Andy: “Another week in the books! Ah-HA! I love it!”

Jon: “Another week closer to those sweet, sweet draft picks.”

Vance: “Another week on borrowed time. With Hue getting the boot, I even lost my $200 bet on first coach fired! It seems there’s nothing I can control any more..”

. . .

Andy: Now, let me check the power levels of our rival clubs.

Andy: WHAT?? This scouter is on the fritz. The Chargers didn’t even PLAY this week!

Jon: What’s the big deal? Let me check my scouter.

-

In Unison: “EXACTLY NUMBER 5?? They’re (marginally) higher than before!!!”

. . .

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to our weekly variety show! The Power Rankings Roundup (the above referenced power levels to the uninitiated) are an arguably arbitrary system of making sense of which teams are improving and which are falling out of favor. That said, it is possible that an assortment of Power Rankings is the most trustworthy resource for measuring a team’s impact for one simple reason: There is no true metric for their order. That’s right- they list how each media conglomerate feels about a team.

Wins are the most important method for determining a team’s ranking, but quality of wins is right behind that. For instance, a powerful team that barely scrapes by against a bottom feeder will lose ranking in a given week. A spunky fight in a loss might catapult a team up a few levels. These are all elementary basics to the Power Ranking system, but one of the most fascinating discrepancies between outlets is how they deal with the uncanny BYE WEEK.

The Chargers did not play anyone this week, but they also did not lose. Their biggest rival, the Chiefs, beat another AFC West contender, the Broncos. The Raiders have pretty much thrown the towel in for this season (and the Broncos are on their way to the same end).

Let’s dispense with the GIFs and get right to a roundup, shall we?

ESPN.com

1. Los Angeles Rams

2. Kansas City Chiefs

3. New Orleans Saints

4. New England Patriots

5. Los Angeles Chargers

Can the Chargers be road warriors? With four of their next seven games on the road -- including two straight to start -- they will have to earn some victories away from L.A. in the second half of the season in order to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2013. The Chargers are 9-18 on the road since the start of the 2015 season, which ranks 25th in the NFL.

6. Carolina Panthers

7. Pittsburgh Steelers

8. Minnesota Vikings

9. Philadelphia Eagles

10. Baltimore Ravens

USA Today

1. Los Angeles Rams

2. New Orleans Saints

3. New England Patriots

4. Kansas City Chiefs

5. Los Angeles Chargers

Just when you thought Joey Bosa might be ready to come out of that tunnel, it seems his 2018 debut is probably still weeks away.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers

7. Washington Redskins

8. Carolina Panthers

9. Minnesota Vikings

10. Philadelphia Eagles

SB Nation

1. Los Angeles Rams

2. New England Patriots

3. Kansas City Chiefs

4. New Orleans Saints

5. Los Angeles Chargers

Bye week!

6. Pittsburgh Steelers

7. Carolina Panthers

8. Chicago Bears

9. Washington Redskins

10. Philadelphia Eagles

CBS.com

1. Los Angeles Rams

2. New Orleans Saints

3. New England Patriots

4. Kansas City Chiefs

5. Los Angeles Chargers

They come off the bye with an interesting game against the Seahawks, who are playing well. The continued improvement on defense will decide how far they go.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers

7. Washington Redskins

8. Carolina Panthers

9. Minnesota Vikings

10. Baltimore Ravens

Bleacher Report

1. Los Angeles Rams (8-0)

2. Kansas City Chiefs (7-1)

3. New England Patriots (6-2)

4. New Orleans Saints (6-1)

5. Los Angeles Chargers (5-2)

Bye week.

6. Washington Redskins (5-2)

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2-1)

8. Cincinnati Bengals (5-3)

9. Carolina Panthers (5-2)

10. Minnesota Vikings (4-3-1)

NFL.com

1. Los Angeles Rams

2. New England Patriots

3. Kansas City Chiefs

4. New Orleans Saints

5. Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers -- who, at 5-2 aren’t necessarily flying under the radar -- have yet to be considered under the heading “ Super Bowl contenders.” The wait for Joey Bosa continues, but his return -- whenever it comes -- should take the pressure off what has been a more-than-capable offense. Consider that the Bolts have racked up 18 sacks while recording five games with multiple turnovers in their seven contests without him thus far this season. Can you imagine how good they’ll be with him?

6. Carolina Panthers

7. Pittsburgh Steelers

8. Minnesota Vikings

9. Washington Redskins

10. Chicago Bears

Business Insider

1. Los Angeles Rams

2. New Orleans Saints

3. Kansas City Chiefs

4. New England Patriots

5. Los Angeles Chargers

We still don’t know how good the Chargers are, but their only losses so far came early in the season to two of the best teams in the league — the Chiefs and the Rams. And with Joey Bosa set to return from injury at some point during the second half of the season, Los Angeles could prove a force in the postseason.

6. Carolina Panthers

7. Pittsburgh Steelers

8. Chicago Bears

9. Washington Redskins

10. Houston Texans

Average Rating: 5.0

Most Common Rating: 5.0

It’s really no surprise that the Chargers are staying put at 5, having not lost— what is surprising is that no other teams have impressed enough to jump above them in the national radar. One thing is for sure- this will not stay the same next week. A win over Seattle will put them in with the league’s best contenders. A loss will have them falling toward the bottom of the top 10.

-Jason “Animation Nerd” Michaels