Week 4 of the 2024 NFL Season brought some insane action across the NFL. Let's dive into the latest power rankings as Week 4 comes to a close. Wow, there were some insane games this week. Some unexpected victors emerged from this week, and the best of the best are beginning to separate themselves.
On the other hand, the worst of the worst are also beginning to settle more into being in the basement. And we also have the middle of the pack, so many of the 2-2 teams need to figure out what the heck they want to do the rest of the way. Let's dive into the latest NFL power rankings.
NFL Power Rankings, Week 5: Biggest risers and fallers after Week 4
32. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-4)
Folks, I think the Jacksonville Jaguars have a huge problem on their hands. This team is way too talented to be 0-4, but here we are. Doug Pederson, their head coach, should now officially be on the hot seat. This is just a disaster. They kept it close in Week 4 against the Houston Texans and did have a lead for much of the game, but this team bends and breaks. Trevor Lawrence did look a lot better, but missed some throws.
Right now, the Jaguars are on pace to be firmly looking at top-tier tackle prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft, and a new coaching staff feels likely.
31. Tennessee Titans (0-3)
The Tennessee Titans play on Monday Night Football against the Miami Dolphins, who are starting Snoop Huntley at QB, as Tua Tagovailoa is concussed and on IR. The Titans probably don’t feel too confident with Will Levis at this point, and they’ll simply have to start winning games if Levis wants to keep this starting job.
He makes some horridly risky decisions with the football that just will not fly in the NFL.
30. New York Giants (1-3)
The New York Giants did keep it close during Thursday Night Football, and to be fair, Daniel Jones has not looked like a total disaster, but that is exactly what this team is from top to bottom. They just aren’t good and are going to lose a ton more games in the 2024 NFL Season.
I would imagine that this team will consider a hard reset at QB in 2025 and will eventually release Jones. They could be eye-balling someone like Carson Beck at the top of the 2025 NFL Draft. To me, the issue with the G-Men is not Brian Daboll and his coaching staff, it’s the front office that has continually made some baffling decisions.
If it were up to me, I would keep Daboll and his staff and bring in a new GM. Joe Schoen is just not good at building a roster and has swung and missed so many times in his tenure trying to rebuild the Giants.
29. New England Patriots (1-3)
The rebuilding New England Patriots got blown out in Week 4 against the San Francisco 49ers. This is no surprise, as the Patriots were never going to be good this year no matter how they may have looked after Week 1. I have no clue what they will do with Drake Maye; it might be good to give him some starts, but the offensive line in New England is just bad, so the Patriots may risk really negatively impacting Maye.
The situation on offense may be too dire to throw him out there, so this could be a true red-shirt season for Drake Maye as the Patriots look to the 2025 NFL Draft months from now. They most definitely need to target a blue-chip left tackle prospect in 2025 if you ask me.
28. Arizona Cardinals (1-3)
I still believe the Arizona Cardinals are going to be a lot better than some think in 2024, but Week 4 was not their week by any means. This team got their rear end handed to them on a platter by the Washington Commanders, who may be a lot better than all of us think.
The Cardinals issue is not coaching or anything like that; it’s the roster talent. GM Monti Ossenfort took over a very poor roster and still has some work to do. They have a very strong coaching staff and underrated QB in the building, so they’re almost there.
Given that the NFC West outside of the Seattle Seahawks is kind of struggling this year, the Cardinals may be able to hang around. To me, they’ll end up with eight wins and end up putting themselves back on the map in he 2025 NFL Season.
The Cardinals probably weren’t ready to compete this year.
27. Cleveland Browns (1-3)
Folks, it may be time to officially sound the panic alarm in Cleveland. The team drops to 1-3 on the season after a brutal loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, who are by no means a good football team at all. The Browns don’t have a defense problem and don’t have a roster talent problem, but their QB, Deshaun Watson, is continually losing them games and at best not doing enough for them to win.
This is definitely going down as the worst trade in NFL history, and the Browns must consider benching Watson at this point. They are too talented to not be a viable team in the NFL, but here we are. Contractually, they are stuck with Watson for another couple of seasons, and they kind of did that to themselves with the fully guaranteed contract he got when he was traded from the Houston Texans to the Browns.
26. Carolina Panthers (1-3)
With Andy Dalton at QB, I am not sure the Carolina Panthers are a total disaster. They showed a lot of grit in their Week 4 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The big issue here is not Dalton, it’s their benching of Bryce Young after just two weeks.
To be fair, though, the offense can actually now move the ball with a serviceable QB under center, so I’m not sure that bodes well for Young. Young probably isn’t a franchise QB and it feels like Carolina is going to reset at the position.
Andy Dalton and the Carolina Panthers can play spoiler from time to time in the 2024 NFL Season. With an afterthought at QB and a first-time head coach, no one is really expecting a lot from them, and that’s sometimes where teams can be most dangerous, so I would not totally rule this team out. They feel like they’ll finish with six-ish wins and try to make a huge move in the 2025 NFL Draft for a new QB.
25. Miami Dolphins (1-2)
The Miami Dolphins play on Monday Night Football and will probably see their season essentially come to an end if they drop to 1-3. Tua Taogvailoa is on IR and has now suffered multiple serious concussions in the NFL. The big story with Miami is really whether Tagovailoa should retire. I mean, this man is still in his mid-20s and has had some of the most serious injuries a professional athlete can suffer.
Backup QB Snoop Huntley is starting for the Miami Dolphins and is not going to offer much. However, it may be just enough to get past the lowly Tennessee Titans, who have their own share of issues.
A surprising team from the NFC East is coming up ranked in the mid-20s...
24. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2)
I mean, what are we doing here? The Philadelphia Eagles are not a good football team and are just a mess from top to bottom. Their head coach, Nick Sirianni, is clearly in over his head and is probably not going to last the rest of the season. This franchise acts urgently; they had no issues firing Doug Pederson, their Super Bowl-winning head coach.
They also had no issues moving on from Carson Wentz as well a few years ago. I’d imagine that Sirianni is on the hot seat even with the Eagles being 2-2, but it’s how they get to these points.
Philly continually plays sloppy football and also have some issues at QB. Do we want to talk about how underwhelming Jalen Hurts is, or is that too much? I just don’t see much at all that is currently working for this team, and Howie Roseman, their stud GM, has to be sick to his stomach watching this team.
The roster is way too talented for them to be as bad as they are, and it would not surprise me to see the Eagles finishing last in the NFC East during the 2024 NFL Season. This is far from a playoff team.
23. Las Vegas Raiders (2-2)
The Las Vegas Raiders are an interestingly bad team that managed to scrape by against the lowly Cleveland Browns in Week 4. The Browns are a terrible team, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
The Raiders have nonsense at QB and a pretty unstable defense at times. The team isn’t going anywhere with this current set up, but I guess Gardner Minshew can win them a few more games the reset of the way. Vegas is buried in the AFC, a very talented conference, so I would not expect this team to make much noise.
This team desperately needs some juice, and them targeting a rookie QB in the 2025 NFL Draft feels pretty likely when we get to that point. The Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, and Denver Broncos are all now 2-2 after Week 4 of the 2024 NFL Season.
22. New Orleans Saints (2-2)
The New Orleans Saints have officially returned back down to earth after their scorching hot Weeks 1 and 2. They have now lost two-straight games and sit at 2-2, where they probably should be. The team isn’t going anywhere with Derek Carr at QB and Dennis Allen at head coach, so it probably was not a great idea to buy into them after the first two weeks.
They lost on a last-second field goal by Younghoe Koo from 58 yards away, which has to be one of the most brutal ways to lose a football game. The Saints and Atlanta Falcons are now both 2-2. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lead the NFC South at 3-1, and the Carolina Panthers are last at 1-3.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Saints do at the trade deadline. If they were smart, they’d sell off some veteran players to get some cap space and draft capital.
21. Los Angeles Rams (1-3)
I was quite shocked to see the Los Angeles Rams losing in Week 4. I was way off here. The Chicago Bears definitely found some groove on offense and it was clearly enough to beat the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams entered this game as one of the most, if not the most injured team in football.
And sometimes in the NFL, no matter how good the QB is and how talented the head coach is, injuries catch up, and that’s been the case for the Rams, who are now at 1-3 and tied with the Cardinals for the worst record in the NFC West.
It’s a shame, as Matthew Stafford is not getting any younger and may continue to quarterback a losing team unless the Rams can figure something out here and start to stack some games. They earned their first win in Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers.
20. Cincinnati Bengals (1-3)
You know, the Cincinnati Bengals got the win, which is great, but the defense is clearly still a huge problem, and the team is still just 1-3, so it’s not likely that they are going to flirt with what they surely were expecting when the season began, which is a top seed in the AFC and maybe even a bye in the playoffs.
The Bengals have been the only team to take down the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. Tom Brady was able to do it as a member of the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he’s obviously not in the NFL anymore.
Cincy needs to make some major moves on defense however that may look if they hope to save this season. I guess there is still plenty of time for them to figure something out.
19. Chicago Bears (2-2)
How about the Chicago Bears? It was a rock-solid performance from this team, and it honestly felt like a desperation moment for the team, who had some huge issues on offense through the first few weeks and clearly got some of that cleaned up. The Bears are now 2-2 on the season and saw their rookie QB in Caleb Williams play a very efficient game.
The Bears may have something sustainable here if the defense can keep it up and if the offense can build on this encouraging Week 4 performance. They were able to get the best of the injured Los Angeles Rams in Week 4. Can Chicago continue to build this momentum?
Them being in the NFC North is tough, as all of the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and Green Bay Packers are clearly better football teams, so they still have a long way to go in that regard.
18. New York Jets (2-2)
This has to be one of the worst losses of the Robert Saleh era for the New York Jets. They were coming off of 10 days rest after winning two straight games to get their record above .500. They had a rookie QB and shaky offense coming into town and didn’t score as much as them. New York also got chewed up on the ground quite a bit, which does fall on the GM, Joe Douglas, who just did not do a lot along the defensive line.
Well, he did, but Haason Reddick is nowhere to be found. The Jets’ disastrous Week 4 loss really proves to the entire NFL world that this team is going nowhere. Some major changes could be on the way for this team unless they are able to figure something out.
The Jets went all-in when they swung a trade for Aaron Rodgers, and because of his torn Achilles in 2023, they are effectively in year one of the Rodgers era. However, the team should have won this game, and it really should not have been close.
17. Dallas Cowboys (2-2)
The Dallas Cowboys barely beat the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football, so this team is not nearly as good in 2024 as they have been in previous seasons. There isn’t a ton to like with the Dallas Cowboys outside of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons. The defense simply cannot stop the run, as losing former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is hurting them early on.
The Cowboys won’t win 12 games this year, which was their win total in the 2021-2023 seasons. I could see Dallas moving on from head coach Mike McCarthy and his staff at the end of the year, but the roster is simply not good enough and feels extremely top-heavy to me.
16. Los Angeles Chargers (2-2)
The Los Angeles Chargers came into this game quite injured and did put up a very good fight against the Kansas City Chiefs, who did seem to lose wide receiver Rashee Rice for the season with a torn ACL. The Chargers are in year one of the Jim Harbaugh era and don’t have a very good roster, so this is definitely a work in progress.
I would expect LA to perhaps scrap together eight or nine wins and try to make some type of all-in push next offseason. My question here is whether Harbaugh not coaching in the NFL for a decade will catch up to him and if Justin Herbert is truly as good as some think.
After a 2-0 start, the Chargers have lost two games in a row, and they were against much more formidable opponents than their two wins.
15. Indianapolis Colts (2-2)
Anthony Richardson has barely completed 50% of his passes and has thrown six interceptions in the 2024 NFL Season. He also left the game in Week 4 with an injury and is clearly about as raw of a QB as someone can be in the NFL. I do understand that playing QB in the NFL is the hardest thing to do in sports, and Richardson really hasn’t started many games since high school, but this just does not seem like it’s sustainable.
And I have no idea if Richardson is just a bit too raw for the Colts to develop. They did get a win and were aided in that by Joe Flacco, who is apparently the same age as Richardson’s mother, so a win is a win nonetheless.
The Colts managed to win nine games in 2023 with Gardner Minshew getting most of the starts, so this team isn’t some pushover.
14. Atlanta Falcons (2-2)
How about the Atlanta Falcons, man. The great thing about the Falcons is that they have a high floor. Kirk Cousins at QB and the talent they have on defense can keep them in most, if not all games. The flip side here is that Cousins also provides them with a lower ceiling, given that he’s Kirk Cousins.
The defense also doesn’t really have a true game-changer either, so Atlanta isn’t going to win anything of note this year. I did pick them to win about 10 games and the NFC South, but they do trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by one game early on in the 2024 NFL Season.
The leg of Younghoe Koo gave Atlanta the win in Week 4 against the New Orleans Saints.
13. Denver Broncos (2-2)
I mean, a win is a win. It was perhaps the ugliest win by any team in the 2024 NFL Season thus far, but don’t look now, but the Denver Broncos have had three of their first four games on the road, and both of their wins have come on the road. The got their first win in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and they blew them out to say the least.
And in Week 4, they held Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets out of the end zone in a 10-9 victory, but it was not without a ton of drama. Bo Nix threw his first career touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton, and that scoring drive proved to be enough. Denver’s kicker Wil Lutz missed a 50-yard field goal which gave the Jets the ball back, but Greg Zuerlein also missed his own 50-yard field goal which gave Denver the win.
The Broncos managing to split their first four games in this fashion with a rookie QB sets them up nicely, as they now have two straight home games coming up against the Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)
So yeah, that happened. The Pittsburgh Steelers are nothing special. They somehow found themselves going up against an old friend in Joe Flacco, who is on the Indianapolis Colts, and I bet a lot of people watching this game had no idea Flacco was on the Colts until he needed to come in. Anthony Richardson left the game with an injury.
Stop me if you’ve heard that before. Frankly, I am not sure that the Colts have their QB of the future, and I am not sure the Pittsburgh Steelers do, either. This felt like a game where the Steelers were going to cruise to victory, but the total opposite happened.
Pittsburgh now falls to 3-1 in a disappointing and ugly loss in Week 4. And with Justin Fields at QB, their ceiling is going to stay low. The issue here is that if they turn to Russell Wilson, their ceiling is still low, so they’re in a tough spot at this point.
11. Baltimore Ravens (1-2)
As I type these words, the Baltimore Ravens are going up against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football, and it’s the Ravens with the early lead in this game. Honestly, Baltimore should be playing desperate, as it’d just be unheard of for this team to drop to 1-3.
The Bills would improve to 4-0 with a win and separate themselves even more from some of the other playoff hopefuls in the AFC. If I had to guess, I think the Ravens end up winning this won, as they need the win much more than the Bills do.
Can Baltimore dig out of the early 0-2 start they had and even-up their record after Week 4? It would continue to make the AFC North a very interesting division going forward.
10. Green Bay Packers (2-2)
The Green Bay Packers were able to climb back into the game in Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings but just were not able to do enough to win. The Packers did see Jordan Love return to the lineup, so their QB is back. They now drop to 2-2 on the season after two-straight wins with Malik Willis under center.
The Packers are seen by many as a team ready to really breakout in 2024. They finished the 2023 NFL Season on a hot streak and squeaked into the playoffs with a 9-8 record. Green Bay also won both of their games without their starting QB, so that kind of tells you right there how good they can be.
Can the Packers rebound in Week 5 against the Los Angeles Rams? The Rams took a brutal loss in Week 4 to the Chicago Bears, so I have a feeling they will be desperate.
9. Seattle Seahawks (3-0)
I am not a buyer into the Seattle Seahawks. In Week 1, they barely got by a rookie QB in Bo Nix making his first NFL start. In Week 2, they needed overtime to beat the lowly New England Patriots, and in Week 3, they were gifted a game against a backup QB and the Miami Dolphins.
They play their first real opponent of the 2024 NFL Season in the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football, and I would guess that they lose handily. Seattle is led by a good-not-great QB in Geno Smith and have a first-time head coach in Mike Macdonald, so their ceiling is very obvious.
I am betting that they sniff around the rookie QB pool when the 2025 NFL Draft comes around, as Geno Smith is just not a viable long-term option for this team.
8. San Francisco 49ers (2-2)
The San Francisco 49ers took care of business in Week 4 and blew out the New England Patriots, who are rebuilding. The Niners are pretty banged up and may not get RB Christian McCaffrey back for quite some time.
It’ll be interesting to see if Brock Purdy can continue producing at a high level without some of his best play-makers on offense. The Niners defense doesn’t seem quite as good in 2024 as they were in previous seasons, so overall, the Niners just do not feel nearly as scary as they once were.
Now yes, they’re still a great team and well-coached, but I would probably choose a couple of teams in the NFC before the 49ers. The Niners have lost two Super Bowls to the Kansas City Chiefs since the 2019 NFL Season. Could we see the two teams meet up in the Super Bowl again in 2024?
7. Detroit Lions (2-1)
The Detroit Lions play on Monday Night Football against the Seattle Seahawks, who are coming into this game banged up. Frankly, I do not believe the Seahawks are nearly as good as their 3-0 record indicates and think that the Lions are going to take it to this team. Detroit looks to advance to 3-1 on the season and try to remain in sight of the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North.
This division may genuinely come down to the Lions and the Vikings, and if the Green Bay Packers can see Jordan Love stabilize a bit more, this could be a three-horse race. And don’t look now, but the Chicago Bears are also 2-2, so that team could hang around.
The Lions are truly built to win now and win a Super Bowl. They made a surprise run to the NFC Championship Game in the 2023 NFL Season and surely hope to take the next step in 2024.
6. Washington Commanders (3-1)
So, uhm, are the Washington Commanders a great football team? They just might be. A blowout win of the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4 has this team at 3-1 and in first place in the NFC East. This is just the shock of the NFL thus far in the 2024 season. Rookie QB Jayden Daniels absolutely looks the part already and is probably going to run away with the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
Not only is this team one of the best in the NFL, but they legitimately have a shot to win the NFC East and earn a home playoff game. Could the 2024 Washington Commanders be this year’s version of what we saw the Houston Texans do in the 2023 NFL Season with a rookie QB in CJ Stroud?
Only time will tell if they can keep this insane pace up.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got back on track in Week 4 with a blowout win of the Philadelphia Eagles, who are a huge mess and have their own share of issues. There is a lot to like about the Buccaneers, honestly. They have a feisty offense and an underrated QB in Baker Mayfield and can definitely shut down the opponents on defense.
Right now, it’s hard to not pick them to win the NFC South for what would be a second-straight season. However, the Bucs, to me, aren’t quite good enough to win a Super Bowl, and whether that’s because of the QB, head coach, overall roster talent, or a combination of all of that, remains to be seen.
But the Bucs winning in Week 4 in the fashion that they did should definitely be noted. This is a rock-solid football team from top to bottom, but might not be anything more.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (4-0)
The Kansas City Chiefs seem to have lost WR Rashee Rice to a torn ACL. Their Week 4 win against the Los Angeles Chargers did come with a huge loss. The Chiefs are now going to be down Rice and Hollywood Brown for the entire 2024 NFL Season.
Patrick Mahomes is also just not playing nearly as efficiently as he has in previous seasons, and with Rice now out of the equation and Travis Kelce not being his old self, the offense could take a step back.
The Chiefs are 4-0 but do not feel like a 4-0 team. They just don’t really have a ton of roster talent, especially on offense now, beyond Patrick Mahomes. Teams will now probably look to take away Xavier Worthy and force Mahomes and the offense to dink-and-dunk down the field going forward.
3. Houston Texans (3-1)
I am still sticking with the Houston Texans as my Super Bowl pick this year, and they did get back on the right track in Week 4 with a huge win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are a total mess. CJ Stroud and the offense did enough, and the DeMeco Ryans-led defense also held their own at the end of the day.
The Texans do have a very tough schedule remaining, so they may not win more than they did last year, but this feels like a better, more experienced team in 2024. I will be quite interested to see if they can begin to separate themselves in the AFC South, a division that just does not feel as good as I was expecting it to be in 2024.
Not only are the Jaguars winless, but Anthony Richardson seems too reckless for the Colts to consistently win, and the Tennessee Titans are, well, the Titans.
2. Buffalo Bills (3-0)
Maybe the game of the season thus far, the Buffalo Bills take on the Baltimore Ravens and try to go to 4-0 on the season. It does feel like Buffalo can win this game. They’re firing on all cylinders, and Josh Allen is a legitimate MVP candidate for the 19th straight season.
We’ll see if Buffalo can keep this up. Allen has not yet thrown an interception, and if he can continue to play clean football, Buffalo could actually make a run this year. While many thought this team was going to regress (me), they seem to be doing the complete opposite thus far in the 2024 NFL Season.
1. Minnesota Vikings (4-0)
I mean, this is just insane. The Minnesota Vikings and Sam Darnold are now 4-0 on the season after a huge win against the Green Bay Packers. This team is just excellent. Now yes, they did let the Green Bay Packers crawl back into the same, but who cares? A win is a win, and as I type these words on Sunday Night before SNF starts, they are the only four-win team in football.
It’s hard to see where this team’s first loss will be, and I am truly interested to see just how far they can go with Darnold under center. Also, I am not sure they just let him leave in free agency in 2025 if he keeps this up. That can’t happen, right? Right??
The Vikings feel like their the best-coached team in all of football, honestly. Kevin O'Connell clearly knows what he is doing with the QB position, so I would bet that JJ McCarthy ends up having a long and successful NFL career.
There you have it, our latest NFL power rankings as we now turn our attention to Week 5.