How the NFL playoff picture looks coming out of Week 5

The NFL is wrapping up Week 5, and a few teams are standing out in the playoff picture heading into Week 6.

By David Fucillo@davidfucillo Updated Oct 9, 2022, 4:33pm PDT

James Cook #28 of the Buffalo Bills rushes for a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium on October 09, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York.

The NFL has wrapped up the first quarter of the season and through five weeks, we have a handful of really good teams, a few good teams, a bunch of average to mediocre teams, and a handful of awful teams. Welcome to NFL parity in 2022!

The 2023 NFL Playoffs are three months away, but it’s never too early to start breaking down the playoff picture. Considering next week brings a potential playoff preview between the Bills and Chiefs at Arrowhead, now is as good a time as any to see what we’re looking at heading toward Week 6.

The Bills crushed the Steelers this week to remain atop the AFC East. If the Chiefs beat the Raiders on Monday, next week will bring a pair of 4-1 teams squaring off on Sunday afternoon. The bigger win for now belongs to the Jets. They beat the Dolphins at home, putting up 21 points in the fourth quarter to cruise to victory.

On the other side of the league, the Packers lost in London and that allowed the Vikings to take a full one-game lead in the NFC North. Minnesota hasn’t been overly impressive, but they’re benefiting from some embarrassing Packers play. The bigger part of this though is the Giants beat Green Bay to continue their best start since 2009. They remain behind the undefeated Eagles, but they’re doing some good things a quarter of the way into the season.

UPDATE: The Cowboys beat the Rams to remain tied with the Giants. The Eagles won a close one over the Cardinals to remain undefeated.

Here’s a look at what the playoff picture looks like as the league heads into Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football to close out Week 5.