Patriots climb back into top 10 of ESPN power rankings with Week 5 win

The New England Patriots picked up their most lopsided win of the season in Week 5 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Coming off back-to-back victories over the Raiders and Buffalo Bills, the Patriots climbed back into the playoff race, as well as the conversation of Super Bowl-contending teams.

ESPN ranked the Patriots No. 9 overall in their latest power rankings following the most recent string of games around the NFL.

“They played with only three healthy CBs on Sunday, as starters Christian Gonzalez (shoulder) and Carlton Davis III (neck) were inactive, and rookie backups Karon Prunty and Channing Canada were unavailable because of hamstring injuries,” ESPN’s Mike Reiss said. “When fill-in starter Charles Woods left the game in the second half because of a shoulder injury, it further thinned a perilous CB situation, leaving just Marcus Jones and Kindle Vildor as available options.”

Despite being shorthanded at cornerback, the Patriots still found a way to limit the Raiders to 17 points scored — a season-low for Las Vegas — and limit their rushing attack to only 38 yards on the ground.

Offensively, Drake Maye had one of the best games of his career against the Raiders, going for 374 passing yards and four passing touchdowns. The team also had four Patriots receivers go for 57 or more receiving yards in the game, while Hunter Henry added 44 yards.

It was a full team effort from New England in the win, and the Patriots improved to 3-2 on the year and fifth in the AFC playoff picture. New England will look to improve to 4-2 in Week 6 against the New York Jets.

Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Patriots climb back into top 10 of ESPN power rankings with Week 5 win