Six weeks into the NFL season has been enough to determine the gap between the best and worst divisions in football — which is only widening as each interdivision game is being played. The NFC West has been on top for the majority of the early portion of the year while the NFC East isn’t the worst division in the league — not even in contention for that “honor” despite how poor it has looked.
The battle for the league’s top division has come full circle thanks to the emergence of the AFC North and the early-season success of the AFC West. As for the league’s worst division? The AFC South may be emerging from the basement after a strong Week 6, making the race at the bottom even more intriguing.
This week’s power rankings demonstrate the gap between the top four divisions and the bottom four:
8. AFC East
Last week’s ranking: 7
What an awful week for the AFC East. No team in the division emerged victorious — not even the Buffalo Bills. To make matters worse for the AFC East, the division lost two interdivisional games to the AFC South, which headed into Week 6 with 2-12 record against teams outside the division.
The Miami Dolphins falling to the Jacksonville Jaguars — and snapping Jacksonville’s 20-game losing streak — is a bad stain on this division. The New England Patriots gave the Dallas Cowboys all they could handle, but they are another team in this division that’s at least two games under .500 (there are three of them).
Even with the powerhouse Bills, the AFC East is 5-12 in interdivisional games. Overall, the division has a combined record of 8-15. A poor Week 6 puts the AFC East at the bottom this week, as only Buffalo can salvage this division from becoming the worst in football.
7. AFC South
Last week’s ranking: 8
Didn’t think the AFC South had the power to go undefeated in out-of-division games this week (or any week for that matter), but this division deserves a lot of credit. Whether the Bills decide to go for it on fourth down or not, the Tennessee Titans showed that they still are a threat in the AFC despite their rocky start. Tennessee was able to keep its division lead with the huge “Monday Night Football” win, and avoid falling to .500.
The Indianapolis Colts took care of the Houston Texans in an intra-divisional matchup to advance to 2-4, but the shocker this week was the Jacksonville Jaguars upsetting the Miami Dolphins in London — a major reason why the AFC South isn’t the worst in football this week.
It is still just 4-12 in interdivisional games, but half those wins came this week. Overall, the AFC South has a combined record of 8-16. Going 2-0 against the AFC East jumps the AFC South up a spot.
6. NFC East
Last week’s ranking: 6
This wasn’t a banner week for the NFC East. The Philadelphia Eagles were embarrassed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for three quarters before making the game closer than it seemed while the New York Giants were blown out by the Los Angeles Rams. Both games were at home.
The Washington Football Team actually led at halftime against the Kansas City Chiefs before getting outscored 21-0 in the second half. These losses were expected for the NFC East, even if all those games occurred at home.
If it wasn’t for the Dallas Cowboys being one of the best teams in football, the NFC East would be competing with the AFC South and AFC East for the worst division. Dallas is already three games up on Washington and Philadelphia for the division lead through six weeks.
Despite the other NFC East teams (not named Dallas) having a combined record of 5-13, the division is 7-11 in interdivisional games. The NFC East has a combined record of 10-14.
5. NFC North
Last week’s ranking: 5
The NFC North isn’t a good division either, as no team in this group appears to be a formidable challenge for the Green Bay Packers. The Minnesota Vikings are showing signs of being a playoff team in the NFC, which has five good teams and then the next two playoff spots are wide open — which should make for an interesting next 12 weeks.
The Detroit Lions are the only winless team in football and didn’t look competitive in a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Green Bay took care of the Chicago Bears on the road as Justin Fields still is figuring out the NFL. Playing Tampa Bay this week isn’t likely to help Chicago either.
Overall, the NFC North is 6-10 in interdivisional games and has a combined record of 11-13. There’s three teams .500 or better in the NFC North, which separates the division from the other bottom dwellers.
4. NFC South
Last week’s ranking: 4
With two teams on a bye in the NFC South this week, it was hard to gauge whether the division should move up or down in the rankings. Tampa Bay took care of Philadelphia on Thursday night, but the Carolina Panthers fell to the Minnesota Vikings in overtime at home — a game that really could have gone either way. The Panthers are 0-3 in their three games without Christian McCaffrey, who was placed on injured reserve last week.
This division has three teams .500 or better and its teams have a combined record of 14-9. The NFC South definitely belongs with the upper tier of divisions with an 11-7 interdivisional record, but it’s hard to rank them above the top divisions with half the teams idle last week. The South is a division to keep an eye on in the weeks ahead, especially with winnable games for each team in Week 7 (the entire division plays interdivisional games).
3. AFC West
Last week’s ranking: 3
Hard for this division to move up or down either given the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos played an intra-divisional matchup, which the Raiders won to improve to 4-2. Every team in this division is .500 or better thanks to the Chiefs blowing out Washington in the second half — Kansas City still surprisingly resides in last place in the West.
The Los Angeles Chargers give the West a poor grade as the division leaders, getting blown out by the Baltimore Ravens (who lead the AFC North) in a game in which they weren’t even competitive. Los Angeles still leads the division at 4-2 as every team is within one game of each other.
The AFC West is one of the deepest divisions in the league, having a combined record of 14-10. The division is 11-7 in out-of-division matchups. In Week 7, the Chiefs have a huge game against the Titans while the Broncos have a big road test against the Browns. A pair of wins could move the AFC West up a notch — and give them a shot to compete for the best division in football.
2. AFC North
Last week’s ranking: 2
The AFC North is the biggest challenger to the NFC West for the best division in football. The Ravens thrashed the Chargers in a battle of division leaders while the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to hold off the Seattle Seahawks on “Sunday Night Football.” The Bengals were able to take care of the Lions to give the division an impressive 3-1 week, with the injured Cleveland Browns getting pummeled by the Arizona Cardinals at home — a game that could have potentially moved the North into the top spot.
Again, this division is good. No team is under .500 and the Ravens may be the best team in the AFC through six weeks. The Bengals have the look of a playoff team and the Steelers are proving they never should be counted out. Cleveland’s injuries may hurt (no pun intended), but the Browns have a lot of talent on that roster.
An impressive 14-8 in interdivisional games, the AFC North has a combined record of 15-9. They’re the top contender for the NFC West’s throne.
1. NFC West
Last week’s ranking: 1
Holding serve for another week, the NFC West actually has a team that’s under .500 (the Seahawks, who will be without Russell Wilson for a few weeks) — but also has the league’s lone unbeaten in the Cardinals. Arizona had an impressive win over Cleveland on the road, further proving the Cardinals are a contender to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Seattle playing Pittsburgh tough and Arizona beating Cleveland kept the NFC West in the top spot this week.
The Los Angeles Rams had a convincing win over the New York Giants on the road while the San Francisco 49ers were on their bye. The power of this division is obvious as the West has a combined record of 15-8, even with two teams currently under .500.
Hard to ignore that 11-4 record in interdivisional matchups, an astonishing .733 win percentage. That’s why the NFC West remains in the top spot.
