Figuring out which NFL teams are good after Week 5, plus the Padres’ feisty win in LA

We're at the point in the NFL season where there's enough data to get a good scouting report, but not enough for us to make sweeping judgments on any team's merit. Outside of a few outliers, the NFL standings are a muddled middle of the unknown.

Most of this weekend's games left me with this question: Who is actually good? Our top examples:

This game started late , stretched over two calendar days and was mind-boggling in its confusion. Did you want Dak Prescott takes? He threw horrendous interceptions and the game-winning touchdown . How about the Steelers defense? Pretty good until it really counted. Justin Fields is just fine. Ruling: The records here indicate competence, but I'm not so sure — on both sides — after watching the game.

Was this game incredible? . Did I come away with a sense of knowing who's good? Sure didn't. Both defenses struggled tremendously, though we've gathered that from Cincinnati already this year. But Baltimore's once-feared unit is allowing 25 points per game this year, and looked particularly feckless against Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase yesterday. Ruling: Cincinnati is frustratingly bad, Baltimore is good ... but we have reservations. (For what it's worth: all four Bengals losses are by one score.)

I don't know what to do with these teams. This is a horrendous loss for the preseason Super Bowl favorite San Francisco, while it feels like found money for Arizona. The Niners miss Christian McCaffrey, but the problems go deeper than that. Ruling: Arizona is perfectly mediocre. San Francisco desperately needs a bye week.

At a loss here, too. Seattle is coming off a devastating yet extremely fun loss in Detroit in what seemed like a matchup of two of the NFC's best teams. And then the Seahawks go and lay this dudDaniel Jones — who didn't have Malik Nabers to throw to yesterday, either — and New York. Ruling: Take a nap, Seahawks.And we're not ready to believe in the Giants — yet.

This one should comfort us — an expected outcome with expected team records involved — but I'm not so sure. Houston has been skirting by (what I think are) bad teams all year, with a blowout loss to Minnesota lumped in. Buffalo is once again a team that looks like a juggernaut and a pauper on a week-to-week basis. Ruling: Issuing a Stefon Diggs side-eye to both teams, but they can be labeled good for now. There was plenty more action, including Caleb WilliamsJayden Daniels looking like the two best quarterbacks in the NFL. Also, the Broncos might be good — even if they're on the sideline.

See our full Week 5 takeaways here

Multiversal Baseball: The Padres are who the Dodgers should be

In the southern half of California sits an MLB team with talent teeming throughout the clubhouse. It is an expensive, star-laden team that expects to go far into the playoffs each season, but for one reason or another, always seems to find an exit too soon. Always a slight disappointment.

Two teams — the Dodgers and Padres — actually fit that description this postseason, and they happen to be playing each other in the NLDS. They have produced fireworks, never brighter than last night:

The best part of the game, though, might have been Jurickson Profar's home-run robbery in the first inning — and his subsequent troll:

Even outside the beef, the Dodgers might be in real trouble. Coming into the season, we knew the only possible weakness in L.A. was pitching, which showed up last night. Meanwhile, the potent Dodgers bats fell silent against 38-year-old Yu Darvish.

The best-of-five series shifts back to San Diego for Game 3 on Tuesday. We're on upset watch already.

Watch, Listen and Play

MLB : Royals at Yankees Picking this game over Tigers/Guardians simply because Game 1 in Cleveland was a blowout, while the Yanks survived a classic against Kansas City in the first game of this series. The postseason baseball has been very good thus far.

NFL : Saints at Chiefs My Saints desperately need a win and, as a reward, get to play in one of the NFL's loudest environments against the team currently presiding over a dynasty. Kansas City, for all its plaudits, could use a convincing win in the early season, too.

Stream games like these and get tickets .

"The Athletic Football Show" went deeper on Week 5 than we ever could. Listen here

Pulse Picks

I love these stories: Dan Robson penned a beautiful piece about what Connor McDavid did in the hours after losing Game 7 of last year's Stanley Cup Final, one win shy of history. Make time for this today

Chris Vannini is back with his weekly ranking of all 134 . The debate is beginning.

We also have fresh Week 5 fantasy footballBrian Thomas looks like a steal.

Luke Smith has an exclusive interview with Lando Norris , who started the season winless and is now the fastest man in . Don't worry, Lando and Max Verstappen are still BFFs.

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Richard Deitsch's media grades for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick through last weekend. We'll have more on it this week, too.

Most-read on the website yesterdayStewart Mandel's look back at Vanderbilt's incredible win over Alabama . Still can't believe that happened.

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