Which teams are trending in the right direction heading into Week 5?
Written by: Greg Lehr
Power Rankings by: The Blitz Team
Believe it or not, we have already made it a quarter of the way through the NFL season. With September officially in the rearview mirror, we should start to see a little more consistency with legitimate contenders after sorting out some wrinkles during the first four weeks. Certainly, injuries have played a significant role in changing the course of the season for some teams (i.e. Steelers), while other teams in similar situations have stepped up significantly to keep pace in the very early playoff picture (looking at you, New Orleans).
Other surprising developments occurring in the first month of the season include the huge opportunities for rookie quarterbacks, not named Kyler Murray, who came in as the expected starter already. Instead, we're talking about Daniel Jones getting his chance much sooner than expected and (so far) fully taking advantage of it. Then just a week later, perhaps after Jay Gruden sees the life that Jones has pumped into the Giants' offense, he pulls Case Keenum in favor of rookie Dwayne Haskins to try help their dreadful 0-4 start in Washington. NFL teams, just like the rest of us, are just starting to get a genuine idea of who they are this season as we move into October. Check out how much our team at Blitzalytics believe in your team, as we put together our quarter-season NFL Power Rankings.
Week 4 Risers
New Orleans Saints (+9)
Current Ranking: 3
Last Week: 12
For the second consecutive week since Drew Brees was sidelined with a thumb injury, Teddy Bridgewater and the Saints found a way to pick up a key win against a tough NFC opponent. Last week in Seattle, it was Alvin Kamara who put the team on his back en route to a big road win. This week, it was the other side of the ball that put together an outstanding effort, limiting one of the league's top offenses through three weeks to just ten points. Even more impressive was giving up just 35 yards to Ezekiel Elliott on the ground, one of the lowest marks of his career. Marshon Lattimore also came up big, holding Amari Cooper to less than 50 yards (4 rec, 48 yds). New Orleans has proven they are one of the more complete teams in the league after these last two games with Bridgewater starting and will look the momentum going when they host the Bucs this coming week.
Detroit Lions (+6)
Current Ranking: 11
Last Week: 17
Hold up, the Lions moved up six whole spots in the power rankings after a loss? The answer is (obviously) yes. Behind Kenny Golladay's two touchdowns, including one late in the 4th-quarter that put the Lions up 30-27, Detroit nearly pulled off the upset if not for a last-minute drive by Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs. Despite the heartbreaking loss, the Lions have proved they are for real. They should've held on to beat Arizona in week one, but instead settled for a tie. Then they finished off two big wins against the Chargers at home and Eagles on the road, both of whom are expected to be in the playoff hunt at the end of the season. They have certainly been pretenders in the past, but the Lions deserve credit for the work they've put in so far in 2019, and they just might be for real this time.
Week 4 Fallers
Minnesota Vikings (-10)
Current Ranking: 17
Last Week: 7
The Vikings suffered their second loss of the season in Chicago on Sunday, falling to 2-2 on the year. However, the .500 record feels a bit worse than that considering the Bears finished the game with Chase Daniel at quarterback and the Vikings now find themselves at the bottom of the loaded NFC North. Dalvin Cook struggled against the Bears' dominant defense, amassing just 70 total yards from scrimmage. The bigger concern is the passing attack, which currently sits second-to-last in the league in yards per game (169), not to mention Kirk Cousins has only passed for three touchdowns this season.
Atlanta Falcons (-7)
Current Ranking: 26
Last Week: 19
Different week, yet the same story for the Falcons offense. Matt Ryan threw for 397 yards on a whopping 53 pass attempts, but could not convert any of them for touchdowns. Atlanta fell behind early due to big plays by AJ Brown and the Titans offense, as Tennessee raced out to a 24-7 halftime lead, forcing Ryan to go to the air for much of the second half. The redzone struggles have left them with a lot of empty yards, continuing as an ongoing theme for the Falcons offense. Against a tough Titans defense, Devonta Freeman and Ito Smith both failed to get much of anything going on the ground, and the flow of the game didn't provide a whole lot of opportunity for much offensive balance. Atlanta now sits at 1-3 and in the basement of the NFC South.
Full NFL Power Rankings: Week 4
Rankings by: The Blitz Team
New England Patriots
Kansas City Chiefs
New Orleans Saints
Dallas Cowboys
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Los Angeles Rams
Chicago Bears
Buffalo Bills
Green Bay Packers
Detroit Lions
Philadelphia Eagles
Cleveland Browns
Baltimore Ravens
Los Angeles Chargers
Houston Texans
Minnesota Vikings
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Indianapolis Colts
Carolina Panthers
Oakland Raiders
New York Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers
Atlanta Falcons
Arizona Cardinals
Denver Broncos
Washington Redskins
Cincinnati Bengals
New York Jets
Miami Dolphins