Rick McGlothlin, Senior Writer, Drafttek.com

Week 5 is in the record books (save for the Monday night matchup with the Jets and Dolphins) and here’s what we had the pleasure of watching:

• The “Futility Bowl” in Buffalo
• The scrimmage of the N.Y. Giants
• Denver’s “coming out” party in the Mile High City
• The Bengals (temporary?) rise to the top from the vastness of the bottom
• Mc5 returning to leads a rout.
• The defending champs struggling against Detroit
• JerryWorld escaping in OT from a winless Kansas City
• The Titans final nail in the ‘09 season
• Peyton Manning makes it 5 games in a row for 300+ yards passing
• Arizona trying to keep the wheels from coming off vs the Texans
• Aftershocks from the 20th anniversary of the San Fran earthquake rocks the 49ers?

And there was so much more that took place around the league, more than can be included here. So let’s just take a look at what the aftermath of week 4 brings us in terms of Mac’s Power Rankings:

Eli Manning

1. New York Giants (5-0) – Just a blistering of the Raiders on a day that saw Steve Smith solidify his emergence as the top wideout for the Giants, while Eli shrugged off a nagging foot injury to throw two TD’s in the first half and led the team on two other scoring drives before coach Coughlin sat him down and inserted David Carr. Ahmad Bradshaw went off in this contest as well, rushing for 2 TD’s and over 100 yards on just 11 total carries. Carr even picked up where Eli left off, scoring on a rushing TD. Oh yeah, that Giants defense also did some damage as well. They smothered and splattered the Raider offense at every opportunity, forcing 3 fumbles and held Oakland to 124 yards total offense, en route to a 44-7 pummeling of Oakland.

Brett Favre

2. Minnesota (5-0) – First of all, let’s all realize this win was against an overmatched Rams squad. Second of all, it doesn’t matter. The Vikes did what is expected of an upper-echelon team in that they went on the road and totally manhandled an inferior team without faltering. Thus, the Vikings are still unbeaten and look to be improving as the season goes along. We’ll find out if the ride continues to get better or starts to get a little bumpy as they now prepare for a p%&#@$%-off Ravens ballclub coming into Minneapolis, followed by a trip to Pittsburgh and ending with a visit to Lambeau Field and rematch with Green Bay. After that 3-game stretch, they’ll have earned their bye in week

Peyton Manning

3. Indianapolis (5-0) – A machine against Tennessee, after having a bit of a slow start on offense – mainly due to the leak at Left Tackle. The defense continues to make incredible improvement from last year – and even from week 2 – while the rookies on offense and defense are doing tremendous work for the Colts. Once again, Manning is leading the offense with a rookie RB rotating with Addai, a rookie wideout who has now caught 3 TD passes in his last two contests and another wideout who is starting after being a practice squad member last year. Imagine this ballclub once everyone returns healthy after the bye week, which is up next. Following the bye week the Colts get a bit of an extended bye with a game in St. Louis in week 7. After that potential 6-0 start though, it’ll be a different story, with games coming up against the 49ers, Texans, Patriots and Ravens.

4. New Orleans (4-0) – BYE

5. Denver (5-0) – Well THAT win ought to count for something, especially after hearing for weeks that they hadn’t really played anyone. Kyle Orton has an outstanding game along with Brandon Marshall, Jabbar Gaffney, TE Daniel Graham and Knowshon Moreno. But it was Denver’s offensive line and their defense that saved the day, giving Orton loads of time to find open receivers and keep the powerful Pat offense in check most of the game. Consider Randy Moss had only one catch in the first half. It came from Kyle Orton on his 65-yard Hail Mary to the endzone on the last play of that half. Consider also that the Broncos have outscored their opponents 56-7 in the second half. That’s pretty impressive.

6. Cincinnati (4-1) – AFC North division leaders. Raise your hand (Cincinnati folks too) if you ever thought the Bengals would be all alone atop the division after week 5 – or any week for that matter – at the start of the season. And we still must remember that improbable lone loss to Denver on the wacky deflected pass, because otherwise these Cats would be undefeated after week 5. Much credit to this team to stiffen under the hurt of defensive coordinator Zimmer’s loss of his wife during the week, and then comeback to win the game in dramatic fashion on Carson Palmer’s TD strike to Andre Caldwell late in the game. The Bengal defense, Cedric Benson and Carson Palmer were the story in the game, as each had a dramatic impact on the outcome. The Bengal D kept the high-scoring Ravens offense to just 14 points, forced two fumbles, 2 INT’s and held the Ravens to just 257 yards in total offense. Cedric Benson, meanwhile, became the first running back to gain over 100 yards against the Ravens in the past 39 games, racking up 120 yards and a huge TD run in the 3rd quarter. Carson Palmer was efficient in the winning drive, running on 4th down (again) for a 6-yard pickup and a first down, then hitting Caldwell for the game-winner. Next up for the Bengals is a home matchup against the Houston Texans.

7. Atlanta (3-1) – Big win against a quality team on the road and it helps them stay close to the New Orleans Saints. This game seemed never in doubt as the Falcon defense swarmed all over the Niners from start to finish, while Matt Ryan and company moved up and down the field early and often against the heretofore might San Fran defense. Roddy White set a franchise receiving record for the Falcons, while Michael Turner returned to normal, gashing the 49ers for 97 yards and 3 TD’s. But give huge props to the defense who stifled SF all day, limiting them to just 4 of 14 on 3rd down conversion, while keeping the Niners to under 280 yards total offense, while sacking the QB three times and forcing two fumbles.

8. New England (3-2) – The Pats had opportunity to put the game away both on offense and defense, but after squandering a 10-point halftime lead, they have no one to blame but themselves. Brady missed a wide-open Wes Welker late in the 4th quarter that probably would’ve meant a “W”, but instead hit him in the leg with an errant throw. Randy Moss had two catches on the day – one in the first half (from Kyle Orton) and one in the second half from Brady for 36 yards. Otherwise, it was the Wes Welker hour. And the Pats defense played pretty well overall except for the two scoring drives (and a couple of silly penalties) that made the difference.

9. Baltimore (3-2) – The veteran leadership on defense let the team down at a critical juncture when Ray Lewis plastered Ochocinco onto the turf after a pass sailed by his head. That and some other critical penalties allowed the Bengals to produce a game-winning drive and push the Ravens into second place. The offense couldn’t get untracked either which kept the pressure on the defense to stop Cincinnati, which it did for the most part until that final drive.

10. Chicago (3-1) – BYE

11. Philadelphia (3-1) – Perhaps with Mc5’s showing today the pundits will dismiss the manufactured story of a QB controversy in Philly. McNabb is still the best of the 3 available and will continue to be so long as he is healthy. 3 TD passes and a plethora of offensive weaponry will only reinforce McNabb’s spot as the #1 QB. Great job by Maclin and Celek on a rather quiet day for the usually productive DeSean Jackson. The Philly D did well but was certainly assisted by the early lead that prompted Tampa Bay to put the ball in the air more than they wanted. The win was solid but we still need to remember it was only the Bucs. Philly gets one more bye week after this one and the real one last week, as they face Oakland for a tune-up game before getting back-to-back NFC East division contests.

12. Pittsburgh (3-2) – Not the most convincing of wins when the defending champ cannot put away a team that has won but a single game in the past 20, but they managed to hold off a pesky Lions ballclub. Big Ben was the key tossing 3 TD’s and missing on only 7 of 30 passes. Mike Wallace gives the Steelers a solid deep threat to go along with the steady Hines Ward and evasive Santonio Holmes. The void of Polamalu is still quite evident.

13. N.Y. Jets (3-2) - That defense was quite a bit different than the one we have witnessed to this point. Perhaps the overconfidence that Rex Ryan had with his past forays against the Wildcat led to a void in some of his preparation with this new group of defensive personnel. At least the guy stepped up and took the hit – saying it was HIS fault for not getting them prepared properly. Certainly Mark Sanchez and the Jets offense played well and gave them the lead at the end, but the Jets allowed Miami to drive down the field and score with seconds remaining. That one will stick in Ryan’s crawl for ahwile.

14. San Francisco (3-2) – Back in October of 1989, just prior to a World Series matchup between Oakland and the Giants, San Francisco was rocked by a devastating earthquake. Yesterday, I guess in memory of that disaster, the 49ers presented a disaster to the fans in San Fransico. Huge butt-whipping that will test the mindset of a team that had serious momentum until commiting the cardinal sin of losing a home game. One call won’t make a complete difference in a game, but the one that set them back happened just prior to the end of the first half on the horrible call of a fumble by 49er TE Delanie Walker. It wasn’t a fumble, and it came right after the Falcons scored on a 90-yard TD pass to Roddy White. After the fumble, and with good field position, the Falcons score again to make it 28-7, and it seemed the rout was on. But sloppy play, loss of control by coach Mike Singletary and critical mistakes cost the 49ers in their biggest test to date.

15. San Diego (2-2) – BYE

16. Green Bay (2-2) – BYE

17. Dallas (3-2) – This team is in BIG trouble. But first, a round of applause for Miles Austin for his play in the ballgame. Winning ugly is still winning, so the Cowboys have that going for them. But allowing a team like Kansas City to keep pace with a veteran, supposedly more talented team than the Cowboys is cause for concern. Well, it has been prior to this game, but now it should be more so than ever.

18. Arizona (2-2) – Lucky. VERY lucky to hold on and edge out the Texans after blowing a 21 point lead.

19. Miami (2-3) – A little nudge up for the Dolphins as they captivate the nation once again on Monday night with a thrilling shoot-out with the Jets on Monday Night Football. Big props to the two-headed monster in the backfield (and on the receiving end) with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams leading the charge. But how about Chad Henne vying for the “Out of Nowhere Award” to emerging QB’s to watch in the NFL? Great game for him and a fun game to watch. This win by no means indicates the Dolphins are ready to battle for a playoff spot, but it does show they have the potential to maybe get there in the short-term future.

19. Houston (2-3) – You gotta wonder why the creativity aspect of that last offensive goal line series wasn’t a bit more, well, creative. It’s not like Arizona has a tiny Dline or hasn’t stopped anyone. Or that Houston has a big bodied back that can move a pile backwards. All that effort to come from 21 points down kinda went out the window in that odd series of playcalling at the end. And why oh why would you not go to Andre Johnson in the red zone on that drive? Very odd.

21. Seattle (2-3) – It makes such a difference with Hasselbeck in there, doesn’t it?
22. Jacksonville (2-3) – Ewwwwwwwwww. That was awful. And let me get this straight del Rio. You bench a wideout for going astray on his off-time in Seattle, but allow a guy who is part of a hit-and-run investigation to play after he missed the team flight? Okay.
23. Carolina (1-3) – Fortunate to get going before it was ultimately too late. A spark may have been lit with this comeback win, but the skeptic in me will wait and see.
24. Washington (2-3) – That seat under Zorn must be absolutely scortching about now…and I’m thinking he’ll be gone by the time you read this column. Dropping a 15-point lead to an 0-3 team can do that.

25. Detroit (1-4) – Pretty gutsy performance by this club against the defending champs, especially considering CJ went out early with an injury. Credit Culpepper for standing in there and giving the team a chance at a tie or better until his Hail Mary pick to end the game.

26. Tennessee (0-5) – Alright, this team is finished for the year. Time to get VY into the fold and start planning for the future. With so many injuries to key personnel (and an aging team anyway) the Titans need to begin the rebuilding process.

27. Kansas City (0-5) – If this team could catch a break or had a running game, they would’ve run Dallas off the field. As it is, they couldn’t move the ball from a midfield starting point on their second possession of OT and that cost them. Well, that and the horrible missed tackles on Miles Austin on his journey down the field to win the game for Dallas.

28. Cleveland (1-4) – Someone better be buying punter David Zastudil and the entire Browns special teams a big meal today. The four punts downed deep inside Bills terroritory (like the 1-yard line) kept the Bill inept offense bottled up, including one punt that was muffed and led to the winning FG.  Although Jamaal Lewis had a solid day with over 100 rushing yards, the offense was anemic and Derek Anderson completed only two passes. So the first win of the season for Cleveland is fueled by the punt team. Nice.

29. Buffalo (1-4) – Words cannot describe how pathetic they looked today.  How Dick Jauron lasts another week is beyond me. Even TO has nothing to say, which should speak volumes. You allow a team TWO pass receptions and still lose?  Trent Edwards spread the ball around, but only to the tune of 152 yards – and an interception.

30. Tampa Bay (0-5) – Once they fell behind early their running game was completely ignored and they had to go to the air. One thing about this team is they play harder (and better) than Oakland and deserve to be ranked ahead of that team.

31. Oakland (1-4) – That was sad. Sure, the Giants are a solid football team, but not 44-7 better than a REAL pro opponent. Even Tampa Bay played them a helluva lot better than this team and they were shut out.

32. St. Louis ( 0-5) – Their defense does well until they wear down from constantly being on the field, but that offense smells. And Stephen Jackson isn’t all that in my opinion. Of course, he may be so distraught at playing there that he has given up. He needs to go to talk to Walter Payton’s wife and son – listen and learn how a REAL pro handled constant losses and disappointment.