NFL Power Poll, Week 5

Rank (Last)	Team	Record	Notes
1 (1)	Houston	5-0	We saw the first cracks in the Texans armor last week. First, they let the Jets hang around for an entire game. More concenring: they lost Brian Cushing for the year to a tork ACL.
2 (2)	Atlanta	5-0	Another lackluster effort (but a win) from an undefeated team. But, every NFL team suffers blips during it's 16-game season. If you can keep most (or better yet, all) of those blips as W's you're in pretty good shape.
3 (4)	San Francisco	4-1	Almost was convinced to move them up to #1 after the second week in a row that they took a poor team behind the woodshed. Plus, that loss to Minnesota looks less and less damning as the Vikings continue to win.
4 (3)	Baltimore	4-1	This is the Baltimore team that has to be both infuriating and scary for their fans. They go on the roas and let a clearly undermanned team hang around for 60 minutes. Last year these games accounted for their 4 losses. Last week they hung on for the win. Joe Flacco didn't do his own "Joe Flacco is elite!" bandwagon any favors either with a 13/27 187 yards 0TD/1INT statline.
5 (6)	New England	3-2	That was an amazing offensive display. 444 yards. An 11.5 minute time of possession advantage. 35 first downs! And the pace of play was whirlwind. If New England can bottle that, they could be even better than the last couple of years, especially with a functioning running game.
6 (7)	Chicago	4-1	It's stretches like right now that make non-Bears fans wonder why Cutler has the terri-bad games like the Green Bay debacle back in week 2. Bears fans don't wonder about that because they've been conditioned to expect so little from their quarterbacks.
7 (13)	Minnesota	4-1	The 4-1 record makes you wonder if this team could sneak its way into the playoffs. The win over the 49ers makes you wonder if they could actually do some damage if they get there.
8 (9)	New York Giants	3-2	The Cleveland game was a perfect microcosm of this team. They sleepwalk way too often for a team with this talent (falling behind Cleveland 17-7), but when they wake up, yikes! (the ensuing 27-0 run to take control of the game).
9 (5)	Arizona	4-1	9 sacks? Seriously? That's an abysmal showing no matter how much talent you do (or don't) have on your offensive line. Seahawks, Patriots, Eagles, and Dolphins fans are scratching their heads right now wondering why they couldn't do what St. Louis just did.
10 (12)	San Diego	3-2	Antonio Gates: 13 catches, 143 yards, 0TDs. No, that wasn't his line in the Saints game, that's his season. Is it too early to file a missing person's report? That San Diego is 3-2 while getting nothing from their top offensive threat is good, but it doesn't seem like it's sustainable over an entire season. On the plus side, we had a Robert Meachem sighting! Hi Robert.
11 (15)	Seattle	3-2	The offense is making strides, but until those strides start putting this team in the end zone more, this is about as high as they can go.
12 (8)	Philadelphia	3-2	This seems like the point where you throw up your hands and simply accept that the Eagles are a team that will simply turn the ball over all the time. It doesn't mean they can't be a playoff team, but it absolutely means they aren't a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Is that enough? Or do you start looking at other options at quarterback?
13 (17)	St. Louis	3-2	This may be a little high for them, but how many of the teams ranked below would you have faith in beating 2 NFC West teams in 2 weeks? Any of them?
14 (18)	Pittsburgh	2-2	It's really weird looking at the Pittsburgh Steelers as a team that simply cannot stop anybody.
15 (10)	Green Bay	2-3	The Packers juggernaut is dead. What other conclusion can we be expected to draw from that come-from-ahead loss to the Colts? It wouldn't have mattered if the Colts had scored 30, the 2011 Aaron Rodgers would have simply put up 50 against that undermanned defense.
16 (11)	Denver	2-3	Their murderous schedule makes them look worse than they are. This isn't a Colts team Peyton Manning will lead to 12-4, but they'll be there fighting for the division at the end.
17 (26)	Indianapolis	2-2	Tremendous win for the Colts, and you have to feel good for Chuck Pagano.
18 (22)	Miami	2-3	This team is two small breaks away from being the Minnesota Vikings of the AFC. As amazing as it is that the Vikings are doing that with 2nd year QB Ponder, it's even more amazing that the Dolphins are that close with rookie Ryan Tannehill.
19 (14)	Cincinnati	3-2	Last year Cincinnati ran the ball well and played good defense. This year, what exactly is it that the Bengals do well?
20 (16)	Dallas	2-2	I legitimately have no idea what to make of this team. The talent is there to be much better than they are playing.
21 (19)	Washington	2-3	Everyone's been talking about the dark side of Robert Griffin III running around making plays, and last week we saw it. When he gets injured, Washington immediately looks like the outmanned team it is on paper.
22 (20)	New York Jets	2-3	If you're going to have a dearth of offensive talent, maybe it is time to unveil the single-wing Tebowne attack and let Mark Sanchez have a seat for awhile. It's not like they're going to contend the conventional way if Sanchez is throwing to Jeremy Kerley and Chaz Schillens.
23 (21)	Buffalo	2-3	I'm not sure who deserves more scorn, the Bills for lying down so egregiously in their last 6 quarters, or everyone who got suckered in to believing that this year will finally be different for this team.
24 (30)	New Orleans	1-4	Saints fans would love to believe that this will kickstart the team on a run that takes them back to the sunny side of .500, but the defense still cannot stop anyone.
25 (23)	Detroit	1-3	Surprisingly, the defense may actually be the least of their problems. The special teams has given up two touchdowns in two consecutive games, and the offense isn't scoring at its usual pace unless they're playing Tennessee. Unfortunately they don't play Tenessee again for four more years.
26 (24)	Tampa Bay	1-3	This team needs Josh Freeman to make thel eap.
27 (25)	Carolina	1-4	Carolina's coaching staff did a great job last year in maximizing the strengths of then-rookie Cam Newton. This year defense have adjusted to take away those strengths. Carolina's coaches (and Newton himself) need to make their own adjustments in response quickly, before this season backs its way off of a cliff.
28 (28)	Kansas City	1-4	Yes, it's wrong to cheer for an injury (*ducks debris thrown from Philadelphia*). It's classless. Do the fans have a right to do it? Absolutely. But just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.
29 (27)	Jacksonville	1-4	Man, that Geno Smith of West Virginia looks really good right about now, huh Jaguars fans?
30 (29)	Oakland	1-3	This team needs basically everyone to step up.
31 (31)	Cleveland	0-5	Classic A-for effort team. They fight, and they fight hard, but they simply don't have the horses to be competitive.
32 (32)	Tennessee	1-4	This is just a bad team. They're just not competitive right now.