NFL Power Rankings: Where 49ers stand after MNF win vs. Rams originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Almost four weeks of NFL football are in the books and we’ve learned a few things.
The Philadelphia Eagles deserved the preseason hype. Nick Sirianni’s club is a locomotive rolling over everything in its path. The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs appear headed for a playoff collision course as long as they can avoid the plethora of AFC landmines in their way from Baltimore to Jacksonville and Miami.
The 49ers righted the ship with a dominant win over the Los Angeles Rams on “Monday Night Football” to improve to 2-2.
With Week 4 in the books, only eight teams are over .500. Parity rules. But that makes these power rankings more of a chore than I’d like.
Here’s where each team stands after the Week 4 action:
32. Houston Texans (0-2-1): Lovie Smith’s Texans continue to fight but winning eludes them. Unless getting the No. 1 overall pick is winning. They are on track for that.
31. Washington Commanders (1-3): Carson Wentz’s quarterback rating has declined each week this season. After posting a 56.6 in a loss to the Cowboys on Sunday, it’s time to wonder how long he has left as an NFL starting quarterback.
30. Carolina Panthers (1-3): Matt Rhule job watch now includes Colorado, Arizona State, and Wisconsin. Sometimes it pays to lose.
29. Indianapolis Colts (1-2-1): Colts can’t blame Carson Wentz for this start. They flat-out stink.
28. Detroit Lions (1-3): The Lions say they “are almost there.” Looks like they are pretty far away to me.
27. Chicago Bears (2-2): Justin Fields showed progress in Sunday’s loss to the Giants. That’s not saying much. The Bears have a question mark at every position on offense and most of the defense as well.
26. New Orleans Saints (1-3): A double doink from distance cost the Saints a shot at overtime in London. Bears fans feel your pain.
25. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-3): Fourteen bad quarters was all it took for Mike Tomlin to eject Mitchell Trubisky and hand the ball to Kenny Pickett. Who had under four games in the pool?
24. New England Patriots (1-3): Losing to Aaron Rodgers by three points as time expired in overtime while playing with your third-string quarterback has to be as close to a win as a loss can feel.
23. Atlanta Falcons (2-2): The Falcons are 4-0 ATS this season. You know what they say about great teams.
22. Cleveland Browns (2-2): The Browns are 2-2 with games against the Chargers, Ravens, Bengals, Dolphins, Bills, and Bucs looming. Have fun.
21. Seattle Seahawks (2-2): Forget Russ. Let Geno cook.
20. New York Jets (2-2): As far as I’m concerned, the Jets are 1-0. The Joe Flacco games don’t count.
19. Las Vegas Raiders (1-3): The Raiders are 1-0 when Davante Adams catches a touchdown pass and 0-3 when he does not. Formula seems simple.
18. New York Giants (3-1): The Giants have so many holes on their roster. But 3-1 is 3-1.
17. Arizona Cardinals (2-2): What is it Kliff Kingsbury does?
16. Tennessee Titans (2-2): Ryan Tannehill is now 14-3 against the AFC South as the Titans’ starter. Pretty, pretty good.
15. Dallas Cowboys (3-1): Cooper Rush has done his job to keep the Cowboys in the playoff chase while Dak Prescott heals. Will Week 5 mark Dak’s return or will Cooper get one more spin as the man in Big D?
14. Denver Broncos (2-2): If the Broncos make the playoffs, I’ll buy and eat a Dangerwich. Below-average football team.
13. Los Angeles Chargers (2-2): The season from hell is hitting the Chargers. Can a banged-up Justin Herbert keep them afloat?
12. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2): After allowing an NFL-best 55 rushing yards per game through the first three weeks, the Jaguars got run over by the Eagles to the tune of 210 yards. Back to the drawing board in Duval.
11. Los Angeles Rams (2-2): Whatever deal Sean McVay made to win last year’s NFC Championship Game was well worth it. He can’t beat the 49ers otherwise.
10. San Francisco 49ers (2-2): If anyone sees Sean McVay wondering around Los Angeles at night, make sure to return him to Kyle Shanahan. That’s his owner.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-2): Man, Tom Brady didn’t come out of retirement to play with this Bucs team. Problems abound in Tampa.
8. Minnesota Vikings (3-1): The Saints elected to leave Marshon Lattimore on an island against Justin Jefferson. It didn’t work. The star receiver found his groove again and he gets the Bears’ leaky secondary next.
7. Cincinnati Bengals (2-2): Just like John Wick, I’m thinking Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ offense are back.
6. Baltimore Ravens (2-2): The Ravens blew a 17-point lead to the Bills but also proved they can go toe-to-toe with the presumptive AFC favorites. I’m still all-in on the Ravens.
5. Miami Dolphins (3-1): Mike McDaniel is an offensive genius. Wonder how much Kyle Shanahan misses him in San Francisco?
4. Green Bay Packers (3-1): It took the Packers five quarters to beat Bailey Zappe. Not a great look. But they might be the second-best team in the NFC as of right now. That’s not saying much.
3. Buffalo Bills (3-1): If you had the Bills and Josh Allen making fun of Bryson DeChambeau and LIV Golf on your bingo card for Week 4, then congratulations, you’ve won this week’s prize. (There is no prize.)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (3-1): Sunday night’s performance against the Bucs makes the Chiefs’ Week 3 loss to the Colts all the more confusing. Patrick Mahomes is on a mission.
1. Philadelphia Eagles (4-0): The Eagles ran the ball 50 times to get back into a game in which they trailed 14-0. Your unquestioned No. 1 team through four weeks.