There was not a lot of shuffling at the top this week, the best teams still look like the best teams, or at the bottom, still pretty clear who the worst teams in the NFL are, but the middle group is still up for grabs. Who are going to end up being the contenders and pretenders going in to the first round of bye weeks?
Rank (Last)
#1 (1) Green Bay Packers (4-0) - The defending champs are still looking like the most impressive team in the NFL. They are still a little shaky on defense, but their offense is potent enough to cover so far. Will they be able to keep this up over the course of a long season?
#2 (2) New Orleans Saints (3-1) - After a slightly shaky start, the Saints finished strong on the road at Jacksonville and continue to impress. The turnovers are a bit of a red flag, but Sean Payton is a good coach, and Drew Brees is an elite quarterback, so they will get it figured out.
#3 (3) Baltimore Ravens (3-1) - The Ravens dismantled the Jets in prime-time with their ball-hawking defense, but they ineffectiveness of Joe Flaco is a real concern.
#4 (4) Detroit Lions (4-0) - For the second consecutive week, the Lions made a 20+ point comeback in the second half on the road (unfortunately against my beloved Cowboys). We may have shown a little foreshadowing last week when we claimed that no lead was safe against this potent offense.
#5 (6) New England Patriots (3-1) - The Pats came back with a vengeance this week, dismantling a very good Raiders team in Oakland, after that collapse in Buffalo the week before. Like the Packers, New England has a potent enough offense to compensate for defensive liabilities, but the Pats' D is not even as good as the Packers. When it comes down to playoff time, there are too many good defenses in the AFC to be able to cover that up.
#6 (5) Buffalo Bills (3-1) - For four weeks everyone has been asking if the Bills are for real. A loss to Cincinnati does not help to plead their case. A tough road loss is no reason to give up on a team that has looked so impressive the rest of the young season, but it does raise concerns (enough concerns that Vegas has made them a home underdog to the 1-3 Eagles).
#7 (7) Houston Texans (3-1) - The Texans did what they needed to do by handling the disappointing Steelers at home. The defense seems to be taking to Wade Philips' system, and Philips kept up the pressure late (which was a knock in the loss to the Saints). Last season's leading rusher Arian Foster came back with a vengeance and ran all over the Steelers. Can they survive the next three games without Andre Johnson?
#8 (10) San Diego Chargers (3-1) - The Chargers have not exactly been impressive so far this season, but they just keep winning. Their one loss came when they had to travel cross country at New England. If San Diego gets their yearly late season push, one of our favorites to win the AFC just could be contenders yet.
#9 (13) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) - The Bucs get another ugly win at home, but all that matters is the "W". At 3-1 they are tied atop the division with the explosive Saints. Can this young coach and his younger team really shake things up?
#10 (8) Oakland Raiders (2-2) - New England exposed a lot of the Raiders vulnerabilities last week as they embarrassed Oakland at home. The Raiders have a tough test at Houston this week where their sub-par run defense tries to deal with the newly healthy Arian Foster.
#11 (16) Washington Redskins (3-1) - We are already four weeks into the season and Rex Grossman's bold prediction that the 'Skins would win the division is looking less and less crazy. the question is are the Redskins really good, or is the rest of the division just shooting themselves in the foot?
#12 (20) Tennessee Titans (3-1) - After being embarrassed by Jacksonville in week one and the ineffectiveness of Chris Johnson coming back from the holdout, the Titans looked hopeless. But quietly they have rattled off three straight wins and Matt Hasselback is playing some of the best football of his career.
#13 (19) San Francisco 49ers (3-1) - San Francisco answered a few critics (namely a few Unconfirmed critics) and started to take on the persona of their head coach by that huge comeback at Philly last week. Their best offensive weapons finally got going with Vernon Davis and Frank Gore. They play in the weakest division in the NFL and they seem to be the cream of that crop thus far.
#14 (12) Chicago Bears (2-2) - It is still tough to read the Bears thus far. Their two losses came against our top two rated teams, so no shame in that. They blew out an Atlanta team that has been fairly disappointing thus far this season, and Squeaked past the Panthers. What we do know is they have protection issues on the offensive line, and if they can keep Matt Forte rolling like last week, that will be a huge step towards covering them up.
#15 (14) New York Giants (3-1) - The Giants are about as Jeckle and Hyde as a team can be. Eli Manning can either shred a defense of hand it right to them. They are still dominant up front on offense and defense, but the injuries are piling up for the back end and wide receiving core. Can Tom Coughlin keep his team together and make a playoff push?
#16 (9) New York Jets (2-2) - Last week the Ravens man handled the Jets and the Patriots made the Jets previous road loss at Oakland look worse by roughing up the Raiders. Can Rex get his guys back into the mix this week as they travel to New England?
#17 (11) Dallas Cowboys (2-2) - It seems that no other team succeeds or fails more solely by their QB. In all four weeks Tony Romo has been either the hero or the goat. Their could not be a better time for a bye week for this team. The Cowboys need the time to get healthy and make corrections.
#18 (18) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2) - The Steelers have been one of the bigger disappointments so far this season. The defending AFC champs are looking old on defense and can not protect their QB on offense. Division rival Baltimore is playing great and Pittsburgh can not afford another slip up at home this week against Tennessee.
#19 (17) Atlanta Falcons (2-2) - Another team that has disappointed so far this season, Atlanta can not get the opposition off the field on defense and their explosive offense has fizzled. With division rivals New Orleans and Tampa Bay playing well, the clock is really ticking for the Falcons to get things fixed.
#20 (28) Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) - the Bengals have been a bit of a surprise team thus far. Their defense is playing well and the rookie tandem of Andy Dalton and AJ Green have really gelled.
#21 (15) Philadelphia Eagles (1-3) - The "Dream Team" has become a nightmare. That collapse against the 49ers is just more salt in the wound. Too many problems on the offensive line and in the linebacking core have this team at 1-3.
#22 (22) Cleveland Browns (2-2) - The least impressive of the .500 teams, the Browns have benefited from a fairly easy schedule so far. The feeling around here is that following the bye week, the Browns will just continues to fall in the rankings. Division in that locker room surrounding their best player Peyton Hillis will only expedite the process.
#23 (21) Arizona Cardinals (1-3) - Arizona's three losses are by a combined eight points, so this team is not as bad as their record. They play in a bad divisions so even at 1-3 they are not out of it.
#24 (26) Carolina Panthers (1-3) - Cam Newton can put up huge numbers out side of monsoon like conditions. Now the rookie QB needs to learn how to win at this level.
#25 (30) Seattle Seahawks (1-3) - Seattle gets a big boost here because they are so competitive at home. Also getting Sydney Rice back and on the same page with Tavaris Jackson has opened things up for Marshawn Lynch and the run game.
#26 (24) Denver Broncos (1-3) - Denver just is not very good right now. Their young defense shows promise, but they can not really get anything going offensively.
#27 (29) Indianapolis Colts (0-4) - How does an 0-4 team keep creeping up the rankings? By outplaying superior teams in prime time. They just need to learn how to close out games.
#28 (23) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-3) - After handling Tennessee at home in week one, the Jags have been a dumpster fire since. We have a feeling that Jacksonville will be bottom dwellers of the rankings for the remainder of the season.
#29 (32) Kansas City Chiefs (1-3) - The Chiefs move up a few spots after finally getting a win. Too bad that lone win was against fellow disappointment Minnesota.
#30 (25) Minnesota Vikings (0-4) - The first three weeks it was hard to believe that the Vikings game up double digit leads. Last week it was even harder to believe they lost to a Chiefs team without their best offensive and defensive player. How long until they throw Christian Ponder into the fire?
#31 (27) St. Louis Rams (0-4) - Not much to say about the Rams. Injuries have played their part, but this team can not really get anything going. They even have to teach their fans how to be fans.
#32 (31) Miami Dolphins (0-4) - The bad news for the Dolphins is that they are 0-4 in a tough division. The good news is now that the Chiefs have a win, they are the new front runners for the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes.
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