Remember when the Philadelphia Eagles went to Atlanta and routed the Falcons, 32-3? That game only happened two weeks ago. Since then, the Eagles have been bottled up in a home loss to San Francisco and demolished in a rout in Dallas, with questions to answer about everything from play calling to team discipline. On the other side of the coin are the Minnesota Vikings, who started the season with a pair of bad losses — only to run right over the Seattle Seahawks, with Kirk Cousins actually looking like a quarterback who can stare down tough opposition, rather than wilt under the pressure of a red-letter matchup.
Let’s take a look at our updated NFL power rankings as you ponder your sports betting choices for this weekend.
NFL News: Week 4 Power Rankings 2021
#1 L.A. Rams (3-0)
How about Matthew Stafford? I was extremely dubious about his prospects in L.A., but he has thrown nine touchdown passes in three games. That ties him with Kurt Warner for the franchise record for touchdowns in the first three games of a season. Stafford picked apart a tough Tampa Bay defense in Week 3…and now the Rams are the team to beat in the NFC.
#2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1)
Tom Brady has 1,087 passing yards through three games, second most in the NFL, and his ten touchdowns lead the league. The red zone scoring needs to improve, as we saw in Tampa Bay’s loss to the Rams.
#3 Buffalo Bills (2-1)
Josh Allen accounted for five touchdowns in a hide-tanning of Washington this past week, and he was particularly solid in the middle of the field, going 20 of 25 for 225 yards and a score on throws between the numbers.
#4 Green Bay Packers (2-1)
Since Week 1, Aaron Rodgers has six touchdown passes and no interceptions, and he only needed 37 seconds to lead a crazy comeback to lead the Packers to victory in San Francisco on Sunday night.
#5 Cleveland Browns (2-1)
Baker Mayfield has taken nine sacks in three games, which means that he’s holding onto the ball too long. On the whole, the Browns are off to a solid season, but Mayfield needs to work on getting rid of the ball a bit sooner.
#6 Las Vegas Raiders (3-0)
Four seasons into the Jon Gruden era, Derek Carr finally looks elite once again. The O-line has zero depth and no stars, but it keeps working, and the running game is sputtering, but the Raiders keep winning.
#7 Baltimore Ravens (2-1)
Lamar Jackson has five turnovers in three games, but he did carry the team to a comeback win against Kansas City. He also threw a 36-yard pass to Sammy Watkins on fourth-and-19 to set up the game-winning field goal against Detroit on Sunday. If he can clean up the mistakes, the Ravens might not have to duct-tape wins together each week.
#8 Arizona Cardinals (3-0)
Kyler Murray has made another leap in his play between Year 2 and 3, as he already has 1,005 passing yards (third in the league) and seven passing touchdowns. He also has three rushing touchdowns already, making the Cards’ offense hard to stop.
#9 L.A. Chargers (2-1)
The Chargers bounced back from a mistake-laden loss to Dallas with a road win against the Chiefs, who suddenly cannot get any stops on defense. Justin Herbert has a 69.8% completion percentage through three games, and he got the team through two fourth-down conversions to keep the ball away from Patrick Mahomes late in the win.
#10 Kansas City Chiefs (1-2)
Patrick Mahomes has played well, but the defense has been dreadful, and his new O-line has not protected him well. He already has three September interceptions, the first of his career.
#11 San Francisco 49ers (2-1)
Jimmy G has only thrown one interception so far this season, but the team has had a hard time moving the ball and has not gotten off to strong offensive starts. He doesn’t like to stretch the field, as he only has four pass attempts that have gone at least 20 yards through the air. Is it time for Trey Lance?
#12 Carolina Panthers (3-0)
Sam Darnold has found new life with the Carolina Panthers. Next up is a trip to Dallas, where we will see if he can solve a Dallas defense that now has takeaways in ten straight games.
#13 Denver Broncos (3-0)
Teddy Bridgewater has led the Broncos to three wins by a combined 50 points. It’s true that those three opponents have yet to win a game, but Bridgewater’s completion percentage (tops in the league) has turned heads — and he has not turned the ball over yet.
#14 Dallas Cowboys (2-1)
Dak Prescott showed patience in Dallas’ 41-21 thumping of Philadelphia. He didn’t force the ball into tight coverage down the field but waited for opportunities to open for him. That led to three touchdown passes and a 21 of 26 night throwing the ball. And that defense is young and fast. Can they beat Carolina?
#15 New Orleans Saints (2-1)
The Saints won two games with a combination of defense and slow pace on offense, guided by the running game. Jameis Winston can deliver the deep ball, but that will work better for the Saints if he doesn’t have to be the driving force in the offense.
#16 Tennessee Titans (2-1)
The Titans have bounced back nicely from that debacle against Arizona in Week 1, beating Seattle in overtime on the road and then handling Indianapolis at home. Developing a steady offensive rhythm will be a must if this team wants to make a deep run.
#17 Seattle Seahawks (1-2)
Over three games, Seattle has 62 points in the first halves combined…and 13 after the intermissions. The first number leads the league, while the second is rock-bottom. Against Minnesota, Seattle did not score for the game’s 41 minutes. Ball security isn’t the problem, but the team bogs down on offense way too often.
#18 Cincinnati Bengals (2-1)
Joe Burrow has been aggressive in returning from a knee injury — at times too much so, as he has four interceptions. However, the team’s 24-10 win over Pittsburgh showed a lot of maturity, as the Bengals become a dangerous team.
#19 New England Patriots (1-2)
Mac Jones looks good in the short passing game, while throwing the ball down the field has been a bit of an adventure. He’s doing very well for a rookie, and the Patriots will get better game results as he continues to improve.
#20 Minnesota Vikings (1-2)
Kirk Cousins has a terrific 8:0 TD:INT ratio through three games. Justin Jefferson has become a preferred target; Cousins has gone 20 of 30 for 254 yards and two scores just with Jefferson so far. But which Vikings team will show up around him?
#21 Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2)
Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t have a quality O-line in front of him, and he’s not getting any younger. He has taken 22 hits in three games, and he is constantly under pressure. However, he can make better decisions than he did against Cincinnati.
#22 Washington Football Team (1-2)
We’ve hit Taylor Heinicke’s ceiling; while he lit up the Giants for 336 yards and two scores, he only had 212 yards and a pair of bad picks against Buffalo. He’s the perfect backup quarterback but can’t carry a team yet.
#23 Miami Dolphins (1-2)
The Dolphins are lucky to have another quality veteran backup behind Tua Tagovailoa, as Jacoby Brissett led the drive to tie the game in the fourth quarter against Las Vegas and converted on fourth-and-20 in overtime in a tough loss. But can Miami make headway with Tua out?
#24 Philadelphia Eagles (1-2)
Jalen Hurts had not turned the ball over until he threw two interceptions against Dallas on Monday. He needs to get back to the sharper decision-making he showed in the first two games.
#25 Atlanta Falcons (1-2)
Matt Ryan is now a checkdown passer, which is driving his completions up — but his numbers down. It’s hard to see the Falcons running more of a grinding offense.
#26 Indianapolis Colts (0-3)
Carson Wentz played in Week 3 with two sprained ankles, and he also doesn’t have T.Y. Hilton (disk injury) running routes. Wentz’s ankles need to heal, and his receivers need to get more separation.
#27 Chicago Bears (1-2)
Justin Fields got the start against Cleveland, and he took more sacks (9) than he had completions (6). The Bears must do something to take advantage of Fields’ strengths in their play calling, and they haven’t done that yet.
#28 Houston Texans (1-2)
Davis Mills will play quarterback in Weeks 4 and 5 at least, with Tyrod Taylor on injured reserve. That means growing pains…and probably another pair of losses.
#29 N.Y. Giants (0-3)
Daniel Jones only has one turnover in three games this season — and he’s getting pressured on 38.4 percent of his dropbacks, thanks to a porous O-line. But the rest of the team is still in a major rebuild.
#30 Detroit Lions (0-3)
Jared Goff has completed 69.9% of his passes through three games, the best percentage for any Detroit quarterback ever through three games. However, when he is under pressure, things go south in a hurry, like they did during his Ram phase. The defense was stout against Baltimore, but when you’re star-crossed, then opponents do things like make crazy 66-yard field goals.
#31 Jacksonville Jaguars (0-3)
Trevor Lawrence clearly has a high ceiling, but he has seven picks and two fumbles in three starts. He’s on track to shatter Peyton Manning’s rookie record for interceptions in a season (28). However, he is in eerily good company, as he is just the fourth quarterback since 1970 to have multiple picks in each of his first three starts. The others? Manning (1998), Troy Aikman (1989) and Jim Zorn (1976).
#32 N.Y. Jets (0-3)
Zach Wilson is holding onto the ball too long, as he has taken 15 sacks in three games, and he also has seven picks, as he may not be trusting his reads. He does have a cannon arm, but he looks like he’s lost.
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