NFL Power Rankings - Week 5

NFL Power Rankings

Week 5

Greg – 395 Points (45-32) – Winner of Week 5

Andrew – 393 Points (44-33)

***Evan Atkinson – 318 Points (39-22)

***Didn’t pick in week one.

NOTE: Last week’s rank is noted in the first parenthesis. Current team record noted in the second parenthesis.

1. (1) Houston Texans (5-0) – Houston continues to run the ball well behind Arian Foster. The defense continues to impress only allowing one TD to the Jets offense. – Andrew

2. (3) San Francisco 49ers (4-1) – Lead the NFL with a +81 point differential. Other than the week 3 debacle on the road at Minnesota (who isn't as bad as we thought), they have pulverized opponents. Followed up a 34-0 thrashing of the Jets with a 45-3 pounding of the Bills at home. They look like the most complete team in the NFL to me. – Greg

3. (2) Atlanta Falcons (5-0) – Tony Gonzalez and Michael Turner continue to scoff at the notion that they are getting old. Of course a young Matt Ryan has something to do with their rejuvenation. – Andrew

4. (7) Chicago Bears (4-1) – Have the second best point differential in the league (+78) behind SF. Losing Alshon Jeffery for 4-6 weeks with a broken hand will hurt them offensively, as they just seemed to be hitting their stride there. Gaining Earl Bennett back from injury however, should help lessen the blow. The defense is on pace to score 16 defensive touchdowns this season, which would shatter the NFL record of 9. – Greg

5. (5) Baltimore Ravens (4-1) – The offense that had been so explosive the first four weeks disappeared in week 5. Their defense carried like the good ole days. – Andrew

6. (6) New England Patriots (3-2) – Looked great against a quality opponent again this week. They lead the NFL in rushing (whaaaaatttt?) and their defense is playing well. They look like a balanced team, and that spells trouble for a lot of other teams in the AFC. – Greg

7. (12) Minnesota Vikings (4-1) – Raise your hand if you picked the Vikings to be tied atop the division and 4-1 after 5 weeks. Ok, put your hand down, I know that you're lying.  Hands down (no pun intended) the most surprising team in the league this year. They should get a good test from the Redskins this week, assuming RGIII plays. – Greg

8. (14) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2) – We’ve been begging for their defense to show up and they did against the dangerous Eagles. Mendenhall ran like he was never injured too. Oh and Big Ben led them to a game winning FG which we’ve seen countless times before (yawn). – Andrew

9. (4) Arizona Cardinals (4-1) – Their offense last Thursday wasn’t there, and the defense didn’t look dominant anymore either. A clock killing rushing attack would help them so much but they were without Beanie, and now Williams is done for the year. – Andrew

10. (15) New York Giants (3-2) – Finally got their rush on against the Browns, and are above .500 before they head to San Francisco. That's important because once they leave SF, I expect them to be .500 again. Starting to look more like that playoff team from last year. – Greg

11. (9) Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) – Still cannot stop turning the ball over. If Vick doesn't fumble the ball on the goal line, they win this game. Until that changes this team will hover around .500. – Greg

12. (8) Cincinnati Bengals (3-2) – AJ Green was a force again, but he was the only bright spot for the Bengals on Sunday. Losing at home to the Dolphins is a terrible loss for a team competing in a tough division and conference. – Andrew

13. (18) St. Louis Rams (3-2) – This team is proof that coaching in the NFL makes a world of difference. The defense they play is tough, but the offense took a hit losing Amendola. – Andrew

14. (20) Seattle Seahawks (3-2) – Another west coast team wins on the east coast.  Maybe it is easier now than it used to be, but then again it was against the Panthers. Their defense is winning games and Russell Wilson isn't losing them. Eventually that's going to have to change. – Greg

15. (11) Denver Broncos (2-3) – The game may have been different had McGahee not choked a couple plays in the fourth quarter. But against the caliber of teams they are playing, they can’t afford to fall behind like they did Sunday. – Andrew

16. (16) Dallas Cowboys (2-2) – Idle this week, so they don't move up or down. Hopefully an extra week of preparation helps get the running game on track. – Greg

17. (13) San Diego Chargers (3-2) – Fell victim to Brees’ passing record and the Saints first victory. On the bright side, Ryan Mathews looked good for a change. – Andrew

18. (10) Green Bay Packers (2-3) – Yes they are this low, and deservedly so.  Aaron Rodgers burning their last timeout prior to being able to run a play with 8 seconds left typifies the type of season they're having. Injuries to Benson, Raji, and Greg Jennings keep haunting them. – Greg

19. (26) Indianapolis Colts (2-2) – Andrew Luck may have started his HOF resume on Sunday leading in a great comeback win. Remember, if not for a Gabbert to Shorts 80 yard TD, they would be 3-1 right now. – Andrew

 20. (22) Miami Dolphins (2-3) – An argument could be made that this team should be 4-1, but a few missed kicks have cost them. Tannehill is steadily improving and Reggie Bush is a man on a mission this season. – Greg

21. (19) Washington Redskins (2-3) – The Redskins nearly gave Atlanta their first loss of the season. Instead, they are now worried about losing RGIII for a portion of their season after an ugly concussion on Sunday. – Andrew

22. (17) Buffalo Bills (2-3) – Embarrassed two weeks in a row. They're the same old Bills. They need a new identity. – Greg

23. (24) Detroit Lions (1-3) – What did the bye week bring to them? Health? Consistency? A better gameplan? More effort on defense? For them, I hope it’s all of the above. – Andrew

24. (32) New Orleans Saints (1-4) – Finally got their first win of the season, but it was more about San Diego's lack of ability to execute than their talent. Still a long ways to go for this team though. – Greg

25. (23) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-3) – I wonder if Greg Schiano had his team practicing to knock the ball away on late game kneel downs in their bye week. – Greg

26. (25) New York Jets (2-3) – Same as last week: I got two words for this team to get them back on track: Tebow time! – Andrew
**Disclaimer this does not speak the views of both contributors of this blog

27. (28) Oakland Raiders (1-3) – Their bye week brought some good news… Heyward-Bey is looking better and should return this week. That may help the offense, but the defense needs to most improving.

28. (21) Carolina Panthers (1-4) – Cam should think about putting his "superman" celebration back in the bag until they start winning some games. – Greg

29. (30) Kansas City Chiefs (1-4) – The word out of KC right now is all about their fans cheering Cassel when he got hurt. I agree with the players that it can’t be tolerated. Well next time you get hurt, I hope you hear me cheering! – Andrew

30. (31) Cleveland Browns (0-5) – In yet another game, but came up short. The only reason I have them this high is that I'm reasonably certain that they are better than all the teams below them. – Greg

31. (29) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4) – The best part about their game this week was the weather temperature. – Greg

32. (27) Tennessee Titans (1-4) – And just like that, Chris Johnson sucks again. Not having Locker proved to play a role as well. Bad news is that he is likely out for at least another week. – Andrew

By: The Sports Guys