Week 5 NFL Power Rankings
By Liam McKeone
Your NFL power rankings heading into Week 5 of the regular season.
32. Miami Dolphins (0-4)
The Dolphins resembled a professional football team for one half against the Chargers, then regressed back to their standard state. Still, signs of progress remain just that-- progress.
31. Washington Redskins (0-4)
Dwayne Haskins was finally thrown to the wolves, and it went poorly. After starting the year relatively competitive, everything is falling apart.
30. Cincinnati Bengals (0-4)
Young pieces succeeding in A.J. Green's absence is the only positive takeaway through a month of football. Everything else doesn't look good, even against comparable competition in Pittsburgh.
29. Denver Broncos (0-4)
They lost on a late touchdown after leading after the two-minute warning... again. Bradley Chubb is out for the year. Joe Flacco is this team's last hope-- which is to say, they're hopeless.
28. New York Jets (0-3)
Sam Darnold had another week to get healthy, so the bye was a success. But the Jets have a strong claim to the worst team in football not based in Miami without their starting QB, and here's where they'll remain until he returns.
27. Arizona Cardinals (0-3-1)
The Cardinals are a fun offensive team, even if they aren't particularly good. That's all that was required in the first year of the new era of Arizona football. They'll struggle to win more than a few games and will get dominated by the best, but the scheme alone will keep things interesting among the bottom half of opponents in the league.
26. New York Giants (2-2)
Danny Dimes fell back to Earth with two picks, but the defense found its footing. The Giants are showing flashes of building... something. Not sure what yet.
25. Oakland Raiders (2-2)
The Raiders needed a lot of luck to beat a toothless Colts team. They sit at .500, but it's hard to feel optimistic, especially after Vontaze Burfict (somehow a crucial part of that defense) was suspended for the year.
24. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-3)
The offense looked potent, but the Bengals aren't exactly top of the class in terms of competition. Encouraging, but the execution wasn't clean enough to warrant much optimism. The defense had a monster day, which could kick-start a unit that's had a slow start to the year.
23. Atlanta Falcons (1-3)
The Falcons have the theoretical firepower to hang with everybody, but they haven't so far. Dan Quinn's chair is quickly becoming the hottest in America. It's too early to completely give up hope, but they're running out of time to figure it out.
22. Tennessee Titans (2-2)
Man, what a weird team. One week they'll be dead on offense, the next A.J. Brown has two touchdowns on 13 routes. Confusion doesn't inspire optimism, but we could see the Titans move drastically in one direction or the other by this time next week.
21. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2)
Gardner Minshew II has had his downs, but also his ups, and that's enough for Jags fans who generally lost all hope when Nick Foles went down. The last-second heroics won't work against teams that aren't the Broncos, but he's made Jacksonville must-view television on Sundays, something even Blake Bortles couldn't accomplish.
20. Indianapolis Colts (2-2)
Drops killed Indy in a game they could have, and should have, won. But they were missing Darius Leonard, Malik Hooker, and T.Y. Hilton. Those guys are important, to say the least. As long as they can avoid errors, the Colts can stick with most teams, but the ceiling remains set in stone.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-2)
The Bucs came out of nowhere and dropped 55 points against the Rams. Fifty-five! The Rams generously helped out with a dose of turnovers, but the offense really clicked this week, which makes Tampa Bay a dangerous team to face. We'll hold the hype until they do it again against a better defense, but they did look good, and Shaquil Barrett looks like a bonafide star on the defensive side of things.
18. Carolina Panthers (2-2)
Kyle Allen wasn't going to throw four touchdowns every week, but he did just enough to get the Panthers past a good Texans squad-- even if Houston helped them out with a few unforced errors. The QB controversy isn't there yet, but if Allen keeps winning and pushing Carolina up this list, well...
17. Cleveland Browns (2-2)
The Browns finally broke their offense open against a solid defense in Baltimore, but were aided by a huge Nick Chubb run and some poor play by the Ravens. There's still a lot of work to be done, and Jarvis Landry's concussion in tandem with Odell Beckham Jr.'s lack of production is a concern. But this might be just what Cleveland needed.
16. Minnesota Vikings (2-2)
The Vikings are spending an awful lot of money on their offensive skill positions to be this bad, even against the Bears' defense. Unless Kirk Cousins can effectively push the ball down the field, they'll struggle like this most weeks.
15. San Francisco 49ers (3-0)
The real bye week winners, the Niners emerged from Week 4 as the only undefeated team in the NFC. Their strength of schedule hasn't been too high, but no losses counts for something.
14. Los Angeles Chargers (2-2)
It looked like the Chargers were going to do it again when they were tied 10-10 with the bottom-dwelling Dolphins before dropping 20 straight points and strolling to victory. Melvin Gordon only makes the offense better, but the defense remains a big question mark, and Melvin Ingram will miss a few weeks with injury.
13. Detroit Lions (2-1-1)
The Lions were up on the Chiefs with two minutes to go, which is a plus. But it was a winnable game, at home, that they lost. Tough to twist that into a positive, especially when the team they almost felled was the KC powerhouse. The turnovers were brutal, and could become a big problem.
12. New Orleans Saints (3-1)
The Saints' defensive line stepped up in a big way to deliver an ugly win this week, stifling the dangerous Dallas running game. Teddy Bridgewater looked worse than last week, and the defense can't play this well every week, but this was a big win against a potential playoff foe.
11. Baltimore Ravens (2-2)
The Ravens faltered after a tough loss against the Chiefs. Lamar Jackson finally fell down to Earth but still threw three touchdowns. The defense was of more concern. Giving up 40 to a struggling Browns offense in a game that might matter down the line for playoff seeding is a tough blow.
10. Houston Texans (2-2)
A tough loss for Houston here. Nobody could pick up the slack on the rare off day for Deshaun Watson, and Bill O'Brien continued his habit of making several puzzling and crucial coaching decisions at the wrong time.
9. Dallas Cowboys (3-1)
Things looked real ugly in Dallas' first real matchup after starting the year with the Giants, Redskins, and Dolphins. Nobody has seen their offensive line get manhandled like that in quite some time. Fixable issues, but Dak Prescott's inability to get anything going without the run game is a concern.
8. Los Angeles Rams (3-1)
Jared Goff had a tough day, but it was much worse for the offensive line and defense. Fifty-five points to a Bucs team that hasn't looked very good is, uh, not great. The defensive issues from last year have carried over, it would appear.
7. Green Bay Packers (3-1)
The goal-line interception against Philadelphia may yet come back to haunt them, but the offense showed signs of warming up, a dangerous proposition.
6. Buffalo Bills (3-1)
It was a tough loss, but the Bills defense was essentially perfect and a blocked punt was ultimately the difference. Against the Patriots, that's as good of a loss as they come. If Josh Allen can stop turning the ball over, this is a very dangerous unit.
5. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2)
The defense stepped up when it mattered against the Packers, but it remains a weakness. The offense will be dangerous when everyone is healthy, but Carson Wentz still has a few minor issues to figure out.
4. Seattle Seahawks (3-1)
Seattle did what good teams do: go into a divisional foe's building and take care of business. Jadeveon Clowney and Ezekiel Ansah looked like a potent combo.
3. Chicago Bears (3-1)
The defense remains the best of them all, and the offense shouldn't suffer too much in the hands of Chase Daniel.
2. New England Patriots (4-0)
A brutal performance on offense drops the Patriots out of the top spot for the first time this season. The defense remains elite, but they've teed off on inexperienced or below-average QBs outside of Week 1. Tom Brady and Co. will figure it out, but for now, it's a concern.
1. Kansas City Chiefs (4-0)
It was sloppy, but a win is a win, and the Chiefs eked out a tough one in Detroit. Patrick Mahomes throwing no touchdowns may not happen again this season, and they still pulled it out. It's neck-and-neck with New England, but for now, the Chiefs have the edge.