NFL Power Rankings Week 5: Where do all 32 teams stack up?

The time has come for a change at the top of the Pickswise NFL Power Rankings! Our former #1 team remains unbeaten but the new guys have been so impressive there’s no holding them back any longer. Who are they? Read on to find out!

Most of the top 10 remains fairly stable in fact, while the Bears blew their big chance to get out of the #32 spot in spectacular fashion. The middle section of the rankings remains a real minefield, though, with teams separated by the slimmest of margins, so expect more major swings from the group currently between 9th and the mid-20s in the next few weeks!

Among the teams making moves up the board this week are the Texans, Seahawks and Commanders, while the Steelers, Saints and Falcons are among those falling down the list.

You can also check out our early picks for NFL Week 5 and look at the latest NFL odds any time you like. Now, let’s get to this week’s rankings.

Pickswise NFL Power Rankings for Week 5

1 (up 1) San Francisco 49ers

They’ve earned it. Congratulations to our new #1 team, the 49ers! Kyle Shanahan’s squad have won 4 games comfortably and looked a slick machine as they moved through the gears to beat a spirited Cardinals team. The Cowboys await them this week. BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbooks agree with us in making the 49ers their Super Bowl favorites at +500 odds.

2 (up 3) Buffalo Bills

If you want a boost in the rankings, then beating an unbeaten team which had won by 50 points the week before will work most times. The Bills produced the most impressive performance of Week 4, bringing the Dolphins down to earth (if that is possible with a marine mammal) in a 48-20 win. There was a cost, though, with star cornerback Tre’Davious White lost for the season due to an Achilles injury. The Bills are only 4th in the Super Bowl odds at FanDuel and DraftKings but that divisional win could be a big help later in the season.

3 (down 2) Philadelphia Eagles

Our former #1 team remain unbeaten but they’re just not impressing like the teams above them and got themselves into a real scrap against the Commanders before winning in overtime. That’s good news for the Commanders’ ranking, as we’ll see later, but requires an adjustment to the Eagles’ positioning. The sportsbooks also have Nick Sirianni’s team 3rd in their lists.

4 (down 1) Kansas City Chiefs

Our preseason top team swiftly fall another place after making hard work of beating Zach Wilson and the Jets. We have a matchup of two stars of the Netflix Quarterback series this week as Patrick Mahomes meets Kirk Cousins, hopefully with entertaining consequences. The Chiefs are still no bigger than +550 odds for the Super Bowl even though they haven’t looked at their best yet this season.

5 (down 1) Miami Dolphins

We’re going to be sensible here and keep the Dolphins in the top 5 as their loss was to a strong team. They’ve got the Giants’ defense next, so it may be time to get the hammers out for an over that’s currently sitting under the 50-point mark.

6 (up 1) Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys bounced back impressively from their humbling loss to the Cardinals by pulverising the Patriots 38-3, so they move back up the list. They are clearly a top-5 team in FanDuel’s opinion, with +850 Super Bowl odds and a gap to the next team at +1200.

7 (up 3) Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens got a huge break when Deshaun Watson opted out of facing them on Sunday with a shoulder issue, but they also looked better than anyone else has against the Browns defense this season, dominating on the ground in the second half to secure a key divisional win in a one-sided game. With the Browns, Steelers and Bengals all having early problems, it’s no surprise the Ravens are now just -150 odds to win the AFC North.

8 (-) Detroit Lions

The Lions can probably feel a little upset to stay where they were despite a strong performance to beat the Packers on TNF, but it’s hard to put them ahead of the teams immediately above them just yet (and a win over the Panthers this week would not prove much either!). They are -185 odds for the NFC North now, however, and get another boost from the early return from suspension of wide receiver Jameson Williams to provide them with a dangerous deep threat.

9 (up 10) Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks are flying up the rankings, following last week’s climb of 5 places with one twice as big this week. They crushed Daniel Jones and the Giants on Monday night but are only 13th in FanDuel’s Super Bowl odds at +3800. Their defense is probably not what a struggling Joe Burrow and the Bengals offensive line would want to see this week.

10 (up 2) Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars gain an extra syllable in their name when they visit London (Jag-yew-ers) and they also get a 2-place climb after a solid performance against the Falcons at Wembley. They liked it so much they’re staying there this week to play the Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, so we have another 9:30 am ET start for football on Sunday.

11 (down 5) Cleveland Browns

You could give the Browns something of a pass for the home loss to the Ravens as rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson struggled in his first, presumably unexpected, start. However, the Browns looked awful in other areas too, so their early bye week is probably something of a blessing, even though the 49ers await on the other side.

12 (down 3) Green Bay Packers

Like the Browns, the Packers have started the season W-L-W-L and suffered a costly division loss this week. With the Raiders and Broncos up next, they have a good chance to improve their record.

13 (up 1) Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers won for the second straight week despite head coach Brandon Staley once again making calls that could easily have led to a loss. They have their bye this week and will hope Austin Ekeler is available again when they return.

14 (up 1) Los Angeles Rams

The Rams remain 1 place behind the Chargers but things are looking pretty good for them as the legend of rookie receiver Puka Nacua continues to grow. This week he scored the game-winning TD in overtime against the Colts and they’re getting respect from the sportsbooks as only 4.5-point underdogs against the Eagles this week.

15 (up 5) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs took advantage of Derek Carr’s struggles to beat the Saints and get back on the winning trail. They remain behind New Orleans in the NFC South odds, though, at +185 with FanDuel, which has the Saints at +170. They get another solid test this week in the Lions.

16 (down 5) Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals’ slightly rusty start is slowly turning into something approaching a full-blown crisis with Joe Burrow looking a shadow of his former shelf. It seems they now have a choice of letting him battle though his calf issue and probably losing, or turning to their sub-standard back-ups and definitely losing. Tough one. They are out to +700 odds for the AFC North.

17 (up 1) Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings won their battle of winless teams against the Panthers in fairly straightforward fashion. They don’t get much of a boost for that, obviously, but there will be a bigger rise coming if they beat the Chiefs this week.

18 (up 11) Houston Texans

Up ELEVEN places? That’s right, the Texans have shown with their back-to-back wins that not only are they no longer one of the worst teams in the league, they actually have the potential to be pretty good. CJ Stroud is certainly making some folks in Carolina wonder if they took the right guy with the first pick in the draft. They are +460 to win the AFC South and that may attract some interest.

19 (up 5) Tennessee Titans

The Titans followed a 27-3 loss to the Browns with a 27-3 win over the Bengals, which should boost their confidence going into this week’s divisional clash with the Colts.

20 (up 6) Washington Commanders

The Commanders get a decent rise in the rankings despite a loss as they went stride-for-stride with a top team in the Eagles. They don’t have to wait long to make an application to go even higher as they play the Bears on Thursday night and are 6.5-point favorites.

21 (down 8) Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers had it handed to them by the Texans and have to face the Ravens before reaching their bye week and try to reduce their lengthy injury list. The good news is that there’s not a great dropoff from Kenny Pickett to Mitch Trubisky if Pickett sits this week, but TE Pat Freiermuth and OT Dan Moore are likely to be out.

22 (down 1) Indianapolis Colts

The Colts have been competitive in every game this season, which might surprise some, and their wins over the Ravens and Texans read even better now than they may have done at the time, but they couldn’t get over the line against the Rams at home this week, losing in overtime.

23 (down 7) Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons will probably get a nice move back up the rankings as soon as they bench Desmond Ridder. Their solid roster would surely have a better chance with Taylor Heinicke at this point, and the NFL seems keen to have as many people called Taylor on TV as possible right now too.

24 (down 1) New York Jets

It was much better from Zach Wilson this week, right until the fumble that cost them a chance of beating the Chiefs. We certainly saw enough to think they could get back in the W column against the Broncos.

25 (down 8) New Orleans Saints

The Saints have pretty much looked worse every week so far and a 2-0 start has become 2-2 fairly quickly. It’s probably not good news for them to be facing an angry and embarrassed Bill Belichick this week. It also says something that the Pats are favorites for that game despite losing by 35 this week.

26 (up 2) Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals couldn’t follow up their win over the Cowboys by halting the 49ers juggernaut, but they created a good impression again, enough to move up the list. They are home dogs against the Bengals this week, but that could prove a popular pick.

27 (down 5) New England Patriots

If you’re Zappe and you know it, clap your hands. Mac Jones was benched during the Patriots’ heavy loss to the Cowboys, meaning the Patriots post-Brady QB carousel started turning again and Bailey Zappe finished off the game. Jones is set to start this week, but probably on a short leash.

28 (down 3) Las Vegas Raiders

With Jimmy Garoppolo out, Aidan O’Connell got his first career start in the Raiders’ loss to the Chargers and did a decent enough job. They have lost 3 in a row with the Packers and Patriots up next.

29 (down 2) New York Giants

The Giants were destroyed by the Seahawks on Monday night, so it’s a good job they haven’t recently given a huge contract extension to the 10-times-sacked Daniel Jones. What? Oh dear… The G-Men need to get their O-line sorted out ASAP with the Dolphins, Bills, Commanders and Jets coming at them next.

30 (-) Denver Broncos

The Broncos dropped 7 places to 30th last week and despite a win over the Bears, they’re staying there. They rallied strongly after being taken apart alarmingly by Justin Fields in the first half and the injury to RB Javonte Williams is at least hopefully not as bad as was first feared.

31 (-) Carolina Panthers

Also staying in the same spot are the Panthers, who brought back starting QB Bryce Young but still lost a battle of winless teams against the Vikings to fall to 0-4. Only one 0-4 team has recovered to make the playoffs in the Super Bowl era, not that people were likely rushing to the window to back the Panthers to be the second — it’s +1600 odds with DraftKings if you are interested.

32 (-) Chicago Bears

Well, what can you say? Justin Fields finally had a really strong game with 4 TD passes, but the Bears still threw it all away and lost to a team that had suffered a 50-point defeat the previous week. If your best performance is still not enough to beat a team on the ropes, there’s little hope.