NFL Power Rankings: Buffalo Bills and 3 Sliding Teams with Something to Prove

If the first four weeks of the 2011 NFL season have taught us anything, it's that we don't know very much about anything right now. We do know, with some certainty, that the Green Bay Packers are the best team in the league, the Detroit Lions can win games so long as Matthew Stafford is healthy and that Tom Brady will have to compensate for the Patriots' porous defense if New England is to claim much of anything this season.

Oh, and that the Indianapolis Colts, the St. Louis Rams and the Miami Dolphins are pretty terrible.

Other than that, and even with that, there is still much to be learned and plenty to be proven in the coming weeks. These three teams in particular, all hovering somewhere in or slightly above the "muddled middle" of the NFL at present, will be on trial in Week 5.

Buffalo Bills

For three weeks, the Buffalo Bills were seemingly unbeatable, a team of destiny that was bound to bring a surprising measure of redemption to a Rust Belt city whose sporting hopes had been battered over the past decade or so.

Then the Bills ran into a team in the Bengals, who can actually play a lick of defense, and found that their own shortcomings on that side of the ball were just a bit too much to bear. Granted, Buffalo lost by only three points, though Ryan Fitzpatrick's "Fitz-Magic" seemed not to follow the team to Cincinnati, as the team managed a season-low 278 yards of offense.

Meanwhile, Buffalo's defense was helpless to stop the Bengals' suddenly dynamic attack, which piled up 458 yards, including 171 on the ground. Realistically, then, Cincy probably should've won by more than a field goal.

The Bills will have a chance to redeem themselves against another solid defense when the Eagles fly in on Sunday. They, like every other unit, should have little trouble breaking through Philly's faulty offensive line, but can Buffalo keep down Michael Vick and his armory of offensive weapons?

If so, the Bills may be able to right the ship before the season goes back astray. Otherwise, it's back to the drawing board for Chan Gailey and the rest of his coaching staff.

New York Giants

Winning hardly guarantees a team from being put under the microscope, especially when that win came by way of a furious fourth-quarter comeback against the Arizona Cardinals.

Isn't that right, New York?

Eli Manning had no trouble torching the Cards' suspect secondary for 321 yards and two touchdowns, but the Giants' ground game looked like junk. Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs deserve some credit for posting a touchdown apiece, though that comes with the blame for piling up a paltry 57 yards rushing on 21 carries between the two of them.

That being said, the G-Men should find life at home against the lowly Seahawks a bit more agreeable. Seattle is solidly middle-of-the-pack against both the run and the pass, but the 'Hawks have played against only one respectable offense—Atlanta's, which posted 30 points on them on Sunday.

Realistically, no team worth its weight in playoff potential should struggle against NFC West competition. If Big Blue blows it against Seattle, then we'll know how to judge the scales without a definite measure.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers were in pretty poor shape before Ben Roethlisberger, James Harrison, Rashard Mendenhall and Aaron Smith left Sunday's 17-10 loss to the Texans with injuries. Pittsburgh's offensive line has been in shambles all season and the defense, while still solid, has looked dangerously old and scarcely opportunistic at times.

What's more, another interception by Big Ben dropped the Steelers' turnover margin to -10, easily the worst in the NFL.

All of which makes a Week 5 visit from the Titans that much more crucial. Tennessee won't blow you away in any one facet of the game, but it sports a top-10 defense, a surprisingly effective passing game with Matt Hasselbeck and a ground game that, though statistically placing last in the league right now, will ultimately improve now that Chris Johnson is finally on track and Ahmard Hall will be back to block for him next week.

So what, exactly, do the Steelers need to prove then? That they can beat a half-decent team—their two wins came at home against the Seahawks and over the Colts in Indianapolis by just three points. More specifically, Pittsburgh must show that it can do what the great teams of the Steel City have always done and what it did so well last year to get to the Super Bowl.

That is, run the ball and stop the run.

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Josh Martin's Week 4 NFL Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers

2. New Orleans Saints

3. Detroit Lions

4. New England Patriots

5. Houston Texans

6. Baltimore Ravens

7. New York Giants

8. Buffalo Bills

9. San Diego Chargers

10. Washington Redskins

11. Tennessee Titans

12. Pittsburgh Steelers

13. Dallas Cowboys

14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

15. San Francisco 49ers

16. Oakland Raiders

17. New York Jets

18. Atlanta Falcons

19. Cleveland Browns

20. Chicago Bears

21. Philadelphia Eagles

22. Cincinnati Bengals

23. Carolina Panthers

24. Denver Broncos

25. Seattle Seahawks

26. Kansas City Chiefs

27. Jacksonville Jaguars

28. Arizona Cardinals

29. Minnesota Vikings

30. Miami Dolphins

31. St. Louis Rams

32. Indianapolis Colts