NFL Power Rankings: Week 5 Edition

Now that Week 4 of the 2020 NFL season is over, it’s time for everyone’s favorite meaningful exercise: NFL Power Rankings! Let’s take a look at how all 32 teams stack up. And don’t forget to hear me talking about the league’s landscape on my national podcast: The ODDcast!

1 - Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week: 1) - Pat Mahomes didn’t even play all that well; he easily could’ve logged three turnovers. And yet he finished with the following stat line anyway: 19/29, 236 yards (8.1 avg), 2 TD, 0 INT, 113.6 passer rating. Mahomes was assisted by KC’s defense coming up with four takeaways.

2 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 2) - Russell Wilson had his worst game of the season in Miami. He only finished with a 112.4 passer rating, bringing him down to 136.7 on the year. That figure only ranks first in the league. Pathetic.

3 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 3) - Aaron Rodgers is up to 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions through his first four games. Pretty crazy that he’s only thrown six picks in his last 35 regular season games.

4 - Baltimore Ravens (LW: 4) - As expected, the Ravens easily bounced back from losing to KC in Week 3. Fun to be able to put Robert Griffin III in at the end of the game against the team that once traded up to No. 2 to get him.

5 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 5) - The Steelers had their bye moved up to Week 4 due to Tennessee’s COVID situation. They have a chance to reach 4-0 with Philly coming to town this week.

6 - Tennessee Titans (LW: 6) - The Titans’ COVID outbreak finally appears to be under control. We’ll see if their unexpected bye helps them beat an undefeated Buffalo team in Week 5.

7 - Buffalo Bills (LW: 7) - Josh Allen is still red hot. He’s up to 12 passing touchdown and one interception for the NFL’s third best passer rating. He’s also logged three rushing scores. The Bills have some 2017 Philly vibes to them. A win this week could vault them to being the third best AFC team in these rankings.

8 - Los Angeles Rams (LW: 8) - The Rams were an afterthought heading into 2020 but they’re not that far off from being 4-0. Still a quality team that’s bound to make the playoffs, though likely as a wild card.

9 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 12) - Things were looking a little dicey after falling down by 14 points but the Saints came marching in to pick up their second win. Quality victory while missing six starters, including both outside corners and Michael Thomas.

10 - New England Patriots (LW: 10) - Not going to ding the Pats for failing to beat the NFL’s best team after losing their starting quarterback on short notice. Their loss was closer than the final score indicated. They’ll be in good shape once Cam Newton returns. That Bill Belichick guy still kinda knows what he’s doing.

11 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 13) - Lot of “Vintage Tom Brady!” talk after his five touchdown performance. I buy the Bucs as a playoff contender but still not as a serious Super Bowl favorite. They’ve beaten Teddy Bridgewater, Jeff Driskel, and a rookie Justin Herbert in the past three weeks. Relax.

12 - Indianapolis Colts (LW: 15) - The Colts are allowing the fewest points per game (14) so far. Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has done a great job with that unit. Indy ranks No. 1 in overall DVOA through four games; they might be too low in these rankings.

13 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 18) - It’s time to admit it: the Browns are good. They’ve rebounded well since getting blown out in Week 1. Cleveland leagues the lead in yards per rushing attempt at 5.9. Their elite running game, which isn’t just reliant on the now-injured Nick Chubb, is making life easier on Baker Mayfield. Cleveland might actually make the playoffs for the first time since time since 2002.

14 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 9) - The combination of key injuries and offensive line struggles contributed to the Niners losing to a bad Philly team in Week 4. They need to get Jimmy Garoppolo and others healthy soon. It might already be too late to make up ground in a very tough NFC West.

15 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 11) - Kyler Murray continues to have success with his legs (6 runs for 78 yards) but struggles with his arm. Throwing for a mere 133 yards on 31 attempts (4.3 average) just isn’t going to cut it. It doesn’t look like the Cards are ready for the big leap we expected them to take after all.

16 - Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 14) - The Raiders are 2-2 after losing their last two games. They might be even worse than their record indicates considering they’re 25th in DVOA and 20th in point differential.

17 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 20) - The Vikings are finally on board with a win thanks in part to Justin Jefferson, who is the best wide receiver graded by Pro Football Focus this season. Would hate to be a general manager that passed on drafting him.

18 - Chicago Bears (LW: 16) - The Bears have now experienced both sides of the Nick Foles experience. He’s capable of doing some great things, like he did in leading Chicago to a comeback win over Atlanta. He’s also capable of playing very poorly, like he did against Indy. It’ll be interesting to see how Foles fares in a matchup of the Super Bowl LII quarterbacks on Thursday Night Football this week.

19 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 19) - Justin Herbert is doing some really nice things. He’s still seeking his first NFL win but that’ll come. The Bolts have hope for the future with the way their rookie quarterback is playing.

20 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 24) - Things could’ve gone bad for this Panthers team. They were 0-2 and they lost Christian McCaffery to injury. Matt Rhule didn’t let it snowball, however, and they’re now 2-2. Robby Anderson was a smart signing for Carolina; he ranks sixth in receiving yards this year.

21 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 17) - No team has allowed more points this year than the Cowboys, who are surrendering a whopping 36.5 per game. That defense is just a total dumpster fire. Their ability to put up points of their own is preventing them from falling further … for now, at least.

22 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 25) - Joe Burrow turned in a good performance in his first NFL win. He was assisted by Joe Mixon, who logged 181 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. The Bengals already have 1.5 wins this year after only finishing with two last season.

23 - Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 29) - It sure wasn’t pretty but Carson Wentz managed to do enough to lead the Eagles to a much-needed win on Sunday Night Football. And with that victory, the Birds are first in the truly awful NFC East. If Wentz can build on this performance and the defensive line can continue to dominate, the Eagles might very well win the division. Still far off from being serious championship contenders, though.

24 - Detroit Lions (LW: 21) - The Lions hired Matt Patricia in part because they thought he knew was he was doing on defense. He clearly doesn’t. It’s time for him to go.

25 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 22) - The Fish got the bad version of Ryan Fitzpatrick on Sunday. It’s not Tua time yet but we can’t be super far off, can we? Meanwhile, Miami’s defense is allowing the most yards per play this season.

26 - Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 23) - Three straight losses for the Jags. The offense is doing some fun things but the No. 29 overall defense is a liability. Not exactly a shock to see that the NFL’s youngest and least expensive team is struggling.

27 - Houston Texans (LW: 26) - The Texans clearly didn’t learn from the mistake that the Eagles once made with Chip Kelly in giving their head coach too much personnel power. Kudos to Houston for finally firing Bill O’Brien but the future doesn’t look amazing since the Texans are without their first- and second-round picks in the 2021 NFL Draft. Having Deshaun Watson gives them hope but he needs some more support.

28 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 28) - It’s time for Dan Quinn to go. And I don’t see how Thomas Dimitroff, who has been Atlanta’s general manager since 2008, should be allowed to pick a third head coach for the Falcons. Gotta clean house.

29 - Denver Broncos (LW: 30) - Brett Rypien did some nice things in his first NFL start. He also threw some really awful interceptions. Safe to say Drew Lock will be getting his starting job back when healthy enough to return. Underrated player on this Broncos team? Josey Jewell. Really liked him at Iowa and he’s blossomed into a good NFL linebacker.

30 - Washington Football Team (LW: 27) - There’s some talk that Dwayne Haskins is in danger of getting benched for Kyle Allen. Don’t really see how that’s in the best interest of Washington’s long-term outlook but Haskins truly isn’t good. Maybe the Football Team wants to make a run at winning the very weak NFC East.

31 - New York Giants (LW: 31) - Golden Tate punching Jalen Ramsey is the most fight the Giants have shown in some time. This joke was only as bad as the winless Giants are. Daniel Jones has accounted for four times as many combined fumbles and interceptions as touchdowns this season. It’s too bad that the Giants are finally going to move on from Dave Gettleman.

32 - New York Jets (LW: 32) - Feel kinda bad for Sam Darnold. He sure hasn’t been good but he just doesn’t have proper coaching (upset alert: Adam Gase not the first head coach fired!) or talent around him. And the Jets are probably going to take his replacement at No. 1 overall.