This week, we see where teams stand after the first four weeks of the season, as opposed to preseason expectations. It’s time to grade each club the way Human Resources departments grade the rest of us. Check out our NFL Power Rankings below.
Last Week: 1
The Chiefs keep doing Chiefs things. They haven’t won any game by more than seven points, but they have won all four. The Chiefs lost Rashee Rice Sunday to what looks like a season-ending knee injury. The injury to Rice comes on the heels of a serious injury to Isiah Pacheco. You have to wonder when the Chiefs will start to feel the impact of their skill positions being manned by inexperienced players.
At the quarter pole: The Chiefs are who we thought they were – apologies to Dennis Greene. We figured they would handle Baltimore and Cincinnati at home; then take care of business in Atlanta and San Diego and they have done just that.
Expected: 4-0 Actual 4-0
Performance Review: Meeting Expectations
Last Week: 6
The Vikings are the surprise of the NFL season thus far. Minnesota jumped all over the Packers in Green Bay on Sunday and then throttled the Pack’s comeback bid. The Packers have no excuse as Jordan Love returned from injury. Sam Darnold is a huge surprise and has played well enough to be an early season MVP candidate for the Vikings.
At the quarter pole: The Vikings have flipped all the preseason predictions on their heads. Many figured the Vikings to lose all four games to start out the year, but Minnesota has been perfect with three of their four games against teams with lofty expectations for the year.
Expected: 0-4 Actual 4-0
Performance Review: Exceeding Expectations
Last Week: 5
The Lions had their best offensive output of the season thus far on Monday night against undefeated Seattle. Detroit gave their kicker a rest after a barrage of red-zone failures in the first three weeks.
At the quarter pole: Detroit is a fashionable pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Red Zone failures in the first three weeks kept things close against lesser competition. There’s no explanation for the home loss against Tampa. Detroit seems to have turned a corner with the Monday night game, but we expected an unblemished slate at this point.
Expected: 4-0 Actual 3-1
Performance Review: Met Most Expectations
Last Week: 10
The Texans took down the desperate Jaguars on the road on Sunday. CJ Stroud led a game-winning drive that put Houston in front with just 18 seconds to play. Stroud had 345 yards passing and avoided throwing an interception after having two INTs last week.
At the quarter pole: We thought the opening week in Indy might be a challenge, but it was the undefeated Vikings that are responsible for the lone blemish on Houston’s resume thus far. The Texans are right where we thought they would be at this point in the season.
Expected: 3-1 Actual 3-1
Performance Review: Meeting Expectations
Last Week: 2
A primetime trip to Baltimore is a major challenge, but the Bills were still disappointing on Sunday night. Buffalo wasn’t really in the game at all as the Ravens ran up nearly 200 more yards of offense than the Bills. The Bills are going to see Derrick Henry in their sleep as he and the Ravens crushed Buffalo’s front seven for 271 rushing yards.
At the quarter pole: After an oddly close home opener against the Cards, the Bills hammered the Dolphins and Jaguars. We expected a loss in week four, but the Baltimore game was still disappointing.
Expected: 3-1 Actual 3-1
Meeting Expectations
Last Week: Unranked
The Niners handled their business Sunday with a smackdown of the punchless Patriots. It’s all about the ground game, and the Niners got back to it Sunday with 148 yards against New England. If San Fran can get by the Cards this week at home, they will have a chance to take control of the West with a road win in Seattle.
At the quarter pole: We had high expectations coming into the season. The injury to Christian McCaffrey tempered things a bit, but then the Niners hammered the Jets in the season opener. The Vikings shocked the Niners, but Minnesota has shocked everyone so far. The head scratcher was the loss to the undermanned Los Angeles Rams.
Expected: 4-0 Actual 2-2
Have Not Met Expectations
Last Week: Unranked
Teams don’t typically climb in the rankings after a loss, but nobody else seems to merit this spot. Before Sunday night, the Seahawks defense was the story. Even with the 42 points Detroit hung on them on Monday night, Seattle only dropped to 8th in total defense. Seattle will address the failures from Monday and be San Francisco’s biggest challenge in the division.
At the quarter pole: We expected a middling campaign from Seattle this season. The defense has been a surprise given the Seahawks didn’t add any marquee names in the offseason. We expected a struggle in Detroit, but Seattle has been much better than we thought they would be thus far.
Expected: 2-2 Actual 3-1
Exceeding Expectations
Last Week: Unranked
Tampa jumped all over the Eagles on Sunday and never looked back. Baker Mayfield is the fourth highest rated quarterback after week four, and Tampa is in the top ten in points allowed. The Bucs are on top of the division and are looking for yet another division crown.
At the quarter pole: We thought there would be a falling off for the Bucs this year. Their star tandem at wideout is another year older, and rivals Atlanta and New Orleans were rising, but it hasn’t happened that way so far. The clunker against Denver is only bad news so far for the Bucs. Their next two are on the road in New Orleans and Atlanta, so we should see where Tampa is in relation to their biggest division rivals.
Expected: 2-2 Actual 3-1
Exceeding Expectations
Last Week: Unranked
The Ravens dominated the Bills Sunday night. That performance was more indicative of what we expected from the Ravens this season. After two games with under 90 yards rushing, Derrick Henry has exploded going for 151 against Dallas and 199 against the Bills. The pattern for Baltimore historically has been to follow a few solid weeks with a flop. We’ll see as the Ravens travel to disappointing and desperate Cincinnati this week.
At the quarter pole: What happened against the Raiders? That’s the question so far in this young season for the Ravens. Things are on track other than the mystery of that week two no show by the Ravens.
Expected: 3-1 Actual 2-2
Have Not Met Expectations
Last Week: Unranked
Can’t say when we last saw the Washington football franchise in the top ten. The early season favorite for rookie of the year, Jayden Daniels, has his team in the power rankings and in front in the NFC East. Daniels is third in passer rating and only has one interception in his first four games as a pro.
At the quarter pole: We were expecting more growing pains for the rookie quarterback from LSU. Daniels and the Commanders are averaging more than 33 points per game in their last three – all wins. Nobody expected the Commanders to be 3-1 after four weeks.
Expected: 1-3 Actual 3-1
Exceeding Expectations
———————————————————————————————————
Last Week: 12
The Jets crashed landed Sunday at home against Denver. Following a solid win in Tennessee and a dominant game against New England, the Jets were a no-show Sunday at home. The Jets managed to lose a game where they held their opponents to just 60 yards passing. The Broncos put one decent offensive drive together for the afternoon, but it was one more than the Jets had. With the rebuilt line and a healthy Aaron Rodgers, this team should never lose a game where their opponent only scores 10 points.
At the quarter pole: The Jets were one decent effort away from matching our preseason expectations at 3-1. It didn’t happen. The Jets looked like they had never been on the field in the rain before. Denver’s defense is underrated, but their offense is terrible, and the Jets were at home. We expected nothing in week one in San Francisco, and the Jets provided exactly that, but a similar effort at home against a bottom ten offense was not in the plans.
Expected: 3-1 Actual 2-2
Have Not Met Expectations