As a reminder to all, knee-jerk reactions are how I reacted to certain games almost immediately after they ended. These are not meant to be taken as predictions, hot takes, or any variations of the sort.
Now, let's go over some of the biggest knee-jerk reactions following Week 4!
The AFC is painfully average
As it stands, it's obvious that the AFC is the weaker conference heading into week six of the NFL season. They went 2-5 over this past weekend against the NFC and there is not a single team where I can confidently say they will win the Super Bowl.
Yes, that includes the Buffalo Bills.
When we look at the AFC, the Bills, Indianapolis Colts, and Jacksonville Jaguars are the top three teams after five weeks with a 4-1 record. Can anyone confidently say that two of those teams can undoubtedly win a Super Bowl against the juggernauts in the NFC?
The Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs are beyond help this season. The Denver Broncos look great at times, coming off a win against the overperforming Philadelphia Eagles, and shoot themselves in the foot at other times.
Over in Los Angeles, the Chargers are, once again, plagued by the injury bug and have fallen back down to Earth after the first couple of weeks.
And the Pittsburgh Steelers are 3-1, but how much longer until the horseshoe they have begins to break? Then every other team in the AFC you can already scratch off the 'contenders' list. The conference even hosts the only winless team in the league (New York Jets).
Am I the only one looking at this conference and can't help but facepalm? The 4-1 Jaguars won off a stumbling Trevor Lawrence touchdown, where Chris Jones was obviously slowed down by the weight of his pocketbook.
Is this really the best the AFC has to offer?
Well, I can't wait for the Bills-Colts AFC Championship game, I guess. Maybe the Broncos can put on a run with their stellar defence and make this somewhat interesting.
Eagles got exposed
The Eagles were bottom 10 in both offence and defence heading into their Week 5 matchup against the Broncos and they finally got exposed for it.
There's a reason why their four wins were all decided by six points or less. Then they go and let Denver score 18 unanswered points to win.
For gosh sake, the Broncos were 1-112 when trailing by 14 points or more on the road prior to this game.
Philly has been outgained in every single matchup so far this season. That's not a recipe for success if they're looking to make a repeat of last year's Super Bowl win.
Seems like the birds in Philly are still trying to soar off their Super Bowl high with almost the same roster and now teams have adjusted.
They need to fix things and fast or the Commanders will take the division from them.
Props to the 49ers
I've been a doubter since Week 1 with a team that makes the Chargers look relatively healthy. Despite all the setbacks, they're tied for the best record in football and just took down a healthy Rams team in primetime.
The 49ers deserve respect.
Head Coach Kyle Shanahan's ability to adjust on a week-to-week basis like this is impressive on a level no other coach is reaching right now through the first five weeks. He's the undoubted frontrunner for Coach of the Year in my book.
Thanks to his preparations, backup quarterback Mac Jones is going out there looking like a very capable starting quarterback, and that's without their star tight end in Georgie Kittle, and No. 1 wide receiver in Brandon Aiyuk, proving that systems really can make that big of a difference for a player.
Don't believe me? Daniel Jones and Baker Mayfield are MVP candidates right now.
San Fran currently boasts the No. 4 overall offence and the No. 10 scoring defence. If they can minimize turnovers (tied fourth-most), this team will definitely be a prime contender come the end of the regular season.
Don't doubt the Buccaneers
They may have almost given up as many points (132) as they've scored (135), but one rule will always apply to the game of football - great teams will find a way to win.
Tampa isn't like Philly in the sense that they're just barely scraping by with their wins, it's the opposite. Mayfield is leading this team to wins after being down.
I think it says a lot more about a team that has hard-fought comeback wins than it does about a team that can barely hold on to their leads.
That type of energy and motivation on the field will undoubtedly destroy the latter on the game's biggest stage - see Patriots-Falcons Super Bowl matchup.
That team down in Tampa Bay that refuses to fold, no matter the circumstances, may not lead them to the best record in football this season. But best believe come playoff time, when they're fully healthy, this Bucs team is going to be a major problem.
They join the 49ers as the only two teams with a 3-0 record on the road. With both the No. 11 offence and defence, Mayfield has all the capabilities of taking this team far.
They'll prove to be the team where stats don't tell the entire story come the end of the regular season. Just watch their games and you'll understand why they're a contender backed by a QB playing at an MVP-level right now.