Teams we typically rank among the NFL’s elite the last several years have fallen on hard times. Yeah, we’re talking to you, 49ers and Cowboys. Those NFC rivals have dealt with injuries – San Francisco is beset by them – and underperformance – No way Dallas stinks, right?!?
And so many other top teams, like Baltimore and Cincinnati and Miami have dealt with adversity that has resulted in surprising losses. That’s why these power rankings continue to shuffle in surprising ways, more so at the top than in recent memory. This has been a wild start to the NFL season, so expect this to be the norm until the league settles. If it ever does. Recent results have shown this is (pardon the coachspeak) a week-to-week league.
Let’s see how these Week 4 power rankings shake out:
1. Kansas City Chiefs (3-0): Chiefs find a way to win, even when not playing their best. That said, “not playing their best” is still pretty good.
2. Buffalo Bills (3-0): Bills might be the juggernaut they once were.
3. Detroit Lions (2-1): Lions lose Marcus Davenport, but they’re deep enough to survive it.
4. Minnesota Vikings (3-0): Best result of Week 3 wasn’t the win. It was Sam Darnold’s MRI results.
5. Houston Texans (2-1): Joe Mixon never looked more valuable than when he wasn’t available vs. Minny.
6. Philadelphia Eagles (2-1): Eagles are just squeaking by. Thanks in large part to Saquon Barkley.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0): This is an example of a great defense and an offense doing just enough to support the dominant unit.
8. Baltimore Ravens (1-2): No team needed a win more than Baltimore. Got a big one. Can they stack them?
9. San Francisco 49ers (1-2): Javon Hargraves is now likely done for the year. Serious injuries to star players just keep piling up.
10. Seattle Seahawks (3-0): The Seahawks run game is something. And they hit hard on defense. That’s a winning combo.
11. Green Bay Packers (2-1): Winning with Malik Willis? That’s masterful work by Matt LaFleur.
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1): Laid an egg vs. Denver at home. Baker gets a mulligan, but not many.
13. Los Angeles Chargers (2-1): Bolts are a tough team in Harbaugh’s image, but they still need Justin Herbert upright.
14. New York Jets (2-1): Aaron Rodgers is starting to heat up. With the weapons around him, that spells danger to everyone else.
15. New Orleans Saints (2-1): One more showing like that and we can say the bubble burst. Will Atlanta pop it in Week 4?
16. Atlanta Falcons (1-2): Falcons are going to be good. They can prove they are with a huge match against the rival Saints next week.
17. Dallas Cowboys (1-2): Dallas gets beat in consecutive weeks. I don’t think they’re middle-of-the-road, but they’ve got to show us something to move back up.
18. Washington Commanders (2-1): Commanders have a legit, exciting quarterback for the first time in forever.
19: Los Angeles Rams (1-2): Did you see Sean McVay’s reaction after that shocking comeback win over SF? Holy s**t is right.
20. Arizona Cardinals (1-2): If Marvin Harrison doesn’t go off, the Cardinals are gonna have a tough time.
21. Miami Dolphins (1-2): ‘Phins not even close to the same without Tua. Or even a viable backup available.
22. Indianapolis Colts (1-2): Anthony Richardson had a 39.0 passer rating. And won.
23. Chicago Bears (1-2): That defense is so, so good. That offense is so, so not (right now).
24. Cincinnati Bengals (0-3): Superior talent or no, 0-3 is 0-3.
25. New York Giants (1-2): Malik Nabers can even make Daniel Jones look good.
26. Denver Broncos (1-2): Broncos got a good road win over a solid Bucs team. Sean Payton still has sway in the NFC South.
27. Cleveland Browns (1-2): Rarely does a team this talented play this bad as a collective.
28. Carolina Panthers (1-2): Let’s not lose our minds here. Andy Dalton got the Panthers a win. He doesn’t make them good.
29. New England Patriots (1-2): Drake Maye makes his NFL debut in…checks notes…garbage time?!?
30. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-3): Jags get worked by Buffalo. We sure Doug Pederson survives the season?
31. Tennessee Titans (0-3): How long can Tennessee let Will Levis make silly mistakes?
32. Las Vegas Raiders (1-2): You get punked by the Panthers, you go straight to the bottom.