NFL Power Poll, Week Five

The following are my votes and comments for the Bleacher Report Power Rankings organized by Shaun Ahmad.

1. The New York Giants are the only team to have beaten the Washington Offensively Named Ones, and they did it handily.
2. The Tennessee Titans are the only unbeaten team with five wins, and they include two in the division and a quality team in Baltimore.
3. The Washington Offensively Named Ones have won big road games in Philadelphia and Dallas; they're only loss was in New York.
4. I still have the Dallas Cowboys near the top, despite playing two shaky games in a row.
5. Eventually, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have players return from injury; in the meantime, they're still winning.
6. The Carolina Panthers have only one loss and now may have their running game on track.
7. There is a significant drop-off from No. 6 to No. 7 because of the injury to Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards.
8. The New England Patriots are one hiccup away from a perfect record, and that hiccup may not have been to a bad team, after all.
   
9. I am putting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead of the team they just lost to because they were on the road and have actually earned all their wins and played a much more difficult schedule than Denver.
10. I have to reluctantly put the Denver Broncos next because they beat Tampa Bay without being handed the win by referees...Even though it was at home and they're supposed to do that. If nothing else, they showed defense for the first time.
11. The Baltimore Ravens have only two losses, and both were close against top five teams.
12. The Chicago Bears are getting good play from Kyle Orton and rookie running back Matt Forte; if they have an offense, they will win their division.
13. The Philadelphia Eagles rank this high despite three losses because they have played well through a brutal schedule and some injuries, but unless Westbrook can recover, they are in trouble.
14. Despite their loss to Miami, the San Diego Chargers have quality wins over the New York Jets and Denver...Oh, wait, never mind.
15. The Indianapolis Colts' offense is on the verge of getting on track, and this team knows how to win.
16. Brett Favre is the league's top-rated passer, but the New York Jets still have bad losses to San Diego and New England.
17. The Arizona Cardinals have only beaten Miami, Seattle, and a Bills team without their starting quarterback.
18. The Minnesota Vikings have quality wins over Carolina and New Orleans, but they only have two more games against the NFC South.
19. Martin Gramatica has now missed two field goals that could have had the New Orleans Saints 4-1.
20. With two wins in their last three games over potential playoff teams, the Miami Dolphins have to be taken seriously.
21. The Jacksonville Jaguars may have made the necessary adjustments to their offensive line injuries.
22. The Altanta Falcons are looking like a much more competitive team than projected: Matt Ryan looks pretty good, their running game is elite, and their defense is good enough to keep them close.
23. The San Francisco Forty-Niners have not played well defensively and have not been consistent offensively.
24. The Green Bay Packers cannot be ranked higher since their depleted defense appears incapable of stopping the run.
25. The Cleveland Browns have only beaten the Cincinnati Bengals, but they did look good on paper before the season started.
26. No one really knows how bad the Houston Texans are, since they have losses to some of the best teams in the league, but they are winless.
27. The Oakland Raiders are the most dysfunctional team in sports history.
28. The Kansas City Chiefs proved that their win against the Broncos was a fluke.
29. The Seattle Seahawks have only one win; beating the Rams should not even count.
30. I will say it again: The Cincinnati Bengals have the talent to compete but can't close because closing takes character.
31. The St. Louis Rams have some talented skill players, but not enough in the trenches to support them.
32. It was a tough call between the Rams and the Detroit Lions, but the Rams made their coaching change while the Lions are waiting for the other shoe to drop.