One thing is for certain, we need to expect the unexpected this season. Upsets around the league are becoming the norm with teams like the 49ers, Texans, Bengals, Raiders, and Bucs all dropping games they were expected to win. In the AFC it appears like we are destined to get another rematch between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in the playoffs as these two teams are separating from the pack. The NFC race is wide open right now with the Vikings being the highest-ranked NFC team this week. Let’s take a look at where each team ranks ahead of week 4.
1. Kansas City Chiefs 3-0 (-)
The Chiefs haven’t necessarily played their best football so far this season but walk away 3-0 against three opponents with deep playoff aspirations. On offense, the Chiefs continue to shoot themselves in the foot. Penalties, not converting on 3rd and short, and Mahomes not playing great have resulted in these games being close. They somehow are the 2nd highest-scoring offense in the AFC despite them playing C+ football.
2. Buffalo Bills 3-0 (+1)
The Buffalo Bills demise was overblown this offseason. As long as Josh Allen is at quarterback the Bills will always have a good shot at competing for a championship. He is playing the best football of his career right now and is an early MVP pick. Despite the turnover on the defensive side of the ball, they have been great through 3 weeks. Credit to Sean McDermott and Joe Brady for the jobs they have done so far this season
3. Minnesota Vikings 3-0 (+13)
The Vikings are for real. With two noteworthy wins over the Texans and 49ers the Vikings are the top ranked team in the NFC ahead of week 4. The offense is working well with a resurgent Sam Darnold behind Kevin O’Connell’s playcalling. The defense has been a bigger surprise and currently leads the NFL in sacks.
4. Detroit Lions 2-1 (+2)
The Lions offense has not been great so far to start 2024. Jared Goff has made some questionable decisions and now TE Sam LaPorta is set to miss time with an injury. On defense, the unit looks much improved from last season. They rank out as one of the better run defenses in the NFL right now while having one of the best pass rushes as well.
5. Houston Texans 2-1 (-3)
The Texans dropped a surprising game against the Vikings on the road. It was not a close loss either, they got down early and never fought their way back into the game. The Texans without Joe Mixon looked one dimensional on offense and on defense they got shredded all day. It’s only 1 loss it will be interesting to see if these concerns get addressed this week.
6. Philadelphia Eagles 2-1 (+1)
Eagles won a defensive battle in New Orleans behind Dallas Goedert and Saquon Barkley’s big days. Barkley is the soul of this offense and is the clear favorite right now for offensive player of the year. On defense, the secondary is starting to play better while maintaining their dominance against the run.
7. San Francisco 49ers 1-2 (-3)
The 49ers defense has gotten shredded the last two weeks. What’s more concerning is that they are relatively healthy on that side of the ball. Their 3rd down defense has been abysmal and you have to wonder if the consistent coordinator turnover has anything to do with it. They will be fine, they still have 5 healthy all pros instead of 8.
8. Baltimore Ravens 1-2 (-)
The Ravens got in the win column this week by bullying the Dallas Cowboys all day at the line of scrimmage. We saw the duo of Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson in full affect combing for over 200 yards. The defense still has some concerns as Dallas somehow made this a game after being down 3 scores in the 4th quarter
9. New York Jets 2-1 (-)
Aaron Rodgers looks fully back after his masterclass on Thursday night. The offense is continuing to trend in the right direction. The defense is still one of the top units in the league. Once the Jets put everything together, they are going to make some noise in the AFC.
10. Green Bay Packers 2-1 (+1)
The Packers have to be feeling good with Jordan Love getting healthier and stealing 2 games without him playing. Malik Willis has been a great game manager for them, hitting the throws when they are needed. On defense, this unit has stepped up by forcing turnovers and holding their last two opponents to 24 total points.
11. Pittsburgh Steelers 3-0 (+6)
The Steelers find themselves 3-0 behind a defense allowing only 8.6 points per game. T.J. Watt took not winning the DPOY award personally as he has been unblockable to start the season. Offensively, the concerns remain as they have only scored 3 touchdowns on the season. Fields has filled in admirably for them at QB but is it enough to compete with the top dogs in the AFC? I am not buying it.
12. Seattle Seahawks 3-0 (+7)
The Seahawks finish last in the undefeated team rankings but that is no slight for how this group is trending. The defense under Mike MacDonald looks much improved and dominated a depleted Dolphins on Sunday. Offensively they have performed well against weak defenses but their tandem of Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet down the stretch could be a headache for teams. Big test this week for the Lions
13. New Orleans Saints 2-1 (-3)
The Saints defense has been stellar this season behind their elite secondary that has allowed opposing quarterbacks to throw 1 touchdown with 5 interceptions. Until two players hit themselves on a Dallas Goedert drag route it seemed like the Saints were going to win the game. Offensively they struggled to get anything going against the Eagles due to their offensive line getting bullied at the line of scrimmage
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2-1 (-9)
Disappointing loss for the Bucs this past week after a big win against Detroit. They let the Broncos come into Tampa Bay and bully them the whole day. The offense had an off day, the defense is the bigger concern. They are bottom 10 now against both the run and the pass on defense. They are relying too heavily on a turnover to get teams off the field right now.
15. Dallas Cowboys 1-2 (-3)
Another ugly loss for the Cowboys this week despite the score showing a nail-biter. The Cowboys biggest problem is their run defense. They currently rank as the worst run defense in the league with 557 yards allowed and 8 touchdowns scored against them. With how poor their run defense is, it is limiting the offense’s possessions. The Cowboys need to figure out their run defense or it could be a long season.
16. Atlanta Falcons 1-2 (+4)
The Falcons lost to the Chiefs but move up in the rankings after an admiral performance. Their defense played stellar on Sunday holding the Chiefs to 22 points and making Patrick Mahomes look human. On offense, they were bottled up on their inside zone scheme for a majority of the night. Instead, they turned to their intermediate passing game, which looked sharp with Darnell Mooney and Drake London. The offensive line injuries are concerning.
17. Washington Commanders 2-1 (+12)
The Commanders are fun to watch. Rookie Jayden Daniels showed out this week and broke the completion percentage record (91.3%) in the win. They have one of the best rushing attacks in football with Daniels, Brian Robinson Jr, and Austin Ekeler. The defense still has many concerns going forward, but things are looking up in Washington.
18. Arizona Cardinals 1-2 (+3)
The Cardinals offense was quiet this week after a 41-point outing the week before. This can be attributed to RB James Conner never getting going as he only finished 17 rushing yards. The defense held the Lions to 20 points which is a good sign going forward. They have a big matchup this week against the Commanders
19. Los Angeles Rams 1-2 (+3)
Matthew Stafford and Kyren Williams carried this beat-up offense in their upset win over the 49ers. After the Rams rough showing last week, the offense scored 27 points against the 49ers and showed some promise that when they get healthy, they are legit threat in the NFC.
20. Los Angeles Chargers 2-1 (-2)
Chargers players who could miss this week’s game against the Chiefs include Justin Herbert, Rashawn Slater, Joe Alt, Joey Bosa, and Derwin James. After a hot 2-0 start it is looking very likely that they will drop this week’s game and fall to 2-2. They need to get healthy down the stretch if they want a chance in a stacked AFC.
21. Cincinnati Bengals 0-3 (-7)
Zac Taylor’s seat is starting to warm up after another slow start. The Bengals looked just fine on offense this week as Joe Burrow went for over 300 yards and had 3 touchdowns. On defense, it looked like they were gassed from last week’s game against the Chiefs. The Bengals have a big hill to overcome but I think they still are a playoff team.
22. Cleveland Browns 1-2 (-8)
Deshaun Watson has not played great by any means, but this Browns offensive line is not giving him a chance. 8 sacks allowed helped them take the top spot in the league with 16 sacks allowed. Their defense has been good to start the season but the injury to Myles Garrett is concerning long term.
23. Indianapolis Colts 1-2 (+3)
The Colts won an ugly game against the Bears between both teams there were 6 turnovers. QB Anthony Richardson is still completing less than 50% of his passes on the season. Their season will ultimately be decided by AR figuring out his accuracy problems.
24. Chicago Bears 1-2 (-9)
The Bears are going to go as far as the offense takes them this season. OC Shane Waldron, Caleb Williams, D’Andre Swift, and the offensive line could not possibly be much worse than they have been to start the season. With a weak schedule ahead if this offense gets rolling, the elite defense on the other side gives them a real shot at the playoffs.
25. New York Giants 1-2 (+5)
Daniel Jones haters have been quiet after his last two performances. On the season Jones now has 600 passing yards with 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. His new favorite target Malik Nabers has established himself quickly as a top target in the league. The Giants defensive line got after the Browns all day, sacking Deshaun Watson 8 times.
26. Denver Broncos 1-2 (+5)
The Broncos are in the win column after their dominating performance over the Bucs on Sunday. The offense showed some flashes as Bo Nix was efficient in this one and Tyler Badie might step up as the lead back in that RB room. On defense, they held a good Bucs unit to only 7 points and bullied their offensive line.
27. Miami Dolphins 1-2 (-4)
The Miami Dolphins stink on offense without QB Tua Tagovailoa. They are going to try out “Pro Bowl” QB Snoop Huntley this week and see if they can score a touchdown. On defense, there is no excuse for that unit performing like it did on Sunday. They are in danger of missing the playoffs.
28. Carolina Panthers 1-2 (+4)
It is wild how one change at quarterback resulted in Sunday’s outcome. Andy Dalton took over for Bryce Young and proceeded to throw for 319 yards and 3 touchdowns with 0 interceptions in the win. This performance shocked new life in a Panthers team that looked dead after two weeks.
29. New England Patriots 1-2 (-1)
The Patriots had an ugly Thursday night loss to the Jets. Their defense did not show up this week as they got bullied at the line of scrimmage and Rodgers shredded them. Offensively they have a big problem on the offensive line. They should not start Drake Maye until that unit gets better.
30. Las Vegas Raiders 1-2 (-6)
Things are getting messy in Las Vegas as head coach Antonio Pierce called his players out for making “business decisions” in the blowout loss to the Panthers. After that, he said we will make business decisions going forward, as well. I wonder if that is alluding to Devante Adams potentially being available soon.
31. Tennessee Titans 0-3 (-4)
The Titans have been a mess to start the 2024 season. The defense has shown flashes this season of being a good unit but got shredded by Malik Willis this weekend. On offense they show signs of life at times moving the ball down the field with ease then a costly turnover shifts the entire momentum of the game. Will Levis is in his last days as a starter in Tennessee.
32. Jacksonville Jaguars 0-3 (-7)
Trevor Lawrence has now lost eight straight starts dating back to last season. The offenses regression over that stretch can be attributed to the players but Doug Pederson has done nothing to fix it. Pederson is in his last season coaching the Jaguars.
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