2022 NFL Power Rankings Week 5: Cowboys crack top-10, Browns spiral downward

30. Carolina Panthers

Now sitting at 1-3, it’s becoming apparent that Baker Mayfield isn’t the answer under center for the Carolina Panthers. It’s also clear that Matt Rhule isn’t going to suddenly find success in the NFL. He was an interesting hire, to begin with, due to his collegiate approach but it raised even more eyebrows when he was mad at his team for scoring touchdowns in practice.

Their latest loss was extremely frustrating as Mayfield had 10 passes batted at the line of scrimmage. Blame his height all you want, but he was across the field from Kyler Murray who doesn’t have as much of a problem as Mayfield, which suggests the issue is as much with the O-line as it is with the quarterback.

Having said that, it feels like another long season for Carolina is on the way.

29. Detroit Lions

Just as everyone expected, the highest-scoring game of the week happened in Detroit as the Lions and Seahawks combined for 93 points. Then again, maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised as the Lions have been involved in several games where points were flying.

They lost in Week 1 to the Eagles 38-35 and then won 36-27 to Washington. Their lowest scoring game was their 28-24 loss to the Vikings but they again poured it on in Week 4. The problem is that they scored 22 of their points in the fourth quarter as they were trying to play catch up.

It feels like Detroit is close but they also can’t seem to put it all together. And close isn’t enough in this league.