Another week of NFL action has almost come and gone and we have some really exciting developments to react to in these Week 4 NFL Power Rankings, exploring some of the biggest risers and fallers across the league.
Is there a better story around the NFL right now than the undefeated Minnesota Vikings, led by Sam Darnold? How about the job Andy Dalton did in his first game starting this year for the Panthers? The Denver Broncos pulled off arguably the upset of the week, and the Baltimore Ravens have the Dallas Cowboys plummeting down the power rankings list.
We're taking a look at all of the twists and turns of the weekend that was in the NFL in this week's NFL Power Rankings.
Vikings, Packers soaring up Week 4 NFL Power Rankings (Cowboys, Dolphins falling)
32. Tennessee Titans
The third week of the season was a great opportunity for the Tennessee Titans to get back on track on their home field against the Green Bay Packers, who were playing without Jordan Love for a second consecutive game. And on top of it, the Packers were rolling with Malik Willis for a second straight game, a guy the Titans just dumped in a trade just a few weeks ago.
Well, Willis made the Titans look silly and Will Levis made a number of head-scratching decisions to add to his growing total this season. Levis had two interceptions (including a pick-six), a lost fumble, and he was sacked a whopping eight times.
Somehow, he still had a QB rating of nearly 93 in this game, but the mistakes have piled up to the point that the Titans may be contemplating a change at some point in the near future.
31. New England Patriots
Things are starting to settle down a bit for the New England Patriots after a really encouraging Week 1 performance against the Cincinnati Bengals, who have struggled to start this 2024 season. The Patriots got absolutely smoked by the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football, paving the way for a lot of Jets excitement this season and a lot more question marks for this New England team going forward.
Of crucial concern right now is the New England offensive line, which got Jacoby Brissett absolutely wrecked against the Jets. At some point, the Patriots are going to want to get Drake Maye some reps out there, but they definitely can’t just put him out there with the offensive line letting guys through the way they have been.
30. Washington Commanders
Commanders play on Monday Night Football
Anything can happen, but I’m fully expecting the Commanders to lose on Monday Night Football against the Cincinnati Bengals, and I will eat crow in my next NFL Power Rankings if I’m wrong about that.
The Commanders are coming off of their first win of the 2024 season, a hard-fought divisional battle against the New York Giants, but this team is still a ways away from being truly competitive in the NFC East.
The Commanders have gotten some good play so far this season out of rookie QB Jayden Daniels but the test against Lou Anarumo’s defense in Cincinnati is going to be a big one for him. If he can show out in that game against the Bengals, the narrative around him – and this Commanders team as a whole – is really going to shift quickly.
29. Miami Dolphins
I mean, what did we really expect from the Miami Dolphins after they lost Tua Tagovailoa in that Thursday night game against the Buffalo Bills?
Skylar Thompson got the nod for the Dolphins on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, and some Dolphins fans were clamoring for Tyler Huntley before the first half even ended. Thompson had two chances to take a shot to the end zone before the end of the first half in Seattle and just couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger on a pass.
The Dolphins are just not the same team without their starting QB…Go figure. Really all-world analysis there. Fortunately for the Dolphins, there are some legitimate chances to stay on track while Tagovailoa is on IR. They play the Titans, Patriots, and Colts in their next three games. If they can sneak a couple of wins in the next three games, they could be in business if/when Tua comes back.
28. Las Vegas Raiders
You really can’t discount what the Raiders were able to do last weekend against the Baltimore Ravens, but apparently it was lightning in a bottle as the Raiders came home in Week 3 to face off against the Carolina Panthers…and got whooped.
The Raiders let Andy Dalton throw all over them on their home field, and many of the issues we had anticipated for the Raiders this season reared their ugly heads in this loss to the Panthers. The Raiders simply don’t seem to have the personnel in the defensive backfield to sustain even with a star pass rusher like Maxx Crosby coming off the edge.
Offensively, Gardner Minshew seems to be able to be effective when the Raiders’ defense can allow him to be opportunistic, but playing in a come-from-behind situation against the Panthers and Ejiro Evero’s defense was a pretty telling overall performance.
27. Carolina Panthers
The first week of the Andy Dalton “era” under head coach Dave Canales went pretty exceptionally well, I would say. The Panthers’ offense was out there humming against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3, and Dalton was playing much better than I think really anyone expected.
And he wasn’t just out there throwing quick passes with receivers doing the rest of the work. Dalton was spreading the ball to different levels of the field and fitting the ball into some tight windows. It was a vintage performance from Dalton, who was once one of the better quarterbacks in the league, and the Dave Canales offense was humming nicely.
It’s bad news for Bryce Young, who can hopefully still benefit from the time spent on the sideline and learning off the field. But this is not a good situation for the Panthers long term. Maybe they can get some nice production from Dalton the rest of the way this season and reset at QB in the 2024 offseason. But this was an encouraging week.
26. Chicago Bears
Well, we saw some signs of life from the Chicago Bears’ offense in Week 3. Not only did I see this unfolding while watching the game, but I saw it unfolding as the players on my fantasy football bench (WR Rome Odunze, TE Cole Kmet) each racked up over 20 total points.
Such is life in fantasy football world.
But in real life, there were some encouraging signs for the Chicago Bears with Caleb Williams making some plays against the Indianapolis Colts and the Bears’ offense finally getting something going, but a horribly-timed fumble on a strip-sack by Laiatu Latu on Caleb Williams sent the Bears home with a loss in Week 3.
Williams took four sacks (including the bad strip-sack) and threw another pair of interceptions, but he also threw for 363 yards and had the Bears in the game late. They just couldn’t quite close the deal and get one final stop for the offense to have another opportunity. Hopefully, better days ahead for the Bears.
25. Jacksonville Jaguars
Jaguars play on Monday night against the Buffalo Bills
The Jacksonville Jaguars have not been good this season, but what’s really concerning is how bad Trevor Lawrence has played dating back to last year. It’s undeniable at this point and a large enough sample size for everyone to be concerned in Jacksonville, especially given Lawrence’s pay grade.
One of the highest-paid players in the history of the league needs to be out there playing like it, but the Jaguars simply haven’t gotten that kind of performance from Lawrence since the latter portion of the 2022 season and early in the 2023 season. Lawrence just doesn’t look like the same guy out there, and it’s worrisome.
Now, this could all change in one fell swoop if Lawrence is able to have a big game on Monday night against the Buffalo Bills. While we’re not exactly anticipating that right now, you just never know.
24. Cleveland Browns
So is Deshaun Watson still just knocking off the rust or are we ready to admit that he may not be a viable long-term starting quarterback in the NFL?
Watson took another whopping eight sacks against the New York Giants in the Browns’ Week 3 home loss, and just continues to not run the operation in Cleveland effectively enough at this point. And that’s putting it as nicely as possible.
Watson did have a pair of touchdown passes in this game with no interceptions, but he lost a pair of fumbles and continues to put the Browns’ offense in disadvantageous situations. The Browns got a nice win over the Dallas Cowboys last week, but a loss at home against the New York Giants feels more like the true identity of this team right now. Not good.
23. Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts don’t care how pretty it looked, but they got themselves a win at home in Week 3 against the Chicago Bears. And frankly, some tough running from Jonathan Taylor might be one of the prettiest ways this Colts team can win.
Just like he was back at Wisconsin, Taylor racked up over 100 rushing yards and multiple touchdowns while his quarterback completed 10 passes with a couple of interceptions. We can’t exactly ignore the inefficiency of Richardson through the first few weeks of the season at this point, but the Colts got into the win column, which is the most important thing.
And the potential to be a dominant running team is very much there for the Colts. What needs to improve for this team immediately? The Colts were a really underwhelming 3-of-12 on third downs against the Bears. The passing game needs to be more efficient, and quickly.
22. New York Giants
You have to give credit to the New York Giants over the last two weeks, they are feeding Malik Nabers the football and they are simply daring teams to stop them if they can.
And that hasn’t gone overly well.
The Giants probably would have won their last two games if Nabers reeled in one more pass, a fourth-down play in their loss to the Commanders last week that gifted the Commanders another possession late in the game.
But Nabers is special, and the Giants obviously recognize that. They finally got to ride his ability to a win against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3 in which Nabers caught eight of his 12 targets with a couple of spectacular plays in the red zone.
The guy is just great, but the Giants were able to seal the deal against the Browns in this one thanks to their outstanding pass rush. The Giants racked up a whopping eight sacks against Deshaun Watson and the Browns. Getting after the quarterback and feeding Malik Nabers is not a bad recipe for success going forward.
21. Los Angeles Rams
Wow, what a game by the Los Angeles Rams. Call it a gut feeling, but after predicting the Rams to lose 31-17 early in the week in my NFL picks and score predictions, I actually had a major change of heart on Saturday as I was thinking about the matchup.
Both the 49ers and Rams had tons of injuries to deal with going into Sunday’s matchup in Los Angeles, and it almost felt like the 49ers had too many to overcome. And in the end, those injuries that had been piling up really did come back to bite the 49ers with Ronnie Bell dropping a perfect pass from Brock Purdy, opening the door for the Rams to pull off a rather incredible comeback victory.
The veteran prowess of Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay prevailed as the Rams got out of the winless category while simultaneously sending the 49ers to 1-2 as well. Now, about those Seahawks…
20. Denver Broncos
Pretty much everything was going against the Denver Broncos this week as they traveled to the state of Florida for a road matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The oddsmakers even increased the line on this game from -5.5 in favor of the Bucs to -6.5 by week’s end. The smart money was on the previously 2-0 Bucs in just about every possible way, but the Broncos came in and played a dominant game, winning in upset fashion 26-7.
Bo Nix played his best game so far this season with another rushing touchdown, and this week – no interceptions.
The most impressive part of this Denver Broncos team through three weeks so far is the defense. The Broncos’ defense has been outstanding even in defeat over the first three weeks, but they were sensational against the Bucs, sacking Baker Mayfield seven times and forcing a couple of turnovers. This is a game the Broncos can really build on.
19. Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers finally have an awesome head coach in place with Jim Harbaugh, and the “Harbaugh Way” seemed to be taking effect in the first two weeks.
But the Chargers seem to now be struggling with the same old issues.
Specifically, this team is consistently snake-bitten by injuries, and the injury but got the Chargers where it hurts the most against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Joey Bosa left the game for the Chargers and tried to come back, but couldn’t. Then, later in the game, Justin Herbert left the game and injury issues continue to plague this franchise.
We’ll see about the timeline of each of these injuries, but they are obviously going to be detrimental if they linger at all this season.
18. Dallas Cowboys
After the Cowboys started off the season with a dominating road win against the Cleveland Browns, they have now dropped two straight home games in disappointing fashion to the Saints and Ravens, respectively.
The Cowboys actually gave the Ravens a really good fight on Sunday after it looked like they were going to get absolutely run out of the building but something sparked in them in the fourth quarter. It just wasn’t quite good enough and the Dallas defense couldn’t come up with a stop late.
But we did finally see some positive signs from Dak Prescott after a rough game against the Saints the week prior. Even if it was too little too late, the Cowboys were moving the ball against the Ravens with relative ease in the second half and they need to build on that in Week 4 with a road matchup against the New York Giants.
I was super high on the Cowboys after Week 1 but we’re taking a nice dose of ice-cold crow here the last two weeks. They have plenty of work to do.
17. Arizona Cardinals
I still really like the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals are 1-2 this season but man, Jonathan Gannon is going to have this team winning more often than not in the near future.
It was a really tough game for the Arizona offense against a strong Detroit defense, who held them to 1-of-9 on third downs and just flat-out had the Cardinals looking one-dimensional on offense. And that one dimension wasn’t there the whole game, either.
Kyler Murray was the leading rusher on the day for the Cardinals, who got just 25 yards combined from James Conner and Trey Benson. That’s unacceptable. The Cardinals need to find some balance quickly so Kyler Murray has more time to spread the ball around to a talented group of receivers.
Marvin Harrison Jr. hit the end zone again on Sunday but losing the time of possession battle 36-23 ended up being too much for Arizona to overcome.
16. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals play on Monday night against the Commanders (at home)
Well, it’s not been a picturesque start to the 2024 season for the Cincinnati Bengals. With an 0-2 hole after losing to both the Patriots and Chiefs in consecutive weeks, the Bengals are basically in a must-win situation here in Week 3 to keep their playoff hopes alive as just one out of the last however many hundred teams to start 0-3 has made the postseason.
And the Bengals getting in the win column with a home game against a Commanders team that is still building and still figuring things out is a pretty advantageous situation.
For the Bengals, it could also be an opportunity to see both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins out there catching passes from Joe Burrow, who definitely looked more like the Joe Burrow of old against the Chiefs. Can the Bengals get it done on Monday night? How quickly can they ascend up these rankings as the season progresses?
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers had everything set up so well for them to start the season 3-0. They went on the road last week and gutted out an impressive win against the Detroit Lions. The came back home with an opportunity to beat up on a Denver Broncos team that had only scored 26 points (total) in its first two games.
But the Bucs clearly overlooked the Broncos, or were actually outmatched. Either way, not good news for Tampa Bay.
The Bucs were flat from the very start of the game offensively and couldn’t handle the Denver pass rush. They don’t have much time to wallow after this loss, either, as a rematch with the team they beat in the playoffs last year (Philadelphia Eagles) is looming in Week 4.
The Tampa Bay defense was missing both Antoine Winfield Jr. and Vita Vea in this game against the Broncos, and the offense was without Luke Goedeke. Everyone is dealing with injuries around the league but those ones loomed large in this 26-7 loss to the Broncos.
14. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions suffered a really disappointing loss on their home field in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and they knew it wasn’t going to be easy going into Arizona and finding a way to gut out a win.
And to say the Lions gut out a win against the Arizona Cardinals this week feels like the perfect way to put it. The Cardinals gave them all they could handle but the Lions made a lot of big plays at the right time defensively and got the offense some stops despite the passing game not being overly efficient against Arizona.
The running game was working for Detroit, however, and David Montgomery combined with Jahmyr Gibbs for 188 yards on 39 carries. The Lions need to continue leaning into that running game but Jared Goff and the offense need to do more than 20 points when the defense holds the other team to just 1-of-9 on third downs.
13. New Orleans Saints
After the way they started the first two games of the 2024 season, the New Orleans Saints’ lack of offense against the Philadelphia Eagles was nothing short of shocking.
The Saints put up a whopping 91 points in the first two weeks of the year, but they were barely able to get 12 points on the board against the Philadelphia Eagles in a loss. So are the Saints true contenders or are they pretenders in the NFC South?
I think a lot is to be determined this season yet, of course, but they have a lot of work to do after what we saw on Sunday, as impressive as the first two weeks were. And you can’t completely discount what the Saints were able to do in the first two weeks, but one of those games was against the Carolina Panthers and another was against the Dallas Cowboys, who gave up a lot of points again on Sunday against the Ravens.
The Saints simply could not move the ball through the air against the Eagles’ defense, and Derek Carr threw a really bad interception late in this one.
12. Philadelphia Eagles
All things considered, the Philadelphia Eagles’ win on the road against the New Orleans Saints in Week 3 was one of the most impressive wins of the week. Not that the Eagles were that significantly overmatched against New Orleans, but the way in which they won this game was just a really good sign for the team going forward, at least defensively.
After the Saints put up 91 points in the first two weeks of the season, Vic Fangio’s defense limited them to 12 points on Sunday and they did a great job of keeping Derek Carr at bay. Fangio has gone up against Derek Carr a lot from his time in Denver, so it’s an opponent he’s very familiar with.
And the Eagles ran the ball extremely well with Saquon Barkley looking totally reborn as a playmaker as a member of the Eagles. Even with Jalen Hurts having multiple turnovers (again) in this game, Barkley was able to take over with 147 rushing yards and another pair of touchdowns. He’s been an awesome, game-changing addition.
11. Atlanta Falcons
If you’re the Atlanta Falcons, you can hopefully start to see some light at the end of the tunnel. The Falcons pulled off an impressive comeback win late on Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, but their running game didn’t have the same juice on Sunday night against the Chiefs.
The reigning back-to-back champs came into Atlanta and stole a win while the Falcons dropped to 1-2, and we had hoped that some of the offensive success we saw late against Philly would carry over into Week 3.
Who knows? A penalty that should have been called against the Chiefs on a close play with Kyle Pitts late could have swung this one the other direction and we’d be talking about late-game execution from the Falcons.
10. Houston Texans
Well, the Houston Texans have really given us something to think about the last couple of weeks, haven’t they?
After narrowly finding a way to beat the Chicago Bears last week, the Texans went to Minnesota in Week 3 and ran into the buzz-saw that is the Vikings. The Texans are still 2-1 and there’s no reason to panic right now because of the guy they’ve got under center, but they’ve quietly scored just 20 points over the last two weeks combined (7 against the Vikings) and only beat the Colts by two points back in Week 1.
The Texans allowed Sam Darnold to throw the ball all over them as Darnold racked up four passing touchdowns in this game and Darnold got plenty of help from Aaron Jones, who went for over 100 rushing yards and 46 receiving yards with another touchdown.
Houston quarterback CJ Stroud had two picks and a missed field goal in this game and the Vikings were able to capitalize in a big way, scoring touchdowns after all three of those mistakes.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers
There is no question that you can’t deny the Steelers are 3-0 and undefeated this season. But the Steelers have to continue to make more progress offensively before people really start to take the seriously as one of the top teams in the AFC.
And against the Los Angeles Chargers, there was some progress. Justin Fields threw for 245 yards against the Chargers and Pittsburgh was a really solid 7-of-14 on third downs in this game against the Chargers. They knocked Justin Herbert out of the game and it really felt like they sort of coasted to a win in a variety of ways.
But aside from the 3-0 start, the big question for the Steelers is going to be whether or not Justin Fields will continue to be under center going forward. There were jokes going around on Twitter/X that Russell Wilson’s calf injury is going to linger into Week 4 after the Steelers won their third-straight game to start the season, and how could you move off of Fields with these results?
Fields had a pair of touchdowns and looks like he’s getting more and more comfortable in Arthur Smith’s offense each week.
8. San Francisco 49ers
To say this weekend was a punch to the gut for the San Francisco 49ers might be the understatement of the year so far. The 49ers, despite going into their road game against the Los Angeles Rams with a boatload of injuries, seemingly had the game in hand.
But big plays by the Rams late and lapses from some of the young players on San Francisco’s roster paved the way for the Rams to make one of the most impressive come-from-behind wins of the week.
Missing Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle proved to be detrimental to the 49ers’ overall operation as the game progressed, especially late. But I was rather impressed by Brock Purdy in this game. He made enough plays to help his team win, and his teammates let him down at the worst possible times.
The 49ers are still a top-10 team to me, even with a 1-2 record.
7. Baltimore Ravens
If you just take out the fourth quarter for the Ravens against the Dallas Cowboys, this team had one of the most dominant wins of the week. Unfortunately for the Ravens, it was a near collapse of epic proportions in the fourth quarter against Dallas, and we have seen this team flirt with disaster on too many occasions already this season.
Still, the Ravens have to be considered one of the top 10 best teams in the NFL. They barely lost to the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champs in Week 1. They narrowly lost in Week 2 against a bad team in the Raiders. Then, they come out looking like they wanted to make a statement against Dallas, only to nearly pee it down their legs late.
But the Ravens got their first win of the season, and they went into a hostile environment in Dallas to make it happen. It was a big win and I think the start of a good run for Baltimore…potentially.
6. Seattle Seahawks
I know the Seattle Seahawks have not exactly beaten the toughest gauntlet of opponents through the first two weeks of the 2024 season, especially in Week 3. But this team is passing the eye test for me right now.
What do the Seahawks really lack right now? The defense has played extremely well under new head coach Mike Macdonald, who has long been one of the better defensive minds in the game. That side of the ball took care of business against a Dolphins team that was down Tua Tagovailoa, but still with a full complement of playmakers.
Offensively is where I’m really buying the Seahawks right now. Geno Smith is mostly playing well and he has so many weapons to spread the ball around to. The Seahawks haven’t had Kenneth Walker since Week 1 and the offense is still producing well. This team looks like it can still go as far as Smith will take them. He had two interceptions and a fumble against the Dolphins and Seattle still won by 21.
5. Buffalo Bills
Bills play Monday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars (at home)
I know we’re projecting here since the Buffalo Bills haven’t played yet, but I am really liking what we’ve seen from this team in the first two weeks of the season.
Josh Allen is playing like an MVP. James Cook looks like he could be having a major breakthrough season. The Bills just feel like they are gelling a little bit better this season than they did early last year, and they can be a true threat in the AFC with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Playing at home in Week 3 on Monday night against the Jaguars is a huge advantage for Buffalo, who basically got a pseudo-bye week after playing the Dolphins last Thursday. They have had a lot of time to prepare for this game against a struggling Jaguars offensive attack.
4. New York Jets
I’ve said some pretty critical stuff about the New York Jets – specifically Aaron Rodgers – throughout the course of the last six-plus months. I have to say, I’ve been eating a heaping helping of crow since Thursday night.
Rodgers was outstanding.
Beyond the age of 40 and coming off of an injury that is detrimental to even the best of athletes in the NFL, I definitely though the Jets would not be getting the Aaron Rodgers of yesteryear. Well, it turns out, he’s found the fountain of youth.
Rodgers was truly sensational against the Patriots on Thursday night, and you don’t want to be too presumptuous early in the season, but to see him playing that well this early in the year is such a good sign for the New York Jets. They have a home game coming up against Denver this week and will get a good test from a Broncos pass rush that has been giving teams fits.
3. Green Bay Packers
The Packers’ offense without Jordan Love this season has continued humming right along. Malik Willis is playing like he’s back at Liberty with Matt LaFleur pulling the strings, and no other defense is forcing turnovers at the same rate as the Green Bay Packers.
We saw Jaire Alexander take a Will Levis pass back for a pick-six on Sunday as the Packers systematically dismantled the Titans in the return to Tennessee for both Willis and LaFleur.
This team has been so impressive and Willis has done a great job of keeping the seat warm for Jordan Love, who was already back at practice this past week. The Packers played it safe with Love sitting on the sideline one more game, but if he’s able to return in Week 4, he’s going to be coming back with one of the best defenses and running games behind him.
2. Minnesota Vikings
Well, how many positive things can you say about the Minnesota Vikings at this point?
This season has been incredible for two people in the Vikings’ organization, in particular: Kevin O’Connell and Sam Darnold.
And each one is benefitting tremendously from the other.
Everyone knew that Darnold was stepping into arguably the best situation of any QB changing teams this offseason with the Vikings’ plethora of weapons and outstanding coaching staff, but the former third overall pick out of USC has been bordering on MVP-caliber through three games now.
One game was intriguing. Two games were eyebrow-raising. Three games? Well, you have to take this team seriously, especially because reinforcements will be on the way in the relatively near future. Darnold is playing exceptional football, running the offense to perfection. Kevin O’Connell should be the coach of the year as of right now. The Vikings just rolled the previously unbeaten Houston Texans 34-7 in Week 2, one of the most impressive wins of the week.
1. Kansas City Chiefs
Last season, the Chiefs actually struggled a little bit in the win/loss column to open the year. This year, the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champs are 3-0 and rolling to start their quest to win a third straight championship.
As tiring as it can be for fan bases of other teams at time, the Chiefs have earned every bit of hype. Every team is going to give them their best on a given week and it’s just brutal for this Chiefs team to pull out wins week in and week out. But they do it.
Despite the fact that Travis Kelce in 2024 does not look like the Travis Kelce of old, the Chiefs are getting big plays in the passing game from a variety of other players right now and that defense is once again going to have this team competing in every game.