Week 6 Drive Dominance Rankings: 49ers Back on Top

Heading into Week 6 of the 2026 NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers have regained the top spot in the Drive Dominance Rankings, Athlon Sports’ proprietary new metric that shows us how efficient teams are at maximizing their offensive drives and limiting their opponents’ possessions.

The Chicago Bears were ranked first last week, but apparently that was more a reflection of the New York Jets’ poor performance in Chicago two weeks ago. While the Bears followed that with a bad loss to the Green Bay Packers that dropped them to sixth in the overall Drive Dominance Rankings, the undefeated 49ers returned to No. 1 after a win over the Seattle Seahawks.

The NFL’s three undefeated teams, the 49ers, Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs, are ranked first, second and fifth, respectively in DDR. The 49ers are one of three teams that rank in the top 10 in both offense and defense, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams.   

Before we check out all the rankings, here are a few takeaways from the updated DDR:

• The 49ers’ offensive DDR dropped from first to fourth, which was understandable after facing a good Seattle defense. The defense, though, jumped from 14^th to fifth, which was the key to San Francisco moving into the top overall spot.
• The Vikings have the most extreme split. Their offense is ranked 28^th in the league, but the defense is so good — ranked No. 1 and well ahead of the second-ranked Seahawks — that’s why Minnesota is at No. 2 overall.
• One team in the overall top 10 has a losing record: the Rams at 2-3. Two teams in the bottom 10 have winning records: the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos. It’s safe to think the Browns being ranked 26^th  indicates they might not be as good as their 3-2 record. For the Broncos, being ranked 23^rd might have more to do with a tough early schedule… but we’ll have to keep an eye on that.
• Even after the Las Vegas Raiders’ hard-fought loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, they were fourth overall in DDR. But after a bad loss to the New England Patriots in Week 5, the Raiders have dropped out of the top 10.

Here’s a comprehensive look at the Week 6 Drive Dominance Rankings: