Chargers and Texans plummet in Prisco’s Week 5 Power Rankings

CBS Sports analyst Pete Prisco released his latest NFL Power Rankings for Week 5 on Tuesday, and his assessment is harsh for the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers. Both teams are winless at 0-4 and sink toward the bottom of his board, with Houston sliding to No. 26 and Los Angeles dropping to No. 27, one slot behind the Texans.

The fall is striking given how both clubs were viewed a month ago. The Texans entered the year as a fashionable Super Bowl pick out of the AFC, while the Chargers were expected to get a spark from new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. Through four games, Prisco instead characterizes the opening stretch for both franchises as a disaster, with each now resembling a team likely to be watching the postseason from home.

Chargers’ offense sputters, Texans’ defense fails expectations

Prisco points to the Chargers’ offense as a central issue. He writes that Justin Herbert, still seeking his first playoff win, does not look comfortable in McDaniel’s scheme and has been guilty of some poor throws. Combined with a limited cast of pass-catching options, the unit has struggled to find any consistent rhythm.

For Houston, the bigger letdown is on defense. The group was hyped in the offseason as potentially one of the league’s best, even drawing comparisons to the 1985 Chicago Bears. Prisco notes that the Dallas Cowboys picked that unit apart in Sunday’s win, undercutting the idea that the Texans’ defense would be a dominant force. The offense finally showed life in that game, which is why he is not putting the blame on quarterback C.J. Stroud for the latest loss.

Tough road ahead and Browns on the rise

Looking forward, Prisco sees a brutal stretch coming for the Chargers over the next four weeks, to the point where he views an 0-8 start as a real possibility. That upcoming run includes a matchup with the Texans. Houston, by contrast, faces a somewhat softer slate, but already trails the Jacksonville Jaguars by three games in the AFC South, making a wild-card berth the more realistic playoff avenue.

Asked to choose which of the two has a better chance to recover, Prisco would side with the Texans, in part because of Stroud’s level of play. Still, he frames both clubs as floundering just a month into the season, far removed from the lofty expectations that surrounded them in August.

At the other end of his rankings, Prisco highlights the Cleveland Browns as one of the biggest movers of the week, noting that they jump nine spots. Their surge underscores how quickly perception can shift across the league after only four games, even as teams like the Texans and Chargers continue to slide.