NFL power rankings after Week 5

San Francisco: The Niners left no doubt about their supremacy with a rout of the Cowboys. The next serious challenge to a potential perfect season may not show up on their schedule until Dec. 3 when they face… (1)

1. San Francisco: The Niners left no doubt about their supremacy with a rout of the Cowboys. The next serious challenge to a potential perfect season may not show up on their schedule until Dec. 3 when they face… (1)

2. Philadelphia: The Eagles are like their signature short yardage play – strong, effective, not flashy, but virtually unstoppable. (2)

3. Miami: Losing De’Von Achane to an ankle injury is tough, but maybe he is as fast a healer as he is a runner. (6)

4. Detroit: Even while missing two top offensive weapons, they cruise to a dominant win. Trouncing opponents who should be trounced is the sign of an elite team that the Lions can now claim. (5)

5. Kansas City: The regular season is basically their preseason now and we are just watching them work out their kinks for 17 weeks. (7)

6. Jacksonville: They haven’t won in Jacksonville yet but they went 2-0 in London with a nice win over the Bills. (15)

7. Buffalo: Two season-ending injuries to key defensive players in back-to-back weeks will be tough to absorb. (3)

8. Dallas: Getting smoked on national TV in a game that was supposed to be a measuring stick for your progress? The Cowboys had to eat what they served up to the Giants in Week 1. (4)

9. LA Chargers: We’ll know a lot more about this team from its next two games against Dallas and Kansas City. (9)

10. Tampa Bay: Baker Mayfield had a great bye week with his Sooners. Now back to trying to replace Tom Brady. (10)

11. Pittsburgh: First place in the AFC North? How’d that happen? (20)

12. Baltimore: Tough loss to the Steelers. Strange how they still came out looking like the better team though. (8)

13. Cincinnati: If Joe Burrow keeps looking healthier, so do the Bengals. (18)

14. LA Rams: Cooper Kupp’s return gave them a puncher’s chance against Philly. (12)

15. Seattle: Being 3-1 is tremendous for a team that doesn’t particularly excel at anything. (16)

16. Cleveland: No snooze button coming out of the bye for the Browns, who now host the Niners. (13)

17. NY Jets: It’s not every week you get to face a team with a worse Wilson at quarterback than you have. The Jets took advantage of it in Denver. (19)

18. Atlanta: The Falcons let Ridder cook, and he delivered a decent meal. (24)

19. New Orleans: Wins in Foxborough aren’t worth what they used to be, but the Saints will take it no matter the value. (23)

20. Indianapolis: Anthony Richardson is a more exciting player but the Colts once again show they are a better team when Gardner Minshew is at quarterback. (22)

21. Houston: All that good mojo off two straight wins melted away pretty quickly. (17)

22. Washington: Magic Johnson needs to better handle the inevitable ups and downs of this team’s season more than the players and coaches do. (11)

23. Las Vegas: Jimmy G and the Raiders end their three-game skid thanks to three defensive takeaways. (28)

24. Tennessee: When the old Derrick Henry shows up, the Titans are good. When he doesn’t, they lose to the Colts. (21)

25. Green Bay: In two primetime games, Jordan Love has thrown five interceptions. That doesn’t win hearts and minds… or games. (14)

26. Chicago: Justin Fields had a heck of a five-day span with 8 TDs but only one win. (31)

27. Minnesota: What might life be like if Justin Jefferson leaves in free agency? The Vikings will get a taste of it with him on IR for a bit. (25)

28. Arizona: This is the team that plays everyone tough but doesn’t have the talent to actually win. (27)

29. NY Giants: Some may have predicted a step back from the playoff team of a year ago, but no one could have seen this coming. (29)

30. New England: The measly 17 wins Bill Belichick needs to match Don Shula for most all time have never seemed so unachievable. (26)

31. Denver: Imagine how bad it would have been if Aaron Rodgers had been there to defend Nathaniel Hackett’s honor. (30)

32. Carolina: Worse yet, the Panthers don’t even have their own first-round pick to look forward to. (32)

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.