Falcons' Surprising Spot in ESPN's Week 6 NFL Power Rankings

Sure the Atlanta Falcons moved up ESPN's NFL Power Rankings after a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but who's ahead of them is a bit of a head scratcher.

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge ran away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Atlanta's 36-30 overtime win. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

It seems like a long time ago Atlanta Falcons wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge was taking a quick pass from quarterback Kirk Cousins and racing through and past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense.

The thrilling play was the icing on the cake of what was a terrific prime time match up between the Falcons and Bucs. Cousins re-established himself as one of the NFL's top quarterbacks, and the Falcons looked down from their perch on top of the NFC South at the rest of the division.

Nearly a week later the rest of the NFL wrapped up with the Kansas City Chiefs methodically dispatching the New Orleans Saints the way the Chiefs do, and ESPN released their power rankings on Tuesday morning.

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How far would the Falcons climb after beating three teams ahead of them in the rankings and losing to two teams ahead of them, including the No. 1 Chiefs.

Turns out... Not much.

The Falcons moved up three spots from No. 17 to No. 14, but still find themselves looking up at the likes of the No. 8 Buccaneers, who fell from No. 5, and the Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) who moved up two spots from No. 13 to No. 11 after putting a wicked beat down on Bye Week.

The Steelers (3-2) actually fell three spots from No. 12 to No. 15, one spot behind the Falcons, after dropping two in a row including a loss to the 2-3 Colts.

To recap, the Falcons have beaten the Buccaneers and Eagles who are ranked ahead of them, the Saints who have been ahead of them until this week, and have lost to two teams with a combined record of 8-2.

The good news is power rankings don't win football games. The list that matters is the standings. Heading to Charlotte to face the 1-4 Carolina Panthers on Sunday, the Falcons are No. 1 where it matters - the NFC South.

No, power rankings don't really matter, but as long as the World Wide Leader keeps pumping them out, we'll keep dissecting them and what looks like logical fallacies.

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