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Here were are heading into Week 4 of the 2011 season, and only three undefeated teams remain. Surprisingly, one of them is Buffalo, who knocked off the Patriots for the first time in a long time to secure their second straight come-from-behind victory. Someone get them in the MLB Wild Card race, if it’s not too late. It is? Nuts.
Our NFL Rankings don’t technically mirror most “power rankings” you’ll find on the web, as I put a larger emphasis on a team’s current record than conventional wisdom may allow. The reasons for this are twofold: one, I’m going to be wrong about my judgement of plenty of teams, and using actual on-field results balances any bias I may have for or against certain teams based on preseason expectations; and two, many teams wind up posting records at the end of the year that aren’t reflective of their true level of play, but in the NFL the only thing that matters are wins and losses.
Because of that, you’ll see me largely stick to a team’s record when placing them in the rankings, unless the gap in talent and play is so large that it just can’t be ignored (i.e., sticking the 2-1 49ers behind a few 1-2 teams). When two teams appear close in the rankings that have already played, I’ll also try and give the nod to the team that won, especially if that win came in the last few weeks.
Any other questions? Post them in the comments section.
| Rank | Previous | Team | Record | Week 3 | Week 4 |
| 1 | 1 | Green Bay Packers | 3-0 | W, CHI 27-17 | vs. DEN |
| The Packers have played three relatively close ones, but they’ve felt in command of all of them. Week 4 should get ugly. | |||||
| 2 | 5 | Detroit Lions | 3-0 | W, MIN 26-23 | at DAL |
| Smoke and mirrors? The Lions have two wins against 0-3 teams on their resume, and they needed extra time to beat the last. | |||||
| 3 | 6 | New Orleans Saints | 2-1 | W, HOU 40-33 | at JAC |
| Drew Brees is looking like an early MVP candidate by carrying an offense out its best receiver. Darren Sproles was a huge add. | |||||
| 4 | 15 | Buffalo Bills | 3-0 | W, NE 34-31 | at CIN |
| Sure, this is too high, but they’ve earned a spot above the Patriots this week. The rest of the AFC is looking up at Buffalo. | |||||
| 5 | 7 | Baltimore Ravens | 2-1 | W, STL 37-7 | vs. NYJ |
| Two dominant wins against preseason playoff picks, and a loss against a no-buzz group. This Jets game will be a big test. | |||||
| 6 | 2 | New England Patriots | 2-1 | L, BUF 31-34 | at OAK |
| The Pats will look to rebound from a second-half collapse in Week 3. They need to play better defense moving forward. | |||||
| 7 | 3 | Houston Texans | 2-1 | L, NO 33-40 | vs. PIT |
| Lost their only game against a quality team (first two opponents are 0-6). Pittsburgh at home will tell us a lot. | |||||
| 8 | 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2-1 | W, IND 23-20 | at HOU |
| The Steelers are 2-1 but look to be struggling. They really need to do something about the offensive line. | |||||
| 9 | 4 | New York Jets | 2-1 | L, OAK 24-34 | at BAL |
| After dropping a game many thought they should have win, the Jets need to beat Baltimore for potential tiebreakers. | |||||
| 10 | 13 | Dallas Cowboys | 2-1 | W, WAS 18-16 | vs. DET |
| Hard to win when the offense can’t reach the end zone, but the Cowboys found away. Now they have to stay healthy. | |||||
| 11 | 16 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2-1 | W, ATL 16-13 | vs. IND |
| Big win for the Bucs against presumed divisional favorite Atlanta puts them right back in the hunt for the playoffs. | |||||
| 12 | 12 | San Diego Chargers | 2-1 | W, KC 20-17 | vs. MIA |
| The Chargers have sure started slow, but they still have a 2-1 record. They owe the NFL for a super-easy September. | |||||
| 13 | 19 | Oakland Raiders | 2-1 | W, NYJ 34-24 | vs. NE |
| The way the Raiders are playing, I wouldn’t be surprised if they win in Week 4 and go on to win the AFC West. | |||||
| 14 | 14 | Washington Redskins | 2-1 | L, DAL 16-18 | at STL |
| They almost pulled off the upset in Dallas, but now Washington is in a competitive race in the NFC East. | |||||
| 15 | 18 | New York Giants | 2-1 | W, PHI 29-16 | at ARI |
| Huge win for the Giants, who showed they still have something on defense even with all the injuries. Division is wide open. | |||||
| 16 | 17 | Tennessee Titans | 2-1 | W, DEN 17-14 | at CLE |
| Unremarkable win for the Titans, and now they desperately need the running game to get going to keep winning. | |||||
| 17 | 9 | Chicago Bears | 1-2 | L, GB 17-27 | vs. CAR |
| The Bears just can’t solve the problem of the Packers, but at least the schedule finally gets a little easier. | |||||
| 18 | 10 | Atlanta Falcons | 1-2 | L, TB 13-16 | at SEA |
| If they can’t take care of the Seahawks, even on the road, it may be time to write the Falcons off this year. | |||||
| 19 | 11 | Philadelphia Eagles | 1-2 | L, NYG 16-29 | vs. SF |
| Philly spent a lot of money this offseason but still have plenty of holes that teams are exploiting. Must-win Week 4 game. | |||||
| 20 | 21 | San Francisco 49ers | 2-1 | W, CIN 13-8 | at PHI |
| It’s a big deal for the 49ers to win on the road against a non-NFC West team, but they hardly impressed in the victory. | |||||
| 21 | 24 | Cleveland Browns | 2-1 | W, MIA 17-16 | vs. TEN |
| The Browns squeaked out a win against a bad Dolphins team, but hopefully Peyton Hillis is ready to carry them now. | |||||
| 22 | 26 | Carolina Panthers | 1-2 | W, JAC 16-10 | at CHI |
| Cam Newton has now lost excitingly and won ugly; can he keep winning while putting up big fantasy numbers? | |||||
| 23 | 30 | Seattle Seahawks | 1-2 | W, ARI 13-10 | vs. ATL |
| Nice win at home for the Seahawks, but Arizona doesn’t look that good. Let’s see how they play the Falcons. | |||||
| 24 | 20 | Arizona Cardinals | 1-2 | L, SEA 10-13 | vs. NYG |
| The Cardinals have to do better to be taken seriously, as they dropped a game to a doormat team in Seattle. | |||||
| 25 | 23 | Cincinnati Bengals | 1-2 | L, SF 8-13 | vs. BUF |
| Tough home loss for the Bengals, but they’re a super-young team and can bounce back quickly. Will they beat the 3-0 Bills? | |||||
| 26 | 29 | Minnesota Vikings | 0-3 | L, DET 23-26 | at KC |
| Three leads over 10 points at halftime, three losses. The Vikings are clearly better than their record, but by how much? | |||||
| 27 | 22 | Denver Broncos | 1-2 | L, TEN 14-17 | at GB |
| An unexciting team on offense and defense, Denver really needs a personnel overhaul on offense and defense. | |||||
| 28 | 25 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 1-2 | L, CAR 10-16 | vs. NO |
| In a Week 3 matchup of rookie QBs, Blaine Gabbert lost. He’d better get used to losing with this team. | |||||
| 29 | 28 | Miami Dolphins | 0-3 | L, CLE 16-17 | at SD |
| The Dolphins had a tough first two weeks, but it feels like they should have beat Cleveland. An upset of San Diego is possible. | |||||
| 30 | 27 | St. Louis Rams | 0-3 | L, BAL 7-37 | vs. WAS |
| Getting lit up by a rookie with zero career catches in Week 3 is unacceptable, and the Rams must get their act together now. | |||||
| 31 | 31 | Indianapolis Colts | 0-3 | L, PIT 20-23 | at TB |
| Yes, they played the Steelers tough, but credit Dwight Freeney’s abuse of the O-line. This is still an awful team. | |||||
| 32 | 32 | Kansas City Chiefs | 0-3 | L, SD 17-20 | vs. MIN |
| Alright Kansas City, a home game against the 0-3 Vikings could be your best shot at a win this year. Don’t ruin it. | |||||
R.J. White is the head editor at the Cafe, writes for FanDuel and Razzball and has previously written for FanHouse. Catch up with him in the forums under the name daullaz. Follow him on Twitter; don't follow him in real life.
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