NFL Power Rankings Week 4: Updated Standings, Predictions Before MNF

We still have Monday Night Football left on the Week 3 slate, but the NFL seems to be stabilizing a little bit.

Super Bowl contenders like the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos are proving themselves as such, while cellar-dwellers like the Chicago Bears and the San Francisco 49ers are validating the criticisms fans had of them prior to the regular season.

That does make determining the league's pecking order a little bit easier, but there are still some tough decisions. Let's go through a power ranking of all 32 teams heading into Monday night's contest between the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers and then focus on three squads on the rise.

Rank	Team	Record
1	New England Patriots	3-0
2	Arizona Cardinals	3-0
3	Green Bay Packers	3-0*
4	Denver Broncos	3-0
5	Cincinnati Bengals	3-0
6	Buffalo Bills	2-1
7	Seattle Seahawks	1-2
8	Atlanta Falcons	3-0
9	Minnesota Vikings	2-1
10	Carolina Panthers	3-0
11	Pittsburgh Steelers	2-1
12	Dallas Cowboys	2-1
13	Kansas City Chiefs	1-2*
14	New York Jets	2-1
15	Indianapolis Colts	1-2
16	Oakland Raiders	2-1
17	Philadelphia Eagles	1-2
18	St. Louis Rams	1-2
19	Miami Dolphins	1-2
20	San Diego Chargers	1-2
21	New York Giants	1-2
22	Baltimore Ravens	0-3
23	Detroit Lions	0-3
24	Houston Texans	1-2
25	Tennessee Titans	1-2
26	Washington Redskins	1-2
27	Cleveland Browns	1-2
28	New Orleans Saints	0-3
29	Jacksonville Jaguars	1-2
30	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1-2
31	San Francisco 49ers	1-2
32	Chicago Bears	0-3

Teams on the Rise

Arizona Cardinals (No. 2)

With yet another impressive performance, the 3-0 Cardinals now find themselves behind only the similarly unbeaten New England Patriots.

The Cardinals' 47-7 rout of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday was an amazing performance, but the Patriots also did their part with a 51-17 shellacking of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Arizona's point differential through three games (plus-77) does top New England's (plus-49), but a tougher schedule for the Patriots is what keeps the Cardinals here at No. 2.

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Arizona's pass defense absolutely terrorized Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco wide receivers all game long. All the Niners quarterback could manage through the air was 67 yards and zero touchdowns on 19 attempts, but he somehow found the time to toss four interceptions. 

The Cardinals also got a vintage performance from running back Chris Johnson (151 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns), who is filling in for the injured Andre Ellington. With the way Johnson played Sunday, Arizona may have to consider keeping him at starter even after Ellington returns. And, of course, Carson Palmer continued to sling the ball all over the field. He's now on pace for 48 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions for the season.

The Cardinals haven't played any legitimate contenders yet this season, but they've done their job by winning all three games by double digits.

Buffalo Bills (No. 6)

The Bills transferred the momentum from their late comeback attempt in Week 2 against the Patriots to Sunday, when they destroyed the division-rival Miami Dolphins 41-14 on the road.

All in all, Buffalo deserves the unofficial title of "best performance of the week" so far. The team led 27-0 at halftime against a Miami squad that has underachieved but still has playoff-caliber talent. Bills first-year starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor was a pristine 21-of-29 passing for 277 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers. Rookie running back Karlos Williams continued to impress with 12 carries for 110 yards and a score.

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

On the other side of the ball, the Bills picked off Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill three times in the first half. Tannehill hadn't thrown an interception since Week 16 of last season before Sunday.

To summarize the season, Buffalo has blown out two talented teams (the Indianapolis Colts and Dolphins) and lost by eight points to the best team in the NFL (the Patriots). Not bad at all.

Atlanta Falcons (No. 8)

Let's have a show of hands—how many of you expected the Falcons to be 3-0 at this point?

Anybody besides a select few Atlanta fans?

Admittedly, the Falcons got some luck facing the Dallas Cowboys without Tony Romo or Dez Bryant, but what they have done after three games must be praised. Hampered by an ineffective running game last season, the team had to rely heavily on Matt Ryan and Julio Jones in the passing game, and its defense was poor against the pass and the run.

Under new head coach Dan Quinn, those weaknesses haven't necessarily become strengths, but they have been improved.

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

Devonta Freeman isn't the type of running back who breaks off a bunch of long runs, but the 5'9" second-year player accelerates almost immediately, has great vision and makes quick cuts. He's currently starting in place of injured rookie Tevin Coleman, but he exploded for 193 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in Sunday's victory over Dallas.

Defense is still a relative weakness for Atlanta, but it's shown flashes, and the results haven't been terrible. The Falcons still have yet to allow 30 points despite playing three NFC East squads (the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and Cowboys) known for their offenses.