NFL Power Rankings Week Five: Patriots, Ravens Climb, Colts, Bears Slip Big
Week Four taught us a lot.
The Bears aren't quite ready to handle the tag of "Best Team in the NFC North."
No one seems to be very good right now in the NFC East.
And, at least for the Steelers, you can only get so far your franchise quarterback banned from the team for a month.
Where does your team rank?
No. 32 Through No. 21
1 of 21
No. 32: San Francisco 49ers (0-4)
There isn’t much silver lining for the 49ers as the Eagles come to town. At least they get Kevin Kolb and not Michael Vick.
No. 31: Buffalo Bills (0-4)
Ryan Fitzpatrick may be the master of the Wonderlic test but he’s not the future at quarterback.
No. 30: Carolina Panthers (0-4)
Steve Smith’s injury is going to set back the Jimmy Clausen time-table.
No. 29: Detroit Lions (0-4)
Of all the winless teams, the Lions of been come the closest to victory (twice) and the future is looking brighter.
No. 28: Oakland Raiders (1-3)
More bad news with Darren McFadden—quietly the second leading rusher in the NFL—nursing a strained hamstring.
No. 27: Cleveland Browns (1-3)
The joy of last week’s win won’t last long: their next five opponents are Atlanta, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, New England and the Jets.
No. 26: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1)
After a surprising 2-0 start, getting crushed at home against the Roethlisberger-less Steelers brought Raheem Morris’ team back down to Earth.
No. 25: Miami Dolphins (2-2)
Monday night’s loss revealed more problems for the Dolphins than just special teams.
No. 24: Minnesota Vikings (1-2)
The Vikings are too talented to remain in the doldrums for long.
No. 23: Cincinnati Bengals (2-2)
T.O. looked great but the defense could not come up with stops when they needed to.
No. 22: Tennessee Titans (2-2)
Chris Johnson cannot do it alone and there just not enough options in the passing game to make Vince Young scare defenses.
No. 21: Arizona Cardinals (2-2)
Here is a case of an early season record being deceiving: they squeaked by Oakland and St. Louis and have been crushed by 30-plus points in their two losses.
No. 20: Dallas Cowboys (1-2)
2 of 21
The win over Houston was impressive; now let’s see them play winning football in consecutive weeks.
No. 19: Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2)
3 of 21
Coach Jack Del Rio has done more with less than any other coach in the league. But their 3rd to last ranked pass defense has to improve if they expect to contend in the AFC South.
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No. 18: Denver Broncos (2-2)
4 of 21
Talk about imbalance: Top rated passing offense in the league, worst rated rush offense: Mike Shanahan would cringe at that fact.
No. 17: Philadelphia Eagles (2-2)
5 of 21
It’s very difficult to win consistently if you’re swapping quarterbacks on a bi-weekly basis. But you’ve got to figure that Kevin Kolb is better prepared to step in than he was last year.
No. 16: Seattle Seahawks (2-2)
6 of 21
Who is Pete Carroll going to find to run the ball? Maybe it should be Julius Jones’ turn on the Seahawks running back-go-‘round.
No. 15: St. Louis Rams (2-2)
7 of 21
It’s a bit premature to give the NFC West to the Rams and Sam Bradford the MVP.
No. 14: San Diego Chargers (2-2)
8 of 21
Even without LaDanian Tomlinson and Vincent Jackson, the offense is excellent. And although the defense has great overall numbers, they have yet to be tested by one of the league top 10 passers.
No. 13: Washington Redskins (2-2)
9 of 21
The offense petered out after a great start. And the defense cannot expect to face a rusty, recently-concussed quarterback each week.
No. 12: New York Giants (2-2)
10 of 21
Without a divisional test yet this season, the Giants grade thus far is an incomplete. But they are the most seasoned team amongst all their NFC East brethren. That accounts for something.
No. 11: Indianapolis Colts (2-2)
11 of 21
Until the Colts find some way to run the ball, that defense is going to struggle in the second half of games.
No. 10: Chicago Bears (3-1)
12 of 21
It’s too early in the season to declare the Bears season over just because of their pitiful performance on Sunday night. One week cannot undo three week’s work.
But Mike Tice and Mike Martz better square away the pass protection or Bears fans will learn more than they ever wanted to know about third stringer Caleb Hanie.
No. 9: Kansas City Chiefs (3-0)
13 of 21
Like their cross-state counterparts, the Rams, they can’t be considered an elite team yet. Road wins at Indianapolis and Houston in the next two weeks would certainly change that.
No. 8: Houston Texans (3-1)
14 of 21
Since starting out 2-0, the Texans haven’t looked nearly as dominant, losing handily to Dallas and nearly giving away a 17 point at Oakland.
But with that offense and a great pass rush they remain the team to beat in the AFC South.
No. 7: New Orleans Saints (3-1)
15 of 21
If the annual Super Bowl hangover has hit the World Champs, they have certainly weathered the storm. Considering the injuries they’ve endured, winning three games by a combined 10 points is something to be proud of, not a concern.
No. 6: Green Bay Packers (3-1)
16 of 21
Losing to the Bears (who were terrible a week later against the Giants) coupled with a near-disaster at home against Detroit keeps the Pack from being considered the class of the NFC.
No. 5: Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)
17 of 21
Ben Roethlisberger’s return won’t be an instant panacea for the passing game woes. But it’s not very often that a 3-1 team can add a Pro Bowl quarterback to their roster in the middle of the season.
No. 4: New England Patriots (3-1)
18 of 21
Monday night’s special teams onslaught overshadowed noticeable improvements in the Patriots defense. Bill Belichick’s group completely shut down both Brandon Marshall and the Dolphins two-headed running game.
No. 3: Atlanta Falcons (3-1)
19 of 21
An overtime loss at Heinz Field is the only thing keeping the Falcons from being undefeated. More importantly, in the past three weeks, they’ve won games every way possible.
They blew out the Cardinals, fought down to the wire on the road against the Super Bowl Champion Saints and they came from behind (Roddy White literally came from behind to save the game) to defeat the 49ers.
No. 2: New York Jets (3-1)
20 of 21
Discounting what happened in Week One, the Jets have been the best team in the NFL. Braylon Edwards’ production should continue to improve with the return of Santonio Holmes.
The offensive line might be the best unit in the NFL. And with Darrelle Revis possibly returning this week, the defense will only get better. They are the most complete team in the league.
No. 1: Baltimore Ravens (3-1)
21 of 21
A win on the road against their hated divisional rival, coupled with their win in Week One over the Jets has earned the Ravens the top spot. It took a few weeks but Joe Flacco now seems comfortable with his new toys, Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Even Todd Heap is benefitting.
Everyone knows the defense will be excellent and Ed Reed will be along soon. And with Willis McGahee, they can afford to wait on Ray Rice’s knee to heal. But not for long: they travel to New England in 2 weeks.
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