We are already a quarter through the season, and things just keep getting more bizarre as more teams are drifting toward mediocrity. Seems like a perfect reason to have computerized power ranks!
This week, our 3 undefeated teams all won again, but while the Falcons barely hung on and the Cardinals needed overtime to finish off Miami, the Texans dominated yet again and grabbed the top spot in the ranks, earning this great picture of Arian Foster and a unicorn from ESPN the Magazine from a few weeks ago in this post. Meanwhile, the 49ers rose to the top of teams with a loss, taking #4 after shutting out the Jets. The Bears stayed at #5 after putting away the Cowboys. The Vikings are #8. Based on Ryan’s post from a few days ago, we’ll see if that is low enough to earn angry comments.
On the low end, it seems like the Panthers, Browns, and Saints are starting to establish themselves as the worst teams in the NFL. They are joined this week in the bottom 5 by the Titans and Chiefs, who have also been terrible.
The biggest gainers this week were the Broncos, who got back on track by beating the Raiders. The biggest losers were the 2 New York teams, who both dropped 8 spots. The Giants have been sputtering and the Jets for obvious reasons mentioned above.
One thing that is becoming more apparent is how much the Falcons and Texans are already running away with their Southern divisions. The Falcons are #3 while the Bucs are #22, Panthers are #30, and Saints are #32. In the AFC South, the Texans are #1 while the Jaguars, Colts, and Titans are #25, #26, and #28, respectively.
Playoff Projections:
NFC
1st Round Byes: #2 Cardinals, #3 Falcons
#8 Vikings @ #5 Bears
#4 49ers @ #11 Eagles
Top 5 Out: #12 Giants, #13 Seahawks, #14 Redskins, #16 Packers, #17 Rams
AFC
1st Round Byes: #1 Texans, #6 Ravens
#15 Broncos @ #7 Chargers
#10 Bengals @ #9 Patriots
Top 5 Out: #18 Bills, #19 Jets, #21 Steelers, #24 Dolphins, #25 Jaguars
| Week 4 | |||
| 1 | HOU | 86.60 | 2 |
| 2 | AZ | 85.40 | -1 |
| 3 | ATL | 84.47 | -1 |
| 4 | SF | 73.87 | 5 |
| 5 | CHI | 72.76 | 0 |
| 6 | BAL | 71.14 | 1 |
| 7 | SD | 67.5 | 1 |
| 8 | MIN | 66.32 | 2 |
| 9 | NE | 59.44 | 6 |
| 10 | CIN | 58.92 | 6 |
| 11 | PHI | 58.31 | 2 |
| 12 | NYG | 56.18 | -8 |
| 13 | SEA | 55.52 | -7 |
| 14 | WAS | 54.58 | 3 |
| 15 | DEN | 52.88 | 8 |
| 16 | GB | 51.32 | 4 |
| 17 | STL | 51.05 | 7 |
| 18 | BUF | 44.38 | -6 |
| 19 | NYJ | 43.58 | -8 |
| 20 | DAL | 42.28 | -6 |
| 21 | PIT | 39.10 | 1 |
| 22 | TB | 36.00 | -1 |
| 23 | DET | 34.93 | 2 |
| 24 | MIA | 34.67 | -6 |
| 25 | JAX | 34.03 | -6 |
| 26 | IND | 33.34 | 3 |
| 27 | OAK | 29.15 | 1 |
| 28 | TEN | 27.39 | -2 |
| 29 | KC | 26.96 | -2 |
| 30 | CAR | 26.33 | 0 |
| 31 | CLE | 21.00 | 0 |
| 32 | NO | 20.62 | 0 |
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