Jaguars shoot up while Ravens nosedive in the latest power rankings!
The curtains have come down on week 5 of the NFL season following the Jaguars’ win at home over the Chiefs on Monday Night Football (MNF).
The Packers, Bears, Falcons, and Steelers all enjoyed the first bye week of the season, while the league’s international series continued with the Vikings and Browns facing off in London, UK.
This week, we were treated to a couple of surprises as well as a couple of unexpected performances from teams that had been doing well. Both the Bills and the Eagles lost their first games of the season, and that leaves us with no undefeated teams left in the league. So, without further ado, here are the latest NFL power rankings ahead of week 6.
The Eagles may have lost their first game of the season despite holding a 2-touchdown lead over the Broncos until the fourth quarter, but the roster is still too good to ignore. Credit to Denver for not giving up despite the large deficit, but this loss will just fire up the reigning Champions to do better.
The Bills had an excellent opportunity to claim the top spot over the Eagles, but Buffalo also faltered in its divisional game against the Patriots. Stefon Diggs had a game to remember in his first return to Buffalo as a Patriot. Nevertheless, we can’t write the Bills off just yet after one loss.
The Lions moved to 4-1 on the season with an emphatic win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Had Joe Burrow played and Detroit still won, it would have carried more importance, but a win is a win. However, this result was to be expected with Jake Browning under center, so the Lions don’t move this week.
At number 4, we have our first risers of the week, the Green Bay Packers. And no, it’s not because of what they did, because they sat at home and watched the others, but both the L.A. teams, the Chargers and Rams, lost, allowing the Packers to move up 2 spots.
The San Francisco 49ers moved up 2 places in the recent NFL power rankings and deservedly so. Despite injury problems to multiple starters, they have been winning games. Week 5, being against divisional rivals, the Rams were no different, as backup quarterback Mac Jones led the team to a 26-23 win.
Chris Godwin not playing, no problem. Mike Evans not playing, no problem. Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers are making a habit of game-winning drives this season, and rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka has become the signal caller’s favorite target. A brilliant duel with Sam Darnold and the Seahawks finished with Tampa coming out on top 38-35 for win number 4 on the year.
It’s the first slide of week 5 NFL power rankings as the Los Angeles Chargers fell to 3-2. After 3 straight wins, the Chargers have lost 2 in a row, with the week 5 loss coming at the hands of the Washington Commanders. Injuries have hit the team, so it will be interesting to see if they can overcome this adversity.
The Rams had been playing high-level football leading up to their week 5 matchup against the 49ers, barring the exception of the game against the Eagles. But they faltered against the 49ers team, and that, too, an injury-riddled one.
The Colts deserved to rise in the latest rankings. They are 4-1 and off to a blistering start after all. But they just walked all over the Las Vegas Raiders, who are languishing at the bottom of the rankings. Three of their four wins have come against struggling teams. Let’s wait and watch until we push them higher.
Okay, so the Commanders still don’t look like the same team that went to the NFC Conference game last season, but they pulled off a dominant win over the Chargers, who had been playing extremely well to start the season.
After the MNF loss to the Jaguars in week 5, the Kansas City Chiefs deserve to fall. But the Chiefs’ offense is finding its rhythm, and wideout Xavier Worthy was questionable ahead of the game due to a swollen ankle. Although he played, he may have been limited. The record is not good, but Mahomes can still turn this around like he has done in the past.
Given the way the Jaguars had performed the last couple of years, Jacksonville started quite low in the power rankings. 5 weeks into the 2025 season, and the Jaguars are climbing like an elevator. The recent win over the Chiefs means they need to be taken seriously now.
After falling to 1-2, the Broncos have come back with two wins in a row against the Bengals and the Eagles. The latter one was even more amazing, considering they defeated the undefeated Eagles and that too coming back from a two-TD deficit in the fourth quarter.
Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks were locked in a classic duel against the Buccaneers in week 5. But even a 341-yard, 4-touchdown performance from Darnold was not enough to beat the Bucs. They fall one spot, but only because teams like the Jaguars and Broncos rose from outstanding wins.
The Falcons spent week 5 sitting on the couch as 28 other teams battled it out. They keep their spot at number 15 for now.
The Steelers were in the same situation as the Falcons and didn’t take the field in week 5 due to their bye week. No change in position for them as well.
It looks like the Mike Vrabel effect has started to wear off on his players. Two back-to-back wins have them above .500, and their recent win over divisional rivals, the Buffalo Bills, was a testament to how mismatches on paper are just that.
The Vikings’ roller coaster of a season continues. The recent NFL power rankings have them up two spots after a win over the Browns. It was a good win, but their rise is also aided by the fall of a couple of other teams.
A thumping 15-point win and a solid all-around performance by the Cowboys should have their fans excited, especially after they held the Packers to a tie the previous week. But the big win in week 5 came against the Jets, who are the only winless team remaining in the league.
It just doesn’t feel right to do this to a good team, but the Ravens haven’t been a good team of late, have they? With a 1-4 record, Lamar Jackson missing games with a hamstring injury, and the worst defense in the league, Baltimore might be lucky to be where they are on this list. The drop is substantial, no doubt, but they are staring at a lost season, unless they pull up their shin pads quickly.
Arizona started its season strong with 2 wins from 2 games. Since then, it has become 3 losses from 3 games. Their latest loss came against the Titans, who were actually down 15 heading into the fourth quarter. Funny how things work out in this league.
Similar to the Cardinals, the Bengals also started 2-0. Then Joe Burrow got injured, and backup Jake Browning has led Cincinnati with 6 touchdown passes, 8 interceptions, and a QBR of 35.3. You can see where this is heading.
Houston is currently on a two-game win streak with huge victories over the Titans and Ravens following a 0-3 start. They defeated Tennessee 26-0 and Baltimore 44-10, but the problem is that the Titans are in contention to be the worst team in the league, and the Ravens have lost their identity.
The Bears are the final team to have had their bye this week. Similar to most of the other teams that had a bye, Chicago remains where they were last week.
Cleveland lost its 4th game of the season in their week 5 matchup against the Vikings. Yet, they move up primarily because other teams have fallen and because they put up a fight against Minnesota despite it being Dillon Gabriel’s debut as a starter.
One week, the Panthers are horrendous, the next week, they somehow manage to pull off a win. After the rise in week 3, they could have jumped to the mid-20s, but the blowout loss in week 4 to the Patriots didn’t allow that. No matter, one week later and a 27-24 win over the Dolphins, coupled with other teams losing their games, has Carolina at number 26 for now.
The Raiders pulled off a win in week 1 against the Patriots, but since then, it’s been all downhill. Vegas lost a close one in week 3 against the Bears, but then a 40-6 drubbing by the Colts in the last game is a cause for concern once again.
After their win over the Chargers in week 3, with rookie Jaxson Dart making his starting debut under center, it looked like the Giants had found new hope. But wide receiver Malik Nabers was lost for the season with an ACL tear, and the Giants regressed against a winless Saints team.
Tyreek Hill is gone for the season after suffering an ACL and multiple ligament tears in the knee. And with that, the Dolphins’ season also seems to be lost. Not that they were doing great things while Hill was in the lineup, but still, it is a huge loss. At 1-4, the Dolphins are in a precarious situation.
The Saints finally got their first win of the season, and so did rookie head coach Kellen Moore. The win came against the then 1-3 Giants, which is not too exciting, but at least they can take back positive things and boost their confidence.
The Titans have struggled all through 4 games and 3 quarters before flipping a switch in the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals in week 4. They came back from the brink to win the game 22-21, but let’s reserve the excitement until further notice.
Being the only winless team left in the league, the Jets probably deserve to be last on the NFL power rankings list for week 5. They got outplayed significantly by the Cowboys, and with nearly one-third of the season gone, it seems all but over for the Gang Green.
That’s it for this week’s edition of the NFL power rankings. Week 6 is expected to bring us many more exciting games, and with it, we may see further ups and downs in this order. Till then, it is time to focus on the next game between the Eagles and the Giants on Thursday Night Football.
Mandatory Credit: Sam Greene-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
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