NFL Power Rankings: 3 Perennial Contenders on the Verge of Total Collapse

Three weeks in to the 2011 regular season, there are plenty of familiar names at the top of the NFL's eight divisions.

These same teams occupy the very top of my Week 4 power rankings. Sure, it's weird to see the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions featured so prominently in the Top 10, but teams like the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints are up there as well. If I had to guess, they will be all season long.

And then there are the teams that I'm not so sure about. I have them at or near the top of my rankings, but only because that's just where they belong. They are there because they've been good, not so much because they are good.

Of these legacy teams, there are three in particular that I think are truly in danger of plummeting down the rankings before long. Let's count them down.

3. San Diego Chargers (No. 8)

Go back to 2004, and the Chargers have won the AFC West five out of the last seven years. Heading into this season, they looked poised to recapture the division from the Kansas City Chiefs.

Instead, the Chargers have been up to their old tricks, which basically involve them being much worse than advertised in September. They're 2-1 after three games, but are lucky not to be 0-3 given the way they've played.

The Chargers usually turn things around, but I have my doubts this year. The road ahead is tough, and the Oakland Raiders are going to challenge them for the division all season long.

If the Chargers don't shape up, they'll fall down. And hard.

2. Philadelphia Eagles (No. 12)

The Eagles are off to a 1-2 start and the general amusement of all the Eagles haters is hard to ignore.

But personally, I'm willing to give the Eagles the benefit of the doubt. They just have too much talent. And if Michael Vick can stay healthy, this is a team that is going to come together sooner rather than later.

The problem is that Vick staying healthy is a huge "if." And even if he does, I'm not 100 percent sure the Eagles are going to be the juggernaut the non-haters thought they were going to be.

The ceiling for the Eagles is still very high. But rock bottom is low—and they're not far above it at this point.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 10)

I probably shouldn't have the Steelers as high as No. 10 in my power rankings. I guess I'm just a sucker for Super Bowl runner-ups.

The Steelers are 2-1 through three weeks, but that might just be the most misleading record in the NFL at the moment. The Baltimore Ravens exposed an awful lot of weaknesses when they destroyed the Steelers in Week 1, and wins over the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts are nothing to brag about.

Luckily for the Steelers, their schedule is pretty easy. But if they can barely pull off a win over a team like the Colts, I wonder if the Steelers are going to make it easy on themselves.

Judging from what I've seen, I don't think they will.

Zachary D. Rymer's Week 4 Power Rankings

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