Week Five Power Rankings: Movement throughout the middle

One of the great midweek segments throughout an NFL season is the ranking of all 32 teams in the pursuit of capturing a Lombardi trophy.

While any two rankings are rarely the same, the debate of opinion among fans is part of what makes sport great. Combining reputation and form, here is Preme Football’s Week 5 edition of the 2026 Power Rankings.

1. San Francisco 49ers
Change in ranking: None
Last week’s result: 32-29 win @ Seahawks
Week 5 MVP: Renardo Green
Week 5 lowlight: Is there such a thing as peaking too early?
This week’s opponent: vs. Commanders

2. Kansas City Chiefs
Change in ranking: +1
Last week’s result: Bye
This week’s opponent: vs. Chargers

3. Buffalo Bills
Change in ranking: +1
Last week’s result: 37-34 win @ Rams
Week 5 MVP: James Cook III
Week 5 lowlight: Cook III’s fumble to begin overtime, which somehow wasn’t ultimately fatal
This week’s opponent: @ Raiders

4. Baltimore Ravens
Change in ranking: +1
Last week’s result: 30-23 win @ Falcons
Week 5 MVP: Derrick Henry
Week 5 lowlight: It remains unknown if Lamar Jackson will return in Cleveland this weekend
This week’s opponent: @ Browns

5. Jacksonville Jaguars
Change in ranking: +1
Last week’s result: 19-17 win vs. Eagles
Week 5 MVP: Parker Washington
Week 5 lowlight: Making the win a lot harder than it should have been
This week’s opponent: vs. Texans

6. Seattle Seahawks
Change in ranking: -4
Last week’s result: 29-32 loss vs. 49ers
Week 5 MVP: Jason Myers
Week 5 lowlight: Already falling 2 games behind in the NFC West
This week’s opponent: @ Broncos

7. Cincinnati Bengals
Change in ranking: +1
Last week’s result: 31-24 win @ Dolphins
Week 5 MVP: Jordan Battle
Week 5 lowlight: Not making a statement with a big win against a terrible opponent
This week’s opponent: Bye

8. Minnesota Vikings
Change in ranking: +1
Last week’s result: 23-13 win @ Saints
Week 5 MVP: Byron Murphy Jr.
Week 5 lowlight: Their 21st-ranked offense needs to find another gear if this team is to be considered a threat
This week’s opponent: Bye

9. Denver Broncos
Change in ranking: +2
Last week’s result: 23-17 win @ Chargers
Week 5 MVP: Nik Bonitto
Week 5 lowlight: Requiring another comeback instead of having a 4-quarter performance for once
This week’s opponent: vs. Seahawks

10. Los Angeles Rams
Change in ranking: None
Last week’s result: 34-37 loss vs. Bills
Week 5 MVP: Puka Nacua
Week 5 lowlight: Harrison Mevis’ game-winning field goal attempt being blocked, setting Buffalo up to steal victory
This week’s opponent: vs. Cardinals

11. New England Patriots
Change in ranking: +3
Last week’s result: 45-17 win vs. Raiders
Week 5 MVP: Drake Maye
Week 5 lowlight: A potentially narrow divisional loss would leave them rueing their first 3 weeks of play
This week’s opponent: vs. Jets

12. Chicago Bears
Change in ranking: -5
Last week’s result: 7-31 loss @ Packers
Week 5 MVP: Austin Booker
Week 5 lowlight: Their quarterbacks’ honeymoon period without Caleb Williams is over
This week’s opponent: @ Falcons

13. Detroit Lions
Change in ranking: +3
Last week’s result: 45-21 win @ Cardinals
Week 5 MVP: Jahmyr Gibbs
Week 5 lowlight: Their Super Bowl credentials remain questionable as big wins over the NFL’s minnows have never been an issue for this Lions team
This week’s opponent: Bye

14. New York Giants
Change in ranking: +3
Last week’s result: 27-27 tie @ Commanders
Week 5 MVP: Isaiah Likely
Week 5 lowlight: Cam Skattebo’s fumble in field goal range to erase a game-winning attempt
This week’s opponent: vs. Saints

15. Las Vegas Raiders
Change in ranking: -3
Last week’s result: 17-45 loss @ Patriots
Week 5 MVP: Brock Bowers
Week 5 lowlight: The lack of wide receiver threats has become glaringly apparent
This week’s opponent: vs. Bills

16. Pittsburgh Steelers
Change in ranking: +4
Last week’s result: 34-22 win vs. Colts
Week 5 MVP: Jaylen Warren
Week 5 lowlight: This team simply cannot be trusted until they string a few consective wins together
This week’s opponent: @ Buccaneers

17. Green Bay Packers
Change in ranking: +5
Last week’s result: 31-7 win vs. Bears
Week 5 MVP: Jordan Love
Week 5 lowlight: They won’t get to ride the wave of emotion that comes with a home rivalry game against the Bears every single week
This week’s opponent: vs. Cowboys

18. Dallas Cowboys
Change in ranking: -5
Last week’s result: 16-24 loss vs. Buccaneers
Week 5 MVP: George Pickens
Week 5 lowlight: For the first time in forever, they lost a game due to poor offensive execution
This week’s opponent: @ Packers

19. Carolina Panthers
Change in ranking: None
Last week’s result: Bye
This week’s opponent: @ Eagles

20. Philadelphia Eagles
Change in ranking: -5
Last week’s result: 17-19 loss @ Jaguars
Week 5 MVP: Jalen Carter
Week 5 lowlight: Deciding to give Ameer Abdullah a chance to return that kickoff with 8 seconds remaining
This week’s opponent: vs. Panthers

21. Houston Texans
Change in ranking: None
Last week’s result: 26-3 win @ Titans
Week 5 MVP: Will Anderson Jr.
Week 5 lowlight: They’ll need to beat much stronger opponents in order to complete the near-impossible turnaround from 0-4
This week’s opponent: @ Jaguars

22. Atlanta Falcons
Change in ranking: +1
Last week’s result: 23-30 loss vs. Ravens
Week 5 MVP: Jessie Bates III
Week 5 lowlight: Tua Tagovailoa needing to replace an injured Michael Penix Jr., throwing the game-losing interception with his 3rd pass as a Falcon
This week’s opponent: vs. Bears

23. Cleveland Browns
Change in ranking: -5
Last week’s result: 12-17 loss @ Jets
Week 5 MVP: Carson Schwesinger
Week 5 lowlight: Somehow mishandling the snap on an attempted punt, leading to New York’s game-winning score
This week’s opponent: vs. Ravens

24. New York Jets
Change in ranking: +2
Last week’s result: 17-12 win vs. Browns
Week 5 MVP: David Bailey
Week 5 lowlight: Jets fans had to endure the pouring rain to see a rare home win for their team
This week’s opponent: @ Patriots

25. Indianapolis Colts
Change in ranking: -1
Last week’s result: 22-34 loss @ Steelers
Week 5 MVP: Spencer Shrader
Week 5 lowlight: This franchise might be stuck in a lifetime’s worth of mediocrity
This week’s opponent: vs. Titans

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Change in ranking: +3
Last week’s result: 24-16 win @ Cowboys
Week 5 MVP: Bucky Irving
Week 5 lowlight: Given the 0-4 start, wins are only damaging their chances of a top-5 draft pick
This week’s opponent: vs. Steelers

27. New Orleans Saints
Change in ranking: -2
Last week’s result: 13-23 loss vs. Vikings
Week 5 MVP: Jonas Sanker
Week 5 lowlight: Their win in Baltimore in Week 2 had a lot of people fooled about their credentials
This week’s opponent: @ Giants

28. Washington Commanders
Change in ranking: -1
Last week’s result: 27-27 tie vs. Giants
Week 5 MVP: Jayden Daniels
Week 5 lowlight: Daniels and the offense’s comical clock management allowing time to expire in overtime
This week’s opponent: @ 49ers

29. Los Angeles Chargers
Change in ranking: -1
Last week’s result: 17-23 loss vs. Broncos
Week 5 MVP: Kimani Vidal
Week 5 lowlight: It will be firing season soon if they can’t at least get a win on the board
This week’s opponent: @ Chiefs

30. Arizona Cardinals
Change in ranking: None
Last week’s result: 21-45 loss vs. Lions
Week 5 MVP: Jacoby Brissett
Week 5 lowlight: No defense league-wide is close to as bad as Arizona’s at the moment
This week’s opponent: @ Rams

31. Miami Dolphins
Change in ranking: None
Last week’s result: 24-31 loss vs. Bengals
Week 5 MVP: Ollie Gordon II
Week 5 lowlight: It becomes harder each week to see this team winning a game in 2026
This week’s opponent: Bye

32. Tennessee Titans
Change in ranking: None
Last week’s result: 3-26 loss vs. Texans
Week 5 MVP: Cedric Gray
Week 5 lowlight: Has there been a more uninspiring, unwatchable team in NFL history than the current Titans?
This week’s opponent: @ Colts

Who’s too high? Who’s too low? Let us know what changes you’d make to the Week 5 edition of the Preme Power Rankings.