NFL Week 4 Power Rankings: Patriots Back On Top After Beating Up On Texans

by

Sep 27, 2016

Here’s a look at where each team stands in NESN.com’s NFL power rankings as we head into Week 4. (To see our Week 3 rankings, click here.)

1. New England Patriots (Week 3: 3): We dropped the Patriots out of this spot after Jimmy Garoppolo went down. They responded by destroying the Texans with a third-string rookie under center. Lesson learned.

2. Denver Broncos (5): Trevor Siemian looked like more than just a serviceable quarterback against the Bengals. With how nasty Denver’s defense is, that could be bad news for the rest of the NFL.

3. Green Bay Packers (6): Aaron Rodgers ripped apart the Lions’ defense as Green Bay rebounded from its Sunday night loss to Minnesota.

4. Seattle Seahawks (7): Seattle’s slumbering offense finally stirred against the 49ers, but Russell Wilson’s knee injury put a damper on the blowout win. Losing him for any significant stretch of time obviously would be a huge blow.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (1): Suffering your worst loss in 27 years is a pretty easy way to fall out of the top spot in these rankings.

6. Minnesota Vikings (10): No Teddy Bridgewater, no Adrian Peterson, no Matt Kalil, no problem so far for the Vikings, who’ve now knocked off the Packers and Panthers in consecutive weeks.

7. Arizona Cardinals (2): Last week, we called the Bills “a sinking ship.” They beat the Cardinals by two touchdowns Sunday.

8. Carolina Panthers (4): The defending NFC champs are 1-2 after the Vikings followed the Broncos’ lead and beat the stuffing out of Cam Newton.

9. Kansas City Chiefs (14): The Chiefs inspired confidence for the first time this season by picking off Ryan Fitzpatrick six (six!) times in a 24-3 win over the Jets.

10. Cincinnati Bengals (9): The 1-2 Bengals have played a tough schedule thus far, so we’ll wait before dropping them too far down this list.

11. New York Giants (12): The G-Men lost by a point to the Redskins, and we still have no idea what to make of the NFC East.

12. Dallas Cowboys (18): Dak Prescott looked legit Sunday night as the Cowboys pounded an awful Bears team.

13. Houston Texans (8): The Texans take a big tumble after laying an egg Thursday night in Foxboro.

14. New York Jets (11): Six!

15. Philadelphia Eagles (20): We had the Eagles 31st in our Week 1 rankings. Now, we’re all aboard the Wentz Wagon.

16. Oakland Raiders (13): The Raiders beat the Titans on Sunday despite not scoring a single second-half point.

17. Baltimore Ravens (15): On the other end of the spectrum from the Bengals, the 3-0 Ravens have played a ridiculously easy schedule, beating the Bills, Browns and Jaguars, all by less than a touchdown.

18. Washington Redskins (19): The four NFC East teams are almost interchangeable at this point in the season.

19. Indianapolis Colts (16): A last-minute touchdown powered the Colts past the Chargers for their first win of the year.

20. Miami Dolphins (17): Miami also picked up its first win, but it came against the Browns in overtime. No bump for that.

21. Buffalo Bills (26): The Bills visit the Patriots this week in a game you know Rex Ryan wants to win with every fiber of his being.

22. Atlanta Falcons (24): Matt Ryan’a team hung a 45-spot on the lowly Saints on Monday night.

23. Detroit Lions (25): Four first-half touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers were too much for Detroit to handle in a 34-27 loss.

24. San Diego Chargers (22):

25. Jacksonville Jaguars (21): The Jaguars appear bound for the bottom once again.

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (23): Seventy-seven points allowed in two weeks. No bueno.

27. Los Angeles Rams (29): The Rams finally scored a touchdown!

28. Tennessee Titans (27): A return to relevancy doesn’t appear to be in the cards for the boys from Nashville.

29. San Francisco 49ers (30): The Niners’ defense can’t stop a soul.

30. New Orleans Saints (31): One of four winless teams entering Week 4.

31. Cleveland Browns (32): No longer the absolute worst team in the league.

32. Chicago Bears (28): Congrats, Cleveland!

Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images

Previous Article

Jose Fernandez Among Nine MLB Stars Who Tragically Died Too Young

Next Article

John Hughes Adds Versatility, ‘Bulk Strength’ To Patriots’ Defensive Line

Picked For You