NFL Week 4 Power Rankings: Tom Brady’s Bucs Climb; Winless Falcons Drop
The new-look Bucs might be hitting their stride
This might be hard to believe, but we’re approaching the quarter mark of the 2020 NFL season.
Week 4 will kick off with an objective dud Thursday night when the lowly New York Jets host the beat up Denver Broncos. But the slate has the chance to close on a high note with a quarterback duel between Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers.
But prior to the action, check out the latest installment of our NFL power rankings.
1. Kansas City Chiefs (3-0, last week: 1)
We probably shouldn’t be surprised, but Patrick Mahomes and Co. stormed into Baltimore and carved up one of the NFL’s top defenses. Get used to seeing the Chiefs atop this list.
2. Seattle Seahawks (3-0, 3)
Russell Wilson has been playing at an otherwordly level to start this season. The Seahawks’ defense will have to improve if Seattle wants to remain high on this list, however.
3. Baltimore Ravens (2-1, 2)
Kansas City is proving to be Lamar Jackson’s kryptonite. The Ravens didn’t do much of anything well in Week 3, but they’re primed to bounce back this Sunday against the Washington Football Team.
4. Green Bay Packers (3-0, 4)
The Packers’ offense is rolling, averaging over 40 points per game through three weeks. Hanging 37 in New Orleans with Davante Adams sidelined surely must have been a scary sight for the rest of the league.
5. Buffalo Bills (3-0, 8)
It’s not always pretty, but Josh Allen is playing to his high potential. Blowing a 25-point lead to the Los Angeles Rams wasn’t great, of course, but bouncing back and escaping with aW Week 3 win showcased Buffalo’s mental toughness.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0, 7)
It feels as though we can confidently state Ben Roethlisberger is back. The veteran quarterback has thrown for multiple scores in each of Pittsburgh’s three wins on the season.
7. New Orleans Saints (1-2, 5)
Man, do the Saints really miss Michael Thomas. Alvin Kamara is keeping New Orleans’ offense afloat, but the star wideout’s absence is making the decline of Drew Brees more glaring.
8. San Francisco 49ers (2-1, 6)
You typically won’t see a team drop two spots on power rankings following a win. But the 49ers beat up on a shorthanded and, well, bad New York Giants team in Week 3. There wasn’t a whole lot to take away from that matchup.
9. Tennessee Titans (3-0, 9)
The Titans’ defense isn’t playing even close to the level most were expecting out of the unit this season. But on the flip side, Ryan Tannehill and Co. are exceeding expectations on the offensive end.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1, 12)
It looks like Tom Brady is starting to find his groove under center in Tampa Bay. The most noteworthy early takeaway for the Bucs, however, might be how well the defense is playing.
11. New England Patriots (2-1, 13)
The Patriots bounced back from a frustrating loss to the Seattle Seahawks with a win over the previously unbeaten Las Vegas Raiders. A 16-point victory despite a “subpar” performance from Cam Newton is promising for New England.
12. Arizona Cardinals (2-1, 10)
The Cardinals’ “come back down to Earth” moment came earlier than most likely expected. Quite frankly, there’s no excuse for a home loss against the Detroit Lions.
13. Dallas Cowboys (1-2, 11)
The offense has been there for Dak Prescott and the Cowboys. But the defense can’t stop a nose bleed, and Dallas could be in serious trouble if the unit isn’t able to turn things around.
14. Los Angeles Rams (2-1, 14)
Week 3 can be chalked up as a moral victory for the Rams. LA potentially was a questionable pass interference call away from notching an impressive comeback win in Buffalo.
15. Indianapolis Colts (2-1, 18)
The loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars might have been just a season-opening hiccup for the Colts. The defense is playing at a high level, and Philip Rivers is doing what he needs to do for the offense.
16. Cleveland Browns (2-1, 21)
Were back-to-back wins what the highly talented Browns needed to live up to their potential? We’ll probably find out this Sunday afternoon when Cleveland visits Dallas.
17. Chicago Bears (3-0, 24)
Yes, the Bears are undefeated, but they barely beat the Detroit Lions and New York Giants before becoming the latest beneficiary of an Atlanta Falcons meltdown. That said, we’ve seen Nick Foles spark magic in the past.
18. Las Vegas Raiders (2-1, 18)
Week 4 could ignite the downswing for the Raiders. Following their loss to the Patriots, the Silver and Black will host the Bills before traveling to Kansas City. After those two matchups? A home date with the Buccaneers. Yikes.
19. Los Angeles Chargers (1-2, 17)
Justin Herbert has helped put the Chargers in position to win in each of his first two NFL starts. There’s plenty of work to do in LA, but the Bolts probably will present a tough matchup for any team this season.
20. Atlanta Falcons (0-3, 15)
The Falcons probably should be 2-1 heading into Week 4. Instead, they’re winless thanks to a pair of inexplicable losses and head coach Dan Quinn soon could be on his way out.
21. Philadelphia Eagles (0-2-1, 19)
The Eagles were presented a great opportunity to notch their first win of the season in Week 3. Instead, they settled for a tie at home against a team led by a rookie quarterback.
22. Detroit Lions (1-2, 26)
A close win in Arizona is impressive any way you slice it. The Lions probably aren’t about to take off, but they’ll now be a tougher matchup with No. 1 wide receiver Kenny Golladay back in the fold.
23. Minnesota Vikings (0-3, 22)
The Vikings rebounded with a 30-spot after their offensive dud against the Colts. Unfortunately for Minnesota, its defensive woes came back to bite the team once again.
24. Denver Broncos (0-3, 20)
It’s tough to be overly critical about the Broncos. The injury bug came for Denver from the get-go this season and it hasn’t let up yet.
25. Houston Texans (0-3, 23)
It’s also tough to be too critical of the Texans, but for a different reason. Starting off your season with the Chiefs, Ravens and Steelers is brutal.
26. Cincinnati Bengals (0-2-1, 25)
The Bengals still are searching for their first win in 2020, but the first three weeks of the season have proved Joe Burrow can play at the highest level.
27. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2, 27)
Minshew Mania was nowhere to be found last Thursday night. The Jaguars looked more like the team most expected them to be in their home loss to the Miami Dolphins.
28. Carolina Panthers (1-2, 29)
The Panthers easily could have laid down in their first game following Christian McCaffrey’s ankle injury. Instead, Carolina played inspired against the Chargers to help Matt Rhule earn his first win as an NFL head coach.
29. Miami Dolphins (1-2, 31)
Just when you thought we’d seen the last of “FitzMagic,” the veteran quarterback dazzled in primetime against the Jaguars. Don’t count on a similar performance this Sunday against the Seahawks, however.
30. Washington Football Team (1-2, 28)
Following its comeback win over Philadelphia to star the season, Washington dropped double-digit losses to Arizona and Cleveland. WFT might stay in contention longer than it should given the weak state of the NFC East, however.
31. New York Giants (0-3, 30)
Uh, at least they’re not as bad as their intrastate rival?
32. New York Jets (0-3, 32)
This is a very bad football team.
