2015 Week 6 Patriots Power Rankings

Buckle your seat belts everyone, adjust your headphones, it's Jets week!  Here it comes: The back pages of the tabloids, the constant chirping, the blatant hate, all the noise coming from Meadowlands locker room... it's already unbearable!  It's... it's... wait, what?  It's quiet?  Jets players are admitting the division runs through New England?  There is [gulp] civility?  Bah!  Jets may look as if they've changed their culture under new, anti-Rex, head coach Todd Bowles but it remains to be seen whether the change runs deep, or if it's just on the surface.

Either way, the bottom line is that this is a big game with big division implications for both teams, who are only one game apart in the standings.  Let's hope Ryan Fitzpatrick continues to be the gift that keeps on giving and that the Jets continue to... Jets.

GO PATS!

Around the AFC East:

Patriots (5-0) vs. NY Jets (4-1)

Buffalo (3-3) at. Jacksonville (1-5) *In London

Miami (2-3) vs. Houston (2-4)

Notable AFC Matchups:

Pittsburgh (4-2) at Kansas City (1-5)

Indianapolis (3-3) vs. New Orleans (2-4)

Cleveland (2-4) at St. Louis (2-3)

Oakland (2-3 at San Diego (2-4)

Tennessee (1-4) vs. Atlanta (5-1)

Baltimore (1-5) at Arizona (4-2)

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Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) ranks them 1st: Revenge is a dish best served when the adversary runs one of the dumbest plays in the history of organized sports. 19. Colts: For his next trick, Chuck Pagano will make his job disappear.

Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News) ranks them 1st: "This deal is getting worse all the time" for everyone trying to dethrone them in the AFC. Tom Brady has taken a lightsaber to everything in his way this year, and so far, his opponents have had more trouble trying to deflate him than the NFL.

ESPN Experts rank them 1st: The 5-0 Patriots have scored 183 points (36.6 PPG) this season. In 2007, they scored 182 points through their first five games.

Mark Maske (Washington Post) ranks them 1st: Would anyone be surprised at this point if the Patriots have a 16-0 regular season?.

The AP Pro32 ranks them 1st.

Chris Burke (SI) ranks then 1st: This is a really good Patriots team, but the comparisons to the 2007 squad are off base. That was an all-timer (which is what made the Super Bowl loss so shocking)—Tom Brady, a dominant Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, Adalius Thomas, Junior Seau, Mike Vrabel, etc., etc. The 2015 Patriots are on the same course, though, even more so if they can stop the impressive Jets from nabbing an upset on Sunday. With four of New England's next five at home, it will take a significant upset to keep the AFC East leaders from sitting on 10–0 heading into Denver in Week 12.

Danny Kelly (SB Nation) ranks them 1st: The Patriots grabbed the top spot in our power rankings after their Week 1 win, and haven't looked back in the five weeks since. They've dispatched the Bills, Jaguars, Cowboys and Colts during that time and while it's still early, they've shown little sign of weakness. New England's offense is a juggernaut that's averaging 36.6 points per game -- just off their season-long pace in their historic 17-1 2007 season (it was 36.8 points per game that year) -- and their 183 points through five games betters their first five in 2007 (182 points that year).

Dan Schneier (Fox Sports) ranks them 1st: Week 6 was just another day at the office as the Patriots took down one of their biggest rivals. With a versatility on offense that is tops in the league, this team looks borderline unstoppable.

Frank Schwab (Shutdown Corner) ranks them 1st: They weren't going to just run up the score on Sunday night, as every talking head predicted. That doesn't happen in the NFL. But comfortably beating a team that is a practical lock to win its division was pretty impressive.

Peter King (The MMQB) ranks them 1st: And now for something completely different: The Jets come to Foxboro, and it’s not going to be a war of words. First-year New York coach Todd Bowles wouldn’t be caught dead saying anything bombastic this week, and you can be sure he’ll pass the message to his players when they reconvene for game-prep on Wednesday. Should be a great one.

Elliot Harrison (NFL.com) ranks them 1st: The Patriots remain at the top, coming off a business-as-usual (sort of) road win against a potential playoff team. With that bit of accounting out of the way, we feel it important to bring you a list of the most arduous strategic challenges Bill Belichick has faced in his coaching career, in order: a) Stopping the "Greatest Show on Turf" Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. b) Guiding the Pats to an 11-5 record with Matt Cassel at quarterback in 2008. c) Figuring out some way to stop that wicked-scary Colts fake-punt formation Sunday night.

Pat Kirwan (CBS Sports) ranks them 1st: Sunday's point total may not have been what some expected, but it was a strong performance -- 312 yards and three TDs from Brady, 100+ yards from the running game, and three sacks from the defense on the road.

Reddit ranks them 1st: It wasn't the beatdown that some predicted, but they did walk away with the W and a 5-0 record. The Patriots were able to move the ball at times, Danny Amendola stepped up admirally and had his first 100 yard receiving game since 2013, but an injured O-line and a shaken up Edelman ended drives prematurely in the first and second half.

Brent Sobleski (Bleacher Report) ranks them 1st: While all of the bluster leading into the Indianapolis Colts contest centered on deflated footballs and Tom Brady's revenge, the play of cornerback Malcolm Butler might be a better story at this point in time. While Butler would have gone down in the annuls of NFL history as making the greatest play in Super Bowl history, his legacy continues to grow by developing into a legitimate top-flight cornerback. Yes, he's experienced ups and downs this season as he attempts to replace the incomparable Darrelle Revis, but Butler then plays like he did against the Colts and shows why the New England Patriots are building their defense around his coverage abilities.

Lorenzo Reyes (USA Today) ranks them 1st: .This is not the week you want a patchwork O-line with the Jets and their loaded defense coming to town.

Sean Mason (Spark Sports) ranks them 1st: Not quite the 50 burger I predicted, but the Patriots still handled business this past week, winning 34-27 over the Colts. Although it was a one score game, the score wasn’t indicative of how much the Patriots dominated the game. Despite, Tom Brady throwing his first interception of the season, he is still by far the MVP through the first six weeks of the season. The Patriots’ are the most complete offensive team in football. They have diversity at the running back position, with the more physical brute running back in LaGarrette Blount. On the other hand, they have the more finesse; pass catching type back in Dion Lewis. This offense has been unstoppable, and like I said last week this team will go 16-0.

Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) ranks them 1st: They just keep on rolling with a great offense. But don't sleep on that defense. It's getting better.

AVERAGE RANK: 1.0