NFL Power Rankings Week 4: Initial Post-Sunday Breakdown

Another week of the 2014 NFL season, another week power rankings get a makeover.

Three games into the season, only a handful of teams remain undefeated at this point. One routinely falls behind and relies on epic comebacks. One continues to thrive despite the absence of its starting quarterback. Another is downright unstoppable in all facets.

Week 3 did much to throw the rankings for a loop, and win-loss tallies are certainly not the only thing that goes into it.

Oakland took New England to the brink at home. Denver almost did the unthinkable in Seattle. Pittsburgh took down Carolina at home.

In short, every spot continues to be up for grabs. Here is how things stack up after another wild week.

32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-3)

Lovie Smith is failing spectacularly so far.

Given a rather talented defense with elite players such as Gerald McCoy in the middle of the line, Smith's defense has made two backups look like superstars and allowed Atlanta to post 56 points in what looked like a collegiate game.

Josh McCown was clearly a one-hit wonder under the watchful eye of Marc Trestman, too.

A long season is just getting started.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-3)

It took a bit longer than usual, but the Jacksonville Jaguars are back to being one of the worst teams in football.

Sunday was a 44-17 loss to Indianapolis, although—for whatever it is worth—it appears a new era is upon fans, as noted by NFL on ESPN: 

While Jacksonville's defense is a mess, it at least appears Blake Bortles will have a strong cast of wideouts to work with thanks to Cecil Shorts, Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson.

For what it is worth.

30. Tennessee Titans (1-2)

A Week 1 win over Kansas City caused many to think Tennessee had turned a corner.

Now losers of two straight, the Titans could not help but shoot themselves in the foot repeatedly Sunday in Cincinnati.

Quarterback Jake Locker routinely made boneheaded throws that resulted in two picks, and the team as a whole committed 11 penalties that cost them 99 yards.

Until Tennessee can get out of its own way, it is another bottom feeder in a division full of them.

29. Oakland Raiders (0-3)

In what at first glance appeared to be the most lopsided matchup of the week, Oakland hit the road to Foxborough and gave New England all it could handle in a 16-9 loss.

Although the Oakland defense did permit New England to convert on 50 percent of its third-down attempts, the unit held the opposition to less than 300 total yards. Bleacher Report's Alessandro Miglio puts it best:

The Raiders seem a year out from making serious noise, but as the rebuild continues and rookie Derek Carr continues to learn under center, it is clear the team will give most a run for their money.

28. St. Louis Rams (1-2)

St. Louis did not win this week, but it did put up an unexpected fight against Dallas.

At home, the Rams defense limited Dallas quarterback Tony Romo to 217 yards and two scores, while quarterback Austin Davis threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns to two interceptions.

Of course, take the production with a grain of salt given the torrid state of the Dallas defense, but at least Jeff Fisher's club continues to go down swinging.

27. Washington (1-2)

Alright, so maybe Washington will do just fine with Kirk Cousins under center.

With Robert Griffin out of the picture, it seems Cousins is doing all he can to keep the job no matter what. Sunday, he threw for 427 yards and three touchdowns against one interception in the eventual 37-34 loss.

Cousins clearly has enough ammo to lead the team to wins—Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson both went for over 100 yards and a score—although he cannot always make up for his iffy defense.

It is quite apparent that not all is lost in Washington with RGIII sidelined.

26. Houston Texans (2-1) 

It had to happen at some point—the Houston Texans are no longer undefeated.

Without star back Arian Foster, more pressure than ever was placed on the arm of game-managing quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The end result was 289 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions.

Fitzpatrick got little help from his ground game, with Alfred Blue acting as the leading rusher. Even worse, his strong defense managed just one sack of Eli Manning despite New York's poor offensive line.

Houston relies on an oft-injured back, which is a scary way to get by in today's NFL.

25. New York Giants (1-2)

It had to happen at some point—the New York Giants are no longer winless.

It seemed a matter of time before Manning and his offense got on the same page in the confines of a new offense. As Manning made known after the fact, via Art Stapleton of The Record, the uptick in line play was a major part of that:

"

Eli Manning came thru locker room w/ fist-bump for every one of his OL + delivered the same message each time: "Big time, way to dominate."

— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) September 21, 2014"

Manning misfired on just seven passes against Houston and threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns. Rashad Jennings also had an epic performance with 176 yards and a touchdown.

Suddenly, the Giants are not that big of a joke.

24. Miami Dolphins (1-2)

It takes all of two weeks for a team to sour its rank.

Miami was a major surprise after an opening-week win over New England, but it has been all downhill since thanks to two losses.

Sunday was the worst of the two so far, as winless Kansas City came to town and took whatever it wanted on offense and sacked quarterback Ryan Tannehill four times.

Suddenly, this year's offensive line looks like last year's and the defense is a mess. Where things go from here is difficult to say, but it will not be pretty if the team cannot protect its quarterback better.

23. Kansas City Chiefs (1-2)

No Jamaal Charles, no problem.

Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith finally got his act together during a road trip to Miami and threw for 186 yards and three scores in the process.

Knile Davis took 32 handoffs and once again proved he is starter material as those totes turned into 132 yards and a score. Kansas City has two wicked losses to its resume already, but if the offense has finally found itself a bit, a big push in the AFC could be in the cards.

22. New York Jets (1-1)

The mettle of the New York Jets will be tested in full on Monday Night Football against a red-hot Chicago team.

On the road with Green Bay on the ropes, Rex Ryan's team suffered a collapse of epic proportions and wound up with a loss. For a team that has one win, which came against Oakland, it might just define the season quite early as the rest of the division begins to pull away.

21. Atlanta Falcons (2-1)

What better way to bounce back from one of the worst losses in recent memory?

Play Tampa Bay, of course.

On a short turnaround on Thursday Night Football, Matt Ryan took out his frustrations by throwing for 286 yards and three scores while helping the team to convert 8-of-11 times on third down.

Still, it is hard to give the Falcons too much credit for beating up on the worst team in the league. Until Ryan and Co. can overcome a serious threat, it is hard to move the team much.

20. Minnesota Vikings (1-2)

Things continue to spiral downward for Minnesota.

After a blowout loss at the hands of New England, the Vikings hit the road to New Orleans and suffered much of the same result in a 20-9 outcome.

For those fans of silver linings, though, rookie Teddy Bridgewater got his first taste of NFL action and did quite well in such a hostile environment, going 12-of-20 for 150 yards.

The future in Minnesota seems bright, but that hinges on a rookie quarterback being able to overcome plenty of obstacles around him in a hurry.

19. Cleveland Browns (1-2)

Cleveland did typical Cleveland things Sunday as hosts against Baltimore.

It collapsed in the fourth quarter to lose. In the process, it, well, just read the description:

Quarterback Brian Hoyer threw for 290 yards and a score to a hodgepodge of names and the team got 91 total rushing yards against a strong Baltimore defense, but clearly, luck is just not with the Browns this season.

Again.

18. Buffalo Bills (2-1)

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

Buffalo needed the support of its run game Sunday to remain undefeated with San Diego in town. 

That simply did not happen:

	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
F. Jackson	6	34	5.7	0	17
C. Spiller	10	25	2.5	0	6

The Bills can be forgiven for dropping a game to San Diego, but there are clearly issues in the secondary and quarterback EJ Manuel has yet to find himself capable of carrying the team on his shoulders in critical moments.

17. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1)

Pittsburgh took down Carolina on Sunday Night Football, and while impressive, it is tough to not think that the team played its best game of the season—and one it will not be able to match.

Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke put it best:

That 26-6 beatdown at the hands of Baltimore in Week 2 still rings loudly when it comes to the Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger and his stable of backs look great, but his defense lucked out with an easy matchup against a woeful Carolina offense.

For now, let's calm the hype train a tad just in case.

16. Dallas Cowboys (2-1)

DeMarco Murray continues to place the Dallas Cowboys on his back.

Sunday against the lowly Rams, the team needed every bit of his 100 yards and a score on 24 totes to move past a hapless St. Louis squad, 34-31. As ESPN Stats & Info notes, Murray's efforts to date have been of the historic variety:

Eventually Murray will not be able to do it all on his own.

Allowing a journeyman quarterback to throw for 327 yards and three touchdowns sums up what is yet another season of miserable defense in Dallas.

15. Baltimore Ravens (2-1)

Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens have now won two games in a row, although Sunday's affair was a sloppy two-point win in Cleveland. 

As is becoming the usual, Steve Smith was a bright spot thanks to 101 yards on just five receptions. Fourth-round rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro finally had himself a breakout game with 18 carries for 91 yards and a score, too.

Baltimore is one of the stranger teams to attempt to figure out this year, but when the team has offensive balance, it is very difficult to defeat. We'll have a much better idea about the team's playoff chances after a Week 4 encounter with Carolina.

14. Green Bay Packers (1-2)

Through little fault of his own, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was essentially a non-factor in Detroit.

Rodgers' defense allowed Detroit to dictate the pace of the game for its entirety, while he got little help in the way of 76 total rushing yards from a hodgepodge of running backs.

ESPN Stats & Info provides a shocking look at the subsequent offensive ineptitude:

Green Bay has now lost to a pair of surefire playoff contenders and needed a miracle comeback to beat the Jets last week.

If Rodgers cannot even get on the field, he certainly cannot hoist the team on his shoulders.

13. San Francisco 49ers (1-2)

Now would be a good time to worry about the San Francisco 49ers.

After an epic collapse on Sunday Night Football in Week 2 as they debuted their new stadium, the 49ers were unable to pick up a win on the road against the Carson Palmer-less Arizona Cardinals.

Colin Kaepernick and the offense were not the concern, although more than 67 combined yards for backs Carlos Hyde and Frank Gore would have been nice.

No, the concern is that Drew Stanton engineered 244 yards and two scores through the air.

So far, the 49ers have been unable to fight through adversity and pick up wins.

12. Chicago Bears (1-1)

Chicago is one-half of the Monday Night Football pair this week one game removed from pulling off an epic fourth-quarter comeback in San Francisco.

On the road in New York will be revealing as to how the seemingly strong passing game matches up against a great defense. It is also time for the new-look defensive line that features names such as Jared Allen to show a pulse against the run.

After an epic win, Chicago cannot afford a loss to a team that appears rather beatable.

11. Indianapolis Colts (1-2)

Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts finally have a mark in the win column, even if it did come against Jacksonville.

Luck went off for all of eight misfires en route to 370 yards and four touchdowns while the backs behind him looked great on 29 carries for 144 yards.

The problem is we know the Colts offense can be explosive when firing on all cylinders. What we have yet to discover is if the defense will ever be able to match against a quality opponent. The jury is out for the time being with a rather simple schedule over the course of the next three weeks.

10. Philadelphia Eagles (3-0)

Another week, another miserable showing for Chip Kelly's defense as his team fell behind by a large amount, only to emerge the winner.

As Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes, something is amiss in Philadelphia:

"

My opinion: The way the Eagles practice has something to do with outscoring opponents 74-24 in 2nd half this yr. But 1st half is still issue

— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) September 22, 2014"

The Eagles gave up more than 500 yards of total offense Sunday against Washington at home and now has two wins over teams that have one win apiece—that both came against Jacksonville.

Something needs to change in Philadelphia in a hurry.

9. Detroit Lions (2-1)

Normally when Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford throws two interceptions and no scores, it equates to a loss.

Not Sunday.

At home against Green Bay, the Lions held the ball for more than 38 minutes and got 115 rushing yards to keep Rodgers off the field. That kind of balance led to a strong 11-of-18 mark on third downs.

When the game slows down for Detroit and the team can control things like that, they Lions are one of the NFL's most dangerous teams.

8. New Orleans Saints (1-2)

After two losses by a combined total of five points, Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints finally got that elusive first win Sunday thanks to a visit from Minnesota.

The Saints have a good thing going on the ground with Khiry Robinson, who rushed for 69 yards to lead the team. It was rookie wideout Brandin Cooks who led the team in receiving with 74 yards after being the most-targeted weapon on offense by game's end.

Younger players continue to step up for the Saints, which in turn has created an impressive balance on offense. Now all the Saints need is the defense to keep pace.

7. New England Patriots (2-1)

A win is a win no matter how ugly, although it would have been nice to see Tom Brady and New England blow away Oakland in a very winnable game at home. 

The team ran more plays on more drives and converted more chain-moving opportunities, but the productivity did not translate to scores, a strange sight indeed for an offense led by Brady.

Still, even the best teams in the league are allowed an off game. When they result in a win, it is only a bonus. The biggest test of the season to date comes in Week 5 against Cincinnati.

6. Carolina Panthers (2-1)

Mike McCarn/Associated Press

One week after a superb showing against a strong Detroit team, Carolina went out and laid a gigantic egg on a national stage with Pittsburgh in town.

The typically stout defense gave up a ridiculous 264 total rushing yards and generated just one sack. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller dropped an astute comparison:

Offensively, the ground game was miserable at best and the offensive line porous. If Carolina cannot show up at home against a beatable opponent each week, this rank is only going to get worse.

5. San Diego Chargers (2-1)

As if the world needed any more proof that San Diego is one of the league's best teams—one week removed from taking down Seattle, the Chargers hit the road across the country and beat up on an undefeated Buffalo squad with relative ease.

Coach Mike McCoy put it best after the fact, per the team's Twitter account:

It is always a challenge for a team from out West to travel and do that, so the Chargers deserve a ton of praise.

There is clearly no stopping Philip Rivers, who breezed his way to 256 yards and two scores. Meanwhile, his defense limited the Bills to 292 total yards.

Right now, it is hard to see any team beating the Chargers.

4. Arizona Cardinals (3-0)

Bruce Arians' Cardinals just keep on winning despite the absence of their starting quarterback.

A win over San Diego to start the season was great, but a 23-14 dismissal of the visiting 49ers without Palmer under center speaks volumes to just how complete of a team the Cardinals truly are.

ESPN.com's Mike Sando put it best:

"

#Cardinals taking 3-0 record into bye week after going 2-0 with its backup QB further validates that 10-6 record in 2013. Impressive.

— Mike Sando, ESPN.com (@SandoESPN) September 21, 2014"

The Cardinals are here to stay, and that only becomes more cemented upon Palmer's return.

3. Cincinnati Bengals (3-0)

The Cincinnati Bengals might just be the scariest team in the NFL.

Sans star linebacker Vontaze Burfict, the defense forced two turnovers and limited Tennessee to all of two third-down conversions on 12 attempts. Kirk Herbstreit put it best:

Offensively, Andy Dalton continues to look sharp, as would any signal-caller with A.J. Green on the field—he caught six passes for 102 yards in the 33-7 win.

So far, it appears the Bengals have what it takes to make a serious title push.

2. Denver Broncos (2-1)

The new-look Denver Broncos took a loss in Seattle, but the point was made—Peyton Manning has plenty of weapons to work with and the defense is better than last year.

Emmanuel Sanders is the new Eric Decker (well, better) and brought in 11 receptions on 15 targets for 149 yards. Wes Welker is just fine and had 60 yards of his own.

The defense gave up a ton of yards through the air, but it still looks better thanks to safety T.J. Ward and corner Aqib Talib.

The point is, it is difficult to imagine any team that is not Seattle beating Denver this year—and even that is not such a sure thing.

1. Seattle Seahawks (2-1)

It took overtime, but the Seattle Seahawks defended their home turf in a Super Bowl rematch in rather convincing fashion.

Quarterback Russell Wilson once again got the best of Manning with a 24-of-34 line for 258 yards and two touchdowns to one interception, while Marshawn Lynch was his usual self on the ground with 26 carries for 88 yards and a score.

Last week was a minor hiccup for the defending champs on the road in San Diego, but the Seahawks quickly have things back on track.

It is closer than last year, but Wilson once again leads the best team in football.

Statistics courtesy of NFL.com. Advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus (subscription required).