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Bair's NFL Week 4 Power Rankings: Rams take top spot, Steelers fall and Falcons get a bump

The top half's tightly packed with quality, as Packers, Raiders surge up NFL hierarchy

Sep 28, 2021 at 12:39 AM
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Scott Bair

Falcons Digital Managing Editor

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The Super Bowl champs finally lost. It had been a long while, but Tom Brady and the Buccaneers fell to the Rams in Los Angeles in what could be an NFC title preview.

The Falcons won for the first time in a while, thanks to a comeback win over the New York Giants. That moved them up a few ticks, not much more considering the competition. There were a few big moves, which is expected early in the season without much of a body of work to rely on.

Things will settle in coming weeks but, right now, we've got some shuffling.

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Let's take a look at the NFL power rankings heading into Week 4:

(3-0)
1
1
Rams_table
Los Angeles Rams
I was never a believer in Matt Stafford. Changing my mind a bit watching him work with Sean McVay.
(2-1)
2
1
Bucs_table
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bucs defense isn’t cranking. The Bucs still have Brady. Super Bowl champs are darn good. A loss to the Rams doesn’t change that.
(2-1)
3
3
Bills_table
Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen has the Bills stampeding after an early loss. The Bills are intimidators.
(2-1)
4
6
Packers_table
Green Bay Packers
37 seconds left with no timeouts. Just enough time for Aaron Rodgers to go win it.
(3-0)
5
4
Raiders_table
Las Vegas Raiders
Maxx Crosby’s a name you don’t know. Learn it. That dude can get after the quarterback. Oh, and Derek Carr’s on fire.
(2-1)
6
1
49ers_table
San Francisco 49ers
Gave Rodgers too much time. There’s plenty of time to make up for a Sunday night hiccup.
(3-0)
7
5
Cardinals_Table
Arizona Cardinals
Cardinals score 30-plus points with ease. So many weapons working with Kyler Murray.
(1-2)
8
5
Chiefs_table
Kansas City Chiefs
Not all 1-2 records are made the same. Chiefs will be just fine.
(2-1)
9
1
Ravens_table
Baltimore Ravens
Please drop the goat emoji too often these days. Drop it with regularity regarding Justin Tucker.
(2-1)
10
5
Chargers_table
Los Angeles Chargers
Just Herbert is incredible. Just incredible. Bolts beat the Chiefs, and should keep rising up this list.
(2-1)
11
3
Browns_table
Cleveland Browns
Browns have won two straight against the teams on the schedule. Not their fault the opposition’s not great.
(2-1)
12
1
Titans_table
Tennessee Titans
Derrick Henry’s starting to pick up steam. Duck and cover, AFC South, duck and cover.
(1-2)
13
9
Seahawks_table
Seattle Seahawks
This is an early-season plummet that won’t last long. Seahawks hiccupped. Ho-hum. Still a darn good team.
(2-1)
14
Cowboys_table
Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott looked great in the Dallas home opener. And Dan Quinn has that Cowboys defense looking better.
(3-0)
15
2
Panthers_table
Carolina Panthers
Sam Darnold still has to prove this hot start isn’t a mirage. And he might not have Christian McCaffrey a little while, helping him do it.
(2-1)
16
2
Saints_table
New Orleans Saints
Such a tough time to rank the middle of the field. Lots of uncertainty after three games. We do know Jameis doesn’t inspire confidence.
(3-0)
17
3
Broncos_table
Denver Broncos
I’m trying to Denver’s unbeaten record seriously. With wins against the Jags, Jets and Giants, just can’t do it. Yet.
(2-1)
18
7
Bengals_table
Cincinnati Bengals
Don’t really think the Bengals belong this high, but 2-1 is 2-1.
(1-2)
19
7
Vikings_table
Minnesota Vikings
Vikings finally show signs of life. Kirk Cousins is having a sneaky good start to the season.
(1-2)
20
7
Steelers_table
Pittsburgh Steelers
Can’t figure this Steelers team out, so it’s worth wondering if the bell tolls for Big Ben.
(1-2)
21
5
Patriots_table
New England Patriots
It has been a while since he has done it, but Bill Belichick must recall that breaking in a rookie quarterback is hard to do.
(1-2)
22
3
Dolphins_table
Miami Dolphins
Dolphins are sinking fast without Tua. Sexy playoff pick struggling at the outset.
(1-2)
23
2
Eagles.png
Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles looked pretty good in Week 1, which so much new that wasn’t on tape. They’ve been pretty blah ever since.
(1-2)
24
2
Washington_table
Washington Football Team
Vaunted defense got hip checked by Buffalo to the tune of 43 points. Arthur Smith must be seeing opportunity.
(1-2)
25
2
Falcons_Table
Atlanta Falcons
Falcons get Arthur Smith’s first win with a dramatic, fourth=-quarter comeback. They’ll earn more street cred by starting a winning streak against a soft-er part of the schedule.
(1-2)
26
3
Bears_table
Chicago Bears
Justin Fields had a terrible day at the office. Matt Nagy’s not doing him any favors in the Windy City. Now they’re considering three quarterbacks. What. A. Mess.
(0-3)
27
3
Colts_table
Indianapolis Colts
Quenton Nelson is one of the toughest, baddest dudes in this league. Shame to see him get carted off.
(0-3)
28
Lions_table
Detroit Lions
After what the Ravens did to the Lions, Dan Campbell might want to consider a séance. Nothing else can get them off the schneid.
(1-2)
29
2
Texans_table
Houston Texans
Hope the Texans enjoyed that one win over Jaguars. Might be the only one they get.
(0-3)
30
1
Giants_table
New York Giants
One caveat from the Falcons’ first win. The Giants aren’t very good.
(0-3)
31
1
Jaguars_table
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jets dumpster fire gets Jags up off the NFL’s basement floor. Just barely.
(0-3)
32
2
Jets_table
New York Jets
The Jets have scored 20 points in three games. Yeah. You read that right. There’s nobody worse right now. B-A-D, bad, bad, bad!
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