Rams, Chiefs top power rankings as only two undefeated teams

Raiders move up after first win

While fans weren’t watching refs announce roughing the passer penalties, we witnessed another week in which quarterbacks completely took over. There has never, in the Super Bowl era, been this many touchdowns thrown (228) at this point in the season.

Only two teams remain undefeated thus far, while just one has yet to get a win. That would be the Arizona Cardinals, and they appear at the bottom of the power rankings for the second week in a row.

 

32. Arizona Cardinals (-) Another week, another loss for the Cards. Josh Rosen was nothing short of pedestrian in his first NFL start, throwing his first touchdown but passing for less than 200 yards. The defense didn’t give up a single third down conversion, but Sebastian Janikowski ruined Arizona’s hopes with a 50-yard field goal as time expired.

 

31. Buffalo Bills (-1) These are the Bills that we know and love. Buffalo was shut out by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, 22-0. In a rough day for rookie quarterbacks, Josh Allen made sure he wouldn’t get left out by completing less than 50 percent of passes and tossing a couple picks.

 

30. New York Jets (-1) The beginning of Sam Darnold’s career has been rockier than Jets fans would’ve hoped. Held to just 167 yards and a 50 percent completion percentage, the rookie struggled to find a groove yet again. Trade rumors circulating Le’Veon Bell and the Jets have picked up some momentum, and a deal for Bell would alleviate some of the pressure on Darnold.

29. Indianapolis Colts (-2) The Colts are running away with the Most Boring Team award. Outside of T.Y. Hilton and Andrew Luck, the Colts most exciting player is kicker Adam Vinatieri. Speaking of the old man, he became the all-time leader in field goals in the game against Houston, notching his 567th of his career. The Colts showed a little more life Thursday night against New England, but still lost to the Pats.

 

28. San Francisco 49ers (-) An early 14-0 lead prompted ‘Niners fans to question whether they even needed Jimmy Garoppolo to win, and then they received the answer when C.J. Beathard failed on multiple occasions to lead San Francisco downfield for (at least) a go-ahead field goal. The 49ers haven’t beat the Chargers since 2000, and the streak continues.

 

27. Cleveland Browns (-5) The Browns had an ideal opportunity to string a couple of wins together, but we have to remember they’re the Browns. Cleveland had plenty of chances to put away the Raiders but failed to capitalize when the situation presented itself, ultimately losing 45-42 in overtime. It’s time for Nick Chubb to get more carries as he continues to impress with a very small workload.

 

26. Oakland Raiders (+5) A back and forth game resulted in a big 45-42 OT win over the Browns. Gruden’s first win in 3,591 days was an eventful one, and the Raiders offense was firing on all cylinders. Derek Carr threw for 437 yards with 4 TDs, Marshawn Lynch powered his way to 130 rushing yards, and the AC/DC connection was in full effect with Amari Cooper’s 8 reception, 128 yard game.

 

25. Detroit Lions (-1) Golden Tate exploded on Sunday with a couple receiving TDs, and he added some major disrespect for good measure towards the Lions on his way into the end zone both times. He then got to watch as Cowboys kicker Brett Maher split the uprights as time expired, handing the Lions another loss.

 

24. New York Giants (+1) There had been an increased level of expectations this year from the Giants’ community with the return of Odell Beckham Jr. and the anticipated superstar running back Saquon Barkley. But four weeks in we see the Giants at 1-3. Odell has a goose egg in the touchdown category thus far. Some chemistry needs to develop between QB Eli Manning and the stud WR.

 

23. Seattle Seahawks (-) It was a bittersweet win for the Seahawks, defeating the Cardinals 20-17 on Sunday. Earl Thomas not only suffered a lower leg fracture, but it was most likely his last appearance in a Seahawks uniform. For good measure, it appears he gave the finger to his own sideline as he was being carted off.

 

22. Denver Broncos (-2) Under the Monday Night spotlight, the Broncos had an outstanding opportunity to slow down the Chiefs. Denver was up two scores going into the fourth quarter but surrendered 14 unanswered points, falling to 2-2.

 

21. Houston Texans (+5) Four sacks between manimals J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney and a standout performance from rookie Keke Coutee got the job done for Houston in their 37-34 win over the Colts. Coutee’s 11 receptions are the most in an NFL debut in 48 years. The fourth-rounder out of Texas Tech burst onto the scene in a timely fashion, a situation in which the Texans were desperate for a win.

 

20. Dallas Cowboys (+1) Ezekiel Elliot compiled a career-high 240 yards from scrimmage in the 26-24 win over the Lions. The superstar RB caught a huge pass with less than two minutes less to set up the eventual game-winning field goal.

 

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-4) “We should fire every person that was on that field today, starting with me. That was horrific.” I’d say Bucs coach Dirk Koetter summed up their performance pretty well. “Fitzmagic” has gone to “Fitz-tragic” in no time, with the veteran QB getting replaced by Jameis Winston at half. A quick 0-2 turnaround places the Bucs back in reality.

 

18. Miami Dolphins (-4) Well, we finally got to see the Dolphins against real competition. Turns out, they’re a lot worse than their record indicates, as most expected. The Dolphins are lacking in firepower on the offensive side of the ball and it really showed in the 38-7 loss to the Patriots. They head into Cincy to face a hot Bengals squad.

 

17. Atlanta Falcons (-4) The now 1-3 Falcons would have a completely different looking record if it wasn’t for the plethora of injuries on the defensive side of the ball. The offense is dominant, maybe more so than we expected, with the emergence of WR Calvin Ridley. The lack of a healthy defense players was costly in their 37-36 loss to the Bengals though, and it will continue to be demoralizing until Atlanta heals up.

 

16. Washington Redskins (-) It was a bye week for the Redskins. They play the Saints on Monday Night.

 

15. Pittsburgh Steelers (-3) Another week with no Le’Veon Bell, and it seems apparent he may never wear a Steelers uniform again. His absence proved yet again to have a negative impact on the team, as they lost to the Ravens 26-14. James Conner ran the ball 9 times for a feeble 19 yards.

 

14. Los Angeles Chargers (+2) The Chargers improved to 2-2 following their 29-27 win over the 49ers. Challenged with a few tough games to open the season, expect the Chargers to go on a little bit of a run. Melvin Gordon had a huge game and the former first-rounder seems to be hitting his stride early in the season, making a big impact both on the ground and through the air.

 

13. Tennessee Titans (+4) Marcus Mariota had himself a day in the Titans’ 26-23 win over the Eagles. WR Corey Davis finally broke out in a huge way with the 161 yards and the game-winning touchdown in overtime. Lineman Taylor Lewan insisted that it’s time to stop sleeping on the Titans.

 

12. Cincinnati Bengals (+7) Offense galore in the Bengals-Falcons game. Cincinnati came out with the win as Andy Dalton (“The Red Rocket”), guided an explosive aerial attack to improve the Bengals record to 3-1. The surprising contenders (or pretenders?) have emerged at the top of the AFC North standings alongside the Ravens.

 

11. Minnesota Vikings (-3) It’s hard to figure out this defense four weeks into the season. Predicted to be an elite unit, the Vikings have struggled to get stops the past couple weeks. Granted, the Rams have been unstoppable of late. Kirk Cousins rebounded nicely as the two QBs in the game threw for at least 400 yards and 3 TDs.

 

10. Philadelphia Eagles (-7) Philly has not played at championship-caliber level thus far in 2018. Despite the loss to the Titans, Alshon Jeffery returned in a big way, racking up 100+ yards receiving and catching his first touchdown of the campaign. The Vikings visit Philadelphia in what should be an exciting showdown

 

9. Green Bay Packers (+2) After an uncharacteristic loss, Green Bay rebounded against the Bills and shut them out 22-0. There was nothing too special about the win, just one team completely dominating the other (a common theme the Bills find themselves in quite frequently, with an exception to week 3).

 

8. Baltimore Ravens (+1) Kicker Justin Tucker stole the show for the Ravens, accounting for 14 of the 26 point in the win over the Steelers. He also took home AFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors. The Ravens definitely looked like the superior team in this game, shutting out Pittsburgh in the second half.

 

7. Chicago Bears (+3) Who would’ve expected Mitch Trubisky to throw 6 TDs? Nobody. The second-year QB had a career game in the Bears 48-10 blowout of the Buccaneers. Another week, another strip sack for Khalil Mack. That’s four games in a row for the early season DPOY favorite.

 

6. Carolina Panthers (-) It was a bye week for the Panthers. They play the Giants on Sunday.

 

5. New Orleans Saints (-) It seems as if the Saints have calmed the worries of many after the early season rough patch, improving to 3-1 after a comfortable 33-18 win over the Giants. The offense is lethal with touchdown machine Alvin Kamara, Canton-bound QB Drew Brees, and ball magnet Michael Thomas.

 

4. New England Patriots (+3) Back to business as usual for the Pats. Their 38-7 beatdown of the Dolphins featured a breakout game for rookie Sony Michel. The Georgia product ran for 112 yards and had a touchdown. Tom Brady threw three touchdowns, one of the finding Cordarrelle Patterson, the 70th different receiver he’s thrown a touchdown to. He added a few more Thursday night in he Pats win over Indy to give him 500 career TD tosses.

 

3. Jacksonville Jaguars (+1) The Jags gave up their first touchdown since week 2, but the defense was still rock solid. A career-high in passing yards (388) for Blake Bortles, combined with the stellar defense lead to a 31-12 blowout of the Jets.

 

2. Kansas City Chiefs (-) The legend of Pat Mahomes continues. A game-winning drive (and possibly a game-saving left-handed toss) adds another achievement to Mahomes’ brilliant season. The defense stood tall when it needed to in the final moments at Denver to improve Kansas City’s record to an immaculate 4-0.

 

1. Los Angeles Rams (-) Goff for MVP? The young Bay Area product absolutely tore up the Vikings defense in their 38-31 win. A historic, 465-yard, 5 TD effort contributed to a perfect passer rating for Goff, who has placed himself into elite quarterback status. While the offense was firing on all cylinders, the defense did just enough to uphold the Rams perfect 4-0 record.