.
7. Seattle Seahawks — 3-2
Seattle is 3-2 and has led after three quarters in each of its last two games, yet won only one — 30-23 over the Chargers, then 29-32 to San Francisco. Three of five games have been decided by one score, and the Seahawks are 1-2 in them, which is why an offence scoring 26.8 and a defence allowing 21.0 sit seventh. They beat New England (3-2); closing is the worry.
8. Cincinnati Bengals — 3-2 (up 8)
Cincinnati is 3-2, scoring 25.6 a game and allowing 21.8, both 10th in the league. The problem is who they have beaten: every win has come against a losing side, with Houston (1-4) the best, and they are 0-2 against winning-record teams. This is a balanced team that remains untested.
9. New England Patriots — 3-2 (up 11)
New England has beaten Buffalo (4-1), Las Vegas (3-2) and Pittsburgh (3-2), and they allow 18.8 a game, fourth-fewest in the league. The offense, at 22 a game, has been volatile — it produced a 45-17 win and a wide-margin loss. The defense is the foundation; the offense is the question.
10. Chicago Bears — 3-2 (down 5)
The defence is why Chicago sits here: 19.2 points allowed a game, fifth in the league, while the offence manages 23.8. Every win has come against a losing side, with the 2-3 Eagles the best of them, and the loss to Green Bay was 7-31. A good defence propping up a record nobody good has tested.
11. Denver Broncos — 3-2 (up 3)
Denver is 3-2 with a win over Jacksonville (4-1) and a loss to San Francisco (5-0), the résumé behind 11th of 32. The defense allows 22.2 points a game, 13th, while the offense scores 19.4, 26th. The defense is holding up its end; the offense is the question.
12. Las Vegas Raiders — 3-2 (down 6)
Las Vegas has beaten nobody with a winning record; its best win is over a New Orleans team that is 1-4. The offence scores 26.4 a game, ninth in the league, but the defence allows 25.8, and New England ran away with a 17-45 win. The record is softer than it looks.
13. New York Giants — 3-1 (down 2)
At 3-1 the Giants are winning with defence: 19.8 points allowed a game is eighth in the league, while the offence manages just 20.5, 24th. Every win has come against a losing side — the best of them Arizona at 1-4 — and they have not beaten a team with a winning record. The defence is holding up its end; the offence is why this 3-1 looks better than it is.
14. Detroit Lions — 3-2 (up 3)
Detroit is scoring 32.8 a game, more than anyone, but allowing 29.6, 29th of 32. The 3-2 record comes with a caveat: every win has come against a losing side, and the best of them was the Jets at 2-3. The offence is real; the defence is why this is a 14th-place team.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers — 3-2 (up 3)
The Steelers have won three of five, and the Cincinnati Bengals (3-2) are the best of those wins. Their defence is keeping them in games — only a handful of teams allow fewer points — but the offence sits 17th, and wins tend to be close rather than comfortable. A team that leans on its defence and beats middling opponents will hold around the middle.
16. Carolina Panthers — 2-2 (up 3)
Carolina is 2-2, and both its best win and worst loss came against 3-2 teams: it beat Detroit 32-26 but fell to Cleveland. The offense is scoring 30.2 a game, fourth in the league, while the defense allows 27.2, 26th. The offense can score on anyone; the defense is why the results swing so wildly.
17. Cleveland Browns — 3-2 (down 7)
Cleveland is 3-2 and has beaten Pittsburgh (3-2), but the offence is scoring only 18.6 a game, 27th in the league, and Week 5 was a 12-17 loss to the Jets (2-3). Two of their five games came down to one score, and they won both. The defence holds up at 22.4 allowed; the offence is the reason they sit here.
18. Green Bay Packers — 3-2 (up 4)
Green Bay is 3-2 and beat Chicago (3-2) 31-7, a quality win, and has won both of its one-score games. But the Packers score just 20.8 points a game, 23rd of 32, while allowing 22.4, 14th. The defence is holding up its end; the offence is the reason they sit at 18.
19. Los Angeles Rams — 2-3 (down 7)
The Rams slid seven spots after a 34-37 loss to Buffalo, and the week-to-week swings are the story: they are 1-3 against teams with winning records, with a win over the Giants (3-1) the best thing on the résumé. They score 23.8 a game and allow 24.0. Until that defence tightens, the close ones will keep going the other way.
20. Indianapolis Colts — 2-3 (down 7)
Indianapolis is scoring 24.8 a game, 11th in the league, but allowing 27.6, 27th, and that gap explains the week-to-week swings. Every win has come against a losing side; against teams that finished with a winning record they are 0-3. The offence is good enough to keep games close, and the defence is why they keep losing them.
21. New York Jets — 2-3 (up 4)
At 2-3, the Jets are allowing 19.2 points a game, fifth-fewest in the league, and have beaten Cleveland (3-2) 17-12. The offense scores 18.6, 27th, and they are 1-3 against teams with winning records. The defense is keeping them competitive; the offense is why they are 21st.
22. Atlanta Falcons — 2-3 (down 1)
At 2-3, Atlanta has swung hard: it beat New Orleans 45-24, then led Baltimore after three quarters before losing 23-30. The offense scores 23.8 a game, 13th, but the defense allows 24.4, 21st. A win over Green Bay (3-2) shows the ceiling; a loss to Carolina (2-2) shows why the footing is shaky.
23. Dallas Cowboys — 2-3 (down 8)
Dallas scores 27.6 a game, seventh in the league, and sits 23rd because it allows 27.2, 25th. Every win has come against a losing side — the best of them Washington, 1-3 — and the loss to a 1-4 Tampa Bay team came after leading at half-time. The offence is doing enough; the defence is not.
24. Philadelphia Eagles — 2-3 (down 1)
Philadelphia is 2-3, with every win coming against a losing side and its best win against Tennessee, who are 0-5. It led the Rams and Jaguars after three quarters and lost both, 20-24 and 17-19. The defense allows 22.4 a game, 14th of 32, but the offense scores 18.4, 29th, and that is why this team sits at 24.
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — 1-4 (up 4)
Tampa Bay's only win came against Dallas, who are 2-3, and the four teams that beat them all finished with winning records. A 20-point-a-game offence, 25th in the league, is why the close ones keep going the wrong way. This is a team playing to the level of its schedule, and it hasn't been good enough to beat anyone above it.
26. New Orleans Saints — 1-4 (up 2)
New Orleans is 1-4, but they beat Baltimore (4-1). They were level with Minnesota after three quarters before losing, and they gave up 45 to Atlanta (2-3). The defense allows 30.2 a game, 30th in the league; until it improves, the Baltimore win will remain the exception.
27. Houston Texans — 1-4 (up 5)
Houston's lone win came against Tennessee, which is 0-5, and the Texans have not beaten a team with a winning record. They led Dallas 23-20 after three quarters and lost 30-34. One win over a winless team is the whole case so far.
28. Arizona Cardinals — 1-4 (down 4)
Arizona is 1-4 and 28th, down four, allowing 32.4 points a game — most in the league — while scoring 21.6, 22nd. They have not beaten a team with a winning record, and they lost 21-45 to Detroit. The defence is the reason they sit here; the offence has not been the problem.
29. Washington Commanders — 1-3 (down 2)
Washington is 1-3, and the shape of it is simple: the offence is ordinary at 22 points a game, while the defence gives up 30.5, 31st of 32. Beating Seattle (3-2) shows what this group can do; losing to the Colts (2-3) shows how fast it comes apart. The offence is functional — the defence is why they sit here.
30. Miami Dolphins — 0-5 (up 1)
Miami is 0-5, and the offence is the story: 14 points a game, 31st of 32. The defence allows 26.4, 24th, and the team trailed at half-time in Weeks 4 and 5, never leading after three quarters against Minnesota or Cincinnati. Until the offence finds points, the defence is fighting a losing battle.
31. Los Angeles Chargers — 0-5 (down 1)
Los Angeles is 0-5, and the offence is the problem: 16.8 points a game, 30th in the league. The Denver loss is the one that stings — ahead after three quarters, then beaten 0-13 in the fourth. Nothing in this start suggests the offence can hold a lead.
32. Tennessee Titans — 0-5 (down 6)
The offence is the problem: 11.6 points a game, 32nd of 32, and Tennessee has not been within one score of anyone. The defence, allowing 21.8, keeps games respectable, but a 3-26 loss to a Houston team that is 1-4 shows how far the floor has fallen. At 0-5, there is nothing here to build on yet.