NFL week 5 winners and losers

OK, folks, week 5 is over. I updated this thread as the last game happened. Each week will add more clarity on which teams are winners, losers, or remain listed as "more evidence is needed." The original post is the one that was updated, and each time I did it, I posted a reminder that new updates were in. Feel free to comment with agreement/disagreement, predictions, etc.

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If you want to consult the state of affairs as of Week 4, click [here] - especially for bye teams whose situation hasn't changed since they haven't played in week 5.

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Week 5 Winners and Losers:

Losers:

Bears - looked miserable again, in spite of their new quarterback. Almost beat Atlanta, beat the Steelers, looked like they'd be winners, but then they spoiled the whole thing in weeks 3, 4 (all the turnovers against the Packers), and 5 and they look like they are going nowhere.

Buccaneers - We had the Bucs as "more evidence is needed" because they had a late start with the hurricane, then some good and some bad, got to 2-1... then Nick Folk happened to you Bucs people. From kicking a winning field goal one week, to missing three the following week (two of them quite easy), squandering and demoralizing what your offense was trying to accomplish, Folk behaved and looked on the sideline as the utmost loser. It's not like the Bucs are the most horrible losers in the league; there are plenty of worse teams, but when you look at the NFC South and you get a resurrecting Panthers who just beat on the road the team that just dominated you at home, with Cam Newton going from pitiful to a QB rating of 130, then you have the Falcons as well in your division (they lost last week but who didn't lose one except the Chiefs?), well, you are not going anywhere. Sorry Bucs, you are not a bad football team, but for the sake of this exercise, yeah, you're losers.

Patriots - Sorry Pats but this ugly win doesn't take you out of the losers list. See, before the onside kick you were leading by only 2 points... after your opponent's kicker squandered nine. Just add a decent punter to Tampa Bay and you're toast - you'd be down by 7 and your opponent wouldn't be trying an onside kick that gave you 3 more points. It is true that the Pats have won 3 games out of five, but they looked utterly vulnerable in two out of these three. They could just as easily be 1-4. Today Brady got picked, was forced to fumble, got sacked... Sure, your defense improved today as compared to the disaster that it was in the first four games (last in the NFL), but you are a victim of the very high expectations you've created. You've been predicted to go 19-0 this season and repeat as champions, and instead, you had one good game and four bad ones (won by a hair in two out of these four, could have lost all four). Sure, we can never count you out when you have the GOAT and you do, and you also have the best coach. But somehow the pieces are off, and you're not clicking. After 5 games, your vulnerability is glaring. In my prediction, there is no way you'll win the Super Bowl this year, and that's what you set up to accomplish, so if you can't do it, you're losers.

49ers - Two losers played today and took it to OT. One had to win. I comfortably placed both here even before the OT ended. OK, now it has ended. The 49ers lost. No doubt that they belong here.

Colts - Two losers played today and took it to OT. One had to win. I comfortably placed both here even before the OT ended. OK, now it has ended. The Colts won. They still look like losers, but they are surviving 2-3 without Luck, and could still turn around if Luck returns and is not too rusty. Still a long shot to get out of the losers list but depending on what happens to Luck, they could move up. Not today, though.

Cardinals - Well, they seem to be aiming for the first pick in the 2018 draft, if they didn't have such strong competition on this, from the Browns and the 49ers. Enough said.

Giants - dropped to 0-5 and lost OBJ. Jesus!

Chargers - 1-4 after beating another 0-4 team of course doesn't free them from the losers list.

Browns - Managed to lose to the Jets. They are also trying to get first pick in the draft.

Jets - Amazingly, 3-2 by now, when people expected 0-5, but is beating the Browns enough to stop being losers? I don't think so. When this team starts playing against some good teams, their bubble will burst.

Steelers - I'll tell you what, I wasn't convinced from the beginning, and today, after being clobbered by the Jaguars 30-9 with Ben throwing no fewer than five interceptions, there's no way to call the Steelers anything other than losers.

Bengals - Another one that is hard to place, now. Should they go to the "more evidence is needed" after beating the Bills and winning another game in a row (even though last week's victory was against the Browns)? Hm... I still don't feel like removing them from the list of losers.

Titans - Going downhill fast, after being obliterated last week and giving away 57 points, and without Mariota, looking toothless against the not-so-good Dolphins. So, losers they remain.

Raiders - look lost without Carr.

Dolphins - Another up-and-down team. They won the first game by a hair, almost lost. Then they got clobbered by... brace for it... the Jets!!! Then they laid another egg in London. And then they won again, beating the Titans (but a Mariota-less Titans) and I placed them on the more evidence is needed, but then two other posters commented on how rotten they look even when winning, and they convinced me. I moved them to losers, for now. If they get swimming again and gasp, beat Atlanta in week 6, then yes, but for now I'll get them to the losers list, attending to requests.

Texans - They were upswinging but then lost JJ Watt and other players to injury, and seemed discombobulated. They go from more evidence to losers.

Winners:

Panthers - definitely back to form after their rusty start, now 4-1. Cam Newton orchestrated a great game again, with astronomically high passer rating. The defense performed wonderfully until late in the fourth quarter when they got exhausted, lost a couple of players to injury, and almost allowed a comeback but the team as a whole did enough to secure the win on the road against an excellent team, and this, after they beat the Patriots in Foxboro, so the Panthers now are solidly installed into the winners list.

Lions - They lost another close game at home against a good NFC South team. But still, I can't see them as losers and not even as more evidence needed, because it was a great game and they played very well in the beginning and the end; just got a stretch in the middle when they got dominated on both sides of the ball by an extraordinary performance by both the Panthers' offense and defense. It's not a shame when you lose a close game to a good team, while fighting hard to come back. If this game had another two minutes, the Lions might have won it. So they remain, like last week, as winners.

Eagles - Very solid by now. Even though the opponents were pitiful, the Eagles are a force to reckon with, and improve to 4-1. Great TNF game coming up, when they go on the road against another 4-1 team, the Panthers.

Packers - That's what happens when you have a great quarterback. You win games. Wow, what a game! They were already on the winners list last week, and clearly remain there.

Chiefs - At 5-0, the Chiefs do look like the best team in the league. Effortless win against the Texans, although they were helped by the injuries suffered by the Texans' defense.

More evidence is needed:

Jaguars - What do do with the Jaguars? They look great, then pitiful, then fabulous, then horrible, then good again... Today they routed the Steelers. This is is the utmost "more evidence is needed" team, with their irregular play. It's not excluded that they'll explode and make the playoffs, but it is also not excluded that they'll sink and remember that they are the Jaguars.

Bills - They did look much improved last week, after a good week 1 win, a good defensive effort against the Panthers even if they lost, and a win against the Broncos, followed by a win against the undefeated Falcons. Some caution, though: we've seen this film before; the Bills do have a history of strong starts and weak second halves of the seasons. And then, comes week 5, and what do they do? Lose to the lowly Bengals. So, yeah, they get moved from winners to more evidence is needed. If they do again their old trick of fooling everybody into thinking they are good in the first few games, then sinking to bottom feeders... best to be prudent and require more evidence.

Seahawks - Like I said last week, Seattle needed to beat the Rams to get out of the losers list in the fight for the division, and they did. Now they are tied with the Rams 3-2, so with more evidence they could possibly get back in control of the division.

Rams - Got to be winners last week but then lost the first battle for the division against the Seahawks so now they downgrade to more evidence is needed.

Ravens - They now got to be tied with the Steelers for the division lead, so where they go from here remains to be seen.

Cowboys - One great game in week 1, one terrible game in week 2, a win against the toothless Cardinals in week 3, a loss in week 4. Then a close loss to the Packers in a game where they played very well and Rodgers was brilliant, so, I had said if they lost, I'd move them from more evidence to losers, but the thing is, they lost honorably. They get another lifeline for one more week but at 2-3 they don't have a lot of leeway left. Next they get a bye, and then they get another bye... they play the 49ers. So they'll be 3-3, and this kind of record screams for more evidence being needed.

Vikings - Looked good in week 3 with a back-up QB but then just one week later scored only 7 points. Got their QB back but he was rusty and they managed to look anemic even though a late FG won the game against the lowly Bears. In spite of their winning record of 3-2, they are irregular and unconvincing so more evidence is needed.

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