NFL Week 5 Power Rankings: Bears trending up after win over Lions |
Four weeks of the 2021 NFL season have come and gone and it has not been disappointing. This year may look a bit different with 17 games in 18 weeks, and seven teams in each league earning a playoff berth. Nonetheless, we won’t have a week without football until February 2022 and we couldn’t be more excited to cover another year of NFL football. We at Bears HQ decided to give our power rankings for NFL’s fifth week.
*We decided to explain the top 16 and the Bears* 1. Arizona Cardinals 4-0 (up 3 spots) Three weeks in to the NFL season and the Cardinals are 4-0, riding a potent pass rush and an electric offense to their success so far. They are in one of the hardest divisions in the NFL, but have looked like a playoff team thus far beating the Titans, Vikings, Jaguars and handling the Rams this past week. 2. Los Angeles Rams 3-1 (down 1 spot) The LA Rams may be the most improved team of the offseason just because of their upgrade at QB. Instead of Jared Goff, the Rams have Matthew Stafford leading their speedy offense — and of course still have Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald on the defensive side of the ball. The new look Rams are 3-1 to show for it, losing to the Cardinals but also including an impressive beat down of the reigning champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers — earning our second spot. 3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-1 (down 1 spot) It’s hard to not rank Tampa Bay number three in our rankings. First and foremost, the Bucs are our reigning Super Bowl Champion — and they did not lose a single starter over the offseason. The Bucs have a roster construction that could win another Super Bowl, and Tom Brady is never content. But after dropping to the LA Rams, the Bucs fell to number two. Despite winning this week against the Patriots in Tom Brady’s return to Foxborough, the Bucs fell one spot because of the Cardinals. 4. Kansas City Chiefs 2-2 (up 1 spot) It would be hard to imagine the Chiefs falling out of the top 5 this season so long as Patrick Mahomes is healthy. This team easily boasts the best offense in the league — while also adding to an offensive line that was exposed in the Super Bowl last year. Keep an eye on a motivated Chiefs team this season, especially after losing week two to the Ravens and in week three to the Chargers. The Chiefs got back on track Sunday against the Eagles. 5. Buffalo Bills 3-1 (up 1 spot) It may have surprised some people last year, but the Buffalo Bills being one of the league’s best teams this season should come as no surprise. Buffalo is led by superstar QB Josh Allen, and a brilliant coaching staff. The Steelers gave the Bills some trouble in week one, but after dominating the Dolphins, the Washington Football Team and the Tecans they are clearly a top five team I believe. 6. Cleveland Browns 3-1 (down 3 spots) Yes, you read that right. After years of being the NFL’s laughing stock the Cleveland Browns have constructed a roster good enough to win a division and make a run in the playoffs. The Browns displayed dominance in their week two win over Houston and their week three win over the Bears and their week four win over Minnesota, and this team has all the makings of a top 10 team in the NFL. 7. Green Bay Packers 3-1 (no change) For most of the offseason the Packers were one of the most questionable teams — and it all depended on reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers. Well, he’s back… but the Packers were thumped by the Saints in week one, dropping the Packers out of the top 5. A dominating win on Monday Night Football over the Lions, a come from behind win over the 49ers and a dominating win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night should be enough to defend the Packers being in the top 10. 8. Los Angeles Chargers 3-1 (up 1 spots) LA might have had the best offseason in the AFC. Justin Herbert is coming off of an impressive campaign in which he won Rookie of the Year, and the Chargers have added to his offensive line - while also making some key acquisitions to the defense, the weakness of the team in 2020. That plus some opt-outs and injuries back leave the Chargers with one of the most talented and intriguing rosters in 2021. It wasn’t particularly pretty, but the Chargers gutted out an impressive week one win and took a hard to swallow week two loss against Dallas, but handling the Kansas City Chiefs and earning a win in week three and beating the Las Vegas Raiders in prime time solidifies this choice for me. 9.Baltimore Ravens 3-1 (down one spot) The Ravens quietly have one of the league’s best rosters. Despite not winning the division in 2020 and being in one of the NFL’s hardest divisions, the Ravens boast a legit chance to win a Super Bowl behind a star quarterback in Lamar Jackson and a defense that consists of the best secondary in the sport. The Ravens lost a stunner week one against the Vegas Raiders and the schedule won’t ease up for a while but they are certainly a top 10 team despite their injuries. Beating the Chiefs in primetime, defeating the Lions and handling the Broncos lock that in without a doubt. 10. Dallas Cowboys 3-1 (up 3 spots) Dallas is flying under the radar this offseason, but with a healthy offensive line plus Dak Prescott back from injury leaves Dallas with one of the best offenses in the NFL (which includes Ezekiel Elliot, Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup.) The defense is still the clear weakness of this team, but the Cowboys could have enough to win the league’s weakest division. The Cowboys gave the Bucs a tough fight in week one, and have not lost since, making them a top-10 team. 11. Seattle Seahawks 2-2 (up 6 spots) The Seattle Seahawks have soared back up these rankings after a strong road win over the 49ers. The Seahawks have had a bumpy start to the season so far, beating the Colts and 49ers but falling to the Vikings and the Titans. What separates the Seahawks from some of these other teams is the fact that they boast Russell Wilson, one of the league’s top quarterbacks. Keep an eye on Seattle, who currently sit in third place in the NFC West. 12. Las Vegas Raiders 3-1 (down 2 spots) If you want to talk about the grittiest team in the NFL, the Raiders deserve to be in that conversation. The Raiders were touchdown underdogs in week one against the Raves and week two against the Steelers — two of the toughest teams in the sport. To everyone’s surprise, the Raiders pulled off wins. They are 3-1 now after the Chargers handed them their first loss on Monday Night Football. Keep an eye on Coach Gruden’s team as the season rolls along. 13. San Francisco 49ers 2-2 (down 2 spots) It is important to remember that this is the team that represented the NFC in the Super Bowl just two seasons ago. Last season the 49ers were decimated with injuries — but with those players back the 49ers are once again a force to be reckon with in the NFC. While the NFC West is loaded, the 49ers should turn heads in 2021, like they did putting up 41 points in week one and beating the Eagles in week two. A week three last second loss to Green Bay and a home loss to Seattle in week four drops the 49ers out of the top ten. 14. Tennessee Titans 2-2 (down 2 spots) The Titans are the reigning AFC South champion and have made the playoffs in consecutive seasons — oh and they’ve added Julio Jones to an offense that already had Ryan Tannehill, AJ Brown and Derrick Henry who just ran for over 2,000 yards. In 2021, no team is going to be looking forward to playing the Titans. The Titans 2021 season got off to a tough start though, getting blown out by the Cardinals, but they rebounded nicely with a come from behind win over the Seahawks and a solid win over the Colts before dropping to the New York Jets in week four. 15. Cincinnati Bengals 3-1 (up 6 spots) Joe Burrow and the Bengals are off to a great start this season. In fact, their only loss was in a game that Burrow threw interceptions of three straight plays. The defense may have holes, but the offense is loaded with weapons — including Ja’Mar Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, a three headed monster of receivers for Joe Burrow to throw to. Wins over the Steelers, Vikings and Jaguars have the Bengals as a top 15 team. 16. Carolina Panthers 3-1 (down 2 spots) The Panthers are 3-1, and impressively are tied for the lead the NFC South after three weeks. So far the Panthers have handled the Jets, the New Orleans Saints and the Texans before falling to the Cowboys. New QB Sam Darnold has been solid in his first four games in Carolina, and despite Christian McCaffrey going down they are certainly a top-16 team in the league right now. 17. Denver Broncos 3-1 (down 2 spots) 18. New Orleans Saints 2-2 (down 2 spots) 19. New England Patriots 1-3 (up 1 spot) 20. Pittsburgh Steelers 1-3 (down 1 spots) 21. Chicago Bears 2-2 (up 3 spots). The Bears are finally back in the win column after Justin Field’s second career start led to a win over the Lions. It’s been up and down for the Bears, with ugly losses against the Rams and the Browns. But in week four, Matt Nagy handed over play calling to Bill Lazor and the Bears looked like a much different/better team in week four. The key to victory for this Bears team is running back David Montgomery and the defense carrying its weight — the formula was there in week four. 22. Indianapolis Colts 1-3 (up 3 spots) 23. Minnesota Vikings 1-3 (down 1 spots) 24. Washington Football Team 1-3 (no change) 25. Miami Dolphins 1-3 (down 2 spots) 26. Philadelphia Eagles 1-3 (no change) 27. Atlanta Falcons 1-3 (no change) 28. New York Giants 1-3 (up 1 spots) 29. Houston Texans 1-3 (down 1 spot) 30. New York Jets 1-3 (up 1 spot) 31. Detroit Lions 0-4 (down 1 spot) 32. Jacksonville Jaguars 0-4 (no change) Stay tuned as we update these rankings every week.
