Week 6 NFL Power Rankings: New England Patriots Rated Fifth by Fox Sports

Thanks to a 4-1 record after five games, the New England Patriots occupied the fifth spot in the Fox Sports Week 6 NFL Power Rankings.

Whether it comes from Steven Ridley or BenJarvus Green-Ellis, by adding a running game to what Tom Brady is doing this year, they could be lethal. Even with a good outing against the Jets, New England's D continues to be a concern, but between Brady's efficiency and an improved running game, it doesn't matter.    

New England's defense was much improved against the New York Jets Sunday in a 30-21 win, and the offense accumulated at least 30 points for the 13th straight game, one game shy of tying the 1999-2000 St. Louis Rams for the most consecutive games scoring at least 30 points. 

But the Patriots refuse to rest on their laurels this Sunday against a Dallas Cowboys team coming off a bye week. (via ESPN Boston)

"Obviously, they have more time and they have extra days to prepare for you," he said. "But I think we all have, in seven days from Sunday to Sunday, that's ample time to get ready. Every team has a bye week. With every short week is a long week and with every long week is a short week. It all evens out in the end. We've played on short weeks, we've played on long weeks, we've played [after] bye weeks, we've played against other teams [after their] bye weeks. I don't think there's anything you can do about any of that. 

"You take the opportunities you have, like I just said, and you make the most of them. Here's what our opportunity is to get ready for the game, these are how many practice plays we have, this is our amount of meeting time, this our amount of team film study, this is how much time players have to do it on their own, how much will they do? You use all the time the most efficient way you can, in terms of getting treatment and weightlifting and being in condition and all the other things you do, the media, press conferences, all the other things. You just try to maximize your time and get the most of it and that's what we'll do this week. We can't really worry about whether Dallas played Monday night, played a week ago, played Sunday. It is what it is. All we can do is control what our situation is. We'll try to get the most out of it."     

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