NFL Power Rankings Week 5: Tennessee Titans and 3 Teams That Will Jump Up
The Buffalo Bills, the Detroit Lions and the Houston Texans are hardly the only teams that have surprised the NFL in 2011.
The respective resurgences of those long-dormant squads have hogged headlines and warmed hearts across the country, but there remain a number of other teams that have quietly positioned themselves for solid seasons.
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While pundits have already anointed the Texans the once and future kings of the AFC South in Peyton Manning's absence, the Titans have hovered just out of sight, winning ball games all the while.
Tennessee, like Houston, sits at 3-1 after four weeks of play with surprisingly comparable resumes. Granted, Tennesee's Week 1 loss at Jacksonville is far more disconcerting than Houston's defeat at New Orleans in Week 3.
Nonetheless, the Titans' collection of wins (vs. Baltimore, vs. Denver, at Cleveland) is arguably more impressive than that of Texans' (vs. Indianapolis, at Miami, vs. Pittsburgh).
The same goes for defense, wherein the Titans are ninth in yards allowed and first in points allowed, as opposed to 12th and fourth for Houston.
These two teams won't tangle until Week 7, with a date at Pittsburgh and a bye week in between for Tennessee. Winning at Heinz Field is never an easy prospect, especially for a team with a new coach (Mike Munchak) and a new quarterback (Matt Hasselbeck).
That being said, Hasselbeck has been playing well, Chris Johnson is just starting to pick up his game and the Steelers may be without Ben Roethlisberger, among a host of other injured stars. If ever the Titans were to steal a game in the Steel City, it'd be this weekend.
Perhaps no team in the NFL has been as deceptively solid as Cincinnati. The Bengals opened some eyes with a 23-20 win over the Bills to snap Buffalo's unbeaten start and now stand at 2-2 as a result.
If not for a mistake here and there from rookie quarterback Andy Dalton, the Bengals might well be 4-0. Sure, it seems strange, especially so soon on the heels of Carson Palmer's "retirement," but it's not all that far-fetched—their two losses, to the Broncos and the 49ers, came by a total of seven points.
Cincy's schedule from here on out is surprisingly manageable, too, starting with a trip to Jacksonville to face the 1-3 Jaguars on Sunday.
The team itself isn't all that bad, either. Dalton and running back Cedric Benson have been solid while the defense is sixth in the NFL in points allowed and first in total yards per game, albeit against some pretty sorry offenses.
Regardless, Marvin Lewis' squad should be more than able to take care of business against the Jags in what will be the second rookie QB battle of the season for Jacksonville's Blaine Gabbert.
Somehow, someway, the Giants keep winning games, even with half their defense either hobbled or lost for the year and their receiving corps depleted by injuries and free-agent departures.
Eli Manning deserves at least some of the credit for keeping Big Blue afloat. He's stepped up his game with brother Peyton sitting out for Indianapolis, sporting a QB rating of 105.6—the third-highest in the NFL behind Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady—while throwing eight touchdowns and just two interceptions in 125 attempts.
But, if you're going to talk about G-Men you have to give kudos to their defensive line. New York's front four has been stellar, even with Osi Umenyiora having yet played a down and Justin Tuck shuttling in and out of the lineup with neck pain.
Chris Canty, Jason Pierre-Paul, Dave Tollefson and Linval Joseph have stepped up in their stead, with a little help from outside linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka.
To be fair, the Giants' three victories have come against opponents with a combined record of 2-10 to this point, but you can hardly fault them for taking care of business against inferior competition.
Look for that to continue in Week 5, when the sorry Seahawks, at 1-3, flock to MetLife Stadium. Chances are, Tarvaris Jackson isn't at all happy to be going against New York's hungry pass rush, nor will he be any more satisfied when that inevitable crunch comes this weekend, time after bone-crushing time.
Josh Martin's Week 4 NFL Power Rankings |
3. Detroit Lions |
5. Houston Texans |
7. New York Giants |
8. Buffalo Bills |
11. Tennessee Titans |
13. Dallas Cowboys |
16. Oakland Raiders |
17. New York Jets |
18. Atlanta Falcons |
19. Cleveland Browns |
20. Chicago Bears |
22. Cincinnati Bengals |
24. Denver Broncos |
25. Seattle Seahawks |
30. Miami Dolphins |
31. St. Louis Rams |
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