Brock’s 2023 NFL Power Rankings – Week 4
1. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (3-0)
The Eagles fly on after heading south to stomp the Bucs 25-11. Philadelphia had control of this game throughout, which isn’t that surprising since nobody has figured out how to stop them on those short yardage to-go sneaks.
2. MIAMI DOLPHINS (3-0)
“No Waddle, no problem”, the Dolphins said, as they went out and posted a 70 spot on the Broncos. This team is a Super Bowl contender. Tua has been lights out when healthy, and has been taking extra precautions to stay off the injury report. Oh yeah, we still have the return of Jalen Ramsey to look forward to this year, which will undoubtedly be a huge boost for the defense.
3. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (3-0)
The Niners roll on. Brock Purdy didn’t have Brandon Aiyuk to throw to on Thursday, and I think it’s fair to say that affected his stat sheet. Although he didn’t look as accurate as usual either. That was just a minor inconvenience on the Niners’ path to an 18-point victory over the Giants.
4. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (2-1)
The Chiefs have firmly put their season opener behind them. They cruised to a 41-10 win over the Bears, and look to keep things rolling as they will try to repeat as Super Bowl champs.
5. BUFFALO BILLS (2-1)
The Bills picked up right where they left off last week, and ran it up on the Commanders 37-3. It wasn’t Josh Allen’s greatest performance, but when your defense gets 5 turnovers, well that just makes things a lot easier.
6. BALTIMORE RAVENS (2-1)
The Ravens dropped a stunner to Minshew & the Colts at home, partially thanks to a controversial call in OT. The Ravens shouldn’t be going to OT with the Colts to begin with, however.
7. CLEVELAND BROWNS (2-1)
The Browns got back on track after losing to the Steelers defense on Monday Night Football. I don’t think the MNF game sat well with Cleveland, as they pounded the Titans 27-3. But even better than the win, this was Deshaun Watson’s best game as a Brown. He threw for 289 yards and 2 TD’s. This is an excellent roster, so if Watson regains his old form, watch out.
8. CINCINNATI BENGALS (1-2)
The Bengals rolled the dice by sending an injured Joe Burrow out on Monday night in order to try and avoid a disastrous 0-3 start… and the gamble paid off. The Bengals were able to mount a 2nd half comeback to get into the win column for the first time this season.
9. DALLAS COWBOYS (2-1)
This result was shocking, but not unthinkably so. The Cowboys put up 70 points in their first two games, but the offense got a lot of help from the defense and from their opponents’ miscues. The offense had their chances on Sunday but only walked away with 1 TD on 5 trips to the red zone. Finishing drives is very important, and Dallas’ offense will need to improve on that if they want to go deep into the postseason.
10. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (2-1)
I’m not sure what happened in Week 1, but this offense is humming. After mustering only 13 points against the Rams, Seattle has put up 37 points in consecutive games – which were both wins. It looks like this team will be hanging around the playoff picture all season once again.
11. DETROIT LIONS (2-1)
On this week’s episode of “Which Lions Team Shows Up Today?”, it was the version with the good defense. The Lions got on track by holding a Falcons team with some talented skill players to only 6 points. This was an important win to try and regain the momentum from the Chiefs game that they lost last week when they dropped their home game to Seattle.
12. PITTSBURGH STEELERS (2-1)
This team is lucky to be 2-1, but that’s the way the ball bounces sometimes. What they need to do now is capitalize on that. The offense seemed to take a step forward against the Raiders, so that’s a good sign.
13. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (2-1)
It was a disastrous day for the Saints. Not only did they blow a 17-point 4th quarter lead, but QB Derek Carr left with an injury. Carr is week-to-week, with Jameis Winston set to take over.
14. ATLANTA FALCONS (2-1)
I don’t think the 14-point loss to Detroit is that concerning. After all, Detroit is another team on the rise. The main concern is how the Falcons will bounce back after being held to only two field goals against the Lions.
15. GREEN BAY PACKERS (2-1)
The Pack came back! Green Bay entered the 4th quarter with a 17-0 deficit, and walked out with a W. Let’s see if they can take that momentum into Thursday when they take on the up & coming Lions.
16. WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (2-1)
This was not a fun week for the Sam Howell fan club. Howell took a MAJOR step backwards this week, throwing 4 interceptions. The team only got on the board with a field goal in the final minutes of the game. You know what you’re facing when Buffalo comes to town, but this was a disaster.
17. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (1-2)
The Chargers are finally in the win column, earning a road victory at Minnesota. If you read these rankings on a regular basis then you know that I’m not very fond of Brandon Staley. Maybe this is a flawed thought process, but I’m asking myself if the Chargers wouldn’t be better served in the long run by losing a few more games so that Staley gets axed.
18. NEW YORK JETS (1-2)
The downward spiral continues. Not only are they losing on the field, but they’re losing in the media as well. Jets franchise legend, QB Joe Namath, has been openly criticizing the organization for continuing to play QB Zach Wilson. As Namath puts it, he has “seen enough”. I couldn’t agree with Joe more.
19. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (2-1)
On Monday night we got the version of the Bucs that most people expected entering the season. You could cut them a little slack considering they were taking on the Eagles, but a 14-point home loss is a concerning result.
20. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (1-2)
Is this the same team that made the historic 4th quarter comeback in the Wild Card round last year? One could argue that this team is better, now that Calvin Ridley has returned to action. You wouldn’t think that though, as they just lost by 20 to the lowly Texans at home.
21. LOS ANGELES RAMS (1-2)
This Rams team is 1-2, but they have looked a lot better than they were expected to in the preseason. The two losses came to teams who are Super Bowl contenders. Once Cooper Kupp returns, this team will get a big boost as we all know what Kupp is capable of. What we didn’t know is that the Rams found a diamond in the rough with Puka Nacua. The rookie wideout has made a major splash by hauling in 30 passes through 3 games while averaging 112.7 yards.
22. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (2-1)
Is Gardner Minshew just Ryan Fitzpatrick in disguise? Here’s Minshew on a new team, taking over for the injured QB1, and producing results.
23. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (1-2)
The Pats finally got into the win column. If they hadn’t, then the alarms would be sounding, because you can’t start 0-3 when one of those games is against Zach Wilson.
24. TENNESSEE TITANS (1-2)
Sunday was a rough one for the Titans. The defense usually keeps this team in games, but that would have been nearly impossible this past weekend. The Titans offense gained only 94 total yards, while managing to gain only 6 first downs. Even more concerning is the fact that when a team is limited in yards to that extent, turnovers are usually a big factor. The Titans didn’t turn the ball over at all. The offense was just flat out bad.
25. ARIZONA CARDINALS (1-2)
The shocker of the week belonged to the Cardinals, as they stunned the Cowboys 28-16. Maybe this Arizona team isn’t as bad as they were expected to be. Their two losses came by only 3 & 4 points.
26. NEW YORK GIANTS (1-2)
It’s been a lackluster start for the Giants. I was lower on this team than most coming into the season, but the offense has just been inept. They will need to find their way – and fast – considering they play in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL.
27. MINNESOTA VIKINGS (0-3)
The Vikings hosted the Chargers on Sunday. Both teams have playoff expectations, and both have been massive disappointments through two weeks, as both teams entered this game at 0-2. So, someone had to fall into a very deep 0-3 hole. That team was Minnesota. I still think this is a good team. The offense has shown that it’s capable of moving the ball. The Vikings were excellent in one-score games last year. Fate has a way of balancing the scales, as the Vikings 3 losses have all been by 6 points or less.
28. HOUSTON TEXANS (1-2)
CJ Stroud has his first NFL win. As you may have guessed, this was his best performance thus far in his young career. He tossed 2 TD’s and completed 66% of his passes for 280 yards. It was definitely an optimistic performance from the rookie.
29. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (1-2)
The optimism that the Raiders had after Week 1 has evaporated. Since beating Denver, the Raiders have gotten thrashed by the Bills and dropped a game to the Steelers as a home favorite.
30. CHICAGO BEARS (0-3)
Justin Fields’ future gets darker each week. The Bears fell to 0-3 after getting trounced by the Chiefs 41-10. A road game in Kansas City is not a game that the Bears should win, but they also shouldn’t lose by 31.
31. CAROLINA PANTHERS (0-3)
The Panthers had to go with Andy Dalton on Sunday since Bryce Young is injured. That didn’t deter the team from throwing the ball. They did that 58 times. Dalton connected on 34 of those attempts for 361 yards, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a 10-point loss to the Seahawks.
32. DENVER BRONCOS (0-3)
Woof. I don’t even know where to begin. Should we all chip in to get Nathaniel Hackett a fruit basket and an apology card? Sean Payton is eating his words. For all of Hackett and this team’s faults, at least they didn’t look this bad last season. Sean Payton took over, ran his mouth, and is now 0-3 after giving up 70(!) points, all while coaching a team who had a top 10 defense last year.
