NFL Power Rankings Week 4: A Clearer Picture

Week 3 was a little more of the same. A few big injuries, one big benching, and basically the top half of teams further distancing themselves from the bottom half.

As will happen every Tuesday throughout the season, nine of our contributors — Zach Lyons, Mike Herndon, Justin Melo, Jimmy Morris, Robert Greenlaw, Wes Wisley, Austin Nelson, Josh Hong, and Justin Graver — have submitted their power rankings, 1 to 32. Below is the aggregate results of those rankings.

Biggest Risers: The Detroit Lions got their first win and have thus jumped up six spots and are this week’s biggest risers. Can Kenny Golladay’s return get them back on track?

Biggest Fallers: The New Orleans Saints have dropped seven spots following their loss to the Green Bay Packers. Is Drew Brees arm totally cooked?

After three weeks, the NFL landscape has become a little clearer. The bottom 12 teams in the NFL have cemented themselves as such, though they will jostle back and forth over the coming weeks as we figure out just who the worst teams are. The Seahawks and Packers are coming for the top spot, and the Buffalo Bills with Josh Allen have become a legitimate threat.

Here’s where we landed with our rankings as we head into Week 4 of the regular season…

To see the full list of everyone’s individual rankings click here.

Wes: Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs thoroughly defeated the Ravens last night, silencing any doubt about who is the best team in the NFL. They didn’t just beat the Ravens, they embarrassed them by efficiently moving down the field with ease and squashing any chance of a competitive game by halftime. What they did to the Ravens defense, who until this game looked very good, proves that the Chiefs are the gold standard and the favorites to win it all again this year. It will be fascinating to watch as the season moves on whether anyone can stop the half-billion dollar man.

Wes: I’ve been slow to get onboard the notion that Josh Allen was a top QB in this league. I won’t fight it anymore. Allen has improved in multiple ways as a QB, from his understanding of his offense to reading defenses and even his decision making. There is still the occasional “what the heck was that” moment, but I’m a believer now. Plus, he’s the only player in NFL history with at least 1,000 pass yds, 10 pass TD and 2 rush TD in the first 3 weeks of a season.

Buffalo looks like a more well rounded team now both offensively and defensively. Injuries are a concern, but honestly injuries are affecting every team so far this year. The Bills are now 3-0 with their latest win against a solid Rams team that should validate Buffalo’s legitimate rank after winning against a couple of bad teams in the Jets and Dolphins

Mike: The Titans are holding steady at 6 this week, mostly because nobody behind them really did enough to leapfrog them. Tennessee’s win in Minnesota didn’t earn them any style points, but road wins in the NFL are tough, even with no fans in the crowd.

We will find out a lot about the Titans this week when the Steelers come to Nashville for the first of three straight home games. Are they frauds propped up by a weak opening schedule? Or are they a true contender who has learned how to win? This ranking reflects the latter and we will soon find out if we are right.

Zach: The Pittsburgh Steelers may be the most overrated team in the NFL. They’re a weak 3-0. This is why I have them ranked all the way down at 15. Let’s dive into it…

They won their opener against the New York Giants, but looked rusty and sloppy on the way to the W. After that, they barely beat a Denver Broncos team that turned to Jeff Driskel when Drew Lock went down. Courtland Sutton went down in that game, too. Let’s not forget that the Denver Broncos defense was already decimated, and the Steelers only won by five points.

Then, they take out a Texans team that has yet to look cohesive as an offensive unit. They barely beat them that game, too.

People think the Steelers are going to roll into Nissan Stadium and T.J. Watt is going to eating turkey subs standing over Ryan Tannehill, but let me tell you this: the Titans are 100% going to win this game Sunday and prove the Steelers as frauds.

Justin G: I remain the highest on the Saints of all my co-rankers (tied with Josh), but that doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns about the Saints’ offense. Yes Michael Thomas is missing, but Thomas isn’t going to add air yards to this attack. Brees hasn’t been able to threaten deep, and while that’s largely been the case the past few years in New Orleans, things look worse than ever this season.

Still, Sean Payton has turned around plenty of bad starts in the Big Easy in the past. Thomas is coming back soon, and the defense has enough talent to clean things up. I wouldn’t bet against the Saints to make the playoffs; they’re still a strong contender for the division, especially with a head-to-head victory over Tampa Bay already this season.

Austin: This Colts team is starting to find their groove. The defense especially. They lead the league in yards only allowing 225.3 YPG. Philip Rivers has found a new weapon in Moe Alie-Cox, the running game is coming alive and the defense is forcing turnovers. The only flaw: Their two wins are from teams a combined 0-6. Congrats to Philip Rivers for throwing TD pass No. 400 as well.

Justin M: The disrespect is clear. How many 3-0 teams would you rank as low as No. 16? Not many, but the Bears deserve it. How many 3-0 teams would bench their starting quarterback in the middle of their third game? Ah yes, the Bears have finally figured out what we’ve known for a while — Mitch Trubisky isn’t a franchise QB.

Nick Foles came in, threw for 3 touchdowns and lead a comeback victory over the Atlanta “Meltdown” Falcons. Foles wasn’t particularly good, but he certainly gives this offense a better chance at success than Trubisky does. For now, I don’t believe in this team. I just don’t. Unconvincing Week 1 and 2 victories over bad Lions and Giants teams didn’t earn them any brownie points in my books.

We’ll find out a lot about the Bears over the next few days. They host a decent Colts team in Week 4 and will be on a short week as Tom Brady and the Buccaneers are coming to town for Thursday Night Football in Week 5. If the Bears can get to 4-1, or heck, 5-0, I’ll start to show them a lot more respect in these rankings.

Jimmy: Are the Texans good despite being 0-3? That’s a question we don’t have a definitive answer to just yet. They have played easily the toughest schedule in the league facing off against the Chiefs, Ravens and Steelers. Their next 2 games are against the 0-3 Vikings and the 1-2 Jaguars. If they can convincingly win those games they will move up in these rankings. If they drop one, or hopefully both, they will take a tumble.

Robert: The Dolphins are not a good team, but they are definitely watchable. Ryan Fitzpatrick is a rollercoaster, not in the same horrifying/awe-inspiring way that Jamies Winston is, but a tamer, kid-friendly version.

Brian Flores has this team on the up and up, and while I don’t think they will be contenders any time soon, it’s much better than the Adam Gase iteration of this team.

Miami will get a few surprise wins throughout the year, and going forward, they are built for success in the secondary with Xavien Howard and Byron Jones.

Josh: The Eagles have been our biggest faller dropping 15 spots since the offseason. This is with good reason. They not only lost to Washington by 10 and the Rams by 18, but they also tied with the Bengals who had the worst record in the NFL just one year ago.

So what exactly is going wrong with the once mighty Eagles?

There are a ton of issues, but the main one is at quarterback. Carson Wentz has been struggling tremendously to start the year, and honestly, his struggles date back to 2019. Wentz has been dealing with accuracy issues and is making awful decisions. In fact, he ranks first in the NFL in turnover worthy plays so far with 12. That’s 4 turnover worthy plays per game! You just can’t win with that. If things don’t turn around soon, it wouldn’t Hurt to put in the back up…

Who is too high? Who is too low? Drop a comment down below!

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Author: Zach LyonsWith over 17 years experience of losing Fantasy Football games, Zach has been a Titans fan since moving to Nashville in 2002. A die-hard Alabama fan, but he doesn't let that cloud his judgement of the Elite Players they have put in the NFL. Players like Derrick Henry, Julio Jones, and AJ McCarron. You've heard him on Football & Other F Words giving his Unfiltered Opinions as facts and that won't change. He's always 100% right even if he has to revise earlier statements. Lawyered.