Three of the four AFC East teams lost, which is good for the Buffalo Bills, but the Cincinnati Bengals continued their losing ways also. The Houston Texans won another big game too, this time against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Las Vegas Raiders continued losing too, but the Denver Broncos finally got a win.
How did all this affect our AFC rankings for Week Five? We'll get to that shortly, but I have to ask first: is the AFC the better conference? We've heard a lot of talk about the AFC being loaded with supremely talented quarterbacks and the NFC lacking in star power at the position. Additionally, everyone was talking up the AFC East the same way they were talking up the AFC West before last season.
I mean look, the NFC currently is home to the only two remaining undefeated teams and four other teams all sitting at 3 - 1. The AFC now has no undefeated teams, four 3 - 1 teams, and a bunch of 2 - 2 teams. My point here is the AFC seems far more top-heavy than I think was expected and some of that can be attributed to coaching.
Sorry, but there are a few teams in the AFC that need to move on from their head coaches, or in some cases a coordinator. I'll get more into that though once we start with the rankings. But ask yourself, why aren't some of these talented quarterbacks winning more and what is the common dominator with most of them? With that, let's get into the rankings.
16. Denver Broncos (1 - 3)
I know the Broncos finally got their first win of the 2023 NFL season, but it was against the Chicago Bears and I jokingly, ok not really jokingly, but said this game was a battle to see who the worst team in the league is and well, now we know but the Broncos are still the worst in the AFC. Oh, and the Broncos' defense made the Bears' offense look like an actual NFL offense and not a junior high squad.
15. Las Vegas Raiders (1 - 3)
Here is the first team I referred to in the opener. The Raiders are going nowhere as long as Josh McDaniels is the head coach. It's unfortunate that talent such as Josh Jacobs, Devante Adams, and Maxx Crosby to name a few are being wasted in Las Vegas. Tom Brady put McDaniels on the map, plus this isn't the first time McDaniels failed, remember the Denver Broncos fiasco?
14. New Jersey Jets (1 - 3)
Maybe it would be different with Aaron Rodgers and this team also put up a fight against the Kansas City Chiefs but most head coaches with a 12 - 26 career record would have already been fired, regardless of the quarterback situation. I'm sure ownership will give Coach Saleh this season and probably next, just to see what he can do with Rodgers, assuming Rodgers returns healthy and can still sling it. He will be 40 by then and we still don't know if he would have been the same old Rodgers this season, let alone a year older.
13. New England Patriots (1 - 3)
Okay, Bill Belichick, it's time. With each week, he confirms that Tom Brady made him and the New England Patriots a two-decade-long dynasty, so it's time to move on and call it a career. Look don't get me wrong; I think he's a great coach, but he's not the great coach Patriots fans and others want you to believe. I'd take Bill Parcells any day over Belichick. The Patriots play good defense and that's where Belichick is great, but the offense continues to be a massive struggle for this team.
12. Cincinnati Bengals (1 - 3)
Oh my, how the mighty have fallen. Where are all those Joe Burrow being the second-best quarterback in the NFL rankings? All offseason the narrative was Burrow was better than Josh Allen. Guess that aged well. Anyway, I know Burrow has been nursing an injury but so was Allen a season ago. Also, if the injury is affecting him this much, perhaps he needs to sit on the bench and get healthy. At 1 - 3, they can't do much worse with QB2 in the lineup.
11. Tennessee Titans (2 - 2)
The Tennessee Titans are starting to play a little better and dominated the Cleveland Browns this past weekend. I'm still not a fan of Tannehill and have my concerns with Derrick Henry being able to play at a high level all season. Even his play has been up and down this year. But at 2 - 2, they are still right there with the rest of this division, all of whom are 2 - 2 as well.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers (2 - 2)
The Pittsburgh Steelers cannot do anything on offense and need to move on from offensive coordinator Matt Canada. The Steelers offense is bad and has been for some time and now this little piece of drama regarding Canada creating burner social media accounts. While it seems this wasn't actually happening, the fact remains, Steeler fans are done with Canada and so should the Pittsburgh Steelers.
9. Los Angeles Chargers (2 - 2)
The Los Angeles Chargers can't get out of their own way, or better yet, head coach Brandon Staley can't get out of his own way. I Watched Staley make another questionable decision that could have potentially cost the Chargers the game, but lucky for him, Asante Samuel Jr. bailed him out with a late interception and preserved the win.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars (2 - 2)
I'm not sure what to think of the Jacksonville Jaguars. One week they are getting blown out by the Houston Texans and the next week they are blowing out the Atlanta Falcons in London. I guess this makes sense though ranking them right in the middle of the AFC pack. The Jaguars have all the tools to be a very good team but haven't brought it all together this season. They will be tested this week in London against the Buffalo Bills.
7. Houston Texans (2 - 2)
Back-to-back wins by 24-plus points by the Houston Texans have gotten them right back in the discussion for the division title. There is still a lot of the season to play, but rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud has looked great and is probably the front-runner for NFL Rookie of the Year. Couple that with a solid defense and hopefully getting a healthy offensive line back together at some point, and you have a recipe to steal the division crown.
6. Indianapolis Colts (2 - 2)
With the season opener, the Colts had a lead against the Jaguars and blew it late. This past weekend, they came back in the fourth quarter to tie and send the game to overtime but ultimately lost the game. The Colts aren't too far off from being 4 - 0. This team is solid and will compete for the division title. The AFC South will be fun to watch as the season progresses, with all four teams sitting at 2 - 2.
5. Cleveland Browns (2 - 2)
The Cleveland Browns lost Nick Chubb for the season and then had to play without Deshaun Watson. The Browns were not competitive and now sit at 2 - 2. I'm not sure which direction this team will go in the coming weeks but if Watson misses any more games, this team will be exiting the playoff race very early. That's not to say there are any guarantees with Watson behind center either, it's not like he's been playing great ball, but he has the talent and could get things figured out at any time.
4. Baltimore Ravens (3 - 1)
The Baltimore Ravens rolled the Cleveland Browns, but they did so against a rookie backup quarterback. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the Ravens wouldn't have won with Deshaun Watson on the field, but it certainly could have made a difference. With the AFC North floundering, the Ravens have an opportunity to take hold of the division and not look back.
3. Miami Dolphins (3 - 1)
I strongly considered dropping the Dolphins further than number three but even though they were completely rolled by 28 points, it was against one of the best teams in the league, and every team is allowed to have a bad day. The Dolphins face off against the Giants this weekend, followed by the Panthers, so they will have a chance to regroup and lick their wounds.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (3 - 1)
The question this week was whether to move the Chiefs up to number one or leave them here at number two. As you can see, I went with number two and it's not so much about their performances, though they haven't been quite as dominant as in years past, they are still one of the best teams in the league. Two of their wins have come against teams that are a combined 3 - 4 and they won those games by a total of 11 points, not exactly convincing wins against average opponents.
1. Buffalo Bills (3 - 1)
The Buffalo Bills have been nothing short of amazing over the last few games. They stumbled out of the gate against the Jets but since then, they have won three straight games, all by 28 or more points. Only one other team since the Super Bowl era has accomplished this. Their combined margin of victory is more than twice that of the Chiefs and more than any other team in the NFL too. They are sixth in both offense and defense and second in the league in points scored and allowed.