NFL Power Rankings, Week 5: Rams, Seahawks storm into top 5; 49ers, Ravens lose ground

Philadelphia has developed a little bit of a habit of disappearing for half the game. Against the Rams, it was the first half (plus a little more). Against the Buccaneers, it was the second half. Somehow, the Eagles won both contests. You can't overlook their grit and late-game resilience, especially in the swampy Tampa heat, even if the Bucs pretty much shut down the Eagles after halftime. The one touchdown came after Bucky Irving's fumble deep in Tampa territory, and Philly had five three-and-outs in the second half. The defense made some plays in crunch time but also allowed touchdowns of 77 and 72 yards. The Eagles were plus-two in turnovers but in the red again on penalty yards, with a few particularly foolish flags in the first half. They're by no means a sure-footed No. 1, but then again, who else has won 20 of their past 21 games?

Another week, another game that required more effort from the Bills than I anticipated they'd need to win. Buffalo might have been well-rested following the mini-bye, but the team looked more sloppy than anything else in a 31-19 victory over winless New Orleans. The Saints easily could have taken a fourth-quarter lead in a contest where the Bills committed a season-high 11 penalties and converted just three of their 10 third-down attempts. Defensively, Buffalo had way too many missed tackles (and sacks). Fortunately, Josh Allen wasn't about to let his team lose this game, and James Cook had plenty to say about that, too. With upcoming games against New England and Atlanta, Buffalo has a chance to be 6-0 heading into the bye, but there is still a decent amount to clean up before we start counting those Ws.

Detroit was not prolific offensively against Cleveland, but no one has been this season. Still, this is the second time in four games where the Lions have been kept somewhat grounded on offense, even if they've taken good care of the football. Committing five offensive penalties was out of character, and Detroit's still trying to hone the connection between Jared Goff and Jameson Williams. The Lions have enough options and weapons to win a contest such as Sunday's, and the defense and special teams did enough to step up in a game that was 20-10 entering the fourth quarter. Some tough opponents await prior to the Week 8 bye, and though there's no panic, Dan Campbell's group still has a few screws to tighten up.

The Colts threw the kitchen sink at Puka Nacua, but to no avail. The Rams' star wideout briefly went into the locker room with an injury right after halftime and still finished with 13 catches for 170 yards and a critical fourth-down score to tie the game late. Matthew Stafford then hit Tutu Atwell for the kill shot, with Los Angeles coming back in the fourth quarter to beat a good Indy team. This had a playoff-like atmosphere, and the Rams endured, even if the Colts certainly kicked the door wide open a few times. The Rams still need to solve their third-down woes, and the run game did almost nothing in the second half, but this was a quality victory on the heels of the tough loss in Philly.

There was natural skepticism over the DK Metcalf trade when it went down, but Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been everything the Seahawks could have hoped for in a big-play WR1. Even with Smith-Njigba being hemmed in early (and guilty of a TD-erasing hold), he took over late with several big catches in Thursday’s road win over the Cardinals. Sam Darnold closed out both halves well, picking apart a shorthanded Arizona secondary and making some plays off-script. The schedule only gets tougher before the Week 8 bye, but the 'Hawks have positioned themselves well with three straight wins.

With the way this season began, hitting the bye at 2-1-1 feels like a colossal disappointment. The Packers started hearing Super Bowl talk after their dismantling of the Lions in Week 1, but that feels premature now. Perhaps they'll be fine, but they just blew a fourth-quarter lead for the second time in as many weeks, eventually leading to a 40-40 tie with the Cowboys. The offensive line is missing a few parts and must get healthier in the coming weeks. There were too many empty yards early on for Green Bay, and the blocked extra point returned for a score by Dallas ended up being a huge play. It's good that the Packers' offense really started humming again, but it came on a night when the defense looked relatively helpless after a certain point. The lack of pressure for most of Sunday evening's game at Jerry World was a problem; even when the Pack got home late, it didn't seem to matter.

There's still a lot to like about this team's fight, which seemingly never ends, even when the wind is blowing in the Buccaneers' proverbial faces. But a blocked punt returned for a score and two shovel passes to Dallas Goedert made that wind gale-force. Chase McLaughlin has been good lately, nailing field goal attempts of 65 and 58 yards on Sunday, but the rest of the special teams has been for the birds. I'll never doubt Baker Mayfield in these situations -- he's proven himself -- even if his end-zone pick (and Bucky Irving's fumble) only made the climb steeper and longer. Yet, the Bucs were into Philly territory with a minute left and a chance to tie the defending Super Bowl champs. Even with all the mistakes, they had a chance. If Tampa Bay can make it to the Week 9 bye in decent injury shape, I still think Todd Bowles' team will be dangerous in January.

Losing to the Giants was tough enough for the Chargers, but the Joe Alt ankle injury added a good squeeze of lemon juice into their open wounds. Los Angeles hadn't protected Justin Herbert well enough before Alt's injury -- remember, this line lost Pro Bowl LT Rashawn Slater to a torn patellar tendon in August -- so this is a major concern for however long the stud tackle is out. The Bolts had no shot of keeping Herbert clean after Austin Deculus replaced Alt, and they might have to consider outside options to keep this season going on the right track. They made it a 21-18 game late in the third quarter but did nothing on their final three possessions, ultimately losing by that same score. With 14 penalties and two Herbert picks, it was a day to forget -- and a serious blow to L.A.'s credentials.

It wasn't hard to see the Xavier Worthy effect on this offense in Kansas City's 37-20 win over Baltimore. His mere presence helped open things up, and Worthy averaged a scalding 17.3 yards per touch in his first game back from a Week 1 shoulder injury. When Patrick Mahomes has a trustworthy offensive line in front of him and playmakers to throw to, K.C.'s usually in good shape. Even the running backs did some damage against the Ravens' troubled defense, which was a nice sign. The Chiefs' defense also did its job, with Chris Jones turning in a star performance after attending his aunt's funeral in Mississippi. At 2-2, Andy Reid and Co. aren't out of the woods yet, but this game announced they're not going anywhere.

At least based on what we'd seen in the first three games, Sunday's 27-20 defeat to the Rams was out of character for the Colts -- not just in terms of the sheer number of mistakes but also with how costly some of them were. Two, in particular, from Adonai Mitchell. His inexcusable fumble and a holding call on Jonathan Taylor's 53-yard run wiped out two TDs in a one-score loss. Indianapolis showed signs of pass-rush life, but it wasn't hot enough to overcome the issues in the secondary. Most teams struggle to cover Puka Nacua, but the Colts are running out of quality cornerback options, and it showed Sunday. This one hurt after a really promising start to the season, but Indy still feels like a playoff-caliber team that had a tough day at the office.

The Commanders were not great offensively in Atlanta without Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin, but they still put up 27 points. The defense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain, allowing 10 plays of 15 yards or longer. Six of those plays came in the second half while Washington was trying to claw back. Mike Sainristil’s third-quarter INT felt like a potential turning point, but the Commanders couldn’t convert the short field into a TD and Atlanta scored on its next two drives. Marcus Mariota led six scoring drives in nine possessions but also threw a pick and never quite settled in all game. The Commanders are now 0-2 away from home, with three of the next four games on the road. They need to be better.

The Broncos took a few jabs from the Bengals early Monday night before cranking it up a bit. After an opening three-and-out, they scored on three of their next four possessions, and it could have been 4-for-4, but Bo Nix threw an end-zone interception. The Broncos controlled the game from about the second quarter on, but they couldn’t quite put it away until the mid-fourth. They had some annoying penalties (three by Luke Wattenberg) and four drops (including two by Troy Franklin). Nix did a lot of good things, and the run game offered signs of real hope, minus the flags. Denver’s defense kept Cincy hemmed in after the first drive. That unit has been a bit lacking in the big-play department, but Nik Bonitto is averaging more than a sack per game now. 

That was a gutsy, hard-fought road win over the 49ers, with the Jaguars’ defense amazingly turning in their fourth straight game with three or more turnovers forced. And they needed every single one of them, along with Parker Washington’s punt-return TD, to pull off the 26-21 victory. That’s now 13 takeaways on the season, and several of them have come at critical times. The question is whether Jacksonville can maintain this absurd pace. The obvious answer is no, and the defensive injuries are starting to add up. The Jags can’t afford to lose Travon Walker (wrist) for an extended period of time and hope for the defense to be this impactful going forward. The offense has given the team some early juice, but Jacksonville's likely to need even more from that unit.

DK Metcalf enjoyed a full Irish breakfast in the first half against the Vikings, and the Steelers led 24-6 with eight minutes left, but they had to sweat out a late thriller. Minnesota roared back, and Mike Tomlin opted to punt with just over a minute left, much to the dismay of Steelers fans fearing the worst. They held on, overcoming a couple penalties to finish the game off. Pittsburgh’s defense has made tangible strides over the past two games, with each coming down to a last stand. The Steelers sacked Carson Wentz six times and picked him off twice, even if Wentz kept attacking a shorthanded secondary. They were also thin in the backfield with Jaylen Warren scratched pre-game, but Kenneth Gainwell was outstanding in his place. Pittsburgh's good, but how good?

As close as the final score was, Sunday’s 26-21 loss to the Jaguars was replete with 49ers mistakes. It’s a wonder they were even in the game at all, being minus-four in turnover differential and allowing an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown. Brock Purdy returned and gave his team a chance with some big throws, but he was also way too sloppy, throwing two picks (including a bad one in a 17-14 game) and losing a fumble. The Niners also struggled to get the run game chugging and were 1-for-3 scoring touchdowns in red-zone possessions. Defensively, they allowed chunk plays early, missed tackles and had an INT wiped out by a penalty. The 3-1 record is good, but it’s a short turnaround for Thursday’s divisional game against the Rams, with injuries and concerns mounting.

Last week, I held my cards on the Ravens. This week, I have no choice but to fold -- at least for now. Sunday's blowout loss at Kansas City dropped them to 1-3, and Lamar Jackson had multiple turnovers before leaving the game in the third quarter with a hamstring injury. Even if Lamar's health setback is not serious, the Ravens' troubles appear to be just that. They're getting wrecked defensively, and they suddenly can't pass block for Jackson. He wasn't the only one to get hurt in Kansas City; joining him were LT Ronnie Stanley on offense and Roquan Smith, Nate Wiggins and Marlon Humphrey on defense. Furthermore, John Harbaugh announced on Monday that Nnamdi Madubuike is out for the season. The Ravens' next three games are in Baltimore, with a much-needed bye in the middle, but they really need wins to avoid falling farther into the abyss.

It’s getting worrisome to think what might happen if the offensive line doesn’t quickly get right. Carson Wentz was Croked on Sunday in Ireland, taking six sacks and 14 hits. He deserves a ton of credit for rallying the Vikings against the Steelers, throwing two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to make it a game, but that pace is unsustainable in the face of such pass-rush pressure. Now, Minnesota must island hop over to England and face a Browns defense that hasn’t allowed more than 277 yards (while piling up 11 total sacks) in the first four contests. The Vikings’ beaten-up offensive line will have its hands full all game, with the hope being that they can return stateside in relatively good shape. That feels far from certain now.

The Bears enter the bye with two critical victories to pull even at 2-2, thanks to a dramatic field-goal block. As thrilling as the win over the Raiders in Vegas was, it also provided plenty of teaching tape. Chicago struggled to stop the run outside of short-yardage situations, while the offense didn’t really move the ball consistently or finish in the red zone (1-for-4). Still, Caleb Williams made some big plays in key spots, and the pass protection held up, even with Maxx Crosby threatening to take over the game early. Ben Johnson benched left tackle Braxton Jones in the second quarter, leaving the Bears with two inexperienced bookend blockers (with RT Darnell Wright inactive for the game), and the offense was better for it.

For much of Thursday’s game against Seattle, the chemistry between Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. was undeniably poor, and then something just clicked. They’ve had their share of flash moments, and Harrison’s fourth-quarter TD was one of those, but it’s the down-to-down consistency that has been lacking. If those two can lock in, it might be what this James Conner-less offense needs. That said, it won’t be the solution to all Cards problems, because the defense and special teams haven’t stood out enough, either. Arizona just has too many fits and starts offensively, and too many misses in key spots. Getting to the Week 8 bye with a record above .500 won’t be easy. 

After the bizarre shutout in Week 3, it was hard to know what we’d see from the Falcons' offense against the Commanders, but Sunday was closer to what I expected before the season. Even with a bad pick, Michael Penix Jr. bounced back in a big way, and nearly all of Atlanta’s offensive stars contributed to the victory. The Falcons made some adjustments to their coaching staff prior to the game, and they seemed to pay off. Defensively, they were capable, even if they were leaky defending the run. I still don’t know what the Falcons are right now, but it has been more good than bad, even with the Panthers game still fresh in our minds.

A win is a win, and the Texans played some pretty fantastic defense against the Titans on Sunday, but it sure did take them a bit to wake up offensively. Rookie RB Woody Marks helped give the attack a spark, and some of his better runs came when turning potential losses into short gains. His TD catch was nifty, too, and it’s clear they had a plan to get him touches in key spots. The fourth-quarter execution didn't cure all of Houston's offensive sins to this point, but it represented some daylight. The Texans still need to create more scoring chances going forward, but at least they did that later in the game -- one they had to have to save the season. 

They sure don’t make it easy, but the Cowboys showed life against the Packers, forging a 40-40 tie without several key pieces. That Dallas managed to keep Micah Parsons relatively in check and rally from down two scores shows that Brian Schottenheimer hasn’t lost anyone. He also earns credit for an offense that rolled to 436 yards (against a Green Bay defense that hadn’t allowed more than 246 in the first three weeks), despite being without CeeDee Lamb and multiple OL starters. George Pickens did exactly what you would hope he'd do with the alpha dog out of the lineup. The run game produced. And Dak Prescott was borderline special most of the night. There were still blown coverages and bad penalties, but the Cowboys have some winnable games upcoming.

The Patriots seemed to sleepwalk early before waking up in a big way and dominating the final 50 or so minutes en route to a blowout win. Marcus Jones gave the Pats a necessary spark with the punt-return TD, and he was a shoestring tackle away from housing a second one later. That’s all Drake Maye and the offense needed. They came in griping about the lack of explosive plays, but authored seven gains of 21 yards or longer against a Carolina defense that looked like it tapped out in the third quarter. The offense scored TDs on five of seven mid-game possessions, and New England’s defense rallied nicely after an ugly first series. Maye vs. Josh Allen on Sunday night could be more fun than some anticipate.

At halftime, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase had a combined five catches for 40 yards, and then the Bengals decided to ignore them even harder in the second half. After the opening drive Monday night, Cincinnati only crossed midfield once -- briefly, before a holding penalty pushed the Bengals back -- and that was that, even with Denver making just enough mistakes to make the score appear close. Even at 2-2, it’s hard to know how much more this season will matter. Cincy has now been outscored 55-6 in the past two first halves and has been listless all around. Rookie LB Demetrius Knight Jr. made a terrific end-zone interception to keep it a 14-3 game late in the second quarter, but then the Bengals immediately went three-and-out, allowing the Broncos to score another touchdown before halftime. The Bengals finished with more penalties (11) than first downs (nine). Should they consider trading Higgins or Trey Hendrickson? Probably depends on how October goes, but with three tough games coming up, it’s not looking pretty right now.

Joe Flacco is now up to six interceptions through four games, with two more (and a fumble) against Detroit, prompting the question of whether a quarterback change is needed -- or even viable, for that matter. Flacco has been sloppier than his usual self, but he’s operating with backup offensive tackles and had a few key passes dropped on Sunday. Rookie Dillon Gabriel should be ready to go, at the very least, even if Cleveland’s situation wouldn’t be ideal for him, either. Defensively, Cleveland is great. But only Tennessee has scored fewer points this season, and the Browns have some promising skill-position players who need the ball more. They must consider a QB change, or the 1-3 hole they’ve dug for themselves could grow even bigger.

It was an utterly fitting development that Jaxson Dart lit a fire under the team and the Giants earned one of their best wins in recent seasons, yet Malik Nabers suffered a torn ACL in the process. This was the ultimate "two steps forward, one step back" game. Dart used his athleticism better than Russell Wilson had and turned a modest passing game into a successful formula, throwing for one score and running for another. The defense mercilessly swarmed Justin Herbert, with Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter combining for two sacks and an incredible 20 pressures, per Next Gen Stats. Big Blue can make it two straight wins with a victory at winless New Orleans this week, but the schedule stiffens significantly thereafter and the loss of Nabers really does take the sheen off a huge upset.

The first five minutes against the Patriots were pretty promising, weren’t they? The Panthers came out focused on their first series offensively and defensively, and then everything pretty much fell apart. The first sign of trouble was the missed extra-point try, and that was followed by awful punt coverage and a missed field goal, for good measure. The special teams and defense might have been tight in the shutout win over Atlanta, but both units struggled in Foxborough. The offense also shoulders some blame. Bryce Young faced consistent pressure and averaged just 5 yards per attempt. He found Tetairoa McMillan twice early and didn’t connect with him again until the game was out of reach. A big step backward.

Even with Ashton Jeanty’s breakout game, Las Vegas came up short again. The blocked field goal at game’s end was the exclamation point for the Bears, but the Raiders coughed away plenty of chances before that. Geno Smith has largely struggled, throwing another three picks to bring his season total to an NFL-worst seven, and he couldn’t deliver in crunch time. Jeanty ran for 138 yards and a TD and caught two scoring passes, but he also has struggled in short-yardage situations, fumbling on fourth down in the first half and getting stuffed before the late FG try. The Raiders still must go on the road to face the Colts and Chiefs before the Week 8 bye, with a lot to clean up.

Tyreek Hill's gruesome, season-ending knee injury cast a pall over the Dolphins' first victory of the season. At first, they appeared quite pleased to let the Jets beat themselves, riding a 10-3 lead into halftime, but Miami responded very well to Hill’s injury, scoring on the drive that he exited and the following one, pushing the lead to 14. Justin Fields authored a brilliant scrambling touchdown, but otherwise, the Dolphins' defense did a good job of heating up New York's quarterback for most of the game. The Hill injury is a major downer, but getting TE Darren Waller more involved (two TD catches, plus a recovered onsides kick) in his return to action after 20 months away means Miami has another potential option.

Aaron Glenn watched his offense fumble the ball away twice deep in Miami territory, and his defense allowed a 96-yard touchdown drive in the first half, adding in a slew of penalties for good measure. The Jets at least cut into the Fins' 10-0 lead before halftime with Nick Folk's 58-yard field goal, but they then promptly coughed up the opening kickoff of the third quarter. The self-inflicted errors were absurd, and yet the Jets were still very much in the game. They had a chance at a late Dolphins fumble but couldn’t fall on it. Justin Fields tried his best to drag this group back but couldn't quite do it. The Jets have see-sawed back and forth with their efforts, but the bottom line is, they’re still winless. Glenn can't be happy.

OK, I can admit I was wrong to have them ranked 32nd last week. The 31-point loss to the Seahawks looks like more of an aberration so far, and Sunday was the Saints’ best effort of the season, coming against a very good Bills team in Buffalo. Spencer Rattler couldn’t win his first NFL game as a starter (0-10) on his 25th birthday, but he played pretty well again. There are multiple NFL starting quarterbacks worse than Rattler, and I think the Saints might actually have someone worth investing in. With Rattler, Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller, they have some playmakers. There are still too many self-inflicted wounds all around, but I think the Saints will win a game in the next month -- and they could surprise a team ahead of them in the standings. 

It was another frustrating day for the offense, and Cam Ward had trouble hiding his irritation after the game. It’s hard to blame him, even if the No. 1 overall pick's play hasn’t elevated this team. Right now, things are bad in all three phases. The Titans not only didn’t score after changing play-callers -- they also didn’t run a single play inside Houston's 23-yard line. Joey Slye missed two field-goal tries. The defense faded late, allowing two explosive plays -- a 37-yarder on second-and-33 and a 24-yard TD pass -- when it was still a nominally close game. There’s nowhere to go but up now.