That the Kansas City Chiefs are No. 1 in the Week 5 On SI NFL Power rankings is no surprise. They are the two-time defending Super Bowl champions quarterbacked by the living legend, Patrick Mahomes.
That the Minnesota Vikings are No. 2 in the rankings is a surprise. Sam Darnold had descended into journeyman status. In six seasons with the Jets, Panthers and 49ers, he threw 63 touchdowns vs. 56 interceptions and had never won more than seven games in a season.
He’s resurrected his career with the Vikings. He leads the NFL with 11 touchdowns, including three in an upset win at Lambeau Field against the rival Packers. The Vikings are 4-0, with an impressive sweep of San Francisco, Houston and Green Bay.
Let’s dive into our Week 5 rankings.
The Titans pulled out a victory against a struggling Dolphins offense, but a win is a win. They didn’t make mistakes when Mason Rudolph was under center, and that may prove to be a big reason behind their success. That isn’t good news for Will Levis. —Jeremy Brener, Tennessee Titans On SI
Andy Dalton threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, but Carolina’s defense didn’t hold up and it may have lost both of its starting linebackers to injuries. Dalton has these Panthers competitive, which is more than any Carolina QB since Cam Newton can say. —Tim Weaver, Carolina Panthers On SI
The Giants’ offense could not find the end zone for a second game this season and is averaging 15 points per game – slightly worse than last year’s 15.6 points per game. The Giants have playmakers, but the offense must wake up and stop the self-inflicted wounds that are hurting them too often. —Patricia Traina, New York Giants On SI
The Patriots struggled offensively once again against the 49ers. In back-to-back games, they haven’t been able to move the football. Unfortunately, the outlook doesn’t look great, though they’ve got winnable games coming up against the Dolphins, Jaguars and Titans the next five weeks. —Evan Massey, New England Patriots On SI
The Jaguars played maybe their most complete game of the year, but self-inflicted mistakes doomed them in a 24-20 loss at the Texans. Failing to score from the 2-yard line in a four-point loss and several missed throws from Trevor Lawrence summed up this week. —John Shipley, Jacksonville Jaguars On SI
Despite a thrilling win over the 49ers in Week 3, Sunday’s loss against the Bears demonstrated how heavily impacted they’ve been by the losses of receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua and a handful of other starters. General manager Les Snead may need to hit the free agency market for some replacements. — James Brizuela, Los Angeles Rams On SI
The Broncos swept their East Coast road trip, punctuated with a 10-9 win over the Jets. Sean Payton’s squad has proven it can win ugly, and the experience Bo Nix got in September could result in something special as the season marches on. —Chad Jensen, Denver Broncos On SI
Caleb Williams’ efficiency hit a new high and, if his improvement continues, he’ll be mentioned in the same breath soon with the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft, Jayden Daniels. The real test for the Bears will be getting a win over Andy Dalton and the Panthers. —Gene Chamberlain, Chicago Bears On SI
Cleveland’s Week 4 performance against the Raiders left Browns fans feeling as dejected as they’ve been in the past couple of years. For the fourth consecutive week, the Browns failed to score 20 points, despite a pretty good game from Deshaun Watson. But Las Vegas was missing four starters on defense, including Maxx Crosby. The Browns are playing like a bottom-five team in the NFL. —Brendan Gulick, Cleveland Browns On SI
The Raiders finally got back on the winning track against the Browns, but now they must prove that their success is sustainable as they travel to Mile High to take on the equally underperforming Broncos. –Hondo S. Carpenter, Las Vegas Raiders On SI
The Colts are starting to pull it together after consecutive wins. However, Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor left Sunday’s win over the Steelers with injuries. Joe Flacco proved capable of getting the ball into the hands of the offense’s capable playmakers. Whether it’s Richardson or Flacco next week, a productive gameplan is possible. —Jake Arthur, Indianapolis Colts On SI
The Dolphins might have reached a new low with their not-ready-for-prime-time display against the Titans, a 31-12 loss in whichthey didn’t reach triple-digits in offensive yards until the fourth quarter. The offense is struggling in every single area at the moment. —Alain Poupart, Miami Dolphins On SI
After a seemingly promising start, the Cardinals were humbled by former head coach Kliff Kingsbury and his rookie quarterback. Both sides of the ball have some serious questions to answer if the Cardinals can get themselves back on track. Back-to-back road games at the 49ers and Packers won’t be easy. —Donnie Druin, Arizona Cardinals On SI
The Bengals’ offense has come alive. Joe Burrow is playing well and Cincinnati has a real chance of turning the season around if he continues to play at this level. The O-line and personnel around Burrow is far more versatile and athletic. The Bengals’ defense continues to struggle. They have to be better at tackling this week against Baltimore. —James Rapien, Cincinnati Bengals On SI
The offense sputtered against the Broncos, a team that gave up an average of 13 points per game across their first three games. While the Jets’ defense remains an elite and Super Bowl-contending unit, the issue was always going to be how the Aaron Rodgers-led offense was going to click. It did not in Week 4, and an even tougher test awaits in London against the Vikings. —Kade Kistner, New York Jets On SI
The Falcons’ defense and special teams have proven they’re good enough to win games, but the offense has yet to find a rhythm. Running back Tyler Allgeier is arguably the team’s most underrated, underappreciated player while tight end Kyle Pitts remains MIA. —Scott Kennedy, Atlanta Falcons On SI
The Chargers’ defense added another strong showing, but poor clock management and missed opportunities by the offense led to L.A. dropping an important divisional matchup to the Chiefs. It’s not time to panic, but Jim Harbaugh needs to retool the offense to keep pace with the other big hitters in the AFC. —James Brizuela, Los Angeles Chargers On SI
The Cowboys continued their dominance of the lowly Giants with their seventh consecutive victory over their NFC East rival. Dallas, however, lost some key pieces on defense, with All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons expected to be out until after the team’s bye week with a high-ankle sprain and DeMarcus Lawrence a candidate to be placed on injured reserve after suffering a Lisfranc foot injury. —Tyler Reed, Dallas Cowboys On SI
New Orleans is plagued by injuries and costly mistakes in critical moments. Unless the team can learn to win close games this season, its postseason dreams of playing host to Super Bowl LIX won’t happen. —Kyle T. Mosley, New Orleans Saints On SI
Washington continued its impressive streak of offensive performances but added a solid defensive outing to it in blowing out the Cardinals on the road The result was the “best team win” this year, according to coach Dan Quinn, and a 3–1 record. —David Harrison, Washington Commanders On SI
The Steelers lost for the first time, and while a loss should bring out a few problems, this one brought them all to the surface. This team needs to get back in the lab and figure out issues on both sides of the ball if they want to bounce back against the Cowboys on Sunday night. —Noah Strackbein, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI
Injuries on defense ultimately proved too much to overcome in a shootout loss to the Lions, but stellar play from Geno Smith and a high-octane offense provide optimism moving forward despite losing on the road in Detroit in prime time. –Corbin Smith, Seattle Seahawks On SI
Jordan Love was back in the lineup against the Vikings but looked like a quarterback who had missed the previous two games. He threw for more than 200 yards in the fourth quarter of a futile comeback against the Vikings. Was the production all fluff or was it a sign he’s back in form? We’ll find out next week at the Rams, who have one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL. —Bill Huber, Green Bay Packers On SI
Baker Mayfield & Co. had a field day against the Eagles’ defense, a group that has looked lost dating to last season. Offensively, Jalen Hurts certainly felt the absence of wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith as well as right tackle Lane Johnson. The Buccaneers were the superior team, hitting on a big play whenever they needed one. —Scott Neville, Philadelphia Eagles On SI
The Buccaneers came back in a big way Sunday, playing great offense and defense in a dominant win against the Eagles. Tampa Bay is waiting to get some injured players back in the lineup. So, if Sunday’s win is any indication, it could be hitting its stride. —River Wells, Tampa Bay Buccaneers On SI
The Texans didn’t look their best this week, but they still managed a victory against the Jaguars. Good teams can find ways to win even when they don’t play their best, and this is further proof that the Texans are one of the best teams in the league. But they are far from peaking. —Jeremy Brener, Houston Texans On SI
Almost nothing went right for the Bills in their ugly 35-10 beatdown at the hands of the Ravens. Baltimore exposed the Bills’ depleted defense, putting up nearly 300 yards of offense in the first half alone. The good news is Buffalo should get some of its injured defenders back, including Terrel Bernard and Taron Johnson in the next few weeks. The bad news is the Bills head to Houston to face Stefon Diggs and the 3–1 Texans. —Chris Pirrone, Buffalo Bills on SI
The Lions offense exploded for 42 points in a convincing 13-point victory against the undefeated Seahawks. Jared Goff set an NFL record, going 18-for-18 to help the Lions improve their record to 3-1. —John Maakaron, Detroit Lions On SI
The 49ers took care of business with a 17-point win over a bad Patriots team, but they also committed three fumbles and threw an interception. Which means they could play so much better. The 49ers still haven’t played their best this season and it’s unclear whether this win means they’ve cured their Super Bowl hangover. —Grant Cohn, San Francisco 49ers On SI
The Ravens finally played a full 60-minute game and showed what they can be when firing on all cylinders. If they can keep this up going forward, that 0-2 start will be nothing more than a distant memory. —Jon Alfano, Baltimore Ravens On SI
Minnesota faced adversity when Jordan Love and the Packers got hot in the fourth quarter, but it responded when it had to and got the win at Lambeau Field. Was Green Bay’s furious comeback a sign of struggles to come for the Vikings’ defense? That’s the next big question Minnesota has to answer. —Joe Nelson, Minnesota Vikings On SI
The Chiefs’ win over the Chargers is less important than the loss they suffered when Patrick Mahomes collided with Rashee Rice’s knee, likely ending Rice’s season. The Chiefs are now set to resume their three-peat campaign without their top two receivers, with Marquise “Hollywood” Brown already expected to miss the vast majority of the regular season, if not the entire year. —Joshua Brisco, Kansas City Chiefs On SI
