Five weeks into the 2016 NFL season, the line between the haves and the have-nots feels closer than ever.
The sport's only unbeaten team, the Minnesota Vikings, has dominated despite playing without its franchise quarterback and future Hall of Fame running back. The sport's lone team without a win, the Cleveland Browns, has had five different players line up at quarterback in as many weeks. It's possible the Browns will be on their fourth starter come Week 6.
Everywhere else, a hierarchy of good-but-flawed teams appears to be established. The New England Patriots, nearly back at full strength after Tom Brady's return from his suspension, face competition from only the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders each sit at 4-1 and appear in a strong position for a playoff appearance.
The South is...a division in the American Football Conference. The less that's said about that foursome of teams, each boasting a negative point differential, the better. But for bettors, how much fun is it going to be throwing all your weight behind that division winner losing in the AFC Wild Card Round?
The Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs remain in that next tier down and are wild-card threats as the season progresses.
A similar story is playing out in the NFC, with a handful of teams off to a great start and a swath of others scrambling to stay relevant.
The surprising Vikings are the class of the league and suddenly look like geniuses for dumping off draft picks for Sam Bradford. The Green Bay Packers are 3-1 despite the inconsistencies of their offense; the Atlanta Falcons are 4-1 despite the inconsistencies of their defense. The NFC East is spearheaded by two one-loss teams, the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, who are being led by rookie quarterbacks.
The Seattle Seahawks, well, remain super awesome at football. It's almost scary for a team known for peaking late in the season to be sitting at 3-1. Washington, the Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions and New York Giants comprise the remaining tier of potential playoff outfits.
About 22 teams still have a decent shot at making the postseason. That uncertainty carries itself over to the Week 6 lines, which seemingly expect every game to be decided by one score. The biggest opening line noted by Odds Shark is owned by the Patriots, who are favored by eight at home over the Bengals.
New England is coming off a dominant 33-13 triumph over Cleveland, while the Bengals were shut out into the fourth quarter before scoring two garbage-time touchdowns against Dallas on Sunday. The last time the Bengals visited Gillette Stadium, they left with a 43-17 embarrassment.
That's the only game with a line higher than seven, although one high line is a bit of an eye-opener. The Seahawks opened as a seven-point favorites over a Falcons team that looks like a legit contender.
Matt Ryan has 237 more passing yards than any other player, and Atlanta is averaging 60 more yards and nearly five more points than any other team. The Falcons have taken down defending conference champions in back-to-back weeks, including an impressive 23-16 win over Denver that was far more dominant than the final score suggests.
“The answer is it’s a different outfit," Falcons coach Dan Quinn told reporters of how to avoid a letdown going forward. "It’s a different group. We are mentally tougher than what we were. And we have a real ability to reset right after we get back to that process, so that’s what’s different from last year to this year."
The Falcons began last season 5-0 before losing eight of their last 11 games. It was the polar opposite for the Seahawks, who started 2-4 before winning eight of their last 10. Seattle has played one of the NFL's weakest slates so far, but we'll get a good idea whether this is a Super Bowl contender over the next handful of weeks.
Falcons vs. Seahawks will share the 4:25 p.m. ET marquee with the Packers and Cowboys, each team trying to establish itself in the playoff race despite issues. Dallas has won four straight games behind rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott but has yet to face any real adversity. Smart play-calling and even better quarterbacking from Prescott has led to the fourth-round pick going his first 155 passes without an interception.
Elliott, meanwhile, might already be the NFL's best running back. Dallas has nonetheless taken advantage of a schedule that has featured exactly one above-.500 opponent, Washington.
“Dak has done a really good job taking advantage of the opportunity,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett told reporters in a press conference. “I think our team has embraced Dak. He has come in and he has done what we have asked him to do, executes ball plays."
The Packers sit at 3-1 despite the continued inconsistency of their offense. Aaron Rodgers set a season high with 259 passing yards in Sunday's win over the Giants but threw two interceptions and averaged under six yards per attempt for the third time in four games. It's been a strange stretch for more than a half-season now, with Rodgers looking conspicuously unlike the superstar we've become accustomed.
Dallas has allowed opposing quarterbacks an average rating of 96.0 so far this season, so Rodgers will need a big game here.
Most of the remaining Week 6 slate leaves a little to be desired. Washington and the Giants and the Houston Texans vs. the Indianapolis Colts provide interesting intradivisional matchups between teams with playoff aspirations but little hope of hoisting any trophies. Oakland vs. Kansas City is arguably the third-best game of Week 6—a disappointment because it, again, is among the late-afternoon contests.
If you have spent the last month ignoring your significant other and family to watch football every Saturday and Sunday, perhaps the 1 p.m. ET games can provide a short reprieve. I mean, that is as long as you can get over missing the next classic in the historic Jacksonville Jaguars-Chicago Bears rivalry. Or the Browns vs. the Tennessee Titans. Or the Rams vs. the Detroit Lions. Or the Steelers vs. the Miami Dolphins. Or the 2016 San Francisco 49ers vs. the Bills.
But OK, apologies to Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints—that might be fun.