Which team’s stock is rising/falling the most heading into Week 4?
Written by: Greg Lehr
Power Rankings by: The Blitz Team
The third week of the NFL season provided a variety of intriguing matchups, and none of them disappointed. An NFC showdown in Seattle saw the Teddy Bridgewater-led Saints bounce back from their disappearing act in LA last week for a surprising (and impressive) road win against the Seahawks. In the AFC, undoubtedly the most hyped matchup of the weekend was the battle of two young phenom quarterbacks, as Lamar Jackson and the Ravens came up short in their second-half comeback attempt vs. Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs. Finally, despite those two great matchups, the story of the weekend occurred down in Tampa, where Daniel Jones turned in a fantastic debut in place of Eli Manning. How did these results and the rest of the Week Three games impact this week's Blitzalytics NFL Power Rankings?
Week 4 Risers
New Orleans Saints (+6)
Current Ranking: 12
Last Week: 18
Was this really the same Saints team that was embarrassed by the Rams last week after losing Drew Brees in the first quarter? New Orleans deserves a ton of credit for the way they went into Seattle and essentially were in control the entire game, thanks in large part to the monster play of Alvin Kamara (16 rush, 69 yds, TD; 9 rec, 92 yds, rec TD). Teddy Bridgewater also looked much more poised and confident with a full week of practice with the 1's leading up to this week's victory. Now with their feet back under them, the Saints will head back home as they get ready for a huge Sunday Night Football showdown vs. the 3-0 Dallas Cowboys.
New York Giants (+6)
Current Ranking: 25
Last Week: 31
Daniel Jones. Danny Dimes. Eli Manning Jr. However you may have come to know the new quarterback for the Giants, we can all agree he put in quite the debut performance on the road against the Buccaneers on Sunday. After a relatively quiet first half, Jones found his team down 28-10 at the break, only to turn things around in a huge way in the second half. The Giants stormed back with an offensive explosion, despite the absence of Saquon Barkley, who had left the game with a high ankle sprain. Jones connected with Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard in the air, not to mention two more scores on the ground, to finish his NFL debut with a line of 23/36, 336 yds, 2 TD, 28 rush yds, 2 rush TD. It's a real bummer for Barkley to miss the next month or two, but Giants fans have real hope as they watch the future of their franchise with wide eyes the rest of this season.
Week 4 Fallers
Philadelphia Eagles (-8)
Current Ranking: 16
Last Week: 8
Just one week after Nelson Agholor's drop down the left sideline cost the Eagles a late comeback attempt in Atlanta, Philly's pass-catchers combined for seven (!!) drops on Sunday vs. Detroit. There was none more significant than JJ Arcega-Whiteside's drop on a 4th-and-15 with just under a minute to go. The drops limited Wentz' total numbers to 259 yards and 2 TDs in the loss. Adding insult to injury (literally), the Eagles seem to have lost top corner Ronald Darby to a hamstring injury for a couple of weeks. However, the team is holding out hope that Alshon Jeffrey can return to the lineup (even if in a limited fashion), but the short week with Thursday's matchup in Green Bay doesn't do him any favors. The Eagles will need to dig deep against Aaron Rodgers and an improved Packers defense if they want to avoid a 1-3 start to the season.
Atlanta Falcons (-3)
Current Ranking: 19
Last Week: 16
Whew. Not a good week for Falcons fans. After a big primetime win against the Eagles in Week Two, combined with the division-rival Saints losing Drew Brees for a few weeks, it appeared to be an opportune time for the Falcons to gain some serious ground in the faltering NFC South. Instead, Atlanta came out of the gate way too slow in Indianapolis, falling to an early 17-point deficit before their comeback bid came up short in the second half. Another brutal aspect to this game was watching Keanu Neal lose the rest of his season to a torn Achilles (just one year after suffering a torn ACL), a terrible break for the talented 24-year-old safety.
Full NFL Power Rankings: Week 4
Rankings by: The Blitz Team
New England Patriots
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Rams
Dallas Cowboys
Green Bay Packers
Baltimore Ravens
Minnesota Vikings
Buffalo Bills
San Francisco 49ers
Houston Texans
Seattle Seahawks
New Orleans Saints
Chicago Bears
Los Angeles Chargers
Indianapolis Colts
Philadelphia Eagles
Detroit Lions
Cleveland Browns
Atlanta Falcons
Tennessee Titans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Carolina Panthers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Oakland Raiders
New York Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers
Arizona Cardinals
Denver Broncos
Washington Redskins
Cincinnati Bengals
New York Jets
Miami Dolphins