NFL Rankings, Week 5

There’s only one word for this kind of performance by a group:  Domination.

No, I’m not talking about the Jets defense repeatedly taking ball away from Brett Favre on Monday night… although that train wreck was amusing to watch.  I’m talking about the domination of the Power Rank by the AFC.  As of week five the AFC owns eight of the top ten spots in the Power Rank, including the top four slots.  Only Atlanta (5) and Green Bay (10) represent the NFC at the top of the list.  That’s actually better than last week when all but one of the top ten spots were occupied by AFC teams, with only Atlanta representing the NFC at number nine.

Sports fans love to argue over whose league, conference, or division is better, especially around playoff time.  The subject is such rich ground for debate because there’s really no way of definitively saying one group is better than the other, and there’s always the retort that teams looking bad in one conference or division are simply “beating up on each other.”

By ignoring conference and divisional separations but considering the strength of wins in cross conference games the Power Rank adds a level of clarity in this debate.  Sure, the Jets (3) and Patriots (6) get to beat up on the Bills (31) (sorry Bills fans, you’re suffering the worst point differential of any NFL team so far this season) twice this season which will undoubtedly pad their records, but considering those wins will not carry much value as the Bills continue to lose by landslides week after week.  In the meantime a one-point loss against #1 Baltimore for New York or a commanding victory against #9 Cincinnati for the Pats are what really prop these teams up in their top-tiered spots.

So the next time you’re enjoying a frosty beverage and lively argument with a buddy over whose conference reigns supreme and the normal arguments over respective records and strength of schedules comes up, bring up the Power Rank and how it uses an integrated approach of looking at strength of schedule to provide a more definitive answer to the annual question.

That is of course, unless you’re an NFC fan like me, in which case you’re probably going to need a lot more of those beverages to make it through this rough season.

1. Baltimore, 4-1, 10.02
2. Pittsburgh, 3-1, 9.54
3. New York Jets, 4-1, 9.53
4. Indianapolis, 3-2, 5.89
5. Atlanta, 4-1, 5.46
6. New England, 3-1, 4.91
7. Tennessee, 3-2, 3.42
8. Kansas City, 3-1, 2.96
9. Cincinnati, 2-3, 2.43
10. Green Bay, 3-2, 2.23
11. Chicago, 4-1, 0.87
12. Cleveland, 1-4, 0.45
13. Denver, 2-3, 0.42
14. Minnesota, 1-3, 0.13
15. Houston, 3-2, 0.13
16. New York Giants, 3-2, 0.00
17. Philadelphia, 3-2, -0.06
18. San Diego, 2-3, -0.41
19. Detroit, 1-4, -0.81
20. Washington, 3-2, -0.81
21. Tampa Bay, 3-1, -1.01
22. Dallas, 1-3, -2.02
23. Jacksonville, 3-2, -2.30
24. Miami, 2-2, -2.58
25. New Orleans, 3-2, -2.70
26. St. Louis, 2-3, -2.86
27. Seattle, 2-2, -4.56
28. Oakland, 2-3, -5.22
29. San Francisco, 0-5, -5.49
30. Arizona, 3-2, -6.54
31. Buffalo, 0-5, -9.82
32. Carolina, 0-5, -11.23