NFL Standings, Week 5: Chiefs keep AFC West lead

In Week 5, the Miami Dolphins looked to retain the #1 seed in the AFC and climb to 4-1. The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills also aimed to advance to 4-1. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Chargers, and Denver Broncos all wanted to move to 3-2 instead of falling below 0.500. The Indianapolis Colts wanted to climb to 2-2-1, the Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots, and Pittsburgh Steelers wanted to improve the 2-3, and the Houston Texans are pushing for their first win of the season.

Here is what the AFC Standings look like after Week 5:

Before the commencement of Week 5, the Buffalo Bills remained the favorites to come out of the AFC and advance to Super Bowl LVII. FiveThirtyEight (QB Adjusted) had the Buffalo Bills as the team with the best chance to win the Super Bowl out of all AFC teams with a 19% chance to win it all. After Buffalo, the Kansas City Chiefs were at 12%, then the Baltimore Ravens at 5%, the Miami Dolphins were at 4%, the Cincinnati Bengals at 3%, and then the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, and Los Angeles Chargers all at 2%.

On Thursday Night Football, the Colts beat the Broncos in an overtime game with zero touchdowns. The Jets crushed the Skylar Thompson-led Dolphins. The Bills destroyed the Steelers in Kenny Pickett’s first career start. The Texans earned their first win of the season against the Jaguars. The Chargers squeaked past the Browns after a late Jacoby Brissett interception and missed Cade York field goal attempt. The Patriots shut out the NFL’s #1 offense in the Detroit Lions. The Titans beat the Commanders after picking off Carson Wentz in the final moments of the game. The Ravens beat their division rival Bengals on a last-second field goal by Justin Tucker. The Chiefs overcame a 17-0 deficit to beat the Raiders.

The Colts might have won, but they looked horrendous on offense, while the Broncos may start to experience buyer’s remorse regarding Russell Wilson. If Zach Wilson can continue to get better, then the Jets may be an AFC playoff crasher, while the Dolphins need Tua Tagovailoa to come back healthy. The Bills could be the best team in the NFL and the Steelers have a serious argument that they’re the worst team in the conference. The Texans could play spoiler as the season goes on and the Jaguars may not be as good as Weeks 2 and 3 may have indicated.

The Chargers get a must-needed win to stay alive in the AFC West race and the Browns let one slip away, which could cost them down the stretch. The Patriots get back on track in Bailey Zappe’s first career start. The Titans may end up winning the putrid AFC South by the time the regular season is over. The Ravens finally won a close game and the Bengals’ offensive line may cause additional problems down the road. The Chiefs advance to 4-1 despite the game being closer than it should have, while the Raiders’ playoff hopes are in serious trouble.

After Week 5, eight teams in the AFC have a losing record and eight teams have a winning record. According to Five Thirty Eight, the Buffalo Bills are still the team with the best chance to win the Super Bowl out of all AFC teams with a 22% chance to win it all. After Buffalo, the Kansas City Chiefs are at 13%, the Baltimore Ravens at 5%, and then the Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Chargers, and Miami Dolphins are all at 2%.

The Chiefs and Bills are the best teams in the AFC. Outside of those two, no team has separated itself from the pack. The Dolphins have injury concerns at quarterback, the Chargers have injury concerns everywhere, the Ravens don’t look quite right, the Titans and Jets look like paper tigers, the Colts are not a good team, and everyone else is below 0.500. The Bills and Chiefs will meet this week, with the winner likely becoming the favorite for the #1 seed in the AFC.