The first three weeks of the NFL season have flown by, and we're already getting into the month of October.
As usual, the month of October is going to be absolutely massive for every team around the league, regardless of whether you started off strong or are already digging out of a hole.
With tons of important matchups on deck for Week 4 to kick off the new month, we're taking a look back at the first three weeks of the season, and ranking every current NFC division leader worst to best, even with just a small sample size to look at so far.
NFL Power Rankings: Every NFC division leader ranked heading into Week 4
4. Carolina Panthers, NFC South
The Carolina Panthers are the only division leader in the entire NFL right now that has a losing record entering the month of October.
And that's pretty much par for the course with the NFC South.
We've seen some brilliant "highs" for the Panthers in recent years. This is a team that has the potential to be really dynamic and explosive on offense, but the defense?
You don't get to play Cooper Rush and Jack Strand every week, fellas.
The Panthers are going to b e without both Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson -- their stellar starting cornerback duo -- for the next month due to injuries. They've already been down some pieces on that side of the ball. Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero is going to have to make some lemonade, and do it fast with both the Falcons and Saints looking explosive on offense early this season.
3. Philadelphia Eagles, NFC East
The Philadelphia Eagles are not passing the early "eye test".
Trust me. You want to pass the eye test.
All kidding aside, the Eagles are one of the more frustrating teams in the NFC, maybe the NFL, which is why they're coming in third place on this list despite having the most hardware of any current NFC division leader.
Even though the Eagles have been there, done that, what have they done for us lately? The offense has been uninspiring. The defense just got smoked by Case Keenum and the Bears. There is no reason to be operating with blind faith anymore when it comes to the Eagles.
They no longer look or feel inevitable.
2. Minnesota Vikings, NFC North
The Minnesota Vikings are currently achieving a level of perfect balance that would make Thanos proud. This is a team that has arguably the most dominant defense in the NFL through the first three weeks of the season, yet simultaneously, the offense is barely capable of getting into the red zone.
And I wish I were joking about that, but I'm not.
The Vikings' offense has literally run one snap in the red zone over their last two games. After being gifted a few red zone appearances by their defense in Week 1, Minnesota has run one play inside the 20 in the last two weeks combined, and attempted one successful field goal.
So what we have here is a defense that is dominating to such a degree that the offense is barely having to move the ball in order to win games. Of course, the Vikings have scored other ways (and from further out than 20 yards).
This defense is striking fear into opponents.
1. San Francisco 49ers, NFC West
The San Francisco 49ers are -- in a non-joking sort of way -- the most balanced team in the NFL right now.
They rank 1st in pretty much every major offensive category, and they have the 3rd-best scoring defense in the league so far.
Now, does it help to play against teams like the Cardinals and Dolphins? Absolutely. Does it help that the Rams didn't fly into Australia for the season-opener until the day before the game?
Absolutely.
But that also doesn't detract from what the 49ers have been doing this season, which is dominating their opponents. They will get a fun test at home in Week 4 against the Denver Broncos, who are coming off back-to-back come-from-behind wins.
Add us as a preferred source on Google