NFC North QB Power Rankings, Week 5: Jordan Love begins his ascent

The NFC North continues to paint an incomplete picture at the quarterback position heading into Week 5 of the 2026 season.

Even as the sample grows larger, we're still waiting for a semblance of normalcy to arrive for this division.

The Chicago Bears were still without Caleb Williams in Week 4. Kyler Murray continues to struggle as the Minnesota Vikings keep winning. Jared Goff keeps putting up huge numbers as the Detroit Lions' defense continues to falter. Meanwhile, Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love took some important steps forward in Week 4.

Let's sort out the latest NFC North QB power rankings ahead of Week 5, which might be our most straightforward rankings of the season so far.

NFC North QB rankings, Week 5: Jordan Love rises up in underwhelming week overall

Stats don't always tell the entire story, but in the case of Kyler Murray so far in his short time with the Minnesota Vikings, these numbers really say it all:

Nobody can deny that the Vikings are being carried right now by their elite defense. Murray is being given the great benefit of having margin for error, and he's taking advantage of it.

The big picture for Murray this year is obviously that he's auditioning for another big-money contract, whether it's with the Vikings or someone else. The Vikings -- since trading JJ McCarthy -- have left their plans wide open for 2027 and beyond.

Even though the team is winning right now, Murray isn't doing his part to secure any sort of long-term commitment from the Vikings. There are preferable (and cheaper) options than Murray that will be available to the Vikings in the 2027 NFL Draft.

With that in mind, it's still early in the season, and Murray didn't have Justin Jefferson this past week. We'll see what things look like in the Vikings' Week 5 matchup against the New Orleans Saints (on the road), but Jefferson might want to show out for his friends and family in that homecoming game.

Last week, we had the Bears' quarterbacks ranked #1 on this list, and that was primarily because of the way we had seen both Caleb Williams and Case Keenum execute the offense for Ben Johnson.

This past week, Tyson Bagent very clearly benefited from some penalties wiping away interceptions from the other team, as well as the success of Chicago's run game really carrying that offense.

The Bears dominated the New York Jets in the time-of-possession department, unlike anything most of us have ever seen, and Bagent absolutely played his part in that. He was a lot more aggressive than you will typically see of a backup quarterback, and he did an excellent job of making tight-window throws.

Once again, the Bears' offense was on schedule, converting on third downs, and largely unstoppable for the Jets. Bagent was afforded the chance to go out there and take some chances, make some mistakes, and get messy, but how will that go in Week 5 against the Packers?

One thing is certain: With Bagent throwing 34 passes in Week 4, Ben Johnson has unlimited confidence in whoever he throws back there.

Pressure has impacted and affected Jordan Love throughout the 2026 season so far, but the game he had against the Bucs was the "easiest" he's had in that regard this year.

Love completed a season-high 73.2 percent of his passes with a pair of touchdowns, looking much more efficient overall than he had in the three games prior.

Still, he had an ugly interception in the fourth quarter on a throw he would like to have back, and those types of mistakes can't happen when you have a chance to pull away on the road. Even going up against a backup quarterback -- a rookie free agent making his NFL debut -- we didn't see the Packers exactly put it on the Bucs.

Whether it's protection issues or drop issues, Love's teammates have absolutely let him down this season. But we also know that as soon as he starts to get hot, he's capable of playing at an MVP level. And the Packers need that from him more than ever before with a matchup against the Bears in Week 5.

What I am about to say is not meant as any sort of disrespect toward Jared Goff, and in no way is it an attempt to diminish how good a player he is.

Goff is #1 on the NFC North QB Power Rankings this week by default. He has established a high enough floor for himself at this point in his NFL career that we sort of just know what to expect from him week after week.

Goff is going to throw the ball accurately. He's going to pile up a bunch of yards. He's generally not going to put the ball in harm's way or take a bunch of sacks. That's pretty much exactly what we saw in the Lions' Week 4 loss against the Carolina Panthers, yet another ugly dud performance put up by their defense.

But these are QB rankings, not team rankings. The Lions' incompetence defensively only serves to amplify what Goff has proven capable of doing, if nothing else.

This was, to be fair, Goff's worst game of the season in terms of completion rate (61.5 percent). The Lions' offense was just 4-of-12 on third-down plays, so their operation has definitely been more efficient. Perhaps their Week 5 matchup in Arizona will be a "get right" game for the defense, and we'll finally see what Goff looks like with support from that side of the ball.

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