Week 5 Power Rankings: Chargers Roll

[PFCritics]

Hey guys, I'm back with my Week 5 power rankings This week, I have included the rank that I had them at last week, which is in "(#)". For the original format, please go here: http://www.pfcritics.com/pr/thisweek.php and enjoy...

1(1) - Indianapolis Colts

Peyton Manning threw four touchdowns for the first time this season, including his first touchdown in two weeks. The impressive part was the fact that the defense did not easy up on the Titans at all, proving that this team is a complete package at the moment.

2(3) - Pittsburgh Steelers

Despite being on the bye, the Steelers moved ahead of the team they lost to before the bye. The Steelers have played more consistent than New England at this point and are in better shape when it comes to injuries.

3(4) - Philadelphia Eagles

Remember when everyone wondered how the Eagles' would do this year without any wide receivers? Well, McNabb is on pace to throw for over 5,000 yards, so we don't have to question that anymore. They made an excellent comeback at Arrowhead, and made the Chiefs look like fools near the end.

4(5) - Atlanta Falcons

Although the Vikings have been bad against most teams so far, the Falcons were relentless on them. It wasn't even Vick so much, since the defense destroyed Daunte Culpepper in the backfield. Hopefully Vick's injury won't effect his playing.

5(2) - New England Patriots

New England has been very inconsistent twice over their first four weeks, and they lost for the first time at home in a long time against the Chargers. They have earned the chance to still be ranked at number five, but if they lose against Atlanta this week, they may finally slip below the top ten.

6(7) - Cincinnati Bengals

Was anyone disappointed that the Bengals did not embarrass the Texans? In a way, the Bengals close victory shows how far they have come. On a day where they were actually pushed by the Texans, the Bengals did not make the costly mistake and were able to hang on.

7(8) - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I would have though teams like the Vikings, Chargers, Panthers, Chiefs or the Patriots would have been 4-0 to begin the season before I would have the Buccaneers. It's not that I thought they were bad heading into this season - I was simply too caught up on how well Atlanta and Carolina were projected to do this year.

8(11) - San Diego Chargers

The Chargers are back. LaDainian Tomlinson is getting the ball as often as he wants. That's the reason the Chargers have made a huge impact the past two weeks; especially against the Patriots in Foxboro.

9(10) - Carolina Panthers

Carolina's win was not pretty against the Packers and their defense has not been pretty this whole season it seems. The offense has caught on, but their defense is not able to shut-down the opposition yet.

10(6) - Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars' are beginning to look like the same team as last year. Their defense continues to play well each week, but Byron Leftwich and Fred Taylor aren't making enough plays early on to win games. Matt Jones needs to be used more effectively.

11(12) - Seattle Seahawks

You know why I improved the Seahawks by one rank? Because Josh Brown was right. It was a perfect kick; I don't know how it missed either.

12(14) - Denver Broncos

I was ready to toss them down the drain after Week 1, but the past three weeks have made the Broncos appear to be a serious contender, leading their division at the moment. Like it or not, their Browns' defensive line hasn't done too bad lately.

13(18) - Washington Redskins

The Redskins' defense nearly suffered a set back, but they got lucky when Brown's kick sailed wide. Mark Brunell is the right choice at quarterback for this team, and I don't see Ramsey playing for this team ever again unless an injury comes up.

14(16) - New York Giants

Eli Manning still out-performed his brother slightly this week by throwing for four touchdowns and a little higher yardage. The Giants have the hottest offense in the NFL, and that allows the defense to take risks knowing that they won't be behind often.

15(13) - Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys weren't really expected to beat the Raiders, but their offense needs to stay more consistent in the future.

16(9) - Kansas City Chiefs

The first two weeks, I thought the Chiefs would be the same team the Colts look like right now. Based on Week 3 and 4, it looks like the Chiefs are back. That's not a good thing.

17(15) - St. Louis Rams

It seems like I remember a ton of games where Marc Bulger throws for 400+ yards and still loses the game by 20. You have to work on building a defense too, Martz.

18(19) - Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins are surprisingly atop their division, and will only have to wait one more week until the "beloved" return of Ricky Williams. It'll be very interesting to see if Ronnie Brown does great this week; a move that would make it hard to insert Williams in place of him.

19(22) - Oakland Raiders

After three tough games to open the season, the Raiders couldn't even win one of them. They were finally able to beat the Cowboys, leaving them a chance to still contend in their division this year.

20(23) - New Orleans Saints

Most of us know that the Saints are a good team that just can't stay consistent - as shown the past few years. Last year at the end of the season they were consistent and nearly made the playoffs. Their win last week has to be the start of consistency for this team if they want to stay in the race.

21(17) - Minnesota Vikings

I'm not too sure why the Vikings are still ranked this high, because they have been embarrassed three times this season already. I still see a lot of talent offensively on this team, so I am giving them one more chance. If they can't get things done next week after their bye, then they will be near the Texans and the 49ers.

22(21) - Buffalo Bills

The Bills will be looking for an answer in Kelly Holcomb this week. Maybe some more Bills fans should appreciate what Drew Bledsoe did now.

23(24) - Cleveland Browns

Coming off of a bye week, the Browns next few opponents are not playing very good football. If the Browns want to make things interesting down the road, these are the games they definitely need to win.

24(20) - New York Jets

Going with Testeverde over Bollinger is the right move at the moment. The Jets still have the chance of contending, so it's worth a shot. On the same note though, I think all hope is lost for this team.

25(25) - Tennessee Titans

The Titans offense has shown some bright spots, but their defense can't stop anybody still. This looks like the same Titans team from last year.

26(26) - Chicago Bears

Chicago, also coming off of the bye, are hoping for some much needed improvement in Kyle Orton. Orton threw for five interceptions in his last game - something he wants to forget about this week against Cleveland.

27(30) - Arizona Cardinals

Josh McCown didn't look too bad against the 49ers, even if it was the 49ers. His performance made me think back to last year when Dennis Green pulled McCown for no apparent reason, just so he could play Shaun King. What a poor move that was.

28(29) - Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens defense shut down Brooks Bollinger. It's too bad that if another quarterback was back there, the Ravens probably would have lost even with a good defensive effort.

29(27) - Green Bay Packers

The Packers still have a chance to win in their depleted division. Brett Favre can still heave the football, and heck, why not just let the guy toss it all game. It's time for Green Bay to find some receivers on the waiver wire though.

30(28) - Detroit Lions

The Lions did hang tough against the Buccaneers, but Harrington can't play good at the last second only. He couldn't do anything early on.

31(31) - San Francisco 49ers

With the way the 49ers have played, the Rams should be hanging their heads in shame right now.

32(32) - Houston Texans

The Texans may have deserved to move up after a nice effort against the Bengals, but they need a victory before they'll pass San Francisco likely.

Thanks for reading; any comments are appreciated

[eclipse99t]

Good stuff, but the Chargers should be ranked higher, as should the Benglas.

[Stripes]

Nice rankings, I agree with most of them. Nice work not being a homer (assuming you're a Bengals fan). The only changes I can find that I'd make is lower the Steelers and Patriots abit, and move the Giants up.

[schweinhart]

When the Bolts dump the Steel Linens, be sure to move the Steelers down to #8 where they belong, definietly behind the Bengals.

I can see the Chiefs dropping because it does look like the same old with there D after getting blistered by the Donkeys and having the soul sucked out of them by the Eagles, but they should be back into the Top 10 soon.

The Deadskins....3-0 is hard to argue with. They do have a D. But when the Donkeys annihialte them, their fall should be hard and fast as a true reflection of just how bad they suck and how inadequate Grandpa Gibbs is to coach an NFL team.

The Cowblows....They'll be right where they belong at 30 soon enough.

[Black-N-Gold]

I agree with those rankings, and to enlighten some of you, the Steelers stomped the Texans, you didn't, among other things that is why they are ranked better I'm assuming, Now in all reality, (no smack intended) I said all year that the Bengals have not played a team with a good D or an O that can put points on the board, they did last night, although they held up better than I thought they would, They still lost, but they area force to be reckoned with, don't get me wrong, I now understand this.