Week 5 Power Rankings
Primetime games helped expose to us who are the contenders and who are the pretenders of league. The Bills had everyone’s attention as the biggest threat to the reigning champion Chiefs until they were boat-raced by a dangerous looking Baltimore team on Sunday Night Football.
Similarly, the Lions halted the Seahawks hype train by dropping 42 points without a single incompletion and applying relentless pressure on Geno Smith.
Any hopes that Miami had of showing the league they were still the real deal with Tua Tagovailoa dissolved on Monday Night as they were trampled by the winless Titans.
But those weren’t the only six teams that played this week. 26 other teams saw their reputations take major boosts and major hits, all resulting in a controversial week five edition of the ATA power rankings.
32. New England Patriots (down 2)
How this season can be a success: The Patriots come around to starting Drake Maye in the next few weeks and he shows signs of being their franchise quarterback. The same goes for rookie receiver Ja’Lynn Polk and head coach Jerod Mayo.
31. Carolina Panthers (no change)
How this season can be a success: Carolina shows signs of competency on defense, giving their team something to build upon in the future. Additionally, they figure out what to do with Bryce Young, either trading him or getting solid reps out of him.
30. Jacksonville Jaguars (down 1)
How this season can be a success: Trevor Lawrence shows signs that he is still the Prince that was promised. Right now, he looks trapped, discouraged, and rushed. If he can get back into his 2022 groove and the Jaguars finish the season 8-5, there are reasons to be hopeful as a Jags fan.
29. Tennessee Titans (up 3)
How this season can be a success: The Titans end the Will Levis experiment immediately and looked toward the draft to select their next quarterback. Tyjae Spears and Brian Callahan showing signs as major pieces going forward.
28. Miami Dolphins (down 6)
How this season can be a success: Tua Tagovailoa comes off IR and leads the Dolphins to the playoffs. Considering what we’ve seen from their offense and the contract they just paid Tagovailoa, any other outcome would cause major panic in the Miami front office. Either that, or he retires due to another concussion and the Dolphins move in a different direction.
27. Cleveland Browns (down 2)
How this season can be a success: The Browns have little hope this year despite having some promising pieces to build around such as Nick Chubb and Amari Cooper or offense and Myles Garrett and his gang on defense. The missing pieces are the QB and the offensive line. Cleveland’s goal should be to get through this year without any major injuries and reset in 2025 with a new quarterback.
26. New York Giants (no change)
How this season can be a success: Malik Nabers plays a full, healthy season and contends for offensive rookie of the year (Jayden Daniels is the current favorite). The Giants finally decide to bite the bullet by shedding Daniel Jones’ contract and drafting a new quarterback.
25. Las Vegas Raiders (up 3)
How this season can be a success: Like the teams above them, 2024 should be about development for the Raiders who have something special in Brock Bowers. They need to continue building cohesion on the offensive line, find a way to keep Davante Adams happy and look toward 2025 to find their quarterback of the future.
24. Arizona Cardinals (down 6)
How this season can be a success: The connection between Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. establishes as one of the top QB to WR connections in the game and wins the Cards 6 to 7 games. If all else fails, Arizona can hang their hat on this duo for years to come as they continue to build on defense.
23. Denver Broncos (up 4)
How this season can be a success: Bo Nix becomes a clear-cut QB1 and with the help of a recently stifling defense and Sean Payton, has the Broncos in playoff contention late into the season. If Denver can be a viable playoff pick next season, this year will have been a success.
22. Los Angeles Rams (down 2)
How this season can be a success: The Rams make the playoffs after overcoming a brutal slew of injuries early in the season. As a team with dark horse Super Bowl chances coming into the year, this is obviously not what they wanted their end goal to be, but with Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, and the offensive line all banged up, it is the reality.
21. Indianapolis Colts (up 2)
How this season can be a success: The Colts make the playoffs after coming up essentially a yard short last season. Considering Anthony Richardson is banged up and the entire team has looked somewhat dysfunctional to start the season, it’s a miracle Indy is 2-2, but they pulled that off, a postseason appearance isn’t improbable.
20. Chicago Bears (up 4)
How this season can be a success: Bears fans might have their sights set on the playoffs, but to me, success this season comes down to whether or not Caleb Williams looks like a franchise QB. I’ll consider the offseason a success if the Bears fire Matt Eberflus and find Williams a coach who actually knows what an offense looks like.
19. Cincinnati Bengals (up 2)
How this season can be a success: The Bengals must reach the divisional round. Anything short of that and they’ll have to seriously think about reconstructing their team, starting with firing Zac Taylor which I’ve been calling for for years. However, there’s no shame in losing to Baltimore, Buffalo, or Kansas City in the playoffs.
18. Philadelphia Eagles (down 5)
How this season can be a success: The Eagles must win a playoff game to redeem themselves from last year’s failure. Of all of the successes for every team, I see this one as the most unrealistic, but for a fanbase and a front office with such high expectations, just making the playoffs is nowhere near good enough.
17. Los Angeles Chargers (down 1)
How this season can be a success: Jim Harbaugh allows Justin Herbert to come out of his shell and look like the top-five QB that we are constantly promised he is, Quentin Johnston becomes a legitimate number-one target for him, and the Chargers sneak into the playoffs. Making the playoffs altogether after an abysmal 5-12 season would be enough for Chargers fans to celebrate.
16. Atlanta Falcons (up 1)
How this season can be a success: Kirk Cousins enjoys a steady incline in his play throughout the season and the Falcons win the NFC South for the first time in eight years. With the amount of investment that the Falcons made in their team this offseason compared to the Bucs and Saints, Atlanta needs to win a playoff game for this year to be a successful one.
15. Dallas Cowboys (no change)
How this season can be a success: Although there is virtually no chance that it will happen, the Cowboys reaching the conference championship game would be the only way to satisfy their long-tortured fans. Dak Prescott will also need to play up to his $60M contract or else things could get ugly in Dallas.
14. New Orleans Saints (down 2)
How this season can be a success: The Saints win the NFC South with big division wins against Atlanta and Tampa Bay. And for the sake of Saints fans’ mental health, Dennis Allen is fired after the season ends.
13. New York Jets (down 5)
How this season can be a success: Jets fans will call this season Super Bowl or bust, but we all know that Aaron Rodgers would get at least 10% of the vote in the New York governor election if the Jets win a playoff game. Reaching the divisional round would be a success.
12. Green Bay Packers (down 1)
How this season can be a success: Jordan Love plays like he did at the end of last year, and the Packers contend for an NFC championship game appearance once again. Most importantly though, the defense and special teams finally take a step in the right direction because Green Bay is going nowhere with two of their three phases continuously playing like they are blindfolded.
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (down 1)
How this season can be a success: Steelers fans are sick of winning 10 games and losing in the Wild Card round, so let’s get ambitious. The Steelers have to win the AFC North, win a playoff game, and play a competitive, down-to-the-wire game in the divisional round to satisfy a fanbase itching to disassociate from years of mediocrity.
10. Seattle Seahawks (down 2)
How this season can be a success: The Seahawks win a round in the playoffs. It’s a down year in the NFC West, so if they can win the division, this shouldn’t be too tall of a task. I’m confident that Mike McDonald can turn Seattle’s defense around over the course of the season, and truly believe they have what it takes to make a deep playoff run.
9. Washington Commanders (up 10)
How this season can be a success: Jayden Daniels wins offensive rookie of the year and the Commanders reach the playoffs. Their projected win total was 6.5 before the season, so being essentially halfway there after four weeks is already a win within itself. Finishing the season the way they started would cement Washington as a contender for years to come, much like the Texans from last year.
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (up 6)
How this season can be a success: Baker Mayfield continues to play at a high level, affirming the front office’s decision to pay him $100M in the offseason. The Bucs win their fourth straight division title and get back to the divisional round for the third time in four years.
7. Houston Texans (down 3)
How this season can be a success: Houston reaches the AFC title game courtesy of an MVP-level season out of C.J. Stroud who hasn’t looked fantastic thus far. To do so, they need more consistency on both sides of the ball—they’re yet to piece together a great 60 minutes of football despite their 3-1 record and lead in the AFC South.
6. San Francisco 49ers (no change)
How this season can be a success: Although they find themselves outside of the top five, the Niners are one of two or three Super Bowl-or-bust teams in the league. Any other outcome would result in another sickening offseason for Kyle Shanahan, major questions about paying Brock Purdy, and significant roster cuts if they pay the former Mr. Irrelevant.
5. Buffalo Bills (down 3)
How this season can be a success: The Bills reach the AFC championship game. Like Jets fans, Bills Mafia would like to call this season Super Bowl or bust, but Buffalo hasn’t reached the final four since 2020 and with lower preseason expectations than years past, beating out either the Ravens or the Chiefs to the title game would be a success.
4. Minnesota Vikings (up 3)
How this season can be a success: With what was considered to be one of the worst quarterback situations prior to the season, success for Minnesota would be winning ten games and making the playoffs. Kevin O’Connell or Brian Flores winning a coaching award wouldn’t hurt either.
3. Detroit Lions (no change)
How this season can be a success: The Lions reach the Super Bowl for the first time in their lengthy history as a franchise. Winning it would be the cherry on top, but an appearance in the big game would be enough for the city of Detroit to rejoice.
2. Baltimore Ravens (up 3)
How this season can be a success: The Ravens win the Super Bowl, relying on the most dominant quarterback-runningback rushing duo ever and a new defense under Zach Orr. Lamar Jackson wins Super Bowl MVP and sheds all of the questions about whether a quarterback of his style can reach the mountaintop.
1. Kansas City Chiefs (no change)
How this season can be a success: The Chiefs become the first team to threepeat in NFL history and Patrick Mahomes gains more ground on Tom Brady in the G.O.A.T. conversation. Travis Kelce yells “Viva New Orleans!” and celebrates on the field with Taylor Swift and the NFL rejoices because their power couple triumphs again. Yes, the Chiefs live rent-free in my head.
