Crowe - NFL Week #5 Power Rankings

Crowe - NFL Week #5 Power Rankings

Now, there’s just one. One undefeated team left in the 2021 season after one month. And it’s not who anyone ever expected: the Arizona Cardinals.

In a division that’s loaded with the Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers, it’s the Cardinals who are standing tall at 4-0. Yes, it’s Kyler Murray and crew who’ve outplayed the upgraded and Matthew Stafford-led 4-1 Rams, the All-World Russell Wilson in Seattle and the two-headed QB beast that is the oft-and currently-injured Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance in San Francisco. Is it good enough to capture our top spot in this week’s NFL Power Rankings? Well, you’ll just have to scroll down to see that. No spoilers here.

But first, a few nuggets from the other half – the lower levels of the NFL.

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The Jets won’t go winless. Zack Wilson got his first NFL in overtime in upsetting the Titans. They could make it two in a row as they head to London to face the Falcons, who are playing without WR Calvin Ridley, who’s out due to a personal matter.

The Bears have finally committed to rookie Justin Fields as its starter. Like Wilson, Fields got his initial victory last week against the Lions and now heads out to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders. Chicago, like the Jets, may not be very good, but at least they’ll trend upward with Fields, who is their future.

Finally, what can we say about Urban Meyer? The Jaguars have lost 19 games in a row and now the rookie head coach is in hot water after a viral video surfaced of him dancing with a woman other than his wife in a bar after the Jags loss in Cincinnati 10 days ago. It’s daily turmoil and there are many questions now as to how long Meyer will last in Jacksonville. It’s definitely not a good look for one of the most successful college coaches who was perceived to be a family man and now must try to regain the trust of not only of his players, but his owner, Shad Khan and the entire organization.

 

10. Browns (3-1, Last week: not ranked)

It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win, 14-7 in Minnesota. It’s only a matter of time before this Cleveland offense gets back on track. In the meantime, Myles Garrett and crew are doing more than enough defensively to keep the Browns tied atop the AFC North with the Ravens and Bengals. Now, can they right the ship that is Baker Mayfield, who completed just 15 of 33 passes for 155 yards against the Vikings.

 

9. Panthers (3-1, Last week: ranked 5th)

Without Christian McCaffrey, the Panthers struggled to stay with the offensive output of the Cowboys Sunday in Dallas, losing their first game 36-28. With all that pressure on QB Sam Darnold’s shoulders, he threw a pair of interceptions leading to Dallas scores that put the game pretty much out of reach. Help is on the way as former defensive player of the year Stephon Gilmore comes via a trade from the Patriots and could be available as soon as week 7.

 

8. Cowboys (3-1, Last week: not ranked)

It’s a yearly ritual whenever the Cowboys play well for another stretch of time. Are the Cowboys for real or is it just the hype for America’s Team? Well, for now, let’s call it for what it is. Dallas could be 4-0 if not for a late Tom Brady rally on Opening Night in Tampa. They’ve beaten a pair of 3-1 teams in the Chargers and Panthers, two teams tied for the division leads. Quarterback Dak Prescott has looked brilliant to boot with four more touchdowns Sunday against the previously undefeated Panthers, giving him through four games. Plus, Ezekiel Elliott is looking a bit more like his former self with 143 yards rushing against Carolina.

 

7. Chargers (3-1, Last week: ranked 10th)

Not even a bit of lightning before the game, briefly delaying the game at the indoor SoFi Stadium for about a half-hour, could slow down the Bolts. Justin Herbert’s three touchdown passes showed the Raiders the way to their first loss and has the Chargers leading the way, tied at 3-1 atop the AFC West with Las Vegas and Denver.

 

6. Ravens (3-1, Last week: ranked 8th)

Don’t look now, but the Ravens have now won three in a row and are starting to show that swagger again. Head coach John Harbaugh didn’t win any fans in Denver by running the ball on the final play of the game with a 23-7 lead just to give his team an NFL record-tying 43 straight games with 100+ yards rushing. What did Broncos head coach Vic Fangio think of Lamar Jackson’s five-yard for the record instead of kneeling on the final play? "I thought it was bullsh*t, but I expected that from them," Fangio said, according to NFL.com.

 

5. Packers (3-1, Last week: ranked 4th)

Well folks, we’re back to the Packers looking routine with another dominating victory, this time over the Steelers 27-17. It looked like old times too with Rodgers finding old friend Randall Cobb for two touchdown catches. About the only dramatic part of this one was Aaron Rodgers interacting with Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin in what the social media is calling a sure sign that #12 wants to play in Pittsburgh next season.

 

4. Rams (4-1, Last week: ranked 1st)

Before Thursday night’s win in Seattle, I had the Rams as the week’s biggest drop, going all the way from #1 to #7. But after taking down, literally, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks, the Rams climb back up to number four. Beating the Seahawks on a last second Geno Smith interception after Wilson had to sit out due to Aaron Donald putting a hurt on Wilson’s finger (watch here), is a nice bounce back. LA is definitely Wilson’s kryptonite, having beaten him now 12 of 20 matchups.

 

3. Buccaneers (3-1, Last week: ranked 2nd)

It’s time for Tom Brady and the Bucs to exhale. The gigantic spectacle that was his return to Foxboro is over. They survived by inches as Nick Folk’s 56-yard field goal attempt clanked off the left goal post, giving Brady the win over Bill Belichick and the Patriots despite TB12 not throwing a TD pass for the first game this season. Now, it’s time to get back on track and get their secondary healthy as they welcome the Dolphins to Tampa.

 

2. Bills (3-1, Last week: ranked 3rd)

For the second time in three weeks, the Buffalo defense pitched a shutout. This time, the Bills limited the winless Texans to 100 yards of offense while putting a 40 spot on Houston, Buffalo’s 2nd largest shutout victory in franchise history. Don’t look now, but the Bills have the NFL’s top-ranked defense (216 yards and 11 points per game) to go with that high-powered offense. This Sunday night in Kansas City, the Bills could take a giant step forward by exorcising the demons from last season’s AFC Championship Game loss to the Chiefs.

 

1. Cardinals (4-0, Last week: ranked 6th)

Give the Cards their due. They went into the lion’s den, a place where the defending Super Bowl Champion Bucs couldn’t win a week ago, and whooped the LA Rams collective keesters, 37-20. But it’s not just Kyler Murray (248 yards, 2 TD) getting it done. James Conner added a pair of rushing touchdowns for the second straight week and Chase Edmonds added 143 rushing yards as well.

Games to watch this week:

Packers at Bengals – Time to see if Cincy is for real up against the master, Aaron Rodgers. Surprisingly, Cincy’s won 3 of last 4 vs. Green Bay.
49ers at Cardinals – Trap game for the Cards after a huge road win last week in LA.
Browns at Chargers – Best game of the day most won’t be able to see.
Bills at Chiefs – Sunday Night Football gives us the AFC Championship Game rematch. Josh Allen has never beaten Patrick Mahomes but then again, we were saying the same thing about Lamar Jackson a few weeks ago too.

 

Last week:
10. Chargers
9. Broncos
8. Ravens
7. Raiders
6. Cardinals
5. Panthers
4. Packers
3. Bills
2. Buccaneers
1. Rams