Where the Cleveland Browns rank in latest NFL Week 6 power rankings

It's already Week 6 of the NFL season (crazy, right?), and ESPN has recently released its Week 6 power rankings.

Week 5 saw the fall of the unbeatens as the Denver Broncos took down the Philadelphia Eagles 21-17 in a comeback victory, and the New England Patriots also went on the road and beat the formerly undefeated Buffalo Bills 23-20 on a 52-yard field goal as time expired.

For the Cleveland Browns, though, it was more of the same feeling as they fell to the Minnesota Vikings 21-17 in London. Rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel made the start and showed flashes of being a starter as he finished 19 of 33 for 190 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions.

The loss was a hard one to swallow, though, as the Browns held the lead until 25 seconds left when Carson Wentz hit Jordan Addison for a 12-yard touchdown. With Gabriel starting, it generated more optimism among Browns fans to see a new quarterback in there and being successful, especially in the red zone, where he found his tight ends, Harold Fannin Jr., and David Njoku, for touchdowns.

But where do they fall in the recent edition of the NFL power rankings from ESPN? After falling to 1-4, the Browns rank at No. 26, maintaining the same spot they held last week.

The Browns rank above the New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, and New York Jets. The Jets are the only team remaining that has yet to get a win this season. Cleveland just fell short of Cincinnati, which ranked 25th, and after Carolina’s win over Miami, the Panthers moved up to 24th.

In the ESPN preseason NFL rankings, the Browns started at No. 30, then moved up to 29th after Week 1. After losing to the Ravens, Cleveland moved back down to 30th. However, following their lone win over the Packers, their ranking improved to 26th. Cleveland stayed at 26th after the 34-10 loss to the Lions and remains there following the loss vs Minnesota.

With the optimism from Dillon Gabriel playing solidly in his first career start, Cleveland will square up with the AFC North leader, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in Pittsburgh this Sunday.

It will be a key game for Cleveland to try to make up ground in the division, as they already have two losses in the division to Cincinnati and Baltimore. Currently, the win over Cleveland is Baltimore’s lone victory this season, and since Joe Burrow has gotten injured, the Bengals are 0-3, so this next game vs Pittsburgh is a massive one for the division.