NFL Power Rankings Week 5: Oakland Raiders and the 3 Best .500 Teams

There are currently eight teams at 2-2 in the NFL and the vast majority of them are incredibly difficult to figure out.

Are the Dallas Cowboys able to recover from such an epic collapse?

Who are the real Cincinnati Bengals? Are they the team that couldn’t beat Denver or the team that erased a 17-3 deficit to knock off the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills?

Are the New York Jets the most disappointing team in football right now?

All of these teams have the sort of question marks that have yet to be answered, but the following three teams are clearly on the right track despite their .500 mark after a quarter of the season.

13. Atlanta Falcons

The offense has gone mysteriously missing in two of their games, but after watching Matt Ryan move the chains at will in a hostile Seattle environment, it’s safe to say the offense is back.

Roddy White has gotten off to a slow start and the running game is only beginning to become effective, but the team is still right in the mix.

The defense hasn’t sacked the QB in three straight games, something that is obviously a cause for concern. Yet it’s hard to anticipate that continuing with John Abraham and Kroy Biermann upfront.

The Falcons have yet to find their stride and are going to be a tough team to deal with once all of the pieces finally come together.

14. Oakland Raiders

The one-two punch of Darren McFadden and Michael Bush has been lethal thus far as the Raiders own the top ranked rushing attack in the league.

The passing game isn’t spectacular, but that’s okay. Jason Campbell takes care of the ball and doesn’t put his team in jeopardy with stupid mental errors. With the speed they have at receiver, it’s just a matter of getting the playmakers the ball.

Defense is the issue and it will be interesting to see how they do against the Texans' Arian Foster in Week 5. If they can sneak out of Houston with a win, they have home games against the Browns and Chiefs on deck.

A 5-2 start is certainly not out of the question.

15. Chicago Bears

The O-Line is a mess, but they get the leg up over the Steelers because of Matt Forte. He has been incredible thus far and is turning into one of the best all-purpose backs in the NFL.

The defense is getting older, but is smart enough to mask a lot of their deficiencies and the special teams are among the best in the league. Considering their two losses are against the Saints and Packers, the Bears deserve a bit of a break.

They are an above-average team that will be fighting for a playoff spot come December.

Eric Ball’s NFL Week 5 Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers

2. Baltimore Ravens

3. New Orleans Saints

4. Detroit Lions

5. New England Patriots

6. Houston Texans

7. Tennessee Titans

8. San Diego Chargers

9. Washington Redskins

10. Buffalo Bills

11. New York Giants

12. San Francisco 49ers

13. Atlanta Falcons

14. Oakland Raiders

15. Chicago Bears

16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

17. New York Jets

18. Dallas Cowboys

19. Pittsburgh Steelers

20. Cincinnati Bengals

21. Philadelphia Eagles

22. Arizona Cardinals

23. Cleveland Browns

24. Seattle Seahawks

25. Carolina Panthers

26. Denver Broncos

27. Kansas City Chiefs

28. Jacksonville Jaguars

29. St. Louis Rams

30. Miami Dolphins

31. Minnesota Vikings

32. Indianapolis Colts