There are still three undefeated teams in the NFL, and the Arizona Cardinals are one of them. But the Cardinals take a slide this week after a too close for comfort win over the Miami Dolphins. Let's take a look at who climbed and fell after their week four performance.
Rank | Team | Record | Breakdown |
1 | Houston Texans | 4-0 | The Texans continue to roll with their first ever 4-0 start with a red hot defense and a high powered offense. |
2 | Atlanta Falcons | 4-0 | Matt Ryan is showing what he can do with the gloves taken off. Great game against the Panthers, but their defense gave up too many yards and points to secure the top spot this week. |
3 | San Francisco 49ers | 3-1 | The 49ers were "cooking" against the Jets on Sunday following a recipe Rex Ryan spelled out for the media. Their offense is still a grinder, but their defense is still the reason they're in the top three. |
4 | Cincinnati Bengals | 3-1 | The Bengals offense is really rolling and while the Jaguars were not the most difficult of opponent they're showing that they're consistent and will win the games they're supposed to win. |
5 | Baltimore Ravens | 3-1 | Speaking of which, the Ravens fought to hold off the scrappy Browns and keep they're record of 3-1. Joe Flacco is spreading the ball around well and continues to prove reliable even when Ray Rice is less effective than usual. |
6 | Chicago Bears | 3-1 | The Bears had one very, very bad game so far. The other games have made up for it. The Bears Defense is swarming and able to make the most of opposing QBs mistakes. Cutler looks good when he has time in the pocket, just ask Brandon Marshall. |
7 | Arizona Cardinals | 4-0 | One of the last undefeated teams, though their weaknesses were on display for most of the game. The offense needs a run game and to make adjustments quicker to allow Kevin Kolb time to make throws. With time, Kolb is proving to be clutch with two fourth quarter comebacks this year and this team fights until the very end, and then some. |
8 | New England Patriots | 2-2 | Lower than the Cardinals due to being beat by them, but the best 2-2 team in the league. Thirty one points in the fourth quarter. Two running backs with over 100 yards and a touchdown. Their record doesn't reflect the team that is starting to roll again. They sit at the top of their division and will be hard to topple. |
9 | Philadelphia Eagles | 3-1 | They beat the Giants in front of the national audience, and proved the can make half time adjustments which will really make a difference. This was a different team in the second half and should start using McCoy earlier to win this division. |
10 | Green Bay Packers | 2-2 | 2-2 but filled with potential. Based on the shootout in Green Bay I think the Packers are back. Rodgers had his best game of the season with a 75% completion rating and four TDs. The defense looked good but gave up yards to the Saints who are just looking for that first win. They've got the Colts next week and could get into a good rhythm before playing the Texans in week 6. |
11 | Minnesota Vikings | 3-1 | The surprise Vikings are making opponents pay. Adrian Peterson is back and getting healthier by the week,and QB Christian Ponder is helping lighten his load through a good passing game. Well not this past week, but they proved they could pull out a win in the division regardless of Ponder's performance. |
12 | San Diego Chargers | 3-1 | I'm not sold on the Chargers. I know I'll take flack for that, but of their four games they've beat the teams they're supposed to (Raiders, Tennessee, Kansas City) but the week they go up against a the Falcons they lose 27-3. I think we'll learn if this team is for real next week when they play a desperate Saints team in New Orleans. |
13 | Denver Broncos | 2-2 | Peyton is throwing very well, and we know that the team is still learning it's identity. After four weeks this team is getting better from week to week and almost came back against Atlanta. The AFC West crown will be interesting between the Broncos and Chargers. My bet is the Broncos. |
14 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1-2 | Bye Week - Keep your seat. |
15 | New York Giants | 2-2 | The Giants are a great team and have talent everywhere on the field, but they showed how bad decisions from off the field can take away from the win column. Unfortunately it was against a division opponent, hopefully that doesn't catch up with them later this year. |
16 | Washington Redskins | 2-2 | The Redskins give up a lot of points, but they also score a lot of points lead by RGIII. The team is quickly rallying behind it's rookie QB and his attitude is infectious. At 2-2 they are contenders in the division. |
17 | Seattle Seahawks | 2-2 | The Seahawks defense and replacement officials can only win them so many games. Their offense struggled against an up and coming Rams defense and rookie QB Wilson had a forgettable performance with only 160 yards passing. If the offense improves so will their power rankings. |
18 | Buffalo Bills | 2-2 | After starting out 21-7 going in the third quarter the Bills looked like they were going to put away the Patriots and stand on top of the division, instead they gave up 580 total yards and six turnovers to their division rivals. Their first half performance may have awoken the sleeping dragon in New England. |
19 | St. Louis Rams | 2-2 | Sam Bradford and Steven Jackson had decent days, but it's the story of the NFC West defenses that has everyone's attention. The Rams defense was stagnant to QB Russell Wilson, but at the cost of 118 yards one touchdown on the ground to Marshawn Lynch. In the end it wasn't enough, the Rams are now ahead of the Seahawks and looking to move up in the division as they take on the Cardinals on Thursday night. |
20 | Dallas Cowboys | 2-2 | Tony Romo is the heart and soul of the Cowboys team. When he plays well they win handily, when he doesn't play well, it's usually a very bad day for Dallas fans. After a beat down on Monday Night Football and five INTs they've fallen pretty far in power rankings, but are still in a good spot in the division. They can turn it around. |
21 | Miami Dolphins | 1-3 | The Dolphins are the best 1-3 team in football. The Dolphins defense showed that it has an incredible pass rush and that the run defense is top notch. Rookie QB Tannehill put up numbers that Brady and Vick could not against the Cardinals, and showed he has great skill. Their weakness is their secondary, and that's what cost them the game in the end. |
22 | Carolina Panthers | 1-3 | The Panthers are better than their record suggest. Newton's highs and lows swing throughout the game and when he's on the team is on. They nearly sullied Atlanta's perfect record, as they're so close to getting it all together. They've got weapons all over the field and have proven that they're dangerous. |
23 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1-3 | The Buccaneers play to the level of their opponent. They fought hard against RGIII and the Redskins but in the end it was the lack of a run game and their slow start (six points at the half) that cost them. This young team has heart, but doesn’t have their own identity yet. |
24 | Detroit Lions | 1-3 | How the mighty have fallen. Stafford threw 51 attempted passes and zero touchdowns. Last week phenom Mikel Leshoure has 26 yards on 13 attempts. The offense just wasn't there to beat the Vikings regardless of last weeks performance. They have a bye week next week and could use the rest to regroup and game plan for a hungry Eagles team. |
25 | Kansas City Chiefs | 1-3 | The Chiefs were the favorite in the AFC West coming into the regular season. After a rough first half filled with turnovers they started to get it together int the second half but were already so far behind. This team looks to be bottom of the league and will probably stay there for the remainder of this year. |
26 | Tennessee Titans | 1-3 | The first week that CJ2K shows up and contributes is also the same week Jake Locker goes out due to injury. The Titans started out the game against the Texans well, keeping it close going into the half, but had three turnovers that killed any chances of winning this one. They can climb the ranks again if they can get Locker back and keep CJ producing. |
27 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 1-3 | Four weeks into the year and we finally get a Justin Blackmon siting. Unfortunately it's for only 48 yards. The Bengals stout defense kept MJD to only 38 yards and shutdown the Jaguars offense. |
28 | Indianapolis Colts | 1-2 | Bye Week - Keep your seat. |
29 | New Orleans Saints | 0-4 | Big offense, okay defense. That's the theme for the Saints this year as they nearly beat the Packers on the road. I think they'll get their first win next weak against the Chargers at home and start climbing up the NFC South rankings but only on the strength of the offense. This D is suspect. |
30 | New York Jets | 2-2 | That's correct, the Jets 2-2 record has landed them below the winless Saints because the Saints would be the Jets handily at this point. The Jets offense was inept, and the defense couldn't stack the box against a rushing attack that they knew was coming. This team is in shambles right now and is not as good as their record suggests. |
31 | Oakland Raiders | 1-3 | Carson Palmer is the best part of this offense and he tried to keep the team in the game, but they lost to a division rival and without any hope of making a game of it. The D was scorched by Manning and is heading to Atlanta next week for another road game against a hot offense. |
32 | Cleveland Browns | 0-4 | Almost. That pretty much sums up the Browns, they've almost got it together. Rookie QB Brandon Weeden threw 25-52, 320 yards, 0 TDs against a tough Ravens defense. Rookie RB Trent Richardson had a respectable 47 yards on 14 carries and 1 TD. The Browns may be tied for the worst record in the NFL, but they're showing that they're close to putting something together. |