NFL Power Rankings after week 5 – things are heating up!

By this point in the NFL season, we start to get a pretty good idea of who the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ are. There’s still plenty of football left to play, so nothing is set in stone but for a few teams, they may want to start dusting off their draft boards and start prepping for April…

The Giants continue to confound this season. Another big loss came in week five against the high-flying Dolphins, it was actually one of their better performances of the year, however. The Dolphins are tough to stop and there’s no shame in losing to them, there’s plenty of shame in almost every other facet of the organization at the moment though.

The Broncos have managed to find some of the Seattle-vintage Russell Wilson that wasn’t on display last season, yet they are still amongst the worst teams in the league. Defensively they’re a mess, giving up a league-worst 181 points in five games.

It’s starting to become a little repetitive writing about the Panthers as it seems like the story is always the same. At this point in his career, Bryce Young doesn’t look like the guy to lead them forward. This could well change with time but feeding him to the wolves week in and week out isn’t helping anyone. Benching him could be a kindness and the best option for his career.

Terrible offense, a defense shorn of two of their better players, and ‘anonymous sources’ leaking Mac Jones’ opinions on his teammates. This is a team in distress that could well need a complete reset.

After a spunky performance against the Eagles in week four, the Commanders came crashing down to earth against the Bears. Sam Howell has shown some flashes but this is a team in need of better QB play.

Maybe Justin Fields has turned a corner? His performance against Washington was admirable, using D.J. Moore’s talents to put up monster numbers on TNF. This is still not a good football team but at least there’s some sense of optimism now.

The Cardinals going 1-16 in an obvious tank year, whilst playing some fun football and their only win coming against the Cowboys would be one of the funnier storylines of the NFL season. Something to root for, Arizona fans.

The Vikings gave the Chiefs a good game, even if they weren’t able to get the W in the end. This has sort of been the story of the Vikings’ season so far, just not quite good enough to win games against good teams. Is the Cousins era coming to a close?

Against a historically bad Broncos defense, Zach Willson threw for less than 200 yards, no TDs, and a pick. He’s a bad quarterback who was bailed out by Breece Hall’s 177 yards on 22 carries. With their excellent defense and good running game, the Jets could win some games but Super Bowl contenders they are not.

A scrappy win against the Packers should give Raiders fans something to be cheerful about for a little while. The reality of their situation remains fairly bleak, with poor coaching, bad QB play, and a lack of playmakers on D, there’s a long way to go to make this team competitive.

The Titans rollercoaster season continues. One week they’re blowing out the Bengals, the next they’re giving up 165 yards on the ground to Zach Moss. Not really sure what to think here, other than Ryan Tannehill is not the guy anymore.

Staying in the AFC South, the Texans lost in brutal fashion to the Falcons. C.J. Stroud led a 75-yard drive for the go-ahead score only for the defense to allow the Falcons to march down the field and score the winning FG far too easily.  Stroud remains a stud.

Beating the Ravens is about as big as it gets for the Steelers in the regular season, so this is a result to celebrate for Pittsburgh fans. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are dominant off the edge and will keep their team in most games, side from that there’s not too much talent but they will always play hard for Mike Tomlin.

Jordan Love’s first few games this season could turn out to be somewhat of a false dawn. His performance against the Raiders on MNF was awful, throwing three picks against a defense devoid of playmakers. Not a bad team, just one that needs to iron out the wrinkles.

Aaron Donald was shut down by the Eagles on Sunday, showcasing the Ram’s paucity of talent on the defensive side of the ball when Donald isn’t winning games by himself. Cooper Kupp’s return is encouraging and Puka Nacua is a stud, there are just low expectations here given the player turnaround last offseason.

Getting a shut-out in the NFL is always impressive and in this instance put the Saints’ defense rightfully in the spotlight as one of the better units in the league. Derek Carr is still unconvincing at QB but did enough to beat a Pats team devoid of confidence.

The Chargers were one a bye in week five, so nothing new to report. They were building nicely pre-bye, making them an exciting watch over the coming weeks.

The Falcons were able to scrape the win against the Texans in week five, behind an impressive performance from Desmond Ridder who passed for 329 yards and a score. It looked as though the Falcons had lost the game late but Ridder was able to lead his team down the field for the winning TD.

The Colts have an issue with Anthony Richardson. It’s not that he’s bad, he’s not, he’s very good, he just keeps getting injured. Gardner Minshew is a solid backup but there’s a reason he’s never been given the keys to an offense long term.

Another bye week team, the Bucs have looked surprisingly good so far, with their only loss coming against the Eagles. Baker Mayfield’s play may not be sustainable given his incredible success rate on third downs, just something to keep an eye on.

After a big drop last week, it’s only fair to get the Bengals back into the mix of ‘good’ teams after a convincing win against Arizona. Joe Burrow looked better (and healthier) on Sunday which should swell Bengals fans’ hearts.

No game for the Browns in week five, so we are keeping them in the same sort of area as last week. So far the offense hasn’t been perfect but the defense almost has been, leading the league in success rate and defensive EPA (Expected Points Added).

The Jags certainly benefitted from an extra week in London as they beat the Bills, looking far more comfortable in their ‘home away from home’. Trevor Lawrence and Calvin Ridley have great chemistry, adding an element to their offense they were severely lacking in previous seasons.

No game for the Seahawks last week, meaning they sit comfortably at 3-1. It feels like this offense still has more to come, which should be exciting for Seahawks fans, this is going to be a team no one wants to see in January.

Dak Prescott has an unfortunate habit of throwing untimely interceptions, and on SNF he threw three of them. The 49ers were moving the ball for fun against this vaunted Cowboys D which should be concerning given their investment in that side of the ball in recent years.

A loss to the Steelers certainly isn’t ideal, and the manner of the loss is a little concerning, this is one of the biggest games of the year for the Steelers and they played a tough game. The Ravens couldn’t respond nor match their intensity, which is rare. They have too much talent not to bounce back though.

The Aidan Hutchinson interception was a thing of absolute beauty, plucking the ball one-handed out of the air, crazy to think the Jags passed on him. The Lions march on and now have a two-game buffer in their division.

Traveling to London can do funny things to NFL teams, and for the Bills, it seemed to throw them off their rhythm somewhat. Despite that, they put up big offensive numbers, they just weren’t able to get any stops in key moments on the other side of the ball.

The Dolphins’ strategy of drafting or signing all of the fastest players in the league is working out for them. Their receivers are either getting open deep or clearing out space for their running backs to go the distance. Such a fun team to watch but not one you’ll want to face come playoff time.

The Chiefs somewhat limped home against the Vikings, which has sort of been the story of their season so far. Mahomes hasn’t quite been the god-like QB of the past couple of years, he’s just been incredibly good, and the receiving options outside of Travis Kelce are just not very good.

This game against the Rams was more of what we were expecting from the Eagles this season, dominance from the defensive line, a running game that looks unstoppable at times and Jalen Hurts playing decisive, aggressive football. This is a team with a whole heap of talent and it shows with their 5-0 record.

What a team. Brock Purdy may not be Mahomes or Brady but with the talent around him and Kyle Shanahan’s incredible system, he is able to put up numbers akin to some of the best QBs around. Circle December 3rd in your calendar and make sure you’re around to watch the Niners v Eagles game in Week 14.