Week 6 NFL Power Rankings: Lions Rewarded For Beating Bad Team

Here are the latest Week 6 NFL power rankings and how the Detroit Lions fared, after a dominant 45-21 win against the Arizona Cardinals.

Sports Illustrated

Power ranking: 11th
Previous ranking: 18th

"Brian Branch’s anticipated return looms as the Lions hit a bye week after throttling the Cardinals. There are worse ways to enter your break. While I am backing off my prediction that this team will win 14 games, I don’t think winning the division is off the table by any stretch."

ESPN

Power ranking: 11th
Previous ranking: 16th

"Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard was under fire after Detroit gave up 30 points in three of its first four games, though the Lions enjoyed a much better performance Sunday before heading into their bye week. The biggest struggles have been in the secondary, as they've given up a league-high 1,487 passing yards. To Detroit's defense, theyentered the season without Pro Bowl safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. And they're are missing safety Thomas Harper and defensive back Avonte Maddox, who are on injured reserve. Branch should return for Week 7 after being sidelined since December because of a torn Achilles."

The Athletic

Power ranking: 12th
Previous ranking: 12th

"It’s not exactly a murderer’s row of wins for the Lions, beating up on teams that are a combined 4-11. But we knew going into this season that the Lions had one of the easiest schedules in the league, and they just need to take care of business against the bad teams. So far, they’ve done that, even if legitimate questions remain about Detroit’s defense."

Fox Sports

Power ranking: 14th
Previous ranking: 16th

"If the MVP wasn’t basically a quarterback award, there would be a heck of a race brewing between Detroit RB Jahmyr Gibbs and Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson. Gibbs scored his eighth and ninth touchdowns on Sunday and added another 207 total yards to his season. And he did it on a day when QB Jared Goff threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns, too.

As I’ve said before, the Lions can run up the score on anyone. It’s their defense that’s the problem. They did a fine job against the young and QB-challenged Cardinals on Sunday. If they can fix their defensive issues during the bye week, they might be an actual contender when they return."

USA Today

Power ranking: 12th
Previous ranking: 15th

QB Jared Goff has accounted for 13 TDs and nary a turnover through five weeks. If that's not MVP-caliber, then what is?

Fansided

Power ranking: 21st
Previous ranking: 21st

"The offense is going to have to carry them. It feels like it's been a while since they got to play with a lead and flex their muscles, and winning at home, given how their defense is especially vulnerable on the road, is nothing short of vital."

Bleacher Report

Power ranking: 16th
Previous ranking: 18th

"It's hard to decipher just how good the Detroit Lions can be, even if we know exactly what sort of team they are.

Detroit's offense can look like the league's best when everything is clicking, but its defense is one of the league's worst by just about every metric. The defense did enough against the one-win Cardinals for the Lions to comfortably cruise to 3-2. However, Detroit has to find defensive answers during next week's bye if it hopes to match points with the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings in its next two games.

The Lions should be prime candidates to trade for defensive help in the coming weeks."

Sporting News

Power ranking: 13th
Previous ranking: 18th

"The Lions realized they just need to go up big with offense to play better defense. Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill each got into the pass-rush fun in the winning five-sack effort against the Cardinals."

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