Prisco's NFL Week 5 Power Rankings: Chargers and Texans a disaster, Browns climb up nine spots
Pete Prisco shares his latest Power Rankings for the 2026 NFL season, including some big climbs up the board for some of last week's top teams
• 1 min read
Our social team at CBS Sports HQ did a video this week asking this question:
Who's the biggest disappointment, the Los Angeles Chargers or the Houston Texans?
Both teams are 0-4 and look like teams that will be watching come playoff time. Before the season, the Texans were a trendy pick to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, while many thought the Chargers would be livened up by having Mike McDaniel as their new offensive coordinator.
Instead, the first four weeks have been disasters for both teams. At 0-4, they have big problems.
The Chargers' offensive issues are a concern. The Texans' supposedly dominant defense hasn't been great either. They were being compared to the 1985 Chicago Bears defense before the season, and yet the Dallas Cowboys gutted them in their victory Sunday.
The Chargers face a much tougher schedule the next four weeks — 0-8 is possible, including a game vs. the Texans — while the Texans' schedule does soften some.
Houston is down to No. 26 in my Power Rankings this week, while the Chargers are down to 27, one behind them. The Los Angeles offense is a mess right now. Justin Herbert, who still hasn't won a playoff game, doesn't look right in the McDaniel offense. It's not like there are tons of options in the passing game, but he's making some really bad throws.
As for the Texans, the offense came alive against the Cowboys, but the defense wasn't good. They can't blame that one on C.J. Stroud, who has played well.
If I had to pick one of these two to turn it around, I would go with the Texans. But they are three games behind the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC South, which means the wild card is probably the only real playoff path.
Two teams with such high hopes four weeks ago are now floundering and wondering if the season is over.
Biggest Movers
9 Browns
8 Lions
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | At 4-0, they are rolling, and beating good teams in the process. The defense came up big in the victory over the Broncos, which is a good sign. | 1 | 4-0-0 |
| 2 |  | They are 4-0, but they suffered some hits to the receiver position Sunday which are concerning. They have to reach out to Tyreek Hill. When will he be ready? | 1 | 4-0-0 |
| 3 |  | They are undefeated, but the offense still looks off. The defense is definitely carrying this team right now, but the offense has to pick it up. | 1 | 4-0-0 |
| 4 |  | They bounced back from their loss to the Commanders with a dominant showing against the Chargers. The defense, as usual, led them in the victory. | 1 | 3-1-0 |
| 5 |  | They are a complete team on both sides of the ball. They can win with offense, but the defense is sneaky good and is second in scoring. | 2 | 3-1-0 |
| 6 |  | Losing to the Patriots at home is not a good look for this team. They could have taken a real hold on the division, but let it get away as they face a tough one this week with the Rams. | 5 | 3-1-0 |
| 7 |  | Lamar Jackson's ankle injury is a cloud over this team right now. Will he miss time? How much? | 1 | 3-1-0 |
| 8 |  | They just keep running it down the opposing team's throats to key their 3-1 start. Winning games with backup quarterbacks is impressive and says how good their run game is this season. | 1 | 3-1-0 |
| 9 |  | They were staring 1-3 in the face, but rallied to beat the Eagles. They took advantage of a banged-up Eagles team, which good teams do. | 1 | 2-2-0 |
| 10 |  | They lost for the first time Sunday, but they showed they are a good team by pushing the Chiefs. At 3-1, they are one of the surprise teams in the league. | 5 | 3-1-0 |
| 11 |  | Where is the offense? They looked lifeless in the loss to the 49ers. When does Sean Payton take over calling plays? | 5 | 2-2-0 |
| 12 |  | That was a big-time victory on the road at Houston. The Cowboys offense lit up a good Texans defense, which shows they can play with anybody. | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| 13 |  | They have so many injuries right now, but that's no excuse for blowing the Rams game. The offense is bad as they head to London to play the Jaguars. | 2 | 2-2-0 |
| 14 |  | At 2-2, they have injury concerns with receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The offense is so much different if they aren't around. | -- | 2-2-0 |
| 15 |  | Give this group a ton of credit for bouncing back from a terrible loss against the Jaguars to beat the Bills on the road. Drake Maye pushed aside all the criticism to play well. | 2 | 2-2-0 |
| 16 |  | Can you believe they are 3-1 and tied for first in the division? Who saw that coming? Not me. | 9 | 3-1-0 |
| 17 |  | At 3-1, they lead the NFC East. John Harbaugh has already turned this thing around. Can it last with Jameis Winston? | 2 | 3-1-0 |
| 18 |  | Bryce Young is earning himself a big payday. He was outstanding in the victory over the Lions Sunday night. | 8 | 2-2-0 |
| 19 |  | Getting Michael Penix back has really helped liven up the offense. Bijan Robinson is special and they are now 2-2 and have turned their season around. | 2 | 2-2-0 |
| 20 |  | The defense is horrible. Even their good offense can't overcome how bad they are right now. | 8 | 2-2-0 |
| 21 |  | Losing to the Browns on the road opens up the question about whether they can compete for a division title. They have to be more consistent on offense. | 8 | 2-2-0 |
| 22 |  | At 2-2, they have righted things after opening 0-2. They wised up in the victory over the Commanders and gave the ball to Jonathan Taylor. | 2 | 2-2-0 |
| 23 |  | After their 1-1 start, they've lost two straight home games to fall to 1-3. Atlanta beat them up badly on Monday night as injuries have taken their roster apart. | 5 | 1-3-0 |
| 24 |  | It wasn't pretty against the Bucs, especially with two bad turnovers, but they found a way. The heat is off Matt LaFleur for now but here come the dreaded Bears. | 2 | 2-2-0 |
| 25 |  | They are limited in a lot of ways, but they play hard and compete every week. But that's not good enough and could lead to rookie Carson Beck playing at some point. | 2 | 1-3-0 |
| 26 |  | They've made the playoffs after opening 0-3. But this year it's 0-4. Can they climb out from that hole to make the playoffs? Good luck. | 1 | 0-4-0 |
| 27 |  | Justin Herbert just doesn't look good in their offense. He isn't playing well, and the team is 0-4 because of it. Are they done? | 3 | 0-4-0 |
| 28 |  | They better hope Jayden Daniels can play this week with that elbow brace. Or they might be forced to start rookie Athan Kaliakmanis against the Giants. | -- | 1-3-0 |
| 29 |  | The offense didn't get a lot of snaps against the Bears, but didn't do much with what they got. The defense was mauled in the run game. That's not a good look for either side. | 1 | 1-3-0 |
| 30 |  | This team has to be one of the biggest disappointments so far. It's only a matter of time before the calls for Todd Bowles' job get louder. | 1 | 0-4-0 |
| 31 |  | At 0-4, they have lost some close games. But that doesn't mean a thing. Cam Ward was better against the Ravens - which is progress. | -- | 0-4-0 |
| 32 |  | Their offense is so limited right now, which showed up against the Vikings. The defense actually played a solid game and kept them in it. | -- | 0-4-0 |
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.