NFL Power Rankings Week 5

NFL Power Rankings before Week 5 matchups

1. Philadelphia Eagles - The Eagles again, just win. The defending champs are undefeated and beaten two top 10 teams on the road. They once again didn't get much going offensively, but they stack victories even when they aren't playing their best. There is probably only a couple more weeks left of opportunity here for the rest of the league, before they get to midseason form and are firing on all cylinders. If the Eagles win games like this, they will be unbeatable soon.

2. Buffalo Bills - The Bills got off to a slow start against the Saints, but they took care of business. That run defense was a little worrisome. Both Kamara and Miller for the Saints had success on the outside runs.

3. Kansas City Chiefs - It looks like the Chiefs are back. The Chiefs were up 27-13 before Lamar Jackson left the game due to injury. They ran the ball better, played much better defense and looked like the old Chiefs.

4. Detroit Lions - Well a lot of us were wrong about the Lions. I definitely was way off. This group is definitely a contender and looks darn good. That Browns defense is very good, but the Lions were able to grind out 109 yards on the ground. the Lions have the tools and Campbell is more than just an aggressive rah-rah guy. He is an excellent head coach.

5. Los Angeles Chargers - What was that?! The Chargers had a bad game. Herbert threw a couple interceptions which gave the Giants 10 points and was absolutely the difference in the game. The Chargers defense played pretty well but the Giants were able to run the powerful rookie, Cam Skattebo, and shorten the game after jumping ahead 21-10. The Chargers sacked the rookie, Jaxson Dart, six times. The Chargers never led. This one got out of hand due to two bad plays, but this team is still a top tier team.

6. Baltimore Ravens - The Ravens are in trouble. They were supposed to run away with this division championship after Burrow went down for the Bengals. Well the Ravens are 1-3 and third in their division. They have given up a league worst 133 points this season. The Ravens have played 3 of the NFL's top 4 teams though. They are a very good team but need to figure things out defensively, especially now that they may be without Lamar Jackson for a couple weeks.

7. Green Bay Packers - Well the Packers didn't handle the most anticipated game of the year very well at all. They should've dominated the Cowboys. All signs were that the Packers were going to throw all over the Cowboys and overwhelm their shaky offense. Well the Packers struggled to get anything going in the first half and then played no defense in the second half. A tie against a bottom half team? A couple top teams laid an egg this week so they get a pass for now.

8. Denver Broncos - This was supposed to be the game that Payton, Nix, and that vaunted defense showed us they can dominate a game. Well, that is exactly what happened. The Broncos looked great from start to finish against the struggling Bengals. Can they keep up the momentum next week in Philly?

9. Los Angeles Rams - The Rams battled hard two weeks in a row and this time came out on top. They ran it well, they passed it well, and played pretty solid defense against a previously 3-0 team. That was a solid win for the Rams and has them very close to moving up this Power Rankings.

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - That game depicted exactly who I thought this Bucs team was and is. They aren't a great team and don't matchup well against the league's top tier, but they don't go down without a fight. The Bucs had almost nothing for the Eagles on either side of the ball until late in the third quarter when the game felt out of hand at 31-13. The Eagles relaxed a bit and the Bucs don't quit. They Bucs who only scored 6 points and had 106 yards of total offense in the first 35 minutes of the game found a way to go 270 yards and tack on 19 points in the final 25 minutes. This team is gritty, determined, and refuses to quit.

11. Washington Commanders - Tough loss without Daniels. The defense had a rough time stopping the Falcons. The defensive unit for the Commanders looked much better through the first three weeks. They go the LA to play the potent Chargers offense next week.

12. Minnesota Vikings - The Vikings had a slow start and just couldn't move the ball against the Steelers in the first half. Wentz played pretty well in the second, but couldn't complete the comeback.

13. San Francisco 49ers - Purdy came back and led the 49ers to almost 400 yards of total offense, but 4 turnovers was the story in the 26-21 loss to the Jaguars. The Niners are 3-1 and go to LA to play the Rams Thursday Night.

14. Indianapolis Colts - The Colts finally lost but played very tough in SoFi Stadium against the high powerered Rams. Some weaknesses finally surfaced though for this team as they turned it over 3 times and allowed 8.2 yards per pass.

15. Houston Texans - The Texans are NOT WINLESS! They finally got a win and in dominant fashion with a 26-0 shutout over their division rival, Tennessee Titans. It was finally a clean game for the Texans and hopefully more are coming. The offensive line is still very weak, but everything else clicked for Houston on Sunday.

16. Seattle Seahawks - This is an efficient team who just moved to 3-1 after winning a road game in the division. The Seahawks aren't flashy and aren't going to excite too many, but they play clean on both sides and can surprise anyone in this league. The offensive line is not the group you want to be your weakest link, but it is maybe the only thing holding the Seahawks back.

17. Jacksonville Jaguars - The Jags got a nice win, but mostly due to some carrelessness from the Niners. Nevertheless, they go down as takeaways and the Jags got 4 of them Sunday. A win is a win, but being out-gained and only winning by 5 after getting 4 takeaways is less than ideal.

18. Atlanta Falcons - Atlanta is a strange team and may be pretty inconsistent, but that was a great bounce back victory after a shutout loss to the Panthers. Penix had a great game and the running game was very good again. If that Panthers game was a very strange outlier, this team is sneaky good.

19. Arizona Cardinals - You can't drop divisional games at home especially against the middle teams. That was a huge game for the Cardinals and will certainly have playoff implications. The Cards were outplayed and out coached in their own building. They get a bounce back opportunity this week against the woeful Titans.

20. Chicago Bears - 2-2? Bears fans will take it! The Bears have played one awful game, but the other three have looked promising. It can take some time with a new offensive coach, especially one as complex as Ben Johnson. This team is interesting and if they could ever get healthy defensively, they would begin to move up through this middle tier.

21. Dallas Cowboys - That was a win for the Cowboys. They somehow held the "great" Packers to 13 points in the first half. Then both teams quit playing defense in the second. The Cowboys play better in the big ones and this was no different.

22. Pittsburgh Steelers - Same story different week for the Mike Tomlin led Steelers. It is never pretty, usually ugly, but they somehow get wins. They were out-gained again, but had 10 tackles for loss and won the turnover battle. The Steelers do it differently than most, but they move to 3-1 and lead their division.

23. Cleveland Browns - I can't keep putting this team in the bottom third. This defense is so good. They need an offensive line badly, but the defense is enough to disrupt even the best teams. The Browns have played the second toughest schedule and have one a game, almost won a game, and played two other very good teams close for three quarters. This team is a few offensive pieces away from being a very good team.

24. Las Vegas Raiders - 4 turnovers, 2 for 8 on third down, and 240 rushing yards. What a stat line. The Raiders are a bad team, but with Pete, Maxx, and Ashton maybe they can find some wins. They move to 1-3 after a rough blocked field goal against the Bears.

25. New England Patriots - Some excellent punt returns blew this thing open for the Patriots in a 42-13 rout of the Panthers. They were out-gained, but went 4/4 in the red zone and had great special teams play.

26. New York Jets - 0-4 go the Jets. Is anyone surprised? Maybe some actually. This team seems to have more talent than that and good new coach. However, they continue to turn the ball over and get zero pressure on the quarterback.

27. Carolina Panthers - The Panthers win 30-0 last week but fall 42-13 this week. Special Teams was terrible in this one and so was the defense. The offense moves the ball for the Panthers, but they just cannot do enough.

28. New York Giants - Poor Russell Wilson. They bench Wilson, hand the ball to Skattebo all game and get a win. Nothing against Jaxson Dart, but he deserves zero credit for this win. Two drives started inside the good 5 yard line due to interceptions from Justin Herbert.

29. Cincinnati Bengals - This team needs Joe Burrow. They are so bad in so many areas. Even Joe Burrow would maybe not be enough to make this a playoff team.

30. Miami Dolphins - The Dolphins got a win, but look pretty pitiful doing it. They get another winnable game this week against the Panthers. They may have to wait a bit to fire McDaniel.

31. New Orleans Saints - The Saints seem so bad, but also always seem to be trying to win. They move the ball and actually seem to be a team that just needs some important pieces.

32. Tennessee Titans- The Titans can't do anything. Ward is better than I thought he was, but this team is bad at every other position.