Ralph VacchianoOct 6, 2026
Vacchiano's Week 5 power rankings for the 2026 season place the 49ers first, ahead of the Chiefs and Seahawks, with the Titans last after a course correction that boosted Seattle, Jacksonville, Carolina, Las Vegas and Cleveland. They also name Raiders coach Klint Kubiak their early pick for NFL Coach of the Year.
Published in writing · Fox SportsRead the original
What Ralph Vacchiano said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromThere shouldn’t even really be a debate at this point: They are the best team in the NFL.
- Where it was published
- Fox Sports
- The piece
- 2026 NFL Power Rankings Week 5: Do 49ers Or Chiefs Hold Claim As NFL's Best Team?
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- 1Power Rankings“So here are my revised and renewed Power Rankings as we head into Week 5. ... 32. Tennessee Titans ... 1. San Francisco 49ers”
- 2Klint Kubiak to win NFL Coach of the Year“Klint Kubiak gets my early vote for NFL Coach of the Year.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| “So here are my revised and renewed Power Rankings as we head…”1 | Power Rankings | — | — | — | — | |
| Klint Kubiak to win NFL Coach of the Year2 | Coach Award Picks | — | — | — | — | |
| 2 calls · 2 waiting | — | — | ||||
How each call scored
2 checkable claims — 1 coach award pick and 1 power ranking — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.
Each call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same calls; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
“So here are my revised and renewed Power Rankings as we head into Week 5. ... 32. Tennessee Titans ... 1. San Francisco 49ers”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Klint Kubiak to win NFL Coach of the Year
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
More coach award picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Matt Hasselbeck · Coach Award Picks · Miss 0
Hasselbeck agreed on the Bills and Ravens as AFC division winners, picked the Colts (with Daniel Jones) to win the AFC South, the Broncos to win the AFC West, the Seahawks to win the NFC West, and tabbed Brian Flores for a Coach of the Year-type honor. They also said the Patriots would make a big jump and potentially reach the playoffs, and named Minnesota, Las Vegas, New England and Chicago as offseason winners.Richard Sherman · Coach Award Picks · Hit 100
Sherman picked the Eagles, Vikings, Ravens and Bills in their wild-card games, named Lamar Jackson MVP, Patrick Surtain DPOY, Kevin O'Connell Coach of the Year, put Jared Verse in the top three of Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, and gave a Week 18 power ranking with Kansas City first.Pat Gustavson · Coach Award Picks · Miss 0
Gustafson picked the Bears, Eagles, Rams, Patriots, Jaguars and Texans in the wild card round, the Rams and Bears in the NFC, the Broncos and Patriots in the AFC, and the Patriots to beat the Bears in the Super Bowl. Their awards slate included Stafford for MVP, Puka for OPOY and Liam Cohen for Coach of the Year.Brandon Carney · Coach Award Picks · Hit 100
Carney made a full playoff bracket, picking the Bears, Niners, Rams, Patriots, Jaguars and Texans in the wild card round, then Seahawks and Rams in the NFC divisional, Broncos and Patriots in the AFC, with the Rams beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl. They also gave award picks including Stafford for MVP and Vrabel for Coach of the Year.Rich Eisen · Coach Award Picks · Hit 100
Eisen gave their Week 13 power rankings, with the Rams first, Patriots second and the Cowboys entering at No. 10, and also named New England and Philadelphia as the first teams to clinch playoff spots, picked Seattle to beat Minnesota, and tabbed Drake Maye as an MVP finalist and Mike Vrabel as Coach of the Year.