Obviously, it’s early in the NFL season. However, it really does feel like there’s as big a distinction between the best (two) teams and everyone else. There’s one unbeaten in each conference. And those two are head and shoulders above the rest of the league at this point. Other than that, being a quarter of the way through the league year means we now have a decent sample size with which to assess. Where does the rest of the field fall in the NFL Power Rankings? Let’s find out:
2018 NFL Power Rankings: Week 5; Tier 1: Two at the Top
1 Los Angeles Rams (4-0)
This is a team that has the luxury of having – at worst – a borderline All-Pro at every position. At best, they have an All-Pro player at every position. On top of that, they have one of the most creative and aggressive head coaches to come along in a long time. Even if you start with a hypothetical game where this team loses and you try to reverse-engineer how they got that loss, it’s unclear how to work the math to get there. The only way they lose is if they beat themselves.
2 Kansas City Chiefs (4-0)
If you have a problem with rooting for Patrick Mahomes, you have a problem with yourself.
Did #Chiefs Patrick Mahomes throw that ball from endzone to endzone with a flick of a wrist?pic.twitter.com/V7JVe10qoG
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 2, 2018
Tier 2: Contenders on the Outside Looking In
3 Carolina Panthers (2-1)
The Panthers benefitted as much as any team could during a bye week. While the Saints proved they pose the biggest threat to the NFC South division title, the Bucs continued their freefall and the Falcons dropped another game back. That’s as good as could be expected considering it was the consensus toughest division heading into the season. It still might hold that title, but Carolina’s path to a division crown – or playoff spot – looks much more clear.
4 New Orleans Saints (3-1)
It feels as if this is a team that got a little too much flack thus far to be sitting at 3-1, no? To be fair, they haven’t been all that impressive against a pretty lackluster schedule. But every team faces a few weather-the-storm weeks over the course of an NFL season. The Saints are lucky their time dealing with that they’ve come out maintaining a good record. This looks like 2018’s team that comes on rather slowly but ultimately ends up putting fear in opposing teams.
5 Cincinnati Bengals (3-1)
The Bengals putting up 30 or more points in each of their first four games is one of the surprises of the young season. After last year, people were scratching their heads about Marvin Lewis coming back (yet again) and wondering if Andy Dalton was in real danger of losing his starting job. So far both have a good amount of job security. It doesn’t hurt that they’re in a conference that lacks overall depth and has legit questions around who the best team is outside of Kansas City.
6 Baltimore Ravens (3-1)
This season looked like it could turn into Lamar Jackson Watch. Instead, the Ravens sport a point differential of plus-58. Which is second in the NFL only to the Rams. You could make the case that that number is artificially inflated due to Week 1’s 47-3 win against a crummy Bills team. Even if you subscribe to that line of thinking though, you’d have to admit that it becomes less and less suspect with every passing week, provided it holds up. With a game against Cleveland coming up, there’s no reason to think it won’t. At least for another week.
7 New England Patriots (2-2)
The Patriots should be able to get back on the right side of .500 with a win over the Colts. (Though if they didn’t, it’d be far from the first weird result from a Thursday night game.) It might not last long, though, with the Chiefs next up (and a good Bears squad after that). No matter what though, New England proved they’re still the class of the AFC East with a dominating win over division-leading Miami. It’s likely the AFC East contains only one playoff team this season … and that one spot isn’t going to the Dolphins. (Or the Jets.) (… Or the Bills.)
8 Jacksonville Jaguars (3-1)
We feel confident in saying this is a really good team, despite a precarious situation at QB. And a reputation as being a relatively incompetent franchise in spite of a few high water marks throughout the organization’s short history.
.@Jaguars @jalenramsey is really good at the fundamentals of the game. The frustrating thing is he makes it look too damn easy. #BaldyBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/H5Y0PH9vwL
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) October 2, 2018
9 Philadelphia Eagles (2-2)
Though some rust was expected from Carson Wentz, the Eagles haven’t looked all that great with either Nick Foles or Wentz under center. This season projects as a slow burn for this team, though. They’re the reigning champs (been there, done that); they’re still lacking some key players; they know there’s no benefit to peaking this early in the season. Philly is still in good hands. It’ll take a while – and a bunch of losses – before the Eagles lose the benefit of the doubt.
Tier 3: Still Something to Prove
10 Green Bay Packers (2-1-1)
With Aaron Jones back after suspension and getting into football shape, look for the running game to play a bigger part of the Packers’ offense (Jones especially). That’ll take some pressure off the clearly hampered Aaron Rodgers. Speaking of Green Bay’s most important player, the quarterback didn’t play close to his capabilities last Sunday but also showed flashes of being a bit more mobile. Which could mean he’s slowly recovering from a knee injury suffered Week 1. That’s a good sign. Especially for those secretly concerned that Rodgers was gutting out an injury that would otherwise put him out for an extended period of time and/or require surgery.
11 Tennessee Titans (3-1)
Does it totally make sense that this team is 3-1? Does it matter? Nope.
#Titans top-graded players against the Eagles:
ED Brian Orakpo – 89.0
WR Corey Davis – 85.4
LB Will Compton – 84.2
DI Jurrell Casey 82.2
WR Tajae Sharpe – 78.5
QB Marcus Mariota – 78.1— PFF TEN Titans (@PFF_Titans) October 2, 2018
12 Chicago Bears (3-1)
The 2018 Bears’ path to success looks like it could be a replica of the 2017 Jacksonville Jaguars. Elite defense, stellar running game, questionable quarterback play. That style put Jacksonville on the brink of a Super Bowl berth, although it proved to fall through. Could the Bears put themselves in a similar situation? Absolutely.
13 Washington Football Team (2-1)
The Week 2 loss to the Colts doesn’t look quite so bad in hindsight, though still not an encouraging sign, nonetheless. On the flip side, their win against the Cardinals doesn’t prove anything as Arizona is the league’s worst team so far. And the other win against Green Bay might prove to be a bit flukey as the Packers were as out of sync for that game as any you’ll see an Aaron Rodgers-quarterbacked team be. But with games against the Saints and Panthers on deck, Washington has a huge opportunity to prove they’re for real.
14 Minnesota Vikings (1-2-1)
They have a ton of talent. They haven’t shown it. At this pace, they’ll go through the entire season and still leave us wondering if they’re good or not. And just when you thought the Vikings season was maximum bizarre …
Minnesota Vikings long snapper Kevin McDermott lost the tip of his finger tonight against the Rams:https://t.co/2moG2QbGIA#MINvsLAR pic.twitter.com/RvrTAwvmW6
— Allan Bell (@AllanBell247) September 28, 2018
Tier 4: The Completely Average
15 Miami Dolphins (3-1)
The Dolphins minus-eight point differential is skewed by virtue of their 31-point loss to the Patriots. On the other hand, that game illustrated how big the gap is between the two teams, despite Miami still being on top of the AFC East. After seeing that, their three wins feet more like fool’s gold than they already did. Despite the good early record, this team still tracks as an eventual 8-8 team.
16 Denver Broncos (2-2)
On face value, two wins against Seattle and Oakland with two losses to Baltimore and Kansas City put a team squarely in the mediocre zone. Yet Denver came as close to beating K.C. as anybody so far. The ceiling for the defense is lower than it’s been in the past, but it’s still a good unit with one elite talent in Von Miller. Further, the offense is showing some signs of coming together. A final record of 6-10 feels just as plausible as 10-6 here. Which is why they land exactly in the middle of the league at this point. The Broncos are the league’s rocking chair right now.
17 Los Angeles Chargers (2-2)
The NFL isn’t the business for moral victories. But a two-point win over a C.J. Beathard-led Niners at home seems, uh, not great. However, a remaining schedule that includes two games against the Raiders plus contests with the Browns, Seahawks, and Cardinals could still keep this team sniffing around a wild card.
Tier 4.5: The Battle for Relevancy
18 Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2-1)
19 Atlanta Falcons (1-3)
It feels really unfair to say either of these pretty talented teams are out of the playoff hunt after five weeks under any circumstances. But this week’s Falcons/Steelers game will feature two teams as desperate as you’ll see five weeks in. The hole the loser will find themselves in just might prove too deep to dig out of.
NFL SB updated
Rams 9/5
Chiefs 6/1
Patriots 8/1
Saints 10/1
Jaguars 12/1
Packers 18/1
Ravens 18/1
Eagles 20/1
Vikings 20/1
Titans 25/1
Bengals 25/1
Steelers 30/1
Chargers 30/1
Bears 30/1
Panthers 35/1
Falcons 40/1
Texans 50/1
Redskins 60/1
Dolphins 60/1
Cowboys 80/1
Broncos 80/1— Jeff Sherman (@golfodds) October 2, 2018
Tier 5: Fun While It Lasted
20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-2)
The first two weeks of the season and the last two weeks show a team that has wavered between the extremes of good and bad by as much as any team you’ll see through four weeks of any season. After Week 2, the Bucs were on pace to release Jameis Winston and ride Ryan Fitzpatrick. Winston’s now named their starter. Jameis hasn’t shown anything close to being the franchise quarterback the team thought they were drafting. That could change, but don’t hold your breath.
21 Dallas Cowboys (2-2)
Being 2-2 at this point is sort of encouraging (if you’re the glass-half-full type). But the fact that the two wins came against the Lions and Giants should be enough to bring out the inner glass-half-empty in anybody. Technically, they’re only a half-game out of first place due to Washington being 2-1 coming off a bye week. Still, one gets the sense there’s not a lot of margin of error for this team if they plan to truly contend for the playoffs.
22 Cleveland Browns (1-2-1)
Baker Mayfield experienced the typical celebrity/athlete career arc in little more than a week. He came in for Tyrod Taylor, led the Browns to a comeback win, got built up as Cleveland’s next athlete savior; after looking pretty mediocre (and turning it over four times) in a loss to Oakland, he got torn down. Good things will come for him and the team down the road, but it’ll be a bumpy journey getting there.
Tier 6: [Shrug]
23 Indianapolis Colts (1-3)
This might be a high ranking for a team that’s 1-3 and coming off an overtime loss to a team ranked three spots lower. But consider this: Indy plays the Patriots this week but after that, they have the Jets, Bills, and Raiders on the slate. So we kind of like their chances to get to 4-4. The AFC is lacking a clear playoff picture, especially as it pertains to prospective wild card teams, so .500 after eight games would put them right in the thick of things.
24 Seattle Seahawks (2-2)
When the Seahawks had a dominant defense, it was reasonable to ask if Russell Wilson had the type of transcendent talent to really carry a team. Those questions still exist. But this season isn’t the best test-case for those questions, either. No quarterback deserved to have a roster liquidated around him in the manner the situation in Seattle has.
25 Detroit Lions (1-3)
The Lions had a great win over the Patriots two weeks ago. What’s not great is when it feels like Week 3 was a team’s Super Bowl.
26 Houston Texans (1-3)
The Texans have home games against the Cowboys and Bills coming up. So there’s a chance we could look up in a couple weeks to see Houston sitting at 2-3. At which point we’ll have to re-evaluate this team’s ceiling. However, the offensive line is still a turnstile and the defense hasn’t been as good as expected.
Tier 7: Help Wanted
27 New York Giants (1-3)
The G-Men face a gauntlet ahead. Their upcoming schedule goes: at Carolina, vs. Philadelphia, at Atlanta, vs. Washington. By the time that stretch is over, any chance of a run to get into playoff race will have waved bye-bye.
28 New York Jets (1-3)
The Jets raised their own expectations after the first week’s lopsided victory over the Lions. However, they haven’t shown much of anything since. New York’s AFC squad beat Detroit by 31 in the opener, but have gotten outscored by that same number over the ensuing three weeks. Their mid-November home game against the Bills looks like it will be the next time the Jets are favorites heading into a game.
29 Oakland Raiders (1-3)
Jon Gruden got his first taste of victory since returning to the sideline from the telecast booth. Derek Carr was as good as he’s been in a while (remember this was a guy that was quietly in the MVP conversation during the 2016 season). He faded – and got hurt – in the interim, but if he’s back to that ‘16 level, Oakland may be on their way up the NFL Power Rankings. Still, though, this feels like an easily combustible situation, especially with the looming move to Las Vegas.
30 San Francisco 49ers (1-3)
The Niners play the Cardinals twice over the next four weeks. After that, they have the Raiders and Giants at home followed by the Buccaneers and Seahawks on the road. That equates to some winnable games, but without Jimmy Garoppolo, the talent on this team is anybody’s guess. By the time we get to that Seahawks game, we should know if this team is merely bad, or outright terrible.
31 Buffalo Bills (1-3)
The victory over the Vikings left a lot of people pretty perplexed. As it turns out, it was just a blip on the radar … if the radar was a top-two pick in the 2019 draft.
32 Arizona Cardinals (0-4)
They’re the only team in the NFL without a win. It might stay that way for a while.
