After much talk about how the Denver Broncos were going to have to win a lot of shootouts early in the season, one finally happened in Week 5 of the 2013 NFL Season. In what will go down as one of the greatest regular season shootouts in NFL history, Peyton Manning and Tony Romo lit it up all day long to the tune of 920 total passing yards and 9 touchdown passes.

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The end result? A 51-48 thriller that ultimately kept the Broncos atop the NFL mountain this week. I prophetically knocked the Seattle Seahawks down a rung last week in favor of the much hotter New Orleans Saints as Drew Brees and the Saints rolled supposed contender Chicago Bears on the road, while the Seahawks got stonewalled by another playoff contender in Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts.

The loss necessitated a two spot drop for Russell Wilson and the Seahawks, but they are still in the Top 5. The Kansas City Chiefs also came away with a hard fought road victory against the Tennessee Titans to make their first appearance in the Top 3 this year. Once you get outside the Elite 8 teams, however, you get into a massive muck of who the heck knows of 3-2 and 2-3 teams.

Let's see how things got blown up this week in my NFL Rankings. Check out last week's power rankings here.

RNK	TEAM	INSTANT ANALYSIS	PRV	TRND
1	Denver Broncos	As I said on Twitter, we are five games into the 2013 NFL Season and the Denver Broncos are averaging FORTY-SIX points per game. It's unheard of and certainly more than just a statistical blip after five full games. A lot of naysayers will bring up the fact the Broncos gave up 48 points, but shootouts happen and the better team came out on top. I'd be more worried if the Broncos were dealing shootouts week in and week out. Do you hear that? It's sounds like Win, baby.	1	--
2	New Orleans Saints	BOOM! Many of you vehemiantly disagreed with my placing of the Saints at #2 last week and look where we are today. :P Okay, enough with the self congratulating douchebaggery and on to Drew Brees and his complete dismemberment of the supposedly great Bears defense. And it was at Soldier Field no less! There are four elite quarterbacks in this league. We all know who #1 and #2 are, then you got Aaron Rodgers and Brees rounding out the top 4. Everyone else who might be argued as elite are merely either good or great, not elite.	2	--
3	Kansas City Chiefs	Alex Smith and the Chiefs dodged a bullet with a tough road win in Nashville. I suspect the outcome would have been quite different had Jake Locker been in the game, but that's how the cookie crumbled in the NFL. Kansas City is rolling at 5-0 and certainly looked better on defense than the Broncos did today, but can their offense score 40 points? It's becoming apparent that an off day for the Broncos will be somewhere in the mid-30's, so...	5
4	Indianapolis Colts	Ah yes, thank you Andrew Luck and the Colts. I can now jump off the Seahawks hype-train fully and publicly. How could I possibly not put the Colts ahead of the Seahawks? They're both 4-1 right? In all fairness, the Colts got away with a win here with a few fortuitious plays. The AFC is certainly looking like the conference to beat in 2013. Eat that Mainstream Media!	6
5	Seattle Seahawks	Great teams win on the road. The Seahawks are not a great team. You give up 34 points? Then score 37. Give up 48? Score 51! When the regular season comes to a conclusion, I fully expect the Seahawks to be the second best team in the NFC West. The Seahawks are 2-1 on the road, but they are luckily 2-1 on the road. A last minute touchdown to beat the hapless Panthers 12-7 in Week 1 and a 23-20 nailbiter against the equally hapless Texans. Still a top 10 football team, but certainly not top 3 anymore.	3
6	San Francisco 49ers	The 49ers at back in the saddle again after a rough patch early in the season. Thanks to the Colts (who also beat the 49ers), San Francisco is only one game out of first place. Looking over the NFC landscape, I see the Saints as the best, then a scrum between the Seahawks, Packers and 49ers to see who can lock up that second bye. I would go with the Packers, but that season opening loss to the 49ers may come back to haunt them. And no, I'm not going with the Seahawks.	7
7	New England Patriots	Tom Brady had a rough day, made worse by the fact that the roster around him is devoid of talent. When the Patriots get into the playoffs it will be a testament to how big of a different a truly elite quarterback can make to a football team. You know, like putting up 51 points when your defense gives up 48. Instead, Brady was able to scrape together six, COUNT 'EM!, six points. Isn't that grand?	4
8	Cincinnati Bengals	The Bengals took full advantage of the weather to punch the Patriots in the mouth. If there is one worry I have about the Broncos passing attack is how it will fare in bad weather games. Tom Brady had no answer and Andy Dalton did just enough to topple the previously unbeaten Patriots. Same old Bengals. In games that matter they show up, in games that don't they get trapped.	11
9	Green Bay Packers	The Packers and Aaron Rodgers came out of their Bye week wide awake and dominated the Detroit Lions who were rolling after a big win over the Bears the previous week. Look for the Packers to rise to the top of that division within a few weeks and I fully expect to see them pushing for a Top 5 spot in my rankings soon.	12
10	Dallas Cowboys	Tony Romo was getting blasted for choking again late in the game against the Broncos, but if you watch that play he was hit just as he threw the ball, which cause it just to be oh so slightly off target. Danny Trevethan had to make a fantastic diving catch to seal a chance for victory. Romo is playing lights out this year and I just don't see how the Cowboys don't win that terrible division this year. This team hung tough with the best team in football and in spite of the loss earned a big bump in this weeks power rankings.	15
11	Baltimore Ravens	Joe Flacco and the Ravens are hanging on by a thread. You just get the sense that one of two things is going to happen to this team. Either they turn the corner and start looking like a legitimate playoff team or they'll begin to falter and end the season a few games below .500. The win in Miami was hard fought, so they'll get the benefit of the doubt this week. However, I can't help but think back to last weeks debacle against the Bills.	18
12	Miami Dolphins	The Dolphins are rapidly proving they were frauds at 3-0 a few weeks ago. Getting beat at home by the Baltimore Ravens isn't exactly going to win you any brownie points from me. At least the Dolphins are competitive though and they have the look of a scrappy .500 ball club - maybe a little better since they are playing in the AFC East. They need to turn things around this week or the free fall goes into full swing.	10
13	Detroit Lions	No Calvin Johnson? No offense. At least now I know Matt Stafford is an overrated wannabe and I look forward to parting ways with him on my fantasy football team next year. The Packers put it on the Lions on Sunday handing them their 22nd straight defeat on Lambeau Field.	8
14	Chicago Bears	I do not miss Jay Cutler one bit. How many times would he rip off several huge games and get us all excited about maybe being contenders only to suck it up for several more weeks and knock us out of contention? Well, the Bears were 3-0 and sitting pretty. Now? 3-2 and reeling. The Bears are apparently who we thought they were.	9
15	Tennessee Titans	Why did Jake Locker have to get injured? This was supposed to be the week the Broncos took first place and never looked back. Instead, we get this.	13
16	Arizona Cardinals	The Cardinals are really starting to impress me. Carson Palmer seems to finally have gotten comfortable in this offense and that defense is becoming very stingy. The confidence is all in Seattle and San Francisco in this division, but if the Cardinals can somehow take a few division wins away from them then maybe the power structure changes. Do I think that will happen? No.	21
17	New York Jets	Hmm, Geno Smith and the New York Jets are winning some football games. I fully expected them to compete with the Jaguars for this years title as worst football team in America, but with each passing week they are looking like an adequate football team. Let's see if they can keep this going all the way to second place in the AFC East.	22
18	Atlanta Falcons	The Falcons were foolish to sell off their defensive stars over the offseason and are paying for it badly to the tune of a shocking 1-4 record so far in 2013. Matt Ryan and the offense isn't consistent enough to put up the points necessary to win the game. Losing to the Jets at home is horribly unacceptable for a team that had such high expectations. In fact, that is really the only reason I still have them this high on the board, but I feel a free fall coming if things don't turn the corner.	16
19	Cleveland Browns	The Browns are in first place! Don't ask me how or why, because I just don't get it. The Bengals should win this division, but right now they are in third place after the tie breakers. Hilarious. Even so, I expect the Browns to fade fast and hard...and soon. Especially after news broke they are shopping their best wide receiver for a second round pick. Apparently, this Michael Lombardi fella is looking to build his roster Madden 25 style.	23
20	Oakland Raiders	The Raiders put it on the Chargers on Sunday Night Football and really looked like a solid football team. In fact, they looked good in almost every game except the one where Peyton Manning lit it up. However, looking back it certainly appears as though the Raiders at least were able to limit the Broncos offensive onslaught to just 37 points.	28
21	San Diego Chargers	Ahhh, there's the Phillip Rivers we've all come to know and love. I stayed up well after midnight here on the west coast just to see if Rivers would choke with the game on the line and he did not disappoint. It's a rare event when you could watch a game and be excited to see either team lose, so I could not pass that up no matter how much I paid for it the next day.	14
22	St. Louis Rams	The Rams performance on Sunday told me they are not quite ready to take the next step. Sure they won by 14 against the leagues worst team, but that score was far more impressive than their actual performance. Sam Bradford did have a solid game and really bounced back from last weeks horror show. I just can't see this team ranked in the top half just yet. I look at a team like the Cardinals and they are looking far more impressive as the third best team in the NFC West.	27
23	Houston Texans	The Texans are not a good football team. I'd put the blame on Matt Schuab, but its not just him. The defense is bad. When did that happen? They would be foolish to fire Gary Kubiak if things continue this route through the entire season, but it is sure looking like priority number one next offseason is to look long and hard at the NFL draft prospects for quarterbacks. There is too much talent on this team to be getting blown out like they did on Sunday and a big part of that is four pick sixes in four games.	17
24	Buffalo Bills	Whelp, whatever hope this franchise had pretty much went to hell with E.J. Manuel's injury. They still have a great dual threat in Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller, but the Bills coaching staff never quite figures out how to use both effectively. Whichever of the two running backs is able to escape from Buffalo next season will save his career, much like Marshawn Lynch did when he took off to Seattle.	20
25	Philadelphia Eagles	The Eagles escaped with a victory against the horrible Giants on Sunday. LeSean McCoy just couldn't help himself on twitter, telling the world that Knowshon Moreno sucks. Not exactly how you behave professionally. You've got to leave that crap to the fans, but since he didn't, us fans took him to the cleaners on Twitter. I'd be happy to see this arrogant punk lose the rest of his games this year.	26
26	Washington Redskins	The Redskins have the worst defense in the league and now go up against red hot division rival Cowboys in Week 6. Mike Shanahan better dial up some magic juice for Robert Griffin III to drink, because he hasn't looked the same since his injury late last season. I normally don't drop teams on a Bye, but nearly every other team around them won this weekend, so someone had to pay the price for that.	24
27	Minnesota Vikings	The Vikings with Matt Cassell look better than they do with Christian Ponder. With Adrian Peterson, they need a game manager who can control the game and protect the football. They are losing games because of bad quarterback play. I hate picking the games for this team because they are so inconsistent and I don't see that sentiment changing this week either. Oh and if you think Josh Freeman's signing will make a difference, just look at his stats from the last two season. Yikes!	25
28	Carolina Panthers	Cam Newton for all the hype surrounding his supposed talent, just can't seem to find a way to be consistent or even to find ways to win in this league. The Panthers were terrible all day long and really got laid out this past Sunday. This team needs leadership and in a bad way.	19
29	Pittsburgh Steelers	The Steelers offense was starting to find its wings in the last two losses, so it certainly appears as though a win could be coming their way in the very near future. Out of all of the winless teams, they certainly look like the best of a bad lot. We'll see how they come together next week.	29	--
30	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TGFTBW. That stands for Thank God For The Bye Week. This team is in complete disarray and it appears Josh Freeman was right to want the hell out of there. Both coaches and players needed some time away from each other. Maybe, just maybe, Greg Schiano can get his team back on track before he loses the team completely and then loses his job.	30	--
31	New York Giants	Oh Eli Manning, why must you be a turnover machine? I thought I was going to come out smelling like roses in my Pick'em league for believing in you and your Giants scrubs. I won't be making that mistake again. When you win your first game, I'll take the big ole L along with the rest of the people in the Pick'em leagues. Terrible! It's not all Eli's fault, I mean seriously...did you see this?	31	--
32	Jacksonville Jaguars	Do I have too? Justin Blackmon had a big day. The Jaguars still suck and now Peyton Manning and the fiftyburgers are coming to town. Tim Tebow is itching to win some games for you Jacksonville, come on! At least there are Twitter fights to keep fans interested...	32	--