NFL Power Rankings takes stock of all 32 teams throughout the season.
This week, we're uncovering a scary trend for each team that might leave fans trembling in fear on Halloween.
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1. Buffalo Bills (5-1)
Previous rank: 3
The Bills are moving up despite being on a bye this week, but they should be scared about their defense's performance so far. The unit has allowed at least 30 points in four of the team's five wins. Buffalo is the only club with a winning record and a defense that ranks in the bottom five for points per game allowed.
2. Minnesota Vikings (6-0)
Previous rank: 4
Minnesota is the NFL's only unbeaten team, but its offense keeps giving Vikings fans nightmares. The team has scored only nine offensive touchdowns this season, tied with the winless Chargers for the fewest in the league. Two of Minnesota's wins didn't even feature a trip to the end zone.
3. San Francisco 49ers (6-1)
Previous rank: 1
Brock Purdy wasn't sacked at all through the first four weeks, but the 49ers quarterback has now been taken down seven times in the last three games. Atlanta sacked him twice Sunday en route to handing San Francisco its first loss of the campaign.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (5-1)
Previous rank: 2
The Chiefs have logged four sacks in two games this year, which sounds pretty good. The problem is, they've put up a goose egg in their other four contests. Chris Jones used to be a game-wrecker, but the 32-year-old has looked nothing like one this season. Championship teams can normally bank on a quality pass rush, but Kansas City cannot.
5. Chicago Bears (5-2)
Previous rank: 6
The Bears haven't scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter in any of their last four games. To take it a step further, besides their Week 1 thrashing of the Panthers, they've only reached the end zone once in the fourth quarter all season.
6. Denver Broncos (5-2)
Previous rank: 7
Bo Nix is having a really tough time pushing the ball downfield, and only Buccaneers backup Jalon Daniels has a lower average depth of target. In other words, Nix has been taking checkdown after checkdown instead of looking to create chunk plays in the intermediate and deeper areas of the field. As a result, the Broncos' offense has stalled over and over again.
7. Seattle Seahawks (4-3)
Previous rank: 10
Seattle has suffered at least one turnover in six straight games, three of which featured three-plus giveaways. Sam Darnold's end-zone interception Sunday was his eighth in 2026, the most in the NFL. The Seahawks as a whole have surrendered 13 turnovers, tied for the third most in the league.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2)
Previous rank: 8
The Jaguars are coming off a bye, but they were racking up penalties prior to it. From Weeks 4-6, Liam Coen's squad committed 32 penalties, topping the NFL over that span. Moreover, Jacksonville was responsible for 20 post-play penalties in that period.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
Previous rank: 11
The Steelers have a nice record, but their reliance on one-score victories could come back to haunt them when they face better competition. Four of their five wins were one-possession games, and the last two against the Buccaneers and Saints were way closer than they should've been.
10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2)
Previous rank: 12
For the most part, the Bengals have looked good on both sides of the ball lately, but slow starts continue to haunt them. Cincinnati has been held to three or fewer first-half points in two of its last three games (versus Baltimore and Jacksonville), and it's worth noting that the exception came against the lowly Dolphins.
11. New England Patriots (4-3)
Previous rank: 9
Drake Maye has thrown three interceptions in the end zone this season, with all three contributing to losses for New England. His first blunder came at the end of its season opener against the Seahawks. His second was a backbreaker versus the Jaguars that prevented the Patriots from cutting into a two-score deficit. And his third cost them dearly in last week's game against the Bears, which New England lost by six points.
12. Detroit Lions (4-2)
Previous rank: 15
The Lions have shown signs of life defensively in recent weeks, so let's dive into a troubling offensive trend. While Jahmyr Gibbs is one of the most prolific running backs in the NFL, the Lions' rushing success rate in the fourth quarter ranks only 25th. In layman's terms, Detroit is having to rely heavily on Jared Goff to complete passes late in games because its running game is consistently getting blown up.
13. Cleveland Browns (5-2)
Previous rank: 16
Cleveland's minus-13 point differential is easily the worst in the league among teams with a winning record. The overachieving Browns have earned all of their wins by one possession, and four of them were decided by just three points each.
14. Los Angeles Rams (3-4)
Previous rank: 17
Issues in the kicking game derailed what should've been wins over the Bills and Cardinals. Then, the Rams beat up on the Raiders to get back on track, while Brandon McManus became Los Angeles' third kicker in three weeks. Even though he made all his kicks, the Rams' coverage unit allowed Las Vegas to produce two big kickoff returns.
15. Baltimore Ravens (4-3)
Previous rank: 5
The Ravens have blown double-digit leads in the second half of back-to-back games, continuing a trend that's haunted the franchise for several years. Those types of collapses cost John Harbaugh his job at the end of last year, yet Jesse Minter doesn't seem to have an answer for them either.
16. New York Giants (4-2-1)
Previous rank: 18
Run defense is once again a frightening topic for the Giants, who have allowed 153.7 rushing yards per game over their last three contests, the worst mark in the NFC. They responded well Sunday after defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson called out his players' effort in Week 6, but the run defense, which was also a major issue in 2025, will continue to haunt New York until it establishes consistency in that area.
17. Atlanta Falcons (3-4)
Previous rank: 23
The Falcons have averaged just 72.5 rushing yards over their last two games, which is surprisingly low given that Bijan Robinson leads the NFL in yards on the ground. Atlanta topped 110 rushing yards in each of the first five weeks and surpassed 200 yards twice, but the team's been held under 85 yards in both of its last two appearances.
18. Carolina Panthers (3-3)
Previous rank: 13
The Panthers have given up the most rushing touchdowns this season while ranking last in yards per carry allowed. They're coming off a blowout loss to the Buccaneers in which they surrendered 258 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. You know what they say: If you can't stop the run, you can't win in December and January.
19. Green Bay Packers (4-3)
Previous rank: 14
The Packers are the only team averaging under three yards per rushing attempt (2.9). Even Josh Jacobs' return didn't make a big difference for Green Bay's run game, as he finished Sunday's loss with 36 yards on 11 carries. At least Jacobs contributed with 55 yards and one touchdown as a receiver.
20. Dallas Cowboys (3-4)
Previous rank: 21
Dallas' defense is still giving Jerry Jones and Cowboys fans nightmares. The club entered Monday night allowing the league's worst third-down conversion percentage (54.7%), then it let the Eagles go 5-for-12 on third downs with Tanner McKee under center. That's an improvement, but it's still subpar.
21. Las Vegas Raiders (3-4)
Previous rank: 19
Despite improvements to the offensive infrastructure around him, Ashton Jeanty has averaged fewer than four yards per rush in every game this season besides Week 1. In the last three games, in particular, he's averaged under three yards per rush. Jeanty's underwhelming performance thus far must be demoralizing for the Raiders, who drafted him sixth overall last year and are still waiting to see dividends.
22. Houston Texans (2-5)
Previous rank: 20
The Texans' defense has been a shell of itself all year, in large part because the takeaways have evaporated. Last year's Texans ranked third in that category with 29, but this year's team only has six, tied for the fifth fewest. Houston is still getting to opposing quarterbacks, but the lack of turnovers makes DeMeco Ryans' defense far less scary.
23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5)
Previous rank: 30
The Buccaneers haven't won back-to-back games since Weeks 5-6 of last season. Considering they're currently 2-5, that will have to change for them to climb the standings and get back to the postseason, even with the NFC South being abysmal.
24. Philadelphia Eagles (2-5)
Previous rank: 22
Nick Sirianni's Eagles rank in the bottom three in fourth-quarter points scored and fourth-quarter points allowed. Basically, Philadelphia has forgotten how to execute in the most important juncture of the game.
25. New Orleans Saints (2-5)
Previous rank: 24
In the four games since Travis Etienne got injured, the Saints are averaging fewer than 3.3 yards per carry. Futility in the running game hit rock bottom in Sunday's loss to the Steelers overseas, as the Saints recorded 17 rushes for 18 yards. Alvin Kamara logged 0.8 yards per attempt, dropping his season average to three yards per rush. By comparison, Etienne managed 4.3 yards per tote before being sidelined.
26. Washington Commanders (1-4-1)
Previous rank: 27
Washington has panicked and made repeated costly decisions in recent games. The Commanders ran out of time in overtime and had to settle for a tie against the Giants. They also saw quarterback Jayden Daniels throw the ball away on fourth down in the red zone during a Week 6 loss to the 49ers.
27. Arizona Cardinals (2-5)
Previous rank: 26
There's no better home for teams to visit while trick-or-treating than State Farm Stadium. The Cardinals haven't won a game in their building since September 2025; they've lost 10 straight dating back to last season. Arizona's two wins this campaign both notably took place at SoFi Stadium.
28. Miami Dolphins (1-5)
Previous rank: 32
Not to rain on Miami's parade after Sunday's win, but it takes a special level of bad to get your first lead of the season in the sixth game. And while beating the Jets was nice, that stat suggests the Dolphins won't have many more wins to celebrate in 2026.
29. Tennessee Titans (1-6)
Previous rank: 28
Cam Ward has thrown an interception in five straight games and appears to be going backward in his development. In fact, the 2025 No. 1 pick is on pace to throw just 10 touchdowns this season. Ward's completion rate (62%) is up a smidge from his rookie year, but the rest of his numbers are down despite the Titans' significant offseason investment in the group around him.
30. Indianapolis Colts (2-5)
Previous rank: 29
The Colts had chances to pull out wins against the Chiefs, Steelers, Titans, and Vikings but couldn't make enough plays in crunch time. Their record could easily be flipped, but their inability to finish games has led to another miserable season.
31. New York Jets (2-5)
Previous rank: 25
The Jets have been outscored 107-6 in the final two minutes of first halves under Aaron Glenn, who's now 24 games into his coaching tenure. Regardless of whether the coaching staff or the players deserve the blame, the bottom line is that the Jets are shooting themselves in the foot too often in those situations.
32. Los Angeles Chargers (0-6)
Previous rank: 31
The spookiest trend for the 2026 Chargers has been their inability to take care of the ball; Los Angeles' 15 giveaways are the most in the league. Coming off a bye, the Chargers will continue their daunting schedule with consecutive games against the Rams, Texans, and Ravens.
