Week 4 NFL Power Rankings: Cardinals Soar, Steelers Sink

1. Arizona Cardinals (4-0)

Last Week: 6 (High: 1, Low: 6)

Arizona is the only undefeated team left and they’re on fire. They play at a pace that shouldn’t be sustainable. They have enough weapons to keep packing on points for four quarters. They play in the toughest division and just earned a massive division win over another elite team. I don’t know that they can sustain this for the whole season, but every team behind them has stumbled at some point so far. The Cardinals remain perfect, and that’s why they deserve the top spot.

2. Buffalo Bills (3-1)

Last Week: 2 (High: 2, Low: 11)

If we’re being honest, no one is playing better football than the Buffalo Bills right now. They’re on an absolute heater, but this is where that Steelers loss comes back to bite them. The Texans are bad, but this defense made Davis Mills look arguably worse than Nate Peterman, and they did it without starters Jordan Poyer and Taron Johnson. It’s not just the defense for Buffalo, though. They hung 40 on Houston almost without even trying. They pulled Josh Allen early in the 4th, and Mitch Trubisky immediately scored a touchdown. The Bills even sacrificed plenty of points by settling for field goals. Had they decided to play more aggressive, Buffalo could have easily put up 50 if not 60 points. They’ve outscored their first 4 opponents 134-44, for a league leading +90 point differential. The Cardinals are the next best team at +55. Buffalo also leads the league in fewest points against, and is tied for second most points scored.

3. Los Angeles Chargers (3-1)

Last Week: 3 (High: 3, Low: 14)

There are plenty of jokes to be made about the new $5 billion covered SoFi Stadium having to delay a primetime game due to weather in Los Angeles. For the spiritual and superstitious though, it’s easy to tie the long flowing locks of Justin Herbert to those of Thor, following an extremely rare thunderstorm in Southern California right before a dominant win for the Bolts. They had a rough start, but the Chargers are finally competitive in the #FightForLA against the Rams. They have yet to face the Broncos, but they’re now 2-0 against the rest of the division. There’s a new king in the AFC West. It’s tough having to prepare for hard counts in a home game, but that sets up the Chargers to be potentially one of the greatest road teams we’ve ever seen.

4. Los Angeles Rams (3-1)

Last Week: 1 (High: 1, Low: 5)

The Rams may not be the best team in the league, or even their own division, heck even their own city, but they’re still an excellent squad. They were never good enough to go undefeated, so occasional losses are to be expected. Arizona has also beaten every team they’ve faced, so this one is fairly understandable. It’s unlikely that the remaining teams would have fared much better. The Rams continue to spread the ball around, with Van Jefferson pacing the receivers this week. Darrell Henderson battled through injury to deliver a very solid performance. If he continues to produce at this level, the job security of Cam Akers has to be question. It’s absolutely insane that these Rams could end up being a wildcard team, but that’s how stacked the NFC West is.

5. Baltimore Ravens (3-1)

Last Week: 10 (High: 5, Low: 14)

Close games have made this team tough to accurately judge until now. The jury is still out on how good the Broncos actually are, but Baltimore dominated a previously unbeaten team in week 4. Hollywood Brown continues to dazzle, and it seems that this defense is finding their rhythm. The run game isn’t great outside of Lamar Jackson, but it’s not horrible for a 4th stringer and a series of late free agent signings. Lamar Jackson threw for over 300 yards, which is encouraging for a guy whose passing abilities have been scrutinized since he came into the league.

6. Cleveland Browns (3-1)

Last Week: 4 (High: 3, Low: 11)

The Browns got the win, and they’re 3-1, but this was somewhat of an ugly win. Yes, wins for teams at this level can be considered ugly. Baker Mayfield was pedestrian, throwing 15/33 for 155 yards and no TDs or INTs. The run game was efficient, but only culminated in one TD, the only time Cleveland could reach the endzone. The Vikings are better than their winless start to the season made them seem, but they’re not an elite powerhouse that should be giving the Browns fits like this. Still, the defense held Minnesota to just 7 points. The passing game needs to step up, but it’s at least somewhat encouraging that this team can win tight, low scoring games.

7. Dallas Cowboys (3-1)

Last Week: 9 (High: 6, Low: 10)

It was an interesting game to say the least. Despite only 188 yards on just 22 passing attempts, Dak Prescott threw 4 TDs. Both RBs and Prescott averaged over 6.5 yards per carry, with Ezekiel Elliott adding a score on the ground. Dallas beat a Carolina team that has been better than expected to start the season. The defense is about average, but the offense has done a good job covering for them. Dallas still plays in a weak division, but at least one team looks like a legitimate division winner so far.

8. Carolina Panthers (3-1)

Last Week: 7 (High: 7, Low: 26)

Folks, the Panthers are for real. Dallas may have gotten the best of them, but even without Christian McCaffrey, the Panthers managed to keep it to a one score game. They’ll have a hard time holding off the Bucs, but Carolina is no longer a soft team. It’s early, but if I had to guess, I think they’ll probably finish second in the division and get a wild card. For right now though, they’re playing better football and despite being shut out 20-0 in the third quarter, they look like a legitimate top ten team.

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1)

Last Week: 8 (High: 1, Low: 9)

Maybe the 20 year NFL veteran got the jitters from an unfamiliar locker room, but Tom Brady was about as bad as he’s ever been in Gillette Stadium. The weather was far from ideal passing conditions, but we’ve seen Brady play much better in much worse conditions. The Bucs should be a way better team than the Patriots, so there’s no excuse for relying on a missed field goal to beat a team that was easily bested by the Saints. This team lost bad last week, and their 3 wins have all been close. The only reason they’re still in the top 10, despite being so close to 0-4, is because they had a rough start last year and still managed to hoist the Lombardi. They’re going to have to kick things up a notch soon though.

10. Las Vegas Raiders (3-1)

Last Week: 5 (High: 5, Low: 13)

I’ve been expecting a crash game out of the Raiders and it came in week 4. They trailed 21-0 at halftime, and while they had an admirable effort in the second half, save for a missed field goal by Daniel Carlson, they couldn’t keep pace with the Chargers. They may be the worst team in a division that could very realistically take all three wildcard spots. I have to drop them for the loss, but I can’t fault them too much due to the team they lost to. That being said, they beat themselves as much as the Chargers did. Their second half comebacks have been exciting, but that kind of inconsistency isn’t sustainable long term. Crash games like this are the very reason I’m always hesitant ranking the Raiders too high. Teams that can’t string wins together simply cannot win the Super Bowl. The Raiders are still a solid squad though, so let’s see how they rebound.

11. Kansas City Chiefs (2-2)

Last Week: 12 (High: 1, Low: 12)

The offense is strong, but we knew that. The problem is their horrendous defense. What good is scoring 6 TDs, when the defense pretty much lets the other team go shot for shot? Even decent defenses have been able to keep the Eagles in check. KC gave up 30 points. Sure, they scored 42, but they can’t sustain that every single week. The Chiefs are 2-2, because although they’re tied for second most points scored, they’re second worst in points allowed. They’ve barely outscored their opponents 134-125. Their average game is a 33.5 – 32.25 win. Sure, it makes for exciting football, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that means they’re a great team. Until this defense can become semi-competent, Pat Mahomes‘s Chiefs are going to look like Drew Brees‘s Saints: Good, but not good enough.

12. Green Bay Packers (3-1)

Last Week: 14 (High: 12, Low: 20)

A 27-17 win over the Steelers would have been far more impressive 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh looks worse every week. I’m still not ready to call Green Bay a top 10 team just yet, but they’re knocking on the door. They’ve come a long way from their disastrous week 1, but losing star CB Jaire Alexander to injury is going to hurt. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t look like an MVP candidate, but he’s still playing like a franchise QB. He’s starting to show the early signs of aging, but if recent QB retirements are anything to go off of, he still has several years of high level play, even if his best years are behind him.

13. Denver Broncos (3-1)

Last Week: 11 (High: 11, Low: 20)

It’s tough to evaluate this team, and I do want to move them down after a 23-7 loss, but there’s simply no other team left that I like more. The Broncos lost their first game against legitimate opposition, and it wasn’t particularly close. Still, they’re 3-1 and they’ve only allowed 49 points against through 4 weeks, which is second best in the league. Even Baltimore only hung 23 on them, which really isn’t bad. It’s not unreasonable to say that their offense got exposed, but they’re missing several pieces. I need to see more before I can conclude for sure if the first 3 weeks were truly just a fluke.

14. Seattle Seahawks (2-2)

Last Week: 21 (High: 8, Low: 21)

In the constant battle for the NFC West, the Seahawks managed to kick a mangled San Francisco into last place, bringing themselves back up to .500 in the process. Seattle’s simply not a great team this year, but they are certainly competent. A bit more consistency would be nice, but ultimately, they’ll most likely be fighting for a wild card in December. The passing game has been good, but Russell Wilson has yet to carry Seattle deep in the post season without a solid defense and run game. He has neither right now.

15. Minnesota Vikings (1-3)

Last Week: 19 (High: 13, Low: 23)

Minnesota hasn’t had a great defense in some time, so they deserve credit for holding the Browns to just 14 points. Their offense relies heavily on Dalvin Cook, and his limited availability was clearly a hinderance. Still, between Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and Tyler Conklin, they should have had enough in the passing game to put more than 7 points on the board. I’ve said that they’re better than their record suggests, but they looked like a 1-3 team this week. They don’t play in the NFC West, but they’re also not in the AFC South. They need to be better if they want a shot at the post season.

16. San Francisco 49ers (2-2)

Last Week: 17 (High: 13, Low: 25)

Trey Lance came in for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo, and was good, but it wasn’t enough to win. He does look like the best rookie QB, though he is still raw and has a tiny sample size. After losing pretty much their entire run game, this team simply cannot afford QB injuries. At least their receivers have been fairly healthy. Deebo Samuel has been terrific so far, and he could be even better with some consistency under center.

17. New England Patriots (1-3)

Last Week: 26 (High: 17, Low: 26)

The offense is far from exciting, but give the coaching staff credit for finding ways to maximize production from the limited talent available. The defense delivered a phenomenal performance, essentially shutting down a QB who knew their home field and conditions better than they did. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough. The Patriots, whose best receiver wouldn’t even start on the Bucs, lost starting RB Damien Harris in a game that was far more conducive to running than passing. They still managed to stay only a field goal away from taking the lead with under a minute left. We’ve seen Tom Brady march down the field with less time before, so we’ll never know how much of a difference those 3 points would have made.

18. Cincinnati Bengals (3-1)

Last Week: 15 (High: 15, Low: 19)

Smokin’ Joe Burrow has beaten Trevor Lawrence twice in a row. Some may criticize me for putting a 3-1 team this low. To these critics I ask, if they’re so good, why did they struggle to beat an 0-4 team? Remember, the Bengals are fairly healthy. They were without WR Tee Higgins, but they still had Ja’Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd. One WR shouldn’t make that much of a difference against a bottom feeder team. They might be better than the Steelers, but they’re third best in the division at best. Even with the addition of a third spot, wildcard berths look to be tough to come by in the AFC this year.

19. Indianapolis Colts (1-3)

Last Week: 27 (High: 19, Low: 27)

Things haven’t gone great for the Colts, but they got a conference win over the Dolphins this week, so let’s take stock. They play in perhaps the worst division in football. The Titans (2-2) just lost to the Jets, and the Texans’ (1-3) only win came against the Jaguars (0-4). All of these teams figure to lose more games, so the Colts could still very realistically win this division. They have some young players stepping up and they’ve been generally competitive in every game so far.

20. Washington Football Team (2-2)

Last Week: 20 (High: 15, Low: 20)

A 34-30 victory over the Falcons isn’t much to brag about, but a win’s a win. Let’s remember this team is playing with their backup QB. The biggest problem is their defense though, which was supposed to be among the league’s best. Instead, they’ve allowed 122 points. That’s more than any other team in the NFC except for… The Atlanta Falcons (128). In the AFC, only the Cheeks, I mean Chiefs (125) have allowed more points through four weeks. Starting RB Antonio Gibson has been playing hurt, while G Brandon Scherff and TE Logan Thomas left the game with injuries. Taylor Heinicke‘s gotten about as much help from his team as the average citizen gets from their congressional representative.

21. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-3)

Last Week: 18 (High: 7, Low: 21)

The Steel City might chalk this up to Aaron Rodgers playing with a chip on his shoulder, but the truth is that the old guard in Pittsburgh is falling off faster than the new guard can rise up. Ben Roethlisberger is in the twilight stage of his career, but there’s no clear successor in place. JuJu Smith-Schuster was good enough early in his career that the Steelers felt confident disposing of star Antonio Brown. He should be in his prime now. Instead, he’s slipping down the depth chart behind receivers that have yet to establish themselves as bonafide stars. Najee Harris has been alright, although inconsistent, but good teams don’t have to put everything on the shoulders of a rookie.

22. Philadelphia Eagles (1-3)

Last Week: 23 (High: 16, Low: 23)

Losses are never good, but the Eagles were at least competitive this week, hanging 30 on the Chiefs. The defense is still a bigger liability than Ryan Gosling in Remember the Titans, as Pat Mahomes and the chefs slapped 42 points and some barbecue sauce on them. Jalen Hurts is a solid player, but he’s way too young, inexperienced, and uh, human to meet those insane demands. The NFC East is still pretty weak, but Dallas seems to have their act together, which means 7 wins probably isn’t winning the division again this year.

23. New Orleans Saints (2-2)

Last Week: 13 (High: 2, Low: 23)

The Saints might be the new Raiders in terms of inconsistency. I know they’ve had a lot to deal with since Drew Brees retired, but for f**** sake, the Giants?? They gave up a 400 yard passing game to Daniel Jones, who couldn’t even score on the Falcons last week. The Giants had 4 players with at least 70 receiving yards, while the Saints had 1. The Giants had 4 players with at least 5 receptions, while the Saints had 1. Taysom Hill ran into the endzone twice, and Alvin Kamara rushed 26 times for 120 yards, but it still wasn’t enough. The Saints are learning the hard way why Tampa cut their losses on Jameis Winston. 17/23 for 226 yards and a TD isn’t bad, but the Saints had 39 run plays compared to just 26 pass plays. Winston may be on a short leash.

24. Chicago Bears (2-2)

Last Week: 25 (High: 16, Low: 25)

Beating the Lions is important. Even if it’s easy, they’re still a division rival team. More importantly, the win keeps them ahead of the Vikings and positions them just 1 game behind the Packers for first place. With both Packers games left on the schedule, the Bears still control their destiny. Only four players caught passes, as Justin Fields only threw 17 times, although Darnell Mooney managed to turn 5 catches into 125 yards. They need to figure out this QB situation, but they’re at least staying alive in the race for the postseason. In the meantime, the run game exploded. David Montgomery had himself a game with 106 yards and 2 TDs on 23 carries. Even Damien Williams added 55 yards and a score on just 8 carries.

25. Tennessee Titans (2-2)

Last Week: 16 (High: 16, Low: 27)

I understand that playing without the top 2 WRs is hard, but come on. Losing to the f***ing Jets???? Zach Wilson hadn’t scored a TD in two weeks. He now has 4 on the season and half of them came in this game. He’s averaging 2 INTs per game, but the Titans only got 1. Fellow rookie Michael Carter got his first NFL touchdown, courtesy of the kind folks from Tennessee. As far as I’m concerned, the Titans are no longer a serious contender in the AFC. They’ll probably still have meaningful December football, just because someone has to win the awful AFC South. The Colts are 1-3 and still somehow feel like the best team in the division. The Titans have 2 embarrassing games in four weeks. Successful leaders delegate, but that’s sadly a luxury unavailable to King Henry, who’s had to drag this team on his back.

26. New York Giants (1-3)

Last Week: 30 (High: 23, Low: 30)

I don’t know whether this game was more won by the Giants or lost by the Saints, but it takes the zero off their record. Danny Dimes resurfaced after pretty much disappearing against the Falcons last week. Saquon Barkley still seems to have a limited workload, but the limit seems to be slightly increasing every week. He had 126 all purpose yards and 2 TDs this week. The Giants are still a long way from being competitive, however it’s encouraging to see that they’re at least good enough to play spoiler.

27. Miami Dolphins (1-3)

Last Week: 22 (High: 12, Low: 27)

Remember when Miami looked to be on the verge of taking the AFC East? That was fun. Between the Patriots nearly spoiling Brady’s return to New England and the Jets beating the Titans, Miami may actually be the worst team in the division. That narrow week 1 win over the Patriots seems like forever ago, and it’s the only thing separating them from 0-4. Speaking of winless teams, the Dolphins lost to one this week. RB Myles Gaskin received 2 carries and no targets. That’s a bold strategy for a team without its starting QB. It’s not working out for them.

28. Atlanta Falcons (1-3)

Last Week: 29 (High: 28, Low: 30)

How bad are the Falcons? They lost and it was enough to move them up a spot. It’s good that they can keep some games competitive. Ever since that Super Bowl loss though, they’ve really struggled to win close games. They wasted a good game from Matt Ryan that saw the former MVP throw 25/42 for 283 yards and 4 TDs while adding a 17 yard run. There are plenty more losses up ahead, but the offense is starting to click, so if the defense can muster a good game, they can steal a few low hanging fruit games.

29. New York Jets (1-3)

Last Week: 32 (High: 29, Low: 32)

The Jets are a terrible team. Let’s get that out of the way. They needed overtime to beat a mediocre team missing two of its top 3 players, including the top 2 WRs. Still, the win is impressive for a team who hasn’t been able to protect its rookie QB. The run game started to get going, even if it was very inefficient. It wasn’t much, but it offered Zach Wilson enough breathing room to finally throw more TDs than INTs for the first time since week 1. WR Jamison Crowder was finally healthy enough to play and the veteran scored in his first game back, catching 7 for 61. He has a reputation as a QB safety valve, so hopefully he can make life a little easier for Wilson going forward.

30. Detroit Lions (0-4)

Last Week: 24 (High: 24, Low: 31)

The Lions are moving in the wrong direction. I’ve been pretty forgiving of competitive losses, but eventually a team has to turn that momentum into wins. A divisional loss to the ice cold Bears is a bad look for a team that could sell even a third place finish in the division as a win. D’Andre Swift all but disappeared. Jared Goff threw 24/38 for 299 yards and 2 TDs. Those aren’t great numbers, but they should usually be good enough to win on a competent NFL team. Goff has next to no help at WR, so it’s good to see him protect the football. He’s a pocket passer though, so he needs either pass catchers or a run game. The defense is salvageable, but this offense is hanging Goff out to dry, and he’s not a QB who can pick up much slack for bad players around him.

31. Houston Texans (1-3)

Last Week: 28 (High: 25, Low: 32)

Let’s compare the current Texans and the week 1 Texans. First, the Jags are much more competitive now than in their first game under Urban Meyer. Second, the Texans had Tyrod Taylor at QB. Davis Mills is awful. Sure, the Bills defense is relentless, but this man struggled against the Panthers without Christian McCaffrey. I don’t want to judge him too harshly, but he’s simply not good enough to play in the NFL right now. He’s still young, so he could still grow into a true NFL talent, but for now, he’s an absolute liability. Unfortunately he’s the best option the Texans have at the moment, other than, well… You know. Give the Texans credit for turning down temptation, even in the face of injuries and losses.

32. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-4)

Last Week: 31 (High: 31, Low: 32)

Every week, the Jags come closer and closer to victory. Trevor Lawrence is one of the most iconic “winner” athletes to enter pro sports since the NBA’s Kareem Abdul Jabbar. His record through high school and college holds up against Vasyl Lomachenko’s amateur boxing career. If the Jags can give him even a little consistent support, Lawrence can likely find a way to make it work. James Robinson is finally getting the kind of usage he should have been getting since week 1, and the difference is blatantly apparent. T-Law is way more comfortable, and the dude was balling. Unfortunately, just when things seemed to be looking up, the whole Urban Meyer weekend debacle happened. The front office issued a public vote of no confidence and the players allegedly laughed him out of a team meeting. They’re also still winless. It should be an interesting week in the practice facility.

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