Sportsnaut
NFL Week 5 delivered some fantastic matchups, including a short-handed San Francisco 49ers team winning on a short week in Los Angeles and the Denver Broncos rallying for a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Philadelphia Eagles. It delivers plenty of shake-ups when stacking up the worst and best NFL teams right now.
Let’s dive intou our latest NFL power rankings after Week 5, evaluating how all 32 teams performed.
The Detroit Lions are the best team in the NFC. Since that wake-up call in Week 1 at Lambeau Field, Detroit has been taking out its frustrations on every opponent in its wrath. Cincinnati was the latest to experience that on Sunday, witnessing this Lions’ machine fire on all cylinders without even a hiccup. Now heading to Arrowhead Stadium, Detroit can make another statement on national television.
Baker Mayfield’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers just find ways to win. Defeating the Seattle Seahawks seemed improbable given all the injuries this team is dealing with. Yet, against a top-five defense in Seattle, Baker Mayfield put on a masterclass through the air (11.5 ypa, 2-0 TD-INT, 379 passing yards) and then the ball bounced Lavonte David’s way for an interception that set up the game-winning kick. Tampa Bay remains a Super Bowl contender, even if it isn’t getting a ton of national attention.
The defense remains an issue for the Buffalo Bills. After New England’s first three drives resulted in 53 total yards and a lost fumble, it followed that up with 23 points and 285 total yards on the next seven drives. Buffalo will clean up its own turnovers, and it had three costly ones on Sunday Night Football, but that Bills’ defense is the team’s biggest issue.
Well, A.J. Brown will have even more to voice his frustration about now. The Philadelphia Eagles‘ got DeVonta Smith more involved on Sunday, but the end result was still a woefully bad third-down offense (2-for-11) and this team choking away a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter. Once again, the finger has to be pointed at an offense that totaled just 48 yards on its last five scoreless drives and much of that came in the closing seconds against a prevent defense.
Even with a fumble at the goal line and a controversial non-call for DPI that quickly turned into a Chiefs’ touchdown, the Jacksonville Jaguars still found a way to win on Monday Night Football. Keep in mind that Jacksonville didn’t have No. 2 edge rusher Travon Walker, and quarterback Trevor Lawrence wasn’t entirely sharp as a passer, but Jacksonville still pulled it out. Seattle’s defense will be a great test for Travis Etienne and Liam Coen’s run game, but this defense gives Jacksonville a real shot at a 5-1 start.
The resiliency of this San Francisco 49ers team is remarkable. With Brock...
