2023 NFL Power Rankings: Week 4
Week 3 is in the books! And a switch in the top tier has occurred. Welcome to the party AFC. The Dolphins scored 70 points this week. Nothing more needs to be said about their qualifications to be in this tier. That’s insane. They’re explosive and dynamic on offense. They have the makings of a quality defense. They’re legit. I still favor the Eagles and 49ers over them simply due to both of their defenses, but they’ve definitely got my attention.
The Chiefs have seemingly put Week 1 behind them and are showing, once again, all they need to be successful is Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. And now they have the support of Swifties everywhere, which probably does nothing, but seems newsworthy. The Bills beat up on another mediocre team, which is simply what they do. I’m still not fully back on them, but it’s impossible to deny them having legit Super Bowl hopes. The Cowboys had a rough week. They lost an important defensive piece for the season and then got embarrassed by one of the lesser teams in the NFL. Not great, but I don’t want to overreact to one week. They’re still a top team in the league. Bengals fans can breathe a little easier after that 2nd half where their offense seemed to find its stride and their defensive front absolutely dominated. They’re back. And the Lions had a really nice bounce back win where it was their defense that stole the spotlight. Their defense is young and fast, and if it continues to play at that level, they can continue to have these kind of hopes.
There are a bunch of quality teams in the NFL, and it’s important to not overreact, positively or negatively, to a single week. For instance, awful game by the Ravens and Commanders, but they were great the first two weeks, so belong here. Baltimore is more towards the top knocking on the door of having Super Bowl hopes, whereas the Commies are one more bad one away from falling out of this tier. Solid wins by the Browns, Chargers, Packers and Seahawks all have them feeling pretty good. A disastrous game by the Jaguars has me wondering why I kept having them so high in my Rankings. They have all the makings of a team that should run away with their division and compete deep into January, but they have to prove it.
Good win by the Steelers for the 2nd consecutive primetime victory has them right where they belong, middle of the pack. Really tough loss for the Rams has them slipping a bit. Their offensive line was a disaster this week, which is what happened at the beginning of last season as well. If that doesn’t get fixed, it doesn’t matter if Cooper Kupp returns soon. The NFC South fell back to where most people viewed them this week as they went 0–4, led by the Falcons and Saints. These are quality football teams though and one of them will likely be hosting a playoff game.
The Patriots are a better version of the Jets. They have questionable QB play, but certainly competent whereas the Jets do not. They have a great defense that has performed consistently for 3 weeks. The Jets defense has been up and down a bit. I’m holding out hopes for the Giants that they’ll improve as the season goes on, but for now, they look terrible. The Colts and Buccaneers are 2 of the more surprising 2–1 teams on the season. I am very confident the Bucs fall off. I am less confident that the Colts do. But both of them play in very winnable divisions, so who knows. The Vikings are nearly in a full freefall. They stink. But they do have explosive weapons on offense. Rough loss for the Raiders on Sunday Night. This team has talent, but coaching is certainly questionable at best. And that’s important.
I have the Cardinals in this bottom tier simply because I can’t wrap my head around how competitive they’ve been through 3 weeks. One more week of that and I’ll be sold. But kudos to them for what they’ve done with as little talent as they have. The Titans are back to where I thought they’d be. They stink. Solid win by the Texans. C.J. Stroud has this offense looking fun and explosive. I could see them moving up a bit. The Panthers are bad. The Broncos should be the bottom ranking here after giving up 70, but the Bears are simply that much worse than everyone.
