FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons were on their bye week in Week 5, but, boy, did things shift around them.
The good news for the Falcons is they were able to rest and recover. The bad news for the Falcons is every single NFC South team got a win this week. And yes, that includes the Saints.
However, perhaps the best news for every team on this ranking is that the unbeatens, i.e. the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles, became beaten. Those losses don't shake the rankings too much, but they do shift things around at the top for the first time this season. Let's take a look.
Are the Bucs one of the toughest teams to beat in the league right now? It would appear so.
The Lions' offense is firing on all cylinders. And by the time the Bengals put up 21 in the fourth quarter, it was too little too late.
An unbeaten has fallen, but I would argue you could chalk this loss up to a single quarter. Giving up 18 points in the final minutes of a game is a tough pill to swallow, but one bad quarter does not take away from the Eagles still being the team to beat this year.
For arguably the first time this season, the 49ers put together a very decisive win over a top-ranked opponent. I don't know what this means for the 49ers moving forward, but they continue to stay in the conversation.
It was only a matter of time until the Bills woke up on the wrong side of the bed and had an off day. It happens. And perhaps the Patriots are better than people give them credit for. For those reasons, the Bills can't fall very far.
The Raiders never had a chance, did they?
The Steelers return from their overseas trip to Ireland with a win, plenty of rest days and the Browns on the docket. They're sitting pretty.
My jaw dropped when Trevor Lawrence tripped and fell on the 1-yard line with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game on Monday night. It hit the floor when he scored.
This was a valiant effort by the Seahawks but, alas, the Mayfield Magic continues to find a way.
For the third week in a row, I don't know what to do with the Packers. In Week 3, they were upset by the Browns. In Week 4, they tied with the Cowboys. In Week 5, they were off. What am I supposed to do with this?
Despite — I think — the Rams being the superior team vs. the 49ers, they let them just hang around when they could have pushed this thing to a W.
Are the Broncos back, or did they just play out of their mind for a quarter? Unsure.
It may have been close, but the Vikings beat the Browns. I guess I am left just as curious as you are: Where do the Vikings go from here and how much — if anything — does JJ McCarthy's return change things for them?
Looking at the stat sheet of this game, one could wonder how the heck the Chargers not only didn't win but how they lost by double digits. But then you see which team's running back averaged 7.9 yards per carry and which team's leading rusher was its quarterback... and no, it's not what you think. And that's the reason the Chargers lost.
This was a big boon for the Patriots — a team I felt strongly going into the season was better than their early losses foretold.
This was the bounce-back win the Commanders needed. It's what Jayden Daniels needed, too. Heck, just all around what the organization needed.
I thought there was going to be some Patrick Mahomes, last-second magic in Jacksonville. But alas, all the magic was used up by Trevor Lawrence's tripping touchdown.
Jury is out on whether or not a Week 5 bye was perfectly timed for Atlanta. On one hand, they should get some key players back from injury with the rest. On the other, the time off followed their best offensive performance to date. They can't come out flat against a good Bills team on Monday.
The Cowboys did what they were supposed to do against the Jets. That's kind of all there is to say about this game.
Despite the Lions winning by two scores, the Bengals scored more points than I thought they would. So, there's that.
The Bears have the Commanders on deck in Week 6, which could be a good measuring stick to know exactly where Chicago is.
I feel bad for the Texans because if they would have beaten the Ravens like this two or three weeks ago, it would have skyrocketed their rankings. But the Ravens of Week 5 are not who anyone thought they were in Week 1 and that has to be taken into account.
The Panthers ran all over the Dolphins, to the tune of more than 400 total yards, including 239 on the ground. They may have only won by three points, but defensively, the Dolphins couldn't really do much.
The Cardinals lost to last week's No. 32-ranked team. 'Nuff said.
The Titans got their first win of 2025. 'Nuff said.
Tough day at the office for the Raiders, am I right?
I don't know what to make of the Ravens. They nearly beat some of the league's top teams early, and save for a couple Derrick Henry fumbles, perhaps they would have. But they've been on a backslide that took them from being an unlucky team to... well... a team that lost by 34 to the one-win Texans.
The Browns were in this game, but being 3-of-15 on third downs is not a recipe for success, even if your rookie quarterback threw for nearly 200 yards and looked solid.
Miami is at a turning point in their season. The Dolphins have lost Tyreek Hill and lost to the Panthers, but things could get even worse in Miami with the Chargers on deck.
Hey, lookie there. The Saints got their first win of 2025.
The Jaxson Dart voodoo only worked for so long. That is, until he faced the voodoo kings of the bayou.
The Jets are the only team in the league with a zero in their record. I actually don't think the Jets are as bad as their record states, but they've tied my hands.
