POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 5

We were wrong about everything.

Everything we expected out of the Vikings, has been the opposite. Darnold a bridge QB? How about a MVP candidate instead? How about a top 3 defense? They are number 1 because they have had by far the hardest start to a season, and they came out of it 4-0. Dominated the. Niners, dominated the Texans, and owned the Packers better than the score shows.

Aidan Hutchinson is a serious contender for DPOY, and the defense overall has improved.

Now, obviously the Seahawks game is an outlier, as it is a shootout, and in those games you play defense a little differently. Outside of that though, they have held talented offenses to low amounts of points, and now it seems like they have gotten the offense figured out. Hutchinson has entered the conversation of the Watt's, Garrett's, and Bosa's of the league.

Josh Allen has more help than previously thought.

After they traded Diggs, many thought that the Bills didn't have the supporting cast around Allen was good enough. That couldn't be further from the truth, as this is a well assembled roster all the way around. They didn't play their best ball against Baltimore obviously, but momentum was hard to regain in that game.

Mahomes and Kelce have lost a SOME juice.

I'm not saying they are bad nor that they won't turn it around. I am saying so far Mahomes has been worse in every way than the likes of someone like Justin Fields, who wasn't even named a starter. He has been turnover prone, and hasn't produced at a great level. Kelce may have it worse, as he finally had a solid game, but it took Rice getting hurt.

Geno is a top 5 QB in the league.

It feels that there may be an age of game managers that become the best QB's in the league. Look at all the best performing QB's this far, outside of Allen, they are all game managers. Geno is like them, only he is incredibly accurate and smart with the football.

The Bucs are picking up right where they left off last season.

Outside of the blemish against the Bucs, this has been the same high octane, air raid passing attack that we've known the Bucs to have since Brady joined the team. The defense is playing well enough for this team to cruise right now.

Derrick Henry does not look old in the slightest.

I think we have all witnessed at some point in our lives one of those Derrick Henry games. Where he completely takes over the game, he takes 2-3 tacklers to bring him down, and just doesn't let the other team have a chance to get in the game. Henry just had one of those on Sunday night football against one of the best teams. Combo that with a MVP QB and a talented defense, good luck against this team in the playoffs.

This team still has some growing pains to go through.

Going into the year, I thought the Texans would be a powerhouse. However, they are off to an odd start, a lot of penalties, non-satisfying wins, and some shaky performances from Stroud. That being said, they are easy problems to work through with this team. They still have the upside to be the best team in the league, and sitting at a 3-1 record through a month is a good sign.

The Steelers have one of if not the best QB room in the league.

We all thought that the Steelers were gambling on 2 not so good QB's. Instead, they could have their long-term answer, and potentially either great trade bait in Wilson, or one helluva back-up.

The Saints have a Shannahan offense with an elite defense.

This team is so similar to the Niners in so many ways, star RB, route running star WR, and now a Shannahan offense. The Saints have proven themselves to be a real threat in the NFC.

Injuries have derailed them, but Purdy silences the haters.

Everyone consensusly thought that Purdy was only good because he was on a great team with a great HC and great weapons. Well, this year so far he has had most of his weapons stripped away from him, or they have underperformed. What has he done? Been great still. He has really impressed me these first four weeks.

Saquon has put this team on his back.

Hurts has underperformed, and Smith and Brown are injured. Even the defense still has secondary issues. How are they 2-2, and at 12 on power rankings? They can run the ball very well. Saquon has been the lifeline, and the entire offense it feels like.

Jayden Daniels is the truth.

When it comes to rookie QBs or young QBs in general, you look to see if they can do the easy stuff in an offense. Can they run the offense, can they not turn it over, and can they be accurate? Daniels has been all of that and more, and has really made this team look maybe a little better than they actually are.

Jordan Love is 0-2, while Malik Willis is 2-0.

Now, that is telling you that Willis is better than Love, which isn't true. But it is wild and worth noting. If Willis played the Eagles and Vikings, he would be 0-2 as well. Love needs to get in a groove in this offense, because the defense is humming.

The defense can't be relied upon.

The past few seasons, the Cowboys had a defense that could take over games. They were so dominant that Bland had 5 TDs as a corner. However, they haven't been able to lean on them like years in the past, which isn't a good thing, because they can't run the ball either this season.

The defense is the strength of this team.

Usually a team with a consensus top 10 QB wouldn't be such a defense reliant team, yet here we are. The Chargers haven't found a whole lot of consistent offensive success thus far, and you can say that's coaching, or the roster. Nontheless, the defense has been lights out, the number 1 scoring defense in fact.

Anthony Richardson has not developed too much as a passer.

That sounds harsh, since he is coming off an injury, and has only played 3 games and 1 quarter. However, you hope the top pick would be putting up slightly better numbers than he has thus far this season. It doesn't help when Joe Flacco comes in and the passing offense is more dynamic instantly.

The coaching is REALLY holding this team back.

Between the Head Coach and Shane Waldron, the offensive coordinator, they have not done their rookie QB any favors, nor made the team better. Their 2 wins this season feel in spite of the poor coaching, as they have one of the most talented rosters in the league. It is painful watching the offense when you know just how talented it can be.

Maybe drafting Penix doesn't feel like that bad of a pick.

The Falcons were grilled for picking Penix with a top 10 pick, and rightfully so. They still had a terrible draft outside of that pick, but after watching the start to Kirk Cousins tenure in Atlanta, maybe it is nice to have a talented young QB in your back pocket. He has been pretty weak at best outside of a game winning drive against the Eagles.

Marvin Harrison Jr is the heart of the offense, and maybe team.

It is simple: When Marvin is involved in the offensive gameplan, the offense does well. When he isn't getting the ball, they lose. That has been the case for this team through a month of the season, at least.

This team has a decision to make about the future of the franchise.

Part of me looks at this team, and still sees a playoff team. However, part of me sees a team that still has a little bit to go roster-wise, and could stand to have a future for the QB position beyond Stafford.

This is a top 5 defense, with a bottom 3 offense.

We knew that talent-wise, this roster was still very early into a rebuild. However, the defense has performed phenomenally, even with a dysfunctional offense. It is easy to say that the defense is better than we thought it would be, and the offense is worse than we thought it would be.

Aaron Rodgers hasn't quite been worth the wait.

It's still early, but Rodgers has been pretty mediocre for a guy who was supposed to get this team over the hump. I'm not saying he can't, I just think there are a lot of issues on offense so far, and looking at the depth chart, I'm not sure there should be much of any.

This team isn't built to contend for the Super Bowl this year.

Right now reading this, you definitely believe this. If you told that to someone before the season started, they would not believe you at all. The defense is bad, and the offense has dysfunction all over the place.

The Raiders might win too many games to tank properly.

A Adams trade is looming, but even still, this team sits at 2-2. I think for the overall betterment of the franchise, they should tank for a better draft pick. No direction at QB, and a lack of talent, a high draft pick would fix.

The Dolphins have gone to the #1 offense to the worst and maybe most dysfunctional offense.

A large part is Tua being hurt, however, before Tua got hurt, they were still underperforming mightily. Now without him, it is a dumpster fire. They either need to get a rental QB, or just wash the season.

The Giants have another star in New York, that they hopefully won't waste.

I think it is a big ask for them to not waste Nabers, but he has been so good, that even a somewhat competent team around him would make this team 10 times more dangerous.

The Browns have the worst offensive line in football by a large margin.

It is easy to point and make fun at Watson, because you should. However, I will give him the benefit of the doubt, this line makes any sort of offense impossible. The defense has regressed as well.

The Will Levis experiment is (unofficially) over.

Whether or not they bench him this upcoming week, or they don't at all this season, I'd say it's likely about time to throw in the towel on Levis. He actively harms the team when he is under center.

Yeah, they are bad, but there are some bright spots.

I think everyone knew they would be bad, and even Young getting benched isn't the most suprising thing, but there is some good stuff. There are some solid guys on defense, and some nice pieces on offense.

There may be some regret in extending Lawrence.

Not necessarily because of poor performance, but that there is places where the money is needed more. Yes he has played bad, but this team is likely going to have to scrap a lot of players and start over, and that is going to be awkward with a QB eating up that much of the cap.

Don't throw Drake Maye into this mess this season, please.

Putting Maye in a situation where the Pats area at right now, could hurt the development of him. It could ruin his confidence as well, and let's be honest, this roster is still very far from being a threat in the AFC. Maye needs to sit and develop this season for as long as he can.