NFL Power Rankings, Week 4: Jaguars Keep Climbing After Shutting Down Chargers
Are the Jacksonville Jaguars legit? It continues to look more and more like that may be the case, with the Jaguars routing an AFC favorite in Week 3 to the tune of a 38-10 road win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
“Obviously it is heading in the right direction because these last two victories. But it's not so much how you begin the season, it's how you finish and so we have to make sure that [we continue this level of play]," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Monday.
"There's going to be dips in the year. Again, it's a lot of ball ahead of you and then there's going to be dips, but it's how you manage those. Again, you want to be playing your best football not necessarily now, but in December and January and hopefully through the postseason."
So with the big win, where do the Jaguars climb to on our rankings? We break it down below.
No. 32: Houston Texans (-2)
The Texans were in a slop fest with a bad Bears team and still lost despite being gifted multiple turnovers. They are just playing bad football,
No. 31: Carolina Panthers (+1)
The Panthers got their first win of the season this week against the Saints, but that felt more like the Saints making glaring mistakes than anything else. Baker Mayfield has probably been the worst starting quarterback in the NFL this year.
No. 30: New York Jets (-4)
The Bengals' offense looked broken for the first two weeks of the season after seeing a lot of Cover 2 looks, which of course led to the Jets rarely ever running Cover 2 on Sunday. Robert Saleh looks overmatched.
No. 29: Chicago Bears (-1)
Poor Justin Fields. The Bears are a tough team that plays really hard, but they have a big problem at quarterback and the offensive line and not enough pieces to overcome either issue.
No. 28: Seattle Seahawks (-4)
The Seahawks may have won their Super Bowl in Week 1. They haven't looked like the same team since, especially on defense.
No. 27: Las Vegas Raiders (-6)
The Raiders are the only winless team in the NFL, but they haven't been offensively bad. They aren't good, but they aren't the worst team in the league.
No. 26: Atlanta Falcons (+5)
The Falcons beat a bad Seahawks team, showing they may not be a good team, but they aren't a complete bottom dweller, either.
No. 25: Pittsburgh Steelers (-5)
Until the Steelers can consistently complete a forward pass for positive yardage, they will keep slipping.
No. 24: Tennessee Titans (+3)
The Titans showed some life against the Raiders, but it is hard to tell if that was due to them rebounding or Las Vegas struggling.
No. 23: New York Giants (-4)
It is past time to still have the Daniel Jones conversation. Seriously, how are we still doing this?
No. 22: Indianapolis Colts (+7)
The Colts' offense is still mostly anemic, but they had a gritty win against a really good Chiefs team.
No. 21: New England Patriots (-4)
With Mac Jones out for what seems like at least a month, a bad Patriots offense could be in serious trouble.
No. 20: New Orleans Saints (-7)
The Saints are just a bland team. It is tough to lose the way they did to the Panthers and expect to be taken seriously.
No. 19: Dallas Cowboys (+6)
Cooper Rush has looked serviceable and they have the best pass-rush in the NFL. As long as that continues, the Cowboys will be just fine.
No. 18: Cincinnati Bengals (+5)
The Bengals looked broken the first two weeks, but they at least showed they can beat a bottom team in the Jets.
No. 17: Washington Commanders (-5)
Not much good to be said for Washington this week. If they keep stacking losses, they will keep slipping.
No. 16: San Francisco 49ers (+1)
The 49ers look like the exact same team they have been for the past few years with Jimmy G under center. That isn't the worst thing in the world, but the offense has a clear ceiling.
No. 15: Denver Broncos (+5)
The Broncos' offense stinks out loud, but their defense appears to be very real. This should give them a chance most weeks.
No. 14: Minnesota Vikings (+2)
The Vikings had a solid win against the Lions in Week 3, which they needed badly after an awful showing in Week 2.
No. 13: Detroit Lions (-5)
The Lions are playing well, but they do just have four wins the last two years. Until they learn to win, they won't be able to be a top team.
No. 12: Arizona Cardinals (+2)
The Cardinals didn't do anything to really deserve a bump up, but the outer edge of the top-10 is a murky area through three weeks. They still have Kyler to put them above most of the teams behind them.
No. 11: Los Angeles Chargers (-6)
The Chargers got outplayed by the Jaguars, but they also lost several key contributors due to injury during the game after already entering the week as one of the most banged-up teams.
No. 10: Jacksonville Jaguars (+5)
Every advanced metric suggests the Jaguars are one of the best teams through three weeks. Over the last two weeks, they may be the best, outscoring their opponents 61-10.
No. 9: Los Angeles Rams (-1)
The Rams got a big win against the Cardinals this weekend, but they fall due to a few other teams in the top-10 having quality wins.
No. 8: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-2)
Tampa Bay is missing a lot of guys on offense, but their sloppy and sluggish brand of football still doesn't look like the Buccaneers we are used to.
No. 7: Cleveland Browns (+4)
The Browns are rolling on both sides of the ball, even with their backup quarterback in. The Amari Cooper redemption tour has been a fun one to watch.
No. 6: Miami Dolphins (+3)
Props to the Dolphins for winning a huge game at home. Buffalo may have been missing a ton of pieces, but that was still a character-building type of win.
No. 5: Green Bay Packers (+2)
The Packers' defense is very legit, helping them earn a tough win over a good Tampa Bay team. The offense isn't as impressive, but they are still a tough team to beat.
No. 4: Kansas City Chiefs (-2)
The Chiefs had a lot of issues flare up vs. the Colts. They have a star in Mahomes, but does the rest of the roster have enough blue chips to be a dominant force each week?
No. 3: Baltimore Ravens (+1)
Lamar Jackson has been the most dominant offensive player of 2021 thus far. He is going to have the Ravens in every single game.
No. 2: Philadelphia Eagles (+1)
The Eagles made it look easy against Washington. It is hard to find a weakness with them when Jalen Hurts is playing this well.
No. 1: Buffalo Bills: (0)
Yes, the Bills lost to Miami, but they didn't have a secondary or offensive line healthy. It happens. They are still the best team.
