The Vikings, Cowboys and Falcons continue to impress, but the Dolphins, Bears and Browns "must do better".

NFC EAST

Dallas Cowboys (W 28-14 v Cincinnati)
Comfortably the Cowboys' most impressive of their four straight wins. The Bengals trailed 28-0 until claiming a pair of garbage time scores. They had no answer for a dominant Dallas offence, particularly Ezekiel Elliott, who picked up two TDs while running for 134 yards on only 15 carries. In doing so, he became the first Cowboys rookie with three consecutive 100-yard rushing games. Grade: A

Washington Redskins (W 16-10 @ Baltimore)
The Redskins have also put together a nice little run of three straight wins after starting the season 0-2. The latest relied on an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown by Jamison Crowder and an uncharacteristically strong performance by their defence, who came into the contest ranked 29th in the league. Grade: B+

Philadelphia Eagles (L 23-24 @ Detroit)
The honeymoon period is over. Well, not quite. The Eagles did more than enough to win the game, and rookie QB, Carson Wentz, certainly can't be blamed despite his game-ending interception. Let's remember, this team were supposed to be nowhere near a 4-1 mark after five games. Grade: C

New York Giants (L 16-23 @ Green Bay)
The Giants are sinking, having lost their third straight match. But the blame can't be placed at the feet of Odell Beckham Jr this week, as he notched his first touchdown of the season to bring the Giants back into the game late in the fourth quarter. Grade: D

NFC NORTH

Minnesota Vikings (W 31-13 v Houston)
The only undefeated team left in football. That's enough to earn them an A+ right there, but add to that the fact that their dominant defence is still yet to allow more than 16 points in a game this season, and their offence is rolling along with back-up QB and RBs in tow. They didn't just beat a decent Houston Texans team, they embarrassed them. Grade: A+

Detroit Lions (W 24-23 v Philadelphia)
Detroit snapped a three-game losing skid with a hard-fought win over a previously undefeated Philadelphia. The Lions scored on all three of their possessions in the first half, building a 21-7 lead late in the second quarter, but stalled badly after the break, relying on an interception of Wentz - his first in the NFL - to secure a narrow win late on. Grade: B

Green Bay Packers (W 23-26 v New York Giants)
This Packers team are still a tad unconvincing, despite moving to 3-1 on the season with a good win over the Giants late on Sunday night. Aaron Rodgers' play was particularly off colour for much of the contest, with two first-half picks, and a completion percentage that sat below 50 for much of the game. Still, they did enough to get the 'W'. Grade: B-

Chicago Bears (L 23-29 @ Indianapolis)
You can't fault the efforts of Brian Hoyer (33 of 43 passing, 397 yards, 2 TDs) and Jordan Howard (118 yards rushing, 45 yards receiving, 1TD), but the Bears somehow still contrived to lose their fourth game on the year. Grade: D

NFC SOUTH

Atlanta Falcons (W 23-16 @ Denver)
How do you follow up a 300-yard receiving game, Julio Jones? Oh, with just 29 yards on two catches. In fairness, Denver's 'No Fly Zone' defence was always likely to provide a stern follow-up, and it mattered little as Atlanta's 'D' produced a dominant display of its own, sacking rookie Broncos QB, Paxton Lynch, six times. Grade: A-

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (W 17-14 @ Carolina)

The Buccaneers won this but they could, and possibly should have lost it. Erratic decisions from quarterback Jameis Winston put the team under pressure, and kicker Roberto Aguayo missed two field goals before scoring a 38-yard attempt to clinch victory. Fortunately for Tampa, the defence did deliver, forcing four turnovers including an end zone interception. Grade: C+

Carolina Panthers (L 17-14 v Tampa Bay)

Sorely missing Cam Newton's mobility and ingenuity, the Panthers created winning opportunities but struggled to maintain drives under back-up Derek Anderson. Carolina led the game in rushing and receiving yards despite ten minutes less on the field, but four costly interceptions was enough to hand this one to their divisional rivals. Grade: D-

New Orleans Saints (Bye week)

NFC WEST

Arizona Cardinals (W 33-21 @ San Francisco)
Drew Stanton threw two touchdown passes to Larry Fitzgerald in his first start for two years, as the Cardinals survived a week without injured starter Carson Palmer. Stanton wasn't exactly exemplary, only completing 11 of 27 for 124 yards, but Arizona didn't turn the ball over, and that was enough to edge out the 49ers. Grade: B

Los Angeles Rams (L 19-30 v Buffalo)
The Rams suffered their first defeat in Los Angeles, and their first since their Week One 28-0 stuffing in San Francisco - which seems a long time ago now. They kept pace with the in-form Bills for the first half, but kicked two field goals to Buffalo's two TDs in the second to see the game slip away from them. Grade: C-

San Francisco 49ers (L 21-33 v Arizona)
In stark contrast to the Cardinals, the 49ers were error-filled in a winnable game at home against an under-strength Arizona. San Francisco gave up 17 points off three turnovers - two via Blaine Gabbert interceptions, who looks likely to lose his job to Colin Kaepernick any day now. Grade: D-

Seattle Seahawks (Bye week)

AFC EAST

New England Patriots (W 33-13 @ Cleveland)

Welcome back Tom Brady. Looking razor-sharp and rust-free following his four-game 'Deflategate' suspension, Brady went 28 of 40 passing, for 406 yards and three touchdowns to Martellus Bennett. No, not Rob Gronkowski, yet… Grade: A

Buffalo Bills (W 30-19 @ Los Angeles)
The Bills edged out the Rams in a battle of two of the NFL's better defences. Though he didn't get the touchdown his display deserved, LeSean McCoy's 150 yards on the ground made much of the difference as Buffalo earned their third straight win. Grade: B+

New York Jets (L 13-31 @ Pittsburgh)
The Jets, meanwhile, have suffered three consecutive defeats since besting the Billis, of all teams, in Week Two. They were utterly blown apart by Big Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday - the veteran QB torching their defence for 380 yards and four touchdowns. Grade: D-

Miami Dolphins (L 17-30 v Tennessee)
The Dolphins have only an overtime victory over the winless Cleveland Browns to show from their season so far, and with a performance like Sunday's it's easy to see why. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was particularly poor, with just 191 yards passing and two interceptions. Grade: E

AFC NORTH

Pittsburgh Steelers (W 31-13 v New York Jets)
What a stunner from Sammie Coates! Sure, it was Big Ben who got him the ball, but we've already mentioned him (see Jets grade above), and Coates deserves some column inches too. The pacy wide receiver broke off 139 yards from six catches, including two TDs - the first of which he took 72 yards to the house. Grade: A

Baltimore Ravens (L 10-16 v Washington)

Offensive co-ordinator, Marc Trestman, has paid with his job after the Ravens lost a second in a row at home, and his offence scored only three points in the contest following a touchdown on their opening possession. On the plus side though Ravens fans, the last time your team made an offensive co-ordinator change mid-season - replacing Cam Cameron with Jim Caldwell - you ended up winning the Super Bowl. Grade: C-

Cleveland Browns (L 13-33 v New England)
A gutsy effort by an utterly battered and broken Browns squad, that was forced to field its fifth quarterback in five games! Rookie Cody Kessler was knocked out in the first half with rib and chest injuries, seeing quarterback-turned-wide receiver Terrelle Pryor take a few snaps and veteran Charlie Whitehurst come in. The Browns have lost seven straight matches stretching back to last season, and 14 of their last 15. Grade: D

Cincinnati Bengals (L 14-28 @ Dallas)
What has happened to the Bengals team that roared to an 8-0 start last year? In contrast, they've now dropped three of their first five games in 2016 - the latest courtesy of Dallas' dream rookie duo of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. Grade: D-

AFC SOUTH

Tennessee Titans (W 30-17 @ Miami)

It was a return to form for second-year quarterback Marcus Mariota, who had previously struggled to make an impact in the early part of the season. Mariota threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Titans earned their first road victory of the season. 

Running back DeMarco Murray had over 100 yards for the second time this season, and head coach Mike Mularkey will be hoping this is the turn in Tennessee's fortunes. Grade: B+

Indianapolis Colts (W 29-23 v Chicago)

Coming off a London loss with no bye week was a potential recipe for disaster but Andrew Luck and the Colts did enough against an ailing Bears team. Indianapolis used a no-huddle offence from the beginning which helped the attack, but the defence failed to register a sack while Luck was hit five times. Still plenty of room for improvement. Grade: C

Houston Texans (L 13-31 @ Minnesota)

Brock Osweiler really struggled against the Vikings defence, completing just 19 throws from 42 attempts and had only seven yards before Minnesota went 21-0 ahead. Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus impressed once again, but the Texans will have to improve on offence if they want to make the post season again this year. Grade: D

Jacksonville Jaguars (Bye week)

AFC WEST

Oakland Raiders (W 34-31 v San Diego)

Michael Crabtree has done much of the leg work in the early weeks for this talented Raiders receiving corp, and though he again hauled in a touchdown, it was Amari Cooper who finally broke out in 2016, tallying 138 yards and a TD on six receptions. Oakland move to 4-1. Grade: B+

Denver Broncos (L 16-23 v Atlanta)
The Broncos suffered their first loss of the season to the red-hot Atlanta Falcons offence. It was RB duo Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman - not Julio Jones - who they couldn't contain, though. The pair picked up 286 all-purpose yards and two TDs, while Denver's rookie QB, Paxton Lynch, struggled on his NFL debut. Grade: C-

San Diego Chargers (L 31-34 @ Oakland)
The Chargers find another new way to lose. San Diego built an eight-point second-half lead, lost it in a blink of an eye, but then had the chance to tie the game with a field goal with two minutes remaining only for the snap to slip through the hands of rookie holder, Drew Kaser. The Chargers have now lost four games by a combined 14 points, and Sunday's defeat to the Raiders is their 10th straight against AFC West oppositions. Grade: D

Kansas City Chiefs (Bye week)