NFL Power Rankings 2014: Predicting Post-Week 5 Standings
Perhaps no game during Week 4 of the season encapsulated the upside-down nature of the NFL more so than the Kansas City Chiefs' dismantling of the New England Patriots.
After all, that same Chiefs team that destroyed Tom Brady and company Monday night looked completely listless against a struggling Tennessee Titans squad earlier in the year.
Power ranking the 32 teams in the NFL is difficult enough when injuries, surprising upsets and breakout performances change the landscape on a weekly basis. We are going to make it even more difficult by looking ahead to an uncertain future and predicting the post-Week 5 power rankings.
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The only way to do that is by picking the Week 5 games, so here is a look at our predictions before digging into the power rankings.
| Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers | Green Bay Packers |
| Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers | Chicago Bears |
| Cleveland Browns at Tennessee Titans | Cleveland Browns |
| St. Louis Rams at Philadelphia Eagles | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants | New York Giants |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints | New Orleans Saints |
| Houston Texans at Dallas Cowboys | Dallas Cowboys |
| Buffalo Bills at Detroit Lions | Detroit Lions |
| Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts | Indianapolis Colts |
| Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Arizona Cardinals at Denver Broncos | Denver Broncos |
| Kansas City Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers | San Francisco 49ers |
| New York Jets at San Diego Chargers | San Diego Chargers |
| Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Seattle Seahawks at Washington Redskins | Seattle Seahawks |
32. Oakland Raiders
It has not been a good week in Oakland.
Head coach Dennis Allen was fired, quarterback of the future Derek Carr was injured and the Raiders lost 38-14 to the Miami Dolphins and then had to fly all the way back from London. The run game was nonexistent, and the leaky offensive line didn’t protect Carr at all.
At least the Raiders have a bye week to look forward to now.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars
If you weren’t convinced that Blake Bortles could be the real deal, take San Diego Chargers defender Dwight Freeney’s word for it, via Hays Carlyon of The Florida Times-Union: “Bortles is going to be a force in this league. But, they have to get the right weapons around him and get him some better protection.”
He hit the nail on the head for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Bortles has very little to work with right now, especially because the run game is atrocious, and likely won’t until the young wide receivers grow up (and get healthy). Fortunately for the Jaguars, that future isn’t too far away, but it won’t be getting here in 2014.
A Week 5 matchup with a Pittsburgh Steelers team looking to bounce back won’t do wonders for the Jaguars either.
30. Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans looked even worse with Charlie Whitehurst under center than Jake Locker in their 41-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
The offense simply has not produced during the three-game losing streak, and Andrew Luck exposed the defense as well. Losing at home to the Browns in Week 5 will mark a low point for the season as far as Tennessee is concerned.
29. Washington Redskins
Just when everyone was jumping on the Kirk Cousins bandwagon, he goes out and throws four terrible interceptions against the New York Giants in front of a national audience.
It wasn’t just Cousins, though, as Eli Manning and company picked apart a secondary that badly misses DeAngelo Hall. Washington is going to get obliterated by the rested Seattle Seahawks in Week 5.
28. St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams offensive line was supposed to be improved, but it hasn’t shown many signs yet. The defensive line was supposed to be dominant, but it only has a single sack.
The Rams’ issues go beyond the quarterback situation, as they are simply getting beat up front. Zac Stacy hasn’t found many seams yet in the rushing attack, and the defense was unable to stop Dallas from overcoming a three-score deficit in Week 3.
The upcoming Week 5 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles will keep St. Louis low on these power rankings.
27. New York Jets
The New York Jets tour of NFC North losses finally takes a temporary break after losing to the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions in three straight games. Next up is another loss, this time to the San Diego Chargers.
The only silver lining for the Jets this year is the fact that all three losses were close games, but this is professional football, not horseshoes. The cornerback and wide receiver positions are serious concerns, especially if Eric Decker battles with injuries all year, and Geno Smith is not exactly inspiring confidence.
The one-score loss streak will end in San Diego in Week 5 with a more resounding defeat.
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The quarterback switch worked beautifully for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as Mike Glennon directed a clutch drive in the waning seconds to stun the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While it is hard to erase the Atlanta Falcons loss completely from our minds when discussing the Bucs, Glennon’s poise and ability to come through when it mattered most were welcome signs for the future.
Tampa Bay stays this low for now because it has to travel to New Orleans to take on the Jekyll-and-Hyde Saints in the Superdome in Week 5.
25. Minnesota Vikings
This is way too low for the Minnesota Vikings if these power rankings were just based on the Week 4 performance, but the thought here is that Green Bay beats them badly Thursday.
After all, it will be a short week for rookie Teddy Bridgewater, who is coming off an ankle injury, and the Packers appeared to have righted the ship with a blowout win at Chicago. Minnesota will be higher in the future if Bridgewater proves to be the real deal over a larger sample size and the running game continues to thrive behind Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon.
For now, the Vikings will sit at No. 25 with a projected loss to Green Bay.
24. Buffalo Bills
Here comes Kyle Orton, and it’s not hard to see why, as ESPN Stats & Info noted:
Going into Detroit to face one of league’s best defenses in the early going is not exactly the recipe for success for a new starter, even if Orton is a veteran. The Buffalo Bills will lose again, as that 2-0 start continues to fade into the distance.
23. Cleveland Browns
We are predicting a win for the Cleveland Browns in Week 5 at Tennessee.
The Browns have moved the ball on offense with a resurgent running game and solid decision-making from Brian Hoyer, which is encouraging because the defense is supposed to be the strength. The fact that the secondary and cornerback Joe Haden have struggled is worrisome, but at least there is reason for confidence that it can turn around because we have seen it before on that side of the ball.
Cleveland may just hang around for a couple more weeks if the offense clicks.
22. Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins bounced back with a much-needed win against the lowly Raiders thanks in large part to Ryan Tannehill and a dominant offensive performance.
There’s not much else to say for now about the Dolphins as they head into a bye week, but it was certainly nice to see a solid game from both sides of the ball. The talent is there to make a run in the wide-open AFC East, and it clicked in Week 4.
21. Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers may have just been a tease in the first two weeks, and a projected Week 5 loss to the Chicago Bears will only exacerbate the problems.
The Panthers were destroyed by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens in the past two games, and Cam Newton will be lucky to last the whole season. The offensive line can’t block anyone right now, and the running game has seen much better days with so many injuries.
Fortunately, Kelvin Benjamin looks like an impressive receiver, but there isn’t much else to feel good about right now in Carolina.
20. New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are going to beat the Bucs at home, but what does that really prove?
The Saints have already lost three games on the road (including one to the Cleveland Browns) and don’t look like they could stop a high school team at this point. You just can’t do anything in this league if you don’t string together at least a couple of road wins a season, and the Saints don’t look like they can heading into Week 5.
Other than that, everything is fine.
19. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers will beat the Jaguars in Week 5, but that doesn’t prove much for them either. It is more concerning that Pittsburgh managed to somehow lose at home to Tampa Bay.
Pat Kirwan of CBS Sports summarized some of the issues: “There are questions about this team. They have critical injuries, too many penalties, and they just lost to the Bucs in their own stadium. The Jaguars are next up and should fix the problems for the short-term.”
The Steelers are just a confusing team right now, and the struggles on the defensive end are unfortunate because the offense looks fairly potent. With Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell anchoring the attack, the Steelers should still compete in the AFC, but they can’t afford to slip up in games like the one against Tampa Bay.
18. Atlanta Falcons
Too bad for the Atlanta Falcons that they can’t play the Buccaneers every week.
Instead of responding to their dominant win over Tampa Bay, the Falcons went out and lost to the Vikings and a rookie quarterback making his first career start. Atlanta still has one of the best offenses in the league, but the defense is going to be a problem all year.
Now, Atlanta has to travel to New York to take on the suddenly clicking Giants. Eli Manning will continue his hot streak against this vulnerable defense and knock the Falcons down another notch.
17. Houston Texans
It is quite possible that J.J. Watt is the best player in the NFL, but we still aren’t sold on the Houston Texans until they fix their offensive issues.
Ryan Fitzpatrick doesn’t exactly look like a playoff quarterback, and Arian Foster’s health could be a problem all season. Houston checks in at No. 17 because it won’t have enough offense to keep up with the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5, which will take some of the luster off that 3-1 record.
16. New York Giants
Here come the New York Giants.
Manning and company bounced back from an 0-2 start with a couple of impressive wins. The offense has been impressive, namely because it limited the turnovers in two straight contests, and Rashad Jennings appears to be a legitimate running back behind this offensive line.
Manning gets another bad defense in Atlanta in Week 5 after eviscerating Washington, so the offense should keep it rolling for another game.
15. New England Patriots
ESPN Stats & Info passed along a worrisome stat as far as the New England Patriots are concerned:
This isn’t all on Tom Brady, though. In fact, the paper-thin offensive line and mediocre (at best) receiving corps are the most pressing issues in New England, and suddenly the Patriots don’t look like a serious AFC challenger.
A projected loss to the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals won’t change that in Week 5.
14. Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs completely dominated the Patriots Monday, but they will run into a San Francisco team that picked up a much-needed win of its own in Week 5. We think the 49ers will win a close one, which keeps the Chiefs at No. 14 for the time being.
Still, Kansas City could compete in the AFC this year behind the two-headed rushing attack of Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis. Both had huge games against New England, and Davis filled in admirably when Charles missed Week 3’s victory over Miami.
The defense looked strong Monday, and the offense was clicking. When that happens, Kansas City will be tough to beat.
13. San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are going to beat the Chiefs at home, which will look much better after Kansas City destroyed New England.
San Francisco went back to doing what it does best against the Eagles and gave battering ram Frank Gore the ball. It is no surprise that it worked wonders and at least temporarily saved the season from a troubling 1-3 start.
There are still some concerns with Colin Kaepernick’s consistency, but the 49ers will gradually get some pieces back on defense and still have Gore in the backfield. Dismiss them at your own risk.
12. Chicago Bears
Few teams in the NFL have suffered as many injuries as the Chicago Bears, but they get to go up against a similarly banged-up squad in Carolina in Week 5. Chicago will get the bounce-back win it needs after getting trounced by archrival Green Bay.
All the things that have frustrated Chicago fans the past couple of years reared their ugly heads in Week 4. The defense couldn’t get a stop, there was absolutely no pressure on Aaron Rodgers at all and Jay Cutler had crippling interceptions.
Still, there is so much offensive talent on this team that the thought here is the win over Carolina will put the Bears back on track to compete for a potential wild-card spot.
11. Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens dominated the Panthers in Week 4 and pushed their winning streak to three. That one narrow loss to the undefeated Bengals doesn’t look so bad right now either.
Steve Smith Sr. was a fantastic addition, the defense is flying around and the running game received a much-needed boost from rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro and Justin Forsett. The only thing keeping the Ravens out of the top 10 is the fact that we envision a loss at Indianapolis in Week 5.
10. Arizona Cardinals
Fox Sports is certainly impressed with the Arizona Cardinals thus far, even with Carson Palmer dealing with injury:
"Carson Palmer guaranteed that he would play coming out of the bye at Denver, but he didn’t practice fully on Monday and Bruce Arians has referred to Wednesday’s practice as the moment of truth. Backup Drew Stanton has been serviceable at spreading the ball around to his wealth of weapons that includes impressive rookie John Brown. With Todd Bowles putting together another strong defense despite the injuries and losses, the Cardinals may have the best overall coaching staff in the NFL.
"
The Cardinals are going to come back down to earth a bit in Week 5, but it is not necessarily their fault. They are just playing a better team in the Denver Broncos and will still be a playoff contender if the defense continues to produce.
Arizona is just not among the elite quite yet.
9. Detroit Lions
The fact that the Detroit Lions are winning with defense and not offense is actually encouraging moving forward because the offensive stars are in place to dominate in future weeks.
Calvin Johnson has dealt with injuries for much of the year, and Reggie Bush is yet to break out, but the defense has been completely dominant. The Lions should handle a struggling Bills team in Week 5 with the defense alone, and the offense will start to click once Johnson returns to 100 percent.
Then the rest of the NFC will officially be on notice.
8. Dallas Cowboys
We may have to come to terms with the fact that we severely underrated the Dallas Cowboys before the season started. With a home game against the Houston Texans in Week 5, Dallas is looking at a 4-1 start to the year.
There are tons of offensive weapons in place, but the defense has performed much better than many expected before the year. What’s more, the reliance on the run has been critical because it is opening up more plays for Tony Romo and Dez Bryant downfield. Romo no longer has to force the issue because there are more defenders in the box.
The NFL on ESPN pointed out that DeMarco Murray is among some elite company with his hot start to the year:
If Murray can stay healthy all season and produce like this, the Cowboys may be a legitimate playoff team.
7. Indianapolis Colts
We didn’t hold it against the Indianapolis Colts too severely when they lost narrow games to the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles, and we certainly aren’t going to do it now that Andrew Luck and company are rolling.
Luck has propelled dominating victories over the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars and established his team as the one to beat in the AFC South. The competition takes a step up in Week 5 against Baltimore, but the thought here is the Colts defend their home field.
With that critical win, the Colts check in at No. 7 in the power rankings.
6. Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers may have gotten off to a slow start, but they still have arguably the best quarterback in the league, or at least the best one this side of Peyton Manning.
Aaron Rodgers proved what he meant when he told the fans to relax, and the offensive talent shone through in Week 4’s dominating win. What’s more, the Packers will knock off the suddenly resurgent Vikings and Bridgewater by doing what they did last week—racking up touchdowns with a litany of skill players.
Green Bay has to be considered the NFC North favorite at this point and will defeat the Lions in the rematch later this year.
5. San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are the best team nobody is talking about, and they will stretch their winning streak to four with a victory over the reeling Jets in Week 5.
The defense has shut down its opponents, and Philip Rivers and the list of wide receivers have played well enough to overcome the injuries at running back. Even the narrow loss to the undefeated Cardinals doesn’t look particularly bad at this point.
4. Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles will bounce back from a strange loss to San Francisco (where the defense shone and the offense was terrible) by getting back to the basics and giving LeSean McCoy the football against the St. Louis Rams.
The Rams are actually third in the league against the pass, so look for the Eagles to establish the run early and often. The offense had one bad week, and there is way too much talent to simply dismiss it after Week 4.
The fact that the defense and special teams were so impressive against the 49ers is more encouraging moving forward than anything else.
3. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos don’t move anywhere after a bye, although the explosive offense will get another NFC West test against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5.
Manning and company have the talent to score on anyone, and they will prove that once again by handing Arizona its first loss. Additionally, the defense will give Palmer trouble with the pass rush of DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller, and Denver will get a much-needed win after the heartbreaking loss to Seattle.
2. Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are going to make a statement in Week 5 against their fellow AFC competitor, the Patriots.
A.J. Green got an extra week to rest his foot, and the Patriots are coming off a short week themselves. Cincinnati’s defense also had to be licking its chops after watching what the Chiefs did to Brady and company.
The Bengals will be the only remaining undefeated team after Week 5.
1. Seattle Seahawks
Much like the Broncos and Bengals, the Seattle Seahawks had a bye in Week 4, so there isn’t a lot of movement at the top.
Seattle has to travel across the country to take on Washington on Monday night, but it is almost unfair thinking about what the “Legion of Boom” will do to Cousins if he performs like he did against the Giants.
The defending champs should handle Washington and stay atop the rankings for another week.
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