NFL power rankings, 2017: So close yet so far heading into Week 5

The NFL is officially through the quarter mark for 30 of the 32 teams. Week 4 is a wrap, with only the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers having not played four games. The week wrapped up with a fun Monday Night Football contest that saw the Kansas City Chiefs remain unbeaten by edging out Washington 29-20. The Chiefs were a 6.5 point favorite, and the over/under was set at 47.5 points. Clearly Justin Houston laid the points and bet the over.

We’re back with Week 5 of our 2017 NFL power rankings. We’ll have a round-up of media power rankings, but as we’ve been doing, I thought that once again we’d offer our own version. It is entirely my opinion, so there will be plenty of disagreement.

The San Francisco 49ers lost their fourth straight game, and for the third straight week, they had a win in their grasp. The 49ers have lost their last three games by a combined eight points. In the Seahawks and Cardinals losses, the offense just couldn’t get enough of anything going. In the Rams loss, the offense scuffled out of the gate, but came on strong late.

The 49ers head to Indianapolis to play a bad Colts team in hopes of finally getting in the win column. The Colts showed early life in Seattle before falling apart. I’m comfortable keeping the 49ers ahead of them, the Giants, Chargers, and Browns.

On the top, the Chiefs are the last unbeaten squad, and they are followed by nine teams at 3-1. I have the Packers and Steelers in the next two spots, but it’s really hard to sort through some of those 3-1 teams. Where would you do some shuffling?

Week 5 NFL power rankings