The NFL’s top is a surprise but it’s clear. Then there are some truly awful teams. After that, there’s a mess of teams you could argue over against another. There has already been a lot of chaos this season.
But the Minnesota Vikings are undeniably the best team in the league right now.
Below are the latest power rankings from Cards Wire to kick off Week 5.
1. Minnesota Vikings (+3)
Sam Darnold has been incredible and they continue to win games. If this continues, it will require some tough decisions for next season, but for now, it’s a fun ride.
2. Detroit Lions (+2)
They showed last week that their defense is back and Jared Goff was magnificent against the Seahawks. It seems like they got everything on track.
3. Baltimore Ravens (+10)
Can we say the Ravens are back after their blowout win over the Bills? I think so.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (-2)
They won again, but now they lost Rashee Rice.
5. Buffalo Bills (-4)
A fall to #4 isn’t bad. They were completely dominated by the Ravens. And if Baltimore is back, it makes sense.
6. Houston Texans (+3)
They needed a game-winning score late in the game to beat the struggling Jags, but they’re at the top of the mess of teams that are good but have had issues at one point.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (-2)
They gave up 27 points to the Colts and had to look back to 10 years ago when Joe Flacco was battling them with the Ravens, but they’re still in good shape. Flacco beat them in relief of Anthony Richardson.
8. San Francisco 49ers (+3)
A win against the Patriots won’t help you much, but when the score is 30-13 you think maybe they’re getting things back on track to the dominant team they should be.
9. Green Bay Packers (+3)
They held out while waiting for Jordan Love to return, which should be soon.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+6)
They looked superb in three of their games and then, for some reason, they were bad against the Broncos. Baker Mayfield is keeping busy at the moment. He and Sam Darnold are leading the way in the return of “need the right situation to be great.”
11. Los Angeles Chargers (-4)
They played very hard against the Chiefs but still lost. This defense is legitimately difficult.
12. Seattle Seahawks (-6)
They gave up 42 to the Lions but managed one game, despite losing by two scores. Ken Walker had three touchdowns and Geno Smith had over 370 passing yards.
13. Atlanta Falcons (+4)
They have two good victories and two close defeats. This looks like every Kirk Cousins team.
14. Washington Commanders (+10)
Jayden Daniels for Offensive Rookie of the Year? Easy call now. MVP candidate? Slow down, but he looks great, even though he lit up the Bengals and Cardinals, who aren’t great. But this offense is very, very dangerous right now.
15. Philadelphia Eagles (-5)
The defense is still bad. Wasn’t Vic Fangio supposed to fix this?
16. New Orleans Saints (-1)
After that 2-0 start, they came back down to earth a bit, which is what we all expected.
17. New York Jets (-9)
Who is this team?
18. Indianapolis Colts (+1)
Could Joe Flacco actually make this a better team right now?
19. Cincinnati Bengals (-5)
Have they lost five places despite their first victory of the year? Yes. Do you think they are better than the teams before them? I don’t know. Something is wrong with this team. Maybe Joe Mixon is missing.
20. Denver Broncos (+5)
ALL RIGHT. The defense gets our attention. But can they hold up to anything if Bo Nix has 60 passing yards?
21. Dallas Cowboys (-3)
They beat the Giants and shut down their running game, but it was just the Giants. That doesn’t put them back in our good graces. It just means they’re not horrible.
22. Chicago Bears (+6)
See what happens when Caleb Williams doesn’t turn the ball over?
23. Los Angeles Rams (-3)
They beat the 49ers but then lost to the Bears? This defense raises major questions.
24. Las Vegas Raiders (+3)
They beat the Browns. Don’t get too excited.
Their defense looked hapless and their offense didn’t seem to do much after their first drive. They have four touchdowns on the first drive this season. In their last two games, they have scored 13 points total, outside of the first drive.
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (no changes)
They played better and had a chance to win, but they still failed.
27. Cleveland Browns (-4)
What happened to Deshaun Watson?
28. New York Giants (+1)
So they lost a close match. They’re still not good.
29. Tennessee Titans (+3)
Hey, they showed they’re better than the quarterbackless Dolphins. When your first passer has 85 yards, you’re not good, even when you score 31 points.
30. Miami Dolphins (-8)
Is Tua Tagovailoa a great quarterback? Maybe not, but the Dolphins are legitimately good when he plays and bottom of the league when he doesn’t play.
31. Carolina Panthers (-1)
Andy Dalton’s magic was only good for one game.
32. New England Patriots (-1)
By the way, how did they win a match?
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This article was originally published on Cards Wire: Week 5 power rankings: Vikings rise to the top
