After three weeks, the NFL’s elite has remained just that. But there’s been plenty of shuffling beyond the top four.
Week 3 saw the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers improve to 3-0, while the Detroit Lions went into Philadelphia and took down the Eagles. Daniel Jones helped the Giants move out of the basement, among a host of other moves.
Let’s get into our power rankings heading into Week 4.
1. New England Patriots (3-0, last week’s rank: 1):Â New England’s defense still hasn’t given up a touchdown after three games this season. Losing Antonio Brown would hurt most offenses, but expect the Patriots to keep on rolling into their Week 4 matchup with the undefeated Buffalo Bills.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (3-0; 2): Patrick Mahomes has been incredible thus far, and that continued in Week 3 as he tossed three touchdowns in a 33-28 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Any issues the Chiefs have on defense should be coated by his dominance.
3. Dallas Cowboys (3-0; 3): Dallas did what it had to do to get past the lowly Miami Dolphins. Now comes the Drew Brees-less Saints in Week 4, which will provide a nice measuring stick game for the NFC East leaders.
4. Los Angeles Rams (3-0; 4): Aaron Donald and Co. looked solid against the Cleveland Browns, as it appears the Rams are molding into form more and more every week. We like where they’re trending.
5. Green Bay Packers (3-0; 5):Â No, the Denver Broncos aren’t great, but the Packers are now 3-0 with two divisional wins as Aaron Rodgers continues to get the job done. They could very well be 4-0 heading into Dallas for big Week 5 matchup.
6. Minnesota Vikings (2-1; 8):Â We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: run the ball. If Mike Zimmer gets Dalvin Cook his touches and keeps Kirk Cousins to around 20-25 attempts per game, Minnesota will be in just about every matchup. Cook and the Vikings ran all over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
7. San Francisco 49ers (3-0; 9): Jimmy Garoppolo and Co. are now 3-0 after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers with a late fourth-quarter touchdown. Kyle Shanahan has done a really nice job with this group thus far.
8. Baltimore Ravens (2-1; 7): Baltimore played the Chiefs relatively well in its first loss of the season, but Mahomes carved up the Ravens secondary with ease. Their defense has some holes, which solid offenses like Kansas City will expose. Still, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens are exceeding expectations.
9. New Orleans Saints (2-1; 11): We’ll be honest, the Saints surprised us in their first game without Drew Brees. Sean Payton did a great job plugging in Teddy Bridgewater and getting a road win in Seattle. Next comes the real test against the Cowboys.
10. Indianapolis Colts (2-1; 13): Jacoby Brissett continues to prove the doubters wrong. He threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns in Indy’s second win of the year Sunday. If Frank Reich’s defense continues to be strong, the Colts will have no issue winning the AFC South.
11. Buffalo Bills (3-0; 12): Yes, the Bills are 3-0, but take it with a grain of salt. The wins have come against the Jets, Giants and Bengals. The real test comes in Week 4 when they welcome the Patriots to New Era Field.
12. Detroit Lions (2-0-1; 20):Â The Lions are undefeated … with a tie. But still, Matt Patricia’s squad has looked really tough other than their odd Week 1 tie against the Arizona Cardinals.
13. Seattle Seahawks (2-1; 6): Seattle’s loss to New Orleans came as a surprise to many, and rightfully so. The Saints came in and took a win on the road without Brees, which wasn’t a good look for the Seahawks. Russell Wilson threw for 400-plus yards and their defense still could get the job done. That could very well be an issue moving forward.
14. Chicago Bears (2-1; 19): The Bears offense still doesn’t look all that sharp, but the defense showed plenty of its upside Monday night in Washington. Still, there’s a lot of room for improvement here.
15. Houston Texans (2-1; 18): Houston snuck by the Chargers on the road behind a big day from Deshaun Watson. It seems they’ll go as far as they take him, but it’d be nice for some consistency from Romeo Crennel’s defensive unit.
16. Los Angeles Chargers (1-2; 14): Poor Philip Rivers. Every year we get the shot of him looking hopelessly towards the heavens after losing a winnable game. That was the case Sunday, and it’ll likely be the case on multiple other occasions this season.
17. Atlanta Falcons (1-2; 15):Â Atlanta’s defense was having a hard enough time with Keanu Neal. Now that they’ve lost the Pro Bowl safety, it could get ugly for the Falcons’ secondary.
18. Philadelphia Eagles (1-2; 10): Injuries have limited the Eagles passing game, but the defense hasn’t been all that great, either. They’ll need to show us some upside before moving back into the top 15, let alone back to No. 10.
19. Cleveland Browns (1-2; 17): The Browns hung with Los Angeles on Sunday night, but some poor play-calling from Freddie Kitchens prevented them from knotting the game late in the fourth quarter. Time will tell if they figure it out, but Cleveland’s offense looks to be pretty overrated.
20. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2; 24): We are pro-Gardner Minshew, but he’d benefit from some help on the other side of the ball. If the Jags can get their defense back into form, they could challenge the Colts in the AFC South.
21. Carolina Panthers (1-2; 23): No Cam Newton, no problem. Kyle Allen looked sharp in his debut, tossing four touchdowns against a weak Arizona Cardinals unit. But still, he provided far more energy than Newton has, so it’ll be interesting to see what he does in start No. 2 against a more formidable opponent in the Texans.
22. Tennessee Titans (1-2; 16): Tennessee looked rough against the Jaguars on Thursday night. Ryan Tannehill may start breathing down Marcus Mariota’s neck if he isn’t already.
23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-2; 21): Jameis Winston showed some promise in a close loss to the Giants on Sunday, which is why we’ll give them the nod over New York. That, and Saquon Barkley’s injury. Other than these factors, the Bucs have a lot to correct on the defensive side of the ball.
24. New York Giants (1-2; 31): Daniel Jones was awesome in his debut. Yes, it was against a bad Buccaneers secondary, but he did what he had to do. There’s a good chance he does much of the same next week at home against the Washington Redskins, but the Giants will be without Barkley for at least one month. That’ll likely limit the rookie’s upside for the time being, unfortunate as it may be.
25. Pittsburgh Steelers (0-3; 26):Â Minkah Fitzpatrick looked great in his Steelers debut, but that was about it as Mason Rudolph and Co. fell to the 49ers.
26. Denver Broncos (0-3; 27): The Broncos aren’t bad, per se, but they’re definitely not good. They’ll hang in plenty of games this season, but Joe Flacco won’t come away with many wins.
27. Oakland Raiders (1-2; 22): Oakland’s run defense has struggled to begin the year, and the Vikings took full advantage Sunday. That, combined with a lack of offensive weapons puts Jon Gruden in a difficult spot.
28. Arizona Cardinals (0-2-1; 28): Kyle Allen shredded Arizona’s secondary in his first start, which continues to be a major problem for the Cardinals. On the bright side, Kyle Murray continues to show glimpses of his potential.
29. Washington Redskins (0-3; 29): Chicago’s defense made the Redskins look bad Monday night at FedExField. They haven’t done much to instill any confidence, and it’s not getting any better.
30. Cincinnati Bengals (0-3; 30):Â The Bengals’ defense has yet to make improvements through three weeks and as a result, the Bengals have yet to move up our rankings.
31. New York Jets (0-3; 25):Â Down to Luke Falk at quarterback, the Jets are extremely shorthanded on offense. Their defense will keep them in some games, but it’s ugly on the other side of the ball.
32. Miami Dolphins (0-3; 32): Someone help Miami. Please.
