NFL Power Rankings, Week 4: Bears falling fast

Through three weeks of NFL action, very little seems to have followed the preseason scripts. The Minnesota Vikings are 3-0 with QB Sam Darnold putting up MVP numbers. The Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars, considered front-runners to win their divisions, are both winless. Particularly troubling for the Jaguars is an apparent regression by Trevor Lawrence, who just signed a $275 million deal in June.

Once again, it’s time to sift through all of the results so far and determine where to rank all 32 teams. This week, there’s going to be some major movers and new teams in the top and bottom spots after little change in last week’s rankings.

1. Buffalo Bills (Last week: 2)

I said I wouldn’t knock the Chiefs off the top spot until someone beat them, but the Bills are just way too good right now to rank them below anyone, even the back-to-back champs.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: 1)

The Chiefs have survived three straight games that came down to the closing seconds. That luck won’t hold all season.

3. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: 14)

It’s still early in the season but it’s looking like I was dead wrong about both Sam Darnold and the Vikings. They look legit after dismantling the Houston Texans. Brian Flores’ defense is already up to 16 sacks on the season.

There is only one team over the last 20 years to have 5+ sacks in EACH of their first 3 games of a season

The 2024 Minnesota @Vikings pic.twitter.com/eQJzWZmk6k

— NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) September 23, 2024

4. Detroit Lions (Last week: 5)

After a tough loss to the Bucs in Week 2, the Lions get back in the win column and keep themselves in the division race.

5. Atlanta Falcons (Last week: 4)

Allow me to be blunt since head coach Raheem Morris took the high road: the Falcons were robbed by a horrendous no-call on Sunday Night Football. They should have won that game. That’s why they’re at 5 in my rankings despite being 1-2 on the season.

#Falcons HC Raheem Morris chose not to comment on the missed DPI call:

“I like my money.”
pic.twitter.com/1h4Su8lo1y

— OutOfSightSports ™? (@OOSSports) September 23, 2024

6. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: 9)

Baltimore nearly blew a 22-point lead over the Cowboys, but the held on to finally get a win. An 0-3 start to this season would have been disastrous for a team that many expect to see competing for the AFC Championship.

7. New York Jets (Last week: 7)

The Jets won, but it came against a listless Patriots team. They stay put this week.

8. Seattle Seahawks (Last week: 21)

The Seahawks have to be feeling pretty good about that 24-3 win over Miami, even if the Dolphins are missing Tua. That was a statement win.

9. Houston Texans (Last week: 3)

Sunday was a rough day at the office for CJ Stroud. On top of the four sacks he took, Stroud also tossed a pair of interceptions in a blowout loss to Minnesota.

Brian Flores has CJ Stroud in hell right nowpic.twitter.com/azU2rraXWV

— Sam Monson (@SamMonsonNFL) September 22, 2024

10. Green Bay Packers (Last week: 19)

At this point, I don’t think it matters whether Jordan Love is truly an elite quarterback or not. As long as head coach Matt LaFleur is in Green Bay, they’re going to have a real good offense. He is now 2-0 with Malik Willis as his starting quarterback, who didn’t even join the team until about a week before the regular season.

11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last week: 6)

All the good vibes for the Bucs are gone. Losing 26-7 to the Broncos isn’t something you can gloss over. They need a win badly next week or they will officially join the list of promising teams in free-fall.

12. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: 8)

Don’t look now but the 49ers are last in the NFC West. With injuries piling up, including star DT Javon Hargrave, it’s hard to see how they can get back to their preseason status of title contenders.

13. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 11)

The Cowboys are on the verge of coming completely unglued just three weeks into the season. They followed up a massive loss to the Saints with a loss to the Ravens that needed a Herculean second-half effort to even make it close.

14. New Orleans Saints (Last week: 12)

You may not like that I put the Saints over the Eagles despite losing to that very team this week, but it’s simple: I trust the Saints a whole lot more right now than I trust the Eagles.

15. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: 15)

Philly may have picked up the win but it was ugly. They stay in the middle of the pack.

16. LA Rams (Last week: 20)

The Rams finally pulled off a win, but major injuries will continue to hold this team back from its full potential.

17. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: 22)

“The Steelers are 3-0! How can you rank them so low?” Pittsburgh’s defense is giving up just 8 points a game right now, and that’s just not sustainable. Congrats to the offense for doing just enough to beat a Chargers team with a banged-up Justin Herbert, but that’s not going to cut it against better competition.

18. Arizona Cardinals (Last week: 17)

Despite another loss, the Cardinals are one of the most fun teams to watch right now. They’re playing good football.

19. LA Chargers (Last week: 13)

With a hurt Justin Herbert, it’s hard to have much confidence in this team going forward.

20. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: 10)

The Bengals’ loss to the Commanders on Monday Night Football was one of the worst defensive performances I’ve ever seen, allowing a rookie quarterback to complete nearly 100% of his passes and put points on the board on every drive. They completely spoiled a terrific showing by Joe Burrow and the offense.

PFF had the Bengals at a 9.7% pass rush win rate tonight.

They called 11 blitzes.

They had a 9.7% pass rush win rate…and they still only called 11 blitzes. How do you go through four quarters of that and change nothing.

— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) September 24, 2024

21. Miami Dolphins (Last week: 16)

Without Tua, the Dolphins just are not a very good team. This could get ugly quick.

22. Chicago Bears (Last week: 18)

Each of the last two weeks, the Bears’ offense and Caleb Williams in particular have shown improvement and they look to be on the verge of a breakout. But until that actually happens, they have to drop again in the rankings. They desperately need a win over the Rams on Sunday and for it to be because of the offense.

23. Washington Commanders (Last week: 27)

All credit to Jayden Daniels, that was a historic game for the rookie quarterback. But I would not expect that gameplan to work again.

Jayden Daniels passing chart against the Bengals

(Via:@NextGenStats) pic.twitter.com/r7pgq6FYF0

— brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) September 24, 2024

24. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: 25)

The Colts won, but it seemed more due to the Bears shooting themselves in the foot. This team still has a lot of questions to answer, particularly at quarterback.

25. Denver Broncos (Last week: 28)

That was a nice win for the Broncos, but this bump in the standings won’t last long. This week they run into the buzzsaw of the New York Jets’ defense.

26. New York Giants (Last week: 31)

Right now, the question on everyone’s mind is “will Malik Nabers save Daniel Jones” job?”. My money is on ‘no”. Unless Jones puts up historic numbers this season, I can’t see the Giants passing on taking another bite at the quarterback apple in 2025.

27. Las Vegas Raiders (Last week: 23)

I wanted to drop the Raiders even lower for losing to the Panthers, but I couldn’t in good faith put them below the bottom five teams. I have faith in head coach Antonio Pierce.

28. New England Patriots (Last week: 26)

There’s the Patriots we expected to see. After a surprising win in Week 1 followed by a close loss in Week 2, they looked like they didn’t even belong on the same field as the Jets.

29. Carolina Panthers (Last week: 32)

No matter who you are, you have to feel a little bad for Bryce Young. Immediately after his benching, Andy Dalton put on a clinic against the Raiders and brought the Panthers a win. Head coach Dave Canales says the benching is temporary, but if this keeps up then there’s no way they can put Young back in.

30. Cleveland Browns (Last week: 30)

It kills me to see a defense as good as Cleveland’s wasted on such a putrid offense. Despite all the money tied to him, we have to wonder how much time Deshaun Watson has left to turn it around.

31. Tennessee Titans (Last week: 28)

Speaking of quarterbacks with short leashes, it feels like the Will Levis experiment has just about run its course in Tennessee. Another three turnover game against Green Bay seemed to seal his fate.

32. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 24)

Is it an overreaction to put Jacksonville dead last in the power rankings? Maybe. But they have been inexcusably putrid in the 2024 season. Trevor Lawrence looks like he’s seeing ghosts out there. It’s all bad and the firing of head coach Doug Pederson seems more like a question of when rather than if.