NFL Power Rankings Week 5: Post-Thursday Night Football Standings, Review

The Arizona Cardinals upended the San Francisco 49ers on the Week 5 edition of Thursday Night Football, which didn't register as much of a surprise in the world of power rankings.

There, the Cardinals had dipped in recent weeks thanks to a two-game skid but still figured to come out ahead of the one-win 49ers on a short week. Arizona's victory fits what should be the larger theme of Week 5.

As a whole, things have started to fall into place when it comes to power rankings. The New England Patriots have Tom Brady back and shouldn't climb or fall much. Surprises such as the Carolina Panthers have hit a deserved slot, while a climber such as the Philadelphia Eagles doesn't figure to go anywhere.

Before Sunday's action gets underway, a review of the NFL hierarchy.

Week 5 NFL Power Rankings

Rank	Team
1	Denver Broncos
2	Pittsburgh Steelers
3	New England Patriots
4	Philadelphia Eagles
5	Minnesota Vikings
6	Green Bay Packers
7	New York Giants
8	Cincinnati Bengals
9	Kansas City Chiefs
10	Atlanta Falcons
11	Oakland Raiders
12	Carolina Panthers
13	Seattle Seahawks
14	Dallas Cowboys
15	Arizona Cardinals
16	Houston Texans
17	Washington
18	Baltimore Ravens
19	New York Jets
20	Jacksonville Jaguars
21	Buffalo Bills
22	New Orleans Saints
23	Los Angeles Rams
24	Miami Dolphins
25	Tennessee Titans
26	Detroit Lions
27	Indianapolis Colts
28	San Diego Chargers
29	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
30	San Francisco 49ers
31	Chicago Bears
32	Cleveland Browns

Odds relayed by Odds Shark.

Atlanta Falcons

A major climb could await the Atlanta Falcons. 

Other than a win against the 3-1 Oakland Raiders, the Falcons started the year in an odd way, besting the New Orleans Saints on the road but losing their opener to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Many might clamor for Atlanta to have a higher rank already because of the Week 4 beatdown of the Panthers. But as hinted in the intro, Carolina isn't anywhere close to the team most figured it would be, so beating up on a 1-3 outfit isn't as impressive as it could be.

Not that the Falcons didn't put on a show, with MVP favorite Matt Ryan throwing for more than 500 yards, 300 of which went to star wideout Julio Jones. But as Troy Renck of Denver7 ABC pointed out, the real test awaits in Week 5:

Atlanta beating the Denver Broncos on the road is the type of win the team needs to earn the desired respect and shoot up the ranks. Taking down a defense that has yet to allow more than 20 points would be something nobody could ignore.

Then again, maybe the Falcons like this under-the-radar role. Masked by a bumbling NFC South and past perceptions, the team looks like just the one to hit Denver with its first loss of the season.

Houston Texans

The AFC South has laid it all out for the Houston Texans.

Houston sits on a 3-1 record while the rest of the division boasts the inverse. Great. But there's one problem: The Texans have wins against the Chicago Bears, Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans, teams with a combined 4-8 record.

Even worse, the hardest game of the season to date for the Texans came in Week 3, when the Patriots laughed all the way to a 27-0 victory.

This isn't meant to suggest the Texans will blow the godsend that is the AFC South. But quarterback Brock Osweiler, one of two big-money acquisitions, has five touchdowns to six interceptions. The other, running back Lamar Miller, has yet to find the end zone or crack a 4.0 yard-per-carry average on the season.

Like Atlanta, Houston can squash much of the doubt surrounding the team in a critical Week 5 encounter. The opponent is the undefeated Minnesota Vikings, a team Texans coach Bill O'Brien said his guys have to play a full four quarters against.

"I just think overall we just need to come out with a better sense of urgency in the second half, and that's going to be a big focus for us, along with many other things as it relates to Minnesota," O'Brien said, according to ESPN.com.

On paper, the aforementioned star names plus wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins give the Texans an offense capable of playing with any team. Heck, it seems like enough to compensate for a defense without J.J. Watt too.

Week 5 is when the Texans need to announce it to the rest of the league.

New England Patriots

The Patriots, returning Brady in tow, figure to start with a bang. 

While the league didn't do any favors for the Patriots with the whole Brady suspension, it did in scheduling Week 5—Brady and the Patriots get to line up against the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns are without a win and have managed to allow a minimum of 25 points in each game so far. Sunday's contest seems like a juggernaut college football program booking a small school as something of a warm-up game, except Cleveland doesn't get anything out of it except bruises and a mark in the loss column.

Still, one can't help but be impressed with the Patriots. The team survived a trip to take on the Arizona Cardinals to start the season, took down the Miami Dolphins and had the aforementioned win against Houston before getting blanked by the Buffalo Bills, 16-0, in Week 4. 

New England has an opportunity to get a win and work Brady back into the middle of things before a key stretch against the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers, which then leads to a rematch with the Bills.

Deservedly without a major move in the ranks so far, it seems like Brady and the Patriots can only go up from here. 

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus. 

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