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NFL Week 5 Power Rankings

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The top three teams remain unmovable while only one new team cracks the top ten.

  1. New England Patriots 4-0 (1)- The Patriots continue to show they are the best team in football. Last week they went into Dallas and won decisively. Tom Brady went 20/27 while the defense held the Cowboys to only six points. Never did the Patriots look like they would give the game away and that is a sign of a team that is poised for another Super Bowl appearance.
  2. Green Bay Packers 5-0 (2)- Aaron Rodgers had an average game against the Rams, which for Rodgers means it was an off day. Admittedly the Rams have a stellar defense, Rodgers was still held to 241 yard, and large portion of that came from a 65 yard TD pass that had more to do with the speed of James Jones. The Packers were also extremely limited in the running game. Rodgers had the most rushing yards on the team and that is nothing to write home about. Unlike the Patriots, the Packers gave the Rams an opportunity to come back a couple of times. They need to play at a much higher caliber to get the top spot in the rankings.
  3. Cincinnati Bengals 5-0 (3)- You cannot ignore the resiliency of the Bengals. All signs pointed to the Bengals suffering their first loss only to make an epic comeback by scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter against a defense that was once argued to be one of the best of all time. Instead, the Bengals took their best shot every time that had the ball and managed to come away with a win. This is an exciting team to watch and if the season ended today, Marvin Lewis should have coach of the year.
  4. Arizona Cardinals 4-1 (6)- Arizona bounced back in a big way against the Lions by putting up 42 points and forcing Matt Stafford onto the bench. The defense gave up a lone touchdown in the first quarter before bringing the hammer and scoring five unanswered touchdowns of their own. Carson Palmer only went 10/14 and 161 yards but Chris Johnson made up the difference by rushing for 103 yards on 11 attempts. If this is not one of the more balances teams in the NFL, I dare you to show me one that should be ranked higher.
  5. Denver Broncos 5-0 (5)- Peyton Manning is no stranger to starting the season off undefeated, what is strange is he is not the reason. The Broncos defense is almost the sole reason this team hasn’t lost a game. One could argue without Chris Harris returning the interception, the Broncos drop their first game to the Raiders. This is another team that people are not questioning if they can go the whole season without losing a game, rather when are they going to lose their first game.
  6. Atlanta Falcons 5-0 (4)- Right when I think they have turned everything around they need another miracle win to stay out of the loss column. Matt Ryan had an off day and if it wasn’t for Devonta Freeman running the ball with vigor, this team may have suffered their first loss. The Falcons defense played well in the second half, forcing field goals to keep the game within reach. This is a good team that has many different ways to win games, this week the defense stepped up.
  7. Carolina Panthers 4-0 (7)- Panthers had a bye this week, so I see no reason to move them. Next week however they face possibly their toughest test yet. They face the Seahawks in Seattle.
  8. New York Giants 3-2 (9)- Past history tells us the Giants can very well be in position to make a big run at another Super Bowl title. Eli Manning is using his short football memory to good use and forgetting he may have cost his team the first two games. The 49ers made a classic mistake of giving a Manning too much time to make a comeback, and if a Manning is on his game, he will make you pay. Eli did exactly that and put the Giants atop the division.
  9. Pittsburgh Steelers 3-2 (n/a)- After the Sunday match ups ended and I made the initial rankings, I knew that whoever won the Monday night game would get the final spot in the top ten. It came down to the wire but the gumption of Steelers coach Mike Tomlin to call a ran play with five seconds left in game is a play no one is second guessing because it worked. The Steelers may have just won a key early game to secure a wild card spot should Ben Roethlisberger come back in time to take the reins back from Michael Vick..
  10. Minnesota Vikings 2-2 (8)- The Vikings keep themselves in the top ten by not playing at all this week. They look to keep their spot by taking on a rattled Chiefs team who are now playing the season without Jamal Charles.

Photo-Elsa/Getty Images Norther America

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