Not a lot of movement in this week’s NFL Power Rankings. Five weeks in and they mysteries of the season are getting solved.
1. Minnesota Vikings – (5-0) The Vikings continue to dominate their opponents on both sides of the ball and are now atop the NFL Power rankings. Sam Bradford is flourishing under his first legit NFL offensive coordinator, Norve Turner, and the defense is holding teams to numbers not seen since the 1985 Bears. Yeah. They’re pretty good. Last week: 3
2. Pittsburgh Steelers – (4-1) Pittsburgh has put the bed-shitting they unleahsed against the Eagles two weeks ago behind them and soundly trounced their last two opponents. In their four wins this season the Steelers haven’t given up more than 16 points. That looks like a Super Bowl team to me. Last week: 2
3. Dallas Cowboys – (4-1) Another week, another near-flawless Dak Prescott performance. I’ll have more to say about the way the Prescott vs. Romo thing may turn out later in the week, but for now everybody in Dallas should be happy. Last week: 4
4. New England Patriots – (4-1) Tom Brady got the sacrificial NFL gift of the Cleveland Browns in his first game back from the DeflateGate suspension. Now he gets a Bengals team already fighting to stay relevant in the 2016 season. Last week: 5
5. Denver Broncos – (4-1) Paxton Lynch stumbled a little in his debut with the Broncos, but the good news is there’s no reason to panic. Trevor Siemian should be back on the field Thursday night. Yeah, six weeks ago I couldn’t imagine writing something like that either. Last week: 1
6. Green Bay Packers – (3-1) The Packers exorcised some demons in their win over the Giants Sunday night. This week they host the Cowboys in a game that could have playoff implications all season long. Last week: 8
7. Atlanta Falcons – (4-1) Back-to-back weeks against two of the top defenses in the league seems a tough row to hoe for the Falcons. The way Matt Ryan and Julio Jones are playing right now, they might shock the world again in Seattle. Last week: 9
8. Philadelphia Eagles – (3-1) Let’s not jump off the Carson Wentz bandwagon just yet. Even though he proved he was human last week against the Lions, the pick came way late and was the right read. The throw was a little off. If that’s the worst you get with Wentz, Philly, you’re going to be more than fine. Last week: 6
9. Seattle Seahawks – (3-1) Seattle got an extra week to prepare for the Falcons’ offense, but all that did was show Atlanta carving up the Broncos in Denver. Russell Wilson and the offense need to score a lot of points Sunday. Luckily the Falcons defense should help with that. Last week: 11
10. Oakland Raiders – (4-1) The Raiders make their well-deserved debut in the Top 10 of the Power Rankings thanks to three straight wins and elite quarterback play from Derek Carr. This Sunday’s game against the Chiefs could propel them right to the playoffs. Last week: 15
11. Baltimore Ravens – (3-2) The Ravens have shaken up their staff during the season before and all it did was land them a Vince Lombardi Trophy. Last week: 7
12. Washington Redskins – (3-2) Are the Redskins lucky or are they actually good? I’m going to say lucky and the luck is about to run out. Last week: 19
13. Los Angeles Rams – (3-2) Jeff Fisher remains Jeff Fisher and our eventual meandering trip to a 7-9 finish is underway. Last week: 10
14. Cincinnati Bengals – (2-3) Is there any chance you go into Foxboro and beat the hell out of Tom Brady and the Patriots this week, Cincy? Asking for some friends. Those friends are America and Justice. Last week: 12
15. Houston Texans – (3-2) Everyone seems to be down on Brock Osweiler but me. It’s odd that the young quarterback with a good coach (Gary Kubiak) was fine and with a bad coach (Bill O’Brien) is a bum. Maybe Osweiler isn’t the problem, is what I’m saying. Last week: 17
16. Carolina Panthers – (1-4) Cam Newton will probably be back this week and as long as he’s really over his post-concussion syndrome, the Panthers should be fine. “Should,” I say, but this is a team that needs to reel off some wins and get its swagger back. Last week: 13
Click here for Part 2 of the NFL Power Rankings.
