NFL Power Rankings Week 5: Scroll Down For NFC West

If nobody in a division is in the Top 23 for a power rankings set, is that division still a division? Think on that, guys and gals.

Another exciting week of NFL football is in the books and just as everyone predicted, the Kansas City Chiefs are the NFL’s lone undefeated team. I’d imagine the 1972 Dolphins are shaking in their collective/annoying boots.

22 of the 32 NFL teams have records of either 3-1 or 2-2.

(1) New York Jets (3-1) - Against my better judgment, but that Week 1 loss against Baltimore seems like it was roughly 20 years ago at this point. They rolled over Buffalo exactly like a good team is supposed to roll over Buffalo.

(2) Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) - If you had asked the Steelers whether they’d have accepted a 3-1 start without Ben Roethlisberger, and the one loss was a last minute job against Baltimore, they’d have taken it.

(3) Baltimore Ravens (3-1) - They’ve got wins over the Jets and now Steelers (who I’ve ranked above them -- yeah, that’s right), but their loss to Cincinnati is worse than anything those two have.

(4) New Orleans Saints (3-1) - Falling a spot because they didn’t exactly turn it on after a loss against Atlanta. It isn’t like Drew Brees and company to play with their food, but that’s exactly what they did in a narrow win over Carolina.

(5) New England Patriots (3-1) - The way New England slogged through the first half of their Monday Night Football date with the Dolphins made it seem like they were a team in trouble. 35 second-half points later, it was hard to have the same concerns.

(6) Green Bay Packers (3-1) - This team is eventually going to need to figure out how to run the ball in the absence of Ryan Grant. A visit to the nation’s capital won’t be as gentle as a home game against the Lions.

(7) Atlanta Falcons (3-1) - Avoided the post-Saints win malaise just in time to pull away with an at the buzzer win over the 49ers. Looking more and more like this team is headed back to the playoffs.

(8) Houston Texans (3-1) - Thanks to the Jaguars' win over the Colts, Houston has a one game lead over the Colts after four games. That’s actually a big thing for them.

(9) Chicago Bears (3-1) - Marc Bulger and Kurt Warner had to be shaking their heads watching Jay Cutler get sacked 5,654 times in the Bears' Sunday Night Football loss to the Giants. The Mike Martz offense: giving quarterbacks concussions since 1999.

(10) Indianapolis Colts (2-2) - Can’t drop them too far for losing on a 59-yard field goal or having a scoring opportunity evaporate when Jacksonville safety Anthony Smith pulled an interception off his shoe tops.

(11) Kansas City Chiefs (3-0) - If they can beat the Colts on the road this week, I’ll start to take them seriously. Until then, they’ll just have to enjoy being in the Top 11.

(12) San Diego Chargers (2-2) - Sure, it was against the suddenly putrid Cardinals defense, but the San Diego offense is deadly. They will need to win a road game at some point this season.

(13) Washington Redskins (2-2) - A week after failing to show up in a loss to the Rams, Washington went on the road and got a win in Philly. It definitely helped to knock out Michael Vick, but a win’s a win.

(14) Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) - Without Vick in the lineup, Kevin Kolb will get a chance to show that he is worthy of the starting job. Here’s hoping he lights up San Francisco (but he probably won’t).

(15) New York Giants (2-2) - After looking like crap in the previous two weeks, the Giants needed a strong performance against the Bears. Sacking the quarterback 10 times will do the trick.

(16) Denver Broncos (2-2) - Winning at Tennessee is a really good win for the Broncos. Not sure if you’ve noticed, but Kyle Orton has already thrown for over 1,400 yards.

(17) Tennessee Titans (2-2) - Since his Week 1 performance against the Raiders, Chris Johnson has had two below 60 yard games and has failed to crack the 4-yards-per-carry barrier in any contest. Cause for concern? Probably not.

(18) Dallas Cowboys (1-2) - They were on a bye last weekend, but a home date with Tennessee will give them a solid chance to get back to .500 and stop Dallas sports talk radio from crying.

(19) Miami Dolphins (2-2) - Prime time home losses to the Jets and Patriots probably knocks the Dolphins out of the AFC East hunt unless they can get their road win on.

(20) Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2) - They may be .500 and they may have won a game in impressive fashion, but they are still the most boring team in football and almost nothing they can do will change that.

(21) Minnesota Vikings (1-2) - Imagine coming off your bye week and having a road game on Monday Night Football against the Jets. Good luck with that, Brett.

(22) Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) - Blew a golden opportunity to get off to a 3-1 start by losing to the Browns. On the plus side, Carson Palmer had one of his best games in years.

(23) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1) - Idle and still the worst over .500 team in football. A road visit to the Bengals should cure the "over .500" part.

(t24) Seattle Seahawks (2-2) - I refuse to delineate between the NFC West’s "elite." Seattle looked absolutely horrible in losing to the Rams in Week 4.

(t24) Arizona Cardinals (2-2) - They beat the Rams and they beat the Raiders -- in the other two games, they got beat 82-17. That is hideous.

(t24) St. Louis Rams (2-2) - Congratulations to Bradford and Co. on their two-game winning streak. Will they be able to win a game on the road, even if it’s in Detroit?

(27) Cleveland Browns (1-3) - Hey, they won a game. That alone is enough to have the Niners, Lions, Panthers, and Bills starring up at them.

(28) Oakland Raiders (1-3) - They played an impressive Houston team tight. At some point this season, they’re going to beat someone they shouldn’t.

(29) San Francisco 49ers (0-4) - Though the Niners are winless, they host the Vick-less Eagles on Sunday Night and are still only two games back of the NFC West lead. Their season is far from finished.

(30) Detroit Lions (0-4) - Can’t help but feel sorry for these guys. They’ve lost games by 2, 3, and 5 already this season. I’d expect them to break through this Sunday at home against St. Louis.

(31) Carolina Panthers (0-4) - They jump up a spot because they were within about 10 yards of being able to kick a game-winning field goal on the road in New Orleans. Finally showing a bit of fight.

(32) Buffalo Bills (0-4) - Someone ask Andrew Luck how he likes cold winters.