Week Four power rankings
Posted by Mike Florio on September 30, 2014, 10:24 AM EDT
1. Seattle Seahawks (No. 1 last week; 2-1): Richard Sherman is even better than the bye.
2. Cincinnati Bengals (No. 2; 3-0): Winning at Foxboro on Sunday night will no longer be viewed as an upset.
3. Denver Broncos (No. 3; 2-1): The team they need to be most worried about in the AFC resides in the AFC West.
4. Arizona Cardinals (No. 6; 3-0): Nothing wakes up a dead nerve faster than a couple of great performances from Drew Stanton.
5. Baltimore Ravens (No. 7; 3-1): Steve Smith arrived as a luxury; he has become a necessity.
6. Philadelphia Eagles (No. 4; 3-1): For a team with almost no offensive line, they’re not bad.
7. San Diego Chargers (No. 8; 3-1): The Chargers are glad the Jets are sticking with Geno Smith for their visit to San Diego.
8. Detroit Lions (No. 12; 3-1): Sunday’s visit from Kyle Orton and the Bills is precisely the kind of game the Lions of recent years would have found a way to lose under current Buffalo defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
9. Green Bay Packers (No. 14; 2-2): For this week’s spelling bee, Aaron Rodgers will try “euonym.”
10. Indianapolis Colts (No. 16; 2-2): Thirty years after the Colts escaped in the night to Indy, Baltimore’s current team will announce its arrival by kicking down the door.
11. San Francisco 49ers (No. 17; 2-2): “Who’s got it better than us? According to unnamed sources, everybody!”
12. Atlanta Falcons (No. 9; 2-2): At this rate, offensive line coach Mike Tice will be suiting up to play.
13. Dallas Cowboys (No. 19; 3-1): Glitz, glamor, glory.
14. Houston Texans (No. 20; 3-1): Maybe J.J. Watt should play quarterback, too.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 10; 2-2): Mike Tomlin doesn’t like being known as a players’ coach. If Sunday’s performance continues, he may not be known as any kind of coach.
16. Kansas City Chiefs (No. 24; 2-2): The biggest question from last night’s romp is this — how in the hell did they lose to the Titans?
17. New Orleans Saints (No. 11; 1-3): At least Rob Ryan won’t be able to blame the lack of head coaching opportunities on his hairdo.
18. Chicago Bears (No. 13; 2-2): The Bears should petition the NFL to play all remaining games on the road.
19. New England Patriots (No. 5; 2-2): Tom Brady said he’ll retire when he sucks; when is the press conference?
20. Carolina Panthers (No. 15; 2-2): Giving up 75 points in two games isn’t quite the best way to win the division again.
21. Buffalo Bills (No. 18; 2-2): Quarterback change now, coaching change later.
22. Cleveland Browns (No. 22; 1-2): No Manziel news during the bye week was the best news the Browns could have gotten.
23. New York Jets (No. 21; 1-3): With games coming up against the Chargers, Broncos, and Patriots, the clock is ticking on Geno.
24. Miami Dolphins (No. 25; 2-2): Maybe Joe Philbin should refuse to commit to Ryan Tannehill every week.
25. New York Giants (No. 26; 2-2): Yep, being on the hot seat is the best thing that could have happened to Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning.
26. Minnesota Vikings (No. 29; 2-2): Sixteen years ago, a rookie receiver helped the Vikings pull off a win for the ages at Lambeau Field. Now, Teddy Bridgewater gets his chance to do the same thing. If he can play.
27. St. Louis Rams (No. 27; 1-2): Take a look at the next eight games on the schedule. The wheels are about to come off.
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 32; 1-3): The quarterback of the past and the quarterback of the future still isn’t the quarterback of the present? Sure.
29. Washington (No. 23; 1-3): Robert Griffin III or Kirk Cousins? How about neither?
30. Tennessee Titans (No. 28; 1-3): Ken Whisenhunt says he may have overestimated his team. The rest of the world properly estimated them.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 31; 0-4): Shad Khan is showing far more patience with his football team than his soccer club.
32. Oakland Raiders (No. 30; 0-4): The bye week is favored by 9.5 points.
