NFL Power Rankings Week 5: AFC, NFC Standings and Pre-MNF Predictions

For many NFL teams, it's already the quarter mark of the season.

That's right, all but four of the 32 teams in the league have already played four games. (The New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers had a Week 4 bye.) The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals will join that group Monday night.

And at this point, we have a clearer picture of which teams are favorites to make deep runs through the playoffs, and which ones will likely be home in January. 

The New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs have been the two clear top teams so far, as they're the only 4-0 squads in the league and are likely the favorites to win the Super Bowl this season.

Heading into Week 5, here's a look at how the power rankings are shaping up this season (assuming the Steelers beat the Bengals in a matchup they're favored to win).

NFL Power Rankings Predictions

1. New England Patriots (4-0)

2. Kansas City Chiefs (4-0)

3. New Orleans Saints (3-1)

4. Dallas Cowboys (3-1)

5. Los Angeles Rams (3-1)

6. Green Bay Packers (3-1)

7. Chicago Bears (3-1)

8. Seattle Seahawks (3-1)

9. Baltimore Ravens (2-2)

10. San Francisco 49ers (3-0)

11. Los Angeles Chargers (2-2)

12. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2)

13. Detroit Lions (2-1-1)

14. Cleveland Browns (2-2)

15. Buffalo Bills (3-1)

16. Carolina Panthers (2-2)

17. Houston Texans (2-2)

18. Minnesota Vikings (2-2)

19. Indianapolis Colts (2-2)

20. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2)

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-2)

22. New York Giants (2-2)

23. Tennessee Titans (2-2)

24. Oakland Raiders (2-2)

25. Atlanta Falcons (1-3)

26. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-3)

27. Arizona Cardinals (0-3-1)

28. New York Jets (0-3)

29. Denver Broncos (0-4)

30. Cincinnati Bengals (0-4)

31. Washington Redskins (0-4)

32. Miami Dolphins (0-4)

NFL Standings

AFC East

New England 4-0

Buffalo 3-1

N.Y. Jets 0-3

Miami 0-4

AFC North

Cleveland 2-2

Baltimore 2-2

Pittsburgh 0-3

Cincinnati 0-3

AFC South

Houston 2-2

Indianapolis 2-2

Jacksonville 2-2

Tennessee 2-2

AFC West

Kansas City 4-0

Oakland 2-2

L.A. Chargers 2-2

Denver 0-4

NFC East

Dallas 3-1

Philadelphia 2-2

N.Y. Giants 2-2

Washington 0-4

NFC North

Green Bay 3-1

Chicago 3-1

Detroit 2-1-1

Minnesota 2-2

NFC South

New Orleans 3-1

Tampa Bay 2-2

Carolina 2-2

Atlanta 1-3

NFC West

San Francisco 3-0

Seattle 3-1

L.A. Rams 3-1

Arizona 0-3-1

Monday Night Football Preview, Prediction

While many predicted the Bengals could have a tough season, it's more of a surprise that the Steelers also started the year with three straight losses.

Of course, things changed for Pittsburgh when veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a season-ending elbow injury in Week 2. With him, the Steelers opened the season with a loss to the Patriots. Then, with Mason Rudolph at quarterback, they lost to the Seahawks and 49ers.

But this will be Pittsburgh's best chance to notch its first win of the season. Cincinnati has lost to Seattle, San Francisco and Buffalo, and the Steelers will have home-field advantage against their AFC North rival.

With the Browns and Ravens both at 2-2, the division is still up for grabs early in the season. But whichever team loses this matchup will have a tough hole to climb out of the rest of the year.

"Both of our backs are against the wall, which is kind of sad at this point of the season," Pittsburgh guard David DeCastro said, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com). "It will make for some good football, that's for sure. We both need a win very bad."

However, the Steelers aren't going to have to worry about being in that position.

Although Roethlisberger is out, Pittsburgh still has talented weapons on offense. Running back James Conner (97 yards and a touchdown through three games) is poised to finally break out after a slow start to the season, and JuJu Smith-Schuster will continue to give Rudolph a reliable receiver to target.

This could be a close game early, but the Steelers have the depth on both sides of the ball to wear down the Bengals, pull away late and earn their first win of the season.