Week Four Power Rankings

By Week Four, you are what you are. Apart from injuries and young player developments, the good teams are obviously pretty good while the bad (and the down-and-to-the-right) teams separate themselves as well. At the quarter poll,, we have a good view of what the NFL looks like and will look like moving forward.

Out of Rankings: New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers

10. Baltimore Ravens (Previous ranking: NR)

The Ravens stiff arming the Bills as they attempted a comeback was a welcome, yet unforeseen, sight. Since the beginning of the season and John Harbaugh era, the Ravens squander fourth-quarter lead after fourth-quarter lead. Once Gardner Minshew and the Raiders conquer a ten-point deficit, you know you have a problem. After the Cowboys nearly climbed the mountain, I watched Monday Night Football expecting Josh Allen to pull some magic out and send the Baltimore faithful home very upset. Harbaugh, Jackson, and the insanity in pads we call King Henry proved me very wrong. The defense kept Allen in check for 55 minutes before Mitchell Trubisky made his return to our televisions. The run game bled the Bills dry making the fourth quarter a bore, which is impossible to blow.

(WBAL-TV)

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Previous ranking: NR)

A shutout, according to Webster’s, is when one team prevents another from scoring in a complete game, which the Bucs did not do, but I think what they did was slightly more impressive. In the opening stanza, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not allow a single yard to the Philadelphia Eagles. A single, solitary yard. Jalen Hurts did not target a wide receiver, whose jobs are to receive the ball via targets, until the second quarter. Todd Bowles should teach a master’s level course in pressure (only if Brian Flores is teaching the doctorate class), which exposed even more weakness in the Eagles’ offensive brain trust. The NFC South will sneak under the radar this season as one of the more entertaining divisions (sort of how they did last year but no one cared). This wasn’t just a defensive performance either. Baker Mayfield can cement himself as a Top 10 quarterback if he brings the Bucs to the playoffs in consecutive seasons post-Tom Brady. Frankly, it’s hard not to root for Baker at this point. Browns fans, please don’t cry so loud when you read this in the office.

8. Green Bay Packers (Previous ranking: 4)

Is Malik Willis better than Jordan Love? Ok, now that’s out of the way, let’s get down to brass tax. In his return from injury, Jordan Love wore a Brett Favre jersey into the stadium before doing a spot-on impression of the Hall-of-Famer. Three touchdowns are cool unless they are coupled with three interceptions. Jeff Hafley’s defense was torn limb by limb for the first half yet bowed their back in the second half only allowing three points and forcing the new Sam Darnold to look like Sam Darnold of old with his turnovers. The Packers stormed back and ended up losing by just two. Once Love is back rolling like he was to end last year and the defense continues to turn the ball over like no one else, the Packers are one of the hungry mouths to feed in the NFC.

7. Dallas Cowboys (Previous ranking: 10)

Incredibly crude comparisons have been made between the Cowboys’ regular season performances from the last few years and similar results from the Kansas City Chiefs in the same time frame. The obvious separation between the two is playoff performance, but the numbers aren’t lying when it comes to the first 18 weeks of the year. Dak Prescott’s stats also could be compared to that of Mahomes with the stark distinction in the same spot. The Cowboys leveled the water against the Giants on Thursday night in a very similar win to the Chiefs’ over the last 20 (ish) games. In his 13th consecutive win over New York, Dak Prescott and the offense moved the ball at will in the first half, but the defense let Danny Dimes do the same. Mike Zimmer bent, but didn’t break by not allowing a single touchdown and rarely a rushing yard. The offense throttled down after securing a decent enough lead, but maintained the feeling that they could have scored had they needed to. I had to sit and truly think if there were 10 teams better than the Cowboys, but there are just these few in my not-so-humble opinion.

6. Buffalo Bills (Previous ranking: 1)

The Bills are going to be fine, but when a Mack truck takes off for 87 yards on the opening play, what comes after is only an immediate reaction. The Ravens are going to run the ball well no matter what, but the defense could have bowed up after Derrick Henry came a yard short of doing what Jonathan Taylor did in an afternoon in a single carry. Henry’s day continued and that’s what the Bills must protect themselves against moving forward. Allen’s elite play did not continue Sunday, but when it returns, opponents will gash them in the run game especially if they know they can. The curious case of Josh Allen is when to allow him to let the demon out and torture teams, which is needed in scenarios like Sunday night. Luckily for Buffalo, the AFC East is shaping up to be the same flower growing from the dump it always has been.

5. San Francisco 49ers (Previous ranking: 9)

Through the first three weeks of the season, the Cowboys and 49ers have had the same exact season. Week One was a blowout of a team that some smart people believed in with strong performances from their maligned quarterback. Week Two was an embarrassing loss to a team in the process of shocking the football community. Week Three was another loss, by a field goal, to a team you plausibly should have beaten. The part that scares me more about San Francisco is that their best offensive player is not stateside. In fact, Christian McCaffrey went to Germany with one hurt ankle and came back with two hurt ankles. Week Four was another water-leveling win against a bad team that Bill Belichick used to coach. Fred Warner was the lone bright spot from the back-to-back losses at the hands of the Vikings and Rams, but his efforts starred even brighter against the dull backdrop of the New England Patriots. Brock Purdy and his receivers laughed in the face of critics who called them inferior due to being shorthanded. Brandon Aiyuk finally decided to arrive to the party financially late. Their heads are above water...for now.

4. Houston Texans (Previous ranking: 7)

Nico Collins is that dude. CJ Stroud has not suffered a dramatic sophomore slump, but Year Two is clearly harder that his rookie debut, and Nico is making things that much easier. Stefon Diggs contributing with a touchdown was also a pleasant sight to see. The Texans are winning just as much as nearly anyone in the NFL, but they’re trying to be the Chiefs. The Chiefs can play crappy for much of a Sunday and still produce a win without the public losing a tremendous amount of respect for the team. That’s obviously because of the cache they have developed over the last half-decade. CJ Stroud did reveal where he’s a little like Mahomes in the fourth quarter comeback, but we need some hardware and jewelry before it’s something we depend on. The green Texans are nowhere near that level of passive dominance especially when the only "real" they have shared the field with was the Minnesota Vikings. DeMeco Ryans needs the defense to sturdy itself by the time the midseason flow for Stroud arrives.

3. Detroit Lions (Previous ranking: 3)

The Lions debuted their brand-new black uniforms on the primetime stage. The new colors only emphasized the toughness and grit that Dan Campbell preaches and lives. The grind was proven by David Montgomery literally crawling for a touchdown. Even without their all-important center, Frank Ragnow, out injured, the Detroit rushing attack moved through the Seattle defense like Bobby Petrino through coaching stints. Jared Goff benefitted the most and threw the most passes in NFL history without an incompletion.. The Lions are here to stay, and Ben Johnson put his name back at the top of the head coaching candidates for 2025. Campbell’s press conference from a few years ago doesn’t seem so bad nowadays, but his presser after this one reveled he didn't even give the game ball to Goff. How the--never mind.

(The Detroit News)

2. Kansas City Chiefs (Previous ranking: 2)

After the first few minutes of the Chiefs game against the Chargers, the fact that they were only down by three points before halftime with Harrison Butker missing a potential career long. The defense is carrying them to wins. Chris Jones has entered himself into a two-man race for Defensive Player of the Year with Fred Warner (TJ Watt will always lurk). Here is the problem: Patrick Mahomes is not right. It’s a pretty simple answer and it’s even a problem in the best of times. He’s got happy feet. His footwork is the worst of the all-timers in his realm. Mahomes is escaping the pocket before he needs to and his throws are suffering a bit from not having a great base. The Chiefs’ offense is struggling because of their quarterback, which is potentially the biggest non-story of the season. Why? Because they keep winning. The undefeated Chiefs' biggest problem is their best player, which brings credence to the term, "good problem." There is only one thing that has stopped pursuits of three-peats: injuries. The Chiefs have lost Hollywood Brown, Isiah Pacheco, and Rashee Rice for significant portions of time, which spells doom for typical teams. Typical teams...

1. Minnesota Vikings (Previous ranking: 5)

The Vikings continue to surprise even the most thorough of NFL experts. Sam Darnold is finally living up to what Colin Cowherd thought he would back in 2018. Brian Flores is dialing a legitimately historic defense with very few notable names. Kevin O’Connell is the betting favorite to win Coach of the Year with very good reason. Sure, Jordan Love may have been a bit rusty, and his lower body injury legitimately affected the power of his spiral, but the Vikings dominated. Jeff Hafley’s debut into the NFL was met with concern at first due to his reliance on Cover 1 but became the league’s top turnover defense for the first few weeks. Hafley could have run an NCAA Blitz on every play in the first half, but it would not have mattered a single iota. I am enjoying the tradition of not writing about Justin Jefferson until the end of the Vikings entry, but what else do you want to hear? He’s ridiculous. You saw the catch.

Biggest Movers: Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers (rose 4 spots) and Buffalo Bills (fell 4 spots)

New Appearances: Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens