NFL Power Rankings: Reviewing Week 5 Standings After Sunday's Action
October 5, 2020
The Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks became the first two NFL teams to win their first four games of the 2020 season Sunday.
Kansas City and Green Bay have opportunities to join the Bills and Seahawks in the dwindling group of undefeated teams after lost Chicago in Week 4.
The pair of 4-0 teams and the two that could get there Monday have a common theme to their success, with a Most Valuable Player contender running the show at quarterback.
Russell Wilson, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers rank in the top four in passing touchdowns, and they have combined to throw three interceptions.
If each of those signal-callers keeps up their play, we could see two-team races for the No. 1 seeds in each conference develop over the coming weeks.
The bottom of the NFL standings looks bleak, to say the least. The New York teams are a combined 0-8, and close to half of the league has a single win from four games.
NFL Power Rankings
1. Kansas City (3-0)
2. Green Bay (3-0)
3. Seattle (4-0)
4. Buffalo (4-0)
5. Baltimore (3-1)
6. Tennessee (3-0)
7. Pittsburgh (3-0)
8. Tampa Bay (3-1)
9. Los Angeles Rams (3-1)
10. Indianapolis (3-1)
11. Cleveland (3-1)
12. Chicago (3-1)
13. New England (2-1)
14. New Orleans (2-2)
15. Carolina (2-2)
16. Arizona (2-2)
17. Las Vegas (2-2)
18. Philadelphia (1-2-1)
19. San Francisco (2-2)
20. Cincinnati (1-2-1)
21. Minnesota (1-3)
22. Denver (1-3)
23. Los Angeles Chargers (1-3)
24. Dallas (1-3)
25. Detroit (1-3)
26. Miami (1-3)
27. Washington (1-3)
28. Jacksonville (1-3)
29. Atlanta (0-3)
30. Houston (0-4)
31. New York Giants (0-4)
32. New York Jets (0-4)
The Bills and Seahawks combined to put up 61 points in their road victories Sunday.
Buffalo's win was more impressive since it came against Las Vegas, who just two weeks ago downed New Orleans in the Allegiant Stadium opener.
Allen's increase in passing production has been aided by the arrival of Stefon Diggs, who has 403 receiving yards through four games.
Allen's completion percentage from this year compared to 2019 is up over 12 percentage points, and he is on track to demolish his personal best of 3,089 passing yards.
Buffalo could enter Week 5 with a two-game advantage over New England, who has a tough Monday matchup in Kansas City.
The two-game cushion could turn out to be huge in Buffalo's quest to steal the AFC East title away from the Patriots.
If the Bills maintain that advantage ahead of their first head-to-head meeting November 1, they will have a buffer that could eventually make the difference in the division standings.
Buffalo has a chance to earn a key tiebreaker over Kansas City in Week 6. At minimum, that game should serve as a measuring stick for where the team stands against the top franchise in the AFC. The clash of division leaders could also serve as a showcase for Allen as he attempts to go head-to-head with Mahomes with a refined passing attack.
If the Chiefs remain undefeated with a win over Buffalo in 10 days, it could be viewed as the best team accomplishment so far this season. Kansas City is about to play New England, Las Vegas and Buffalo in a 10-day span after the clash with the Patriots was pushed back one day.
Green Bay is expected to assert its dominance in Monday's second game against an Atlanta defense that conceded 108 points to its first three opponents.
If the Packers win as expected, they will head into the bye week with four straight wins. The stretch after the Week 5 off date will give us a better idea of how good Green Bay is.
The NFC North side has three road games from Weeks 6-9 against Tampa Bay, Houston and San Francisco, and it hosts Minnesota in Week 8.
If Green Bay escapes that run with a perfect record, it could be in line to land the No. 1 seed since it does not play Seattle and has five home games from Week 10 on.
The start of November might be the deciding stretch of the NFC playoff race if Green Bay and Seattle are still the top two teams. The Seahawks have a three-game stretch against San Francisco, Buffalo and the Los Angeles Rams.
While the competition to remain undefeated will be one of the main storylines in the coming weeks, the race for the New York Giants and Jets to earn their first wins of 2020 could be captivating as well.
The Giants play five of their next six games inside the NFC East, while the Jets have Buffalo, Kansas City and New England looming in the coming weeks.
If they continue to struggle, the pair of New York franchises will be mired at the bottom of any power rankings and may end up in a competition of their own for the No. 1 overall pick.
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Statistics obtained from ESPN.com