2011 NFL Power Rankings: Week 5
The 2011 season hasn't been kind to teams that once looked like powerhouses on paper.
Sure, the Packers are unbeaten and the Saints have soared since opening night, but plenty of preseason darlings are trending downward. The Eagles can't hold a lead. The Falcons lack consistency. The Steelers look old and very ordinary. The Jets appear to have an assortment of issues. And the Colts have become an also-ran without Peyton Manning.
These teams' struggles are reflected in our latest rankings. The Jets have suffered the biggest fall, going from No. 7 to No. 14. Our voters (ESPN.com's John Clayton, ESPN.com's Ashley Fox, AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky, NFC West blogger Mike Sando and AFC East blogger James Walker) also justly punished the Steelers and Eagles, who fell three spots each.
Week 5 should shed even more light on who is the real deal and who isn't. Atlanta hosts Green Bay (still the unanimous No. 1) in a rematch of last season's divisional playoff game. Pittsburgh, which might be without QB Ben Roethlisberger, takes on the surging Titans, who moved up seven spots to No. 8. Then there's the Jets' meeting with the rival Patriots (No. 3), who would love nothing more than to keep Rex Ryan's bunch reeling.
• Rank 'em | How they voted | Bloggers | Team Power Rankings charts since 2002 | Sprow: Why Lions are overrated 
| Mike & Mike 
Editor's note: "LW" indicates each team's ranking in the Week 4 edition of the 2011 Power Rankings.
| 2011 Power Rankings: Week 5 | ||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | COMMENTS | |
| 1 |  | -- Last Week: 1 | The Packers' offense is rolling through the NFL like the 49ers used to do. (Clayton) | |
| 2 |  | -- Last Week: 2 | Saints have a legit shot at improving to 3-1 on the road with trips to Carolina and Tampa next. (Sando) | |
| 3 |  | -- Last Week: 3 | WR Wes Welker is on pace for 160 catches and 20 touchdowns. (Walker) | |
| 4 |  | -- Last Week: 4 | The Lions are 4-0 with seven remaining home games. Got to be thinking playoffs. (Clayton) | |
| 5 |  | -- Last Week: 5 | Baltimore's defense (three TDs) scored more points than 12 NFL teams in Week 4. (Walker) | |
| 6 |  | 2 Last Week: 8 | Things don't get easier in follow-up to big win over Pittsburgh with a visit from Oakland. (Kuharsky) | |
| 7 |  | 2 Last Week: 9 | Now starts a three-week road swing, but Denver, the Jets and Kansas City are all beatable teams. (Kuharsky) | |
| 8 |  | 7 Last Week: 15 | A quarter of the way into the season, who's been a bigger addition than Matt Hasselbeck? (Kuharsky) | |
| 9 |  | 3 Last Week: 6 | The young Bills showed a lack of maturity with a letdown against Cincinnati. (Walker) | |
| 10 |  | 2 Last Week: 12 | Eli Manning has been on fire in the Giants' three-game winning streak, with eight touchdowns and one interception. (Fox) | |
| 11 |  | 3 Last Week: 14 | The Bucs aren't lighting it up, but they've quietly gone 3-1 for the fourth time in the past five seasons. (Sando) | |
| 12 |  | 4 Last Week: 16 | Mike Shanahan might have found his new main ball carrier in an old friend, Ryan Torain. (Fox) | |
| 13 |  | 3 Last Week: 10 | QB Ben Roethlisberger (foot) might not last 16 games behind a horrendous offensive line. (Walker) | |
| 14 |  | 7 Last Week: 7 | Jets coach Rex Ryan says "ground and pound" is making a comeback. But can the Jets still do it? (Walker) | |
| 15 |  | 2 Last Week: 13 | This trip to Houston could prove crucial if Oakland doesn't win the AFC West and wants to still be in the playoff mix. (Kuharsky) | |
| 16 |  | 4 Last Week: 20 | Jim Harbaugh's credibility surges after a 20-point comeback at Philly. (Sando) | |
| 17 |  | 6 Last Week: 11 | Another historic collapse leaves the Cowboys at .500 heading into a bye week that will be dominated by more questions about Tony Romo. (Fox) | |
| 18 |  | -- Last Week: 18 | Mike Martz is running "ground and pound," and the Jets are throwing the ball. Imagine. (Clayton) | |
| 19 |  | -- Last Week: 19 | Atlanta's defense has gone three consecutive games without collecting a sack. (Sando) | |
| 20 |  | 3 Last Week: 17 | Philadelphia will have to try to climb out of a 1-3 hole with consecutive road games at Buffalo and Washington. (Fox) | |
| 21 |  | 6 Last Week: 27 | Cincinnati's defense can keep the Bengals in a lot of games. (Walker) | |
| 22 |  | 1 Last Week: 21 | QB Colt McCoy throwing 61 times isn't the answer. (Walker) | |
| 23 |  | -- Last Week: 23 | Arizona has blown fourth-quarter leads twice in its current three-game losing streak. (Sando) | |
| 24 |  | 2 Last Week: 22 | After 12 double-digit defeats in 2010, the Panthers have won or lost by seven or fewer in all four games. (Sando) | |
| 25 |  | 1 Last Week: 24 | Outscored 67-13 in first halves, the Seahawks seek a quick start at the Giants in Week 5. (Sando) | |
| 26 |  | 1 Last Week: 25 | The Jaguars might have done Blaine Gabbert a disservice by not addressing wide receiver more aggressively. (Kuharsky) | |
| 27 |  | 1 Last Week: 26 | Hosting the Chargers should be a more reasonable gauge than traveling to Green Bay was. (Kuharsky) | |
| 28 |  | 4 Last Week: 32 | Was the loud exchange between Todd Haley and Matt Cassel the spark the Chiefs have been looking for, or was that just the Vikings? (Kuharsky) | |
| 29 |  | 1 Last Week: 30 | Monday night sure seemed like a perfect chance to win, but the Colts wore down and fell to 0-4. (Kuharsky) | |
| 30 |  | 2 Last Week: 28 | At 0-4, the Vikings' brass must be pondering a quarterback change in the next few weeks. (Clayton) | |
| 31 |  | 2 Last Week: 29 | Is it time to think about next year in Miami? (Walker) | |
| 32 |  | 1 Last Week: 31 | Bye week is critical on the injury front, but the Rams' problems run deeper. (Sando) | |
| ||||
| Glossary |
| The rankings were determined by ESPN's Power Panel, a group of more than 80 writers, editors and television personalities. |
