NFL Power Rankings (Week 4)

AFC
*Broncos
*Bengals
$Chargers
*Colts
*Dolphins
$Ravens
Pats
Texans
Bills
Chiefs
Browns
Steelers
NYJ
Titans
Jags
Raiders

The Broncos don’t look quite as dynamic offensively as I would’ve expected but the D looks better than last year so I anticipate the Broncos will win games and be at the top of the AFC all year long.

The Bengals are good, man.  Offense is clicking, the D looks fierce and they’re deep so injuries shouldn’t be as much of a concern as for most teams. 

The Chargers are good, too.  Phillip Rivers is killing it right now, D is solid, they’re gonna outscore most everyone they play this year.

I’m not in love with the Colts but Andrew Luck is really good, he should be enough to elevate the rest of the team to win the division. 

The Dolphins are a puzzle: dominant against the Pats (who kinda suck) and the Raiders (who are flat fuckin’ awful) but failed to show up against the Bills (so-so squad) and the Chiefs (bad loss).  I’m not sure what to think but I think I think they could be good and if the AFC East is as sorry as it could be then the Dolphins could emerge. 

Not sure about the Ravens either.  But they’ve got the veteran thing going for them and in a mediocre conference, they could be pretty good. 

I’m dropping the Pats and Texans as playoff teams.  The Texans could emerge, their D is for real but the QB is not inspiring and the running game doesn’t look as good as it usually is; they could pull it together in a soft division but unless the offense gets going I can imagine they’d win a playoff game.  The Pats look crappy, man, just straight awful.  Their years of Tom Brady and a bunch of dudes I never heard of, looks like it could be coming to a close; the offensive line seems to be the culprit, if Brady is running for his life that diminishes his effectiveness considerably; they should stay competitive in their division but I feel like the Dolphins and Bills may be ready to move.  

NFC

*Seahawks

$Cards

*Eagles

*Lions

*Falcons

$Packers

Niners

Cowboys

Bears

Vikings

NYG

Rams

Saints

Panthers

Redskins

Bucs

The Seahawks have already dropped a game on the road to the Chargers; not a bad loss.  And they didn’t exactly blow out the Broncos at home.  But I’m sticking with the Seahawks as the class of the conference. 

The Cards are the last undefeated team in the NFC and I think those are good looking wins.  Clearly they have a strong defense (run and pass) and that will keep them relevant all year long; offense is okay, could struggle. 

The Eagles are a puzzle so far: they’re about where I thought they’d be but they don’t look like their offense is rolling just yet.  Either they get better from here and challenge the Seahawks or they falter and flail their way down the standings.  I’m keeping them high for now for getting 3 W’s without playing their best. 

The Lions are starting to look like the team I thought they should’ve been for the last few years.  If the Bears keep struggling and the Packers fail to get their game together, the Lions could dominate this division.  I think the Packers improve but I’m not sold on the Bears (and the Vikings are a mystery right now).  I think the Lions make the playoffs.  

The Packers, like the Niners, are up and down too.  Can’t front on losing in Seattle and an L in Detroit isn’t exactly an embarrassment; but I’m not blown away by W’s over the Bears and Jets.  I think the Packers can get better but I’m not sure they have the depth of years past, so while I think they will make the playoffs I wouldn’t be surprised if it all fell apart. 

The Falcons aren’t as dominant as I thought they’d be this year but they do have two good division W’s already, so I think they’ll sustain.  Their passing offense should be among the best in the league but the running game is underwhelming and I’m not bowled over by their D.  I think they’re better than their division so I think they make the playoffs and they could get a roll on as the season wears on. 

I'm dropping the Saints and the Bears as playoff teams simply because neither has gotten it together yet.  The Saints don’t even look capable of getting it together, the D is a mess and the offense has dropped off significantly over its usual dominance.  The Bears look sloppy, like they could be good if they pull it together but also that they could let it all slip away too; with the Lions looking better, I think its gonna be an uphill climb for the Bears.