NFL Power Rankings roundup: Where do the Bengals, 49ers rank ahead of Week 4?

Admin September 26, 2024

This NFL season has been one of the most unpredictable in recent memory. Who would’ve thought that the Cincinnati Bengals would start the year 0-3? Who would’ve thought just three weeks into the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers would be two games up on the rest of the AFC North? And how many people predicted a former No. 1 overall pick would get benched after just two games into their sophomore season?

All that is to say that this season hasn’t exactly gone how many people expected. Teams that were supposed to be great are just mediocre. Teams that were supposed to be mediocre are playing great. Nobody knows what to expect anymore, and it has sent several people’s power rankings into speculative frenzies trying to justify why a 1-2 Baltimore Ravens squad is still ranked ahead of the 3-0 Minnesota Vikings.

Here is what sites from around the internet are saying.

NFL power rankings Week 4: Which 3-0 teams fall short of top five?

NFL Power Rankings roundup:

Nate Davis, USA Today: Texans, 49ers fall out of top-10

Davis ranks the Texans 11th and the 49ers 12th in his latest power rankings. He blames the Texans’ lack of offense on the disappearance of their run game on the Texans’ loss to Minnesota a week ago. As for San Francisco, Davis understands that injuries have played a major role in the 49ers’ slow start, but since all of those injuries are coming at inopportune times to very important players, he can’t rank them any higher.

USA Today’s top-ten:

Kansas City Chiefs
Buffalo Bills
Minnesota Vikings
Detroit Lions
Philadelphia Eagles
Green Bay Packers
New York Jets
Pittsburgh Steelers
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bleacher Report Staff: Bengals fall out of top-20

Bleacher Report ranks the Cincinnati Bengals 23rd in their latest mock drafts. While the Bengals have historically been very slow coming out of the gates, a loss as heavy favorites to Washington a week ago was not a good look. Bleacher Report writes, “Cincy outgained Washington by 80 yards, converted 60 percent of their third downs—and still don’t have a win this year. The Bengals’ slow starts in previous years could at least be attributed to Joe Burrow being hurt. But there’s no explanation in 2024. For whatever reason, Taylor doesn’t have his team ready when the season starts. Now the Bengals are in a hole likely too deep to dig out of. And if/when they miss the postseason again, Taylor should be shown the door.”

Bleacher Report’s top-ten:

Kansas City Chiefs
Buffalo Bills
Minnesota Vikings
Detroit Lions
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks
Houston Texans
Green Bay Packers
New Orleans Saints

Eric Edholm, NFL.com: Commanders rise 12 spots to No. 16

Edholm was very impressed with Washington’s win over Cincinnati on Monday night. He writes, “Daniels now has completed 61 of 76 passes this season, good for a fiery 80.3 percent. The NFL record for a season is Drew Brees’ 74.4 percent in 2018, at 8.2 yards per attempt. It’s only three games, but Daniels is averaging 8.7 yards per attempt so far. Just a remarkable start in what certainly looks like an Offensive Rookie of the Year type of season early on. Oh, and the Commanders are suddenly pretty fun, too.”

NFL.com’s top-ten:

Kansas City Chiefs
Buffalo Bills
Minnesota Vikings
Detroit Lions
Philadelphia Eagles
Houston Texans
Green Bay Packers
Baltimore Ravens
Pittsburgh Steelers
New Orleans Saints

ESPN Staff: Seattle crawls into top-5

While most NFL fans believe the Seattle Seahawks to be the league’s most fraudulent 3-0 team right now, ESPN begs to differ, ranking them fourth in their latest power rankings. They also point out that Seattle has a big hole on offense with how poor their offensive line is playing.

They write, “The Seahawks rank 30th in pass block win rate (46.1%) and 23rd in allowing pressure (33.0%). They’re 16th in sacks allowed per dropback (7.1%), but that comes with the caveat that QB Geno Smith is getting the ball out at the sixth-fastest rate of any quarterback (2.66 seconds on average).”

Despite that glaring weakness, ESPN likes this team ahead of others like the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, and the also undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers.

ESPN’s top-ten:

Kansas City Chiefs
Buffalo Bills
Minnesota Vikings
Seattle Seahawks
Detroit Lions
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Houston Texans
San Francisco 49ers
New Orleans Saints

Tom Brady, FOX Sports: Seattle is a top-5 team

The GOAT recognizes game arguably better than anyone, which makes it crazy that he placed Seattle in his top-five ahead of Week 4. Brady says, “Don’t sleep on the team in the Pacific Northwest. Mike Macdonald, the first-year head coach, he’s got them off to a 3-0 start and he’s turned around that defense. They’re in the top five in the league right now.”

Brady’s top-five: