LAS VEGAS -- Tom Brady is back from his four-game suspension, and the New England Patriots are now atop the NFL Vegas Rankings.
However, it's not by as wide of a margin as our panel of ESPN Chalk handicappers was thinking a week ago. New England started the season 3-0 with Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett filling in at quarterback, and for the last few weeks we've been writing about that the Patriots would be upgraded when Brady returned and probably be No. 1. However, the Patriots were shut out 16-0 by the Buffalo Bills in Week 4. That would normally lead to a team being downgraded by a couple of points, so the addition of Brady only netted the Patriots a 1.5-point increase over last week, but that still enough to take over the top spot at a power rating of 27.
Here's a look at all 32 teams, the squads making the biggest moves up and down the rankings and some Week 5 value plays (10-3 ATS so far this season) using this week's power ratings:
Note: The NFL Vegas Rankings are compiled by taking the average of the power ratings of ESPN Chalk handicappers, including Erin Rynning, yours truly and ESPN's Football Power Index, and are used to compare two teams as if they were to meet on a neutral field (after which most teams get 2.5 points for home-field advantage) and can be used to compare to the current point spread.