NFL Power Rankings: Packers on Top, Niners Rise, Steelers Fall

The Packers remain the team to beat while the Eagles and Steelers fall. Frank Doyle ranks ’em after Week 4.

1 (-). Green Bay Packers. (4-0, 3-1-0 ATS.)
Streets ahead of every other team in football. Aaron Rodgers waited a long time for his moment, but it’s been worth waiting for.

2 (-). New Orleans Saints. (3-1, 3-1-0 ATS.)
Didn’t have to break sweat on Sunday against the helpless Jaguars.

3 (-). New England Patriots. (3-1, 3-1-0 ATS.)
Normal service restored with a thumping of the Raiders.

4 (+2). Houston Texans. (3-1, 3-1-0 ATS.)
Sunday was a key win for the Texans, even if the Steelers are fading. Houston is the team to beat in the AFC South.

5 (-). Baltimore Ravens. (3-1, 3-1-0 ATS.)
Baltimore isn’t higher than fifth because all four teams above the Ravens have better quarterbacks. As do a few of the teams below.

6 (+1). Detroit Lions. (4-0, 3-1-0 ATS.)
The most thrilling team in football. And how about Calvin Johnson? What a game it’s going to be on Monday Night when the Bears visit Detroit.

7 (-3). New York Jets. (2-2, 1-3-0 ATS.)
The Jets are in trouble. Lots and lots of trouble. Can’t run on offense, can’t stop the run on defense.

8 (-). Buffalo Bills. (3-1, 3-1-0 ATS.)
The Bills came back to earth with that loss at Cincinnati but still very potent on offense. We won’t stick a fork in them just yet.

9 (+2). Washington Redskins. (3-1, 3-1-0 ATS.)
Mike Shanahan is already worth whatever Dan Snyder paid for him. The Redskins are contenders again.

10 (+8). San Francisco 49ers. (3-1, 4-0-0 ATS.)
How about the 49ers? Detroit is rightly getting all the headlines, but after years of finding ways to lose, Harbaugh’s Niners are finding ways to win.

11 (+4). Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (3-1, 2-2-0 ATS.)
The Bucs needed that win against the Colts, but questions remain about the offense.

12 (+4). New York Giants. (3-1, 3-1-0 ATS.)
The Jets won’t be Kings of New York for many more weeks if the Giants continue to rise and the Jets continue to fall.

13 (-). San Diego Chargers. (3-1, 1-3-0 ATS.)
The AFC West is the new NFC West. The Chargers are the best of the pack, but Phillip Rivers is playing poorly and the Bolts lack pop.

14 (-). Chicago Bears. (2-2, 1-3-0 ATS.)
There are only two undefeated teams in the League, and both of them are in the same division as the Bears. Jay Cutler gets a lot of blame, and even deserves some of it, but there’s not a lot he can do about that. Huge game for the Lions and Bears both on Monday Night.

15 (+7). Tennessee Titans. (3-1, 3-1-0 ATS.)
How about the Titans? Matt Hasselbeck’s experience is making good things happen in Nashville.

16 (-4). Oakland Raiders. (2-2, 2-2-0 ATS.)
All the good work the Raiders are doing on offense is being undone by the defense. It’s got to stop.

17 (-8). Pittsburgh Steelers. (2-2, 1-3-0 ATS.)
They don’t generally have down years in Pittsburgh. This is one of them. Tough game against Tennessee this Sunday at Heinz Field.

18 (-8). Philadelphia Eagles. (1-3, 1-3-0 ATS.)
It’s hard to tell which the Eagles protect worse – their leads or their quarterback. It ain’t easy being Dream.

19 (-2). Dallas Cowboys. (2-2, 1-3-0 ATS.)
Oh Tony, Tony, Tony.

20 (-). Cincinnati Bengals. (2-2, 2-2-0 ATS.)
The Bengals are going to break hearts all year. Maybe Marvin Lewis knew what he was doing with Carson Palmer all along?

21 (-). Atlanta Falcons. (2-2, 1-3-0 ATS.)
Atlanta’s pass defense has struggled all year, and now Aaron Rodgers is returning to Georgia, where he filleted the Falcons in the playoffs last year. Yikes.

22 (+1). Arizona Cardinals. (1-3, 1-2-1 ATS.)
Arizona is better than its record suggests. It just can’t get everything working at once.

23 (-4). Cleveland Browns. (2-2, 1-3-0 ATS.)
The only way this gets worse for Cleveland is if LeBron signs for the Steelers, to give him something to do during the NBA lockout.

24 (+2). Carolina Panthers. (1-3, 3-0-1 ATS.)
Nobody’s lost money betting on the Panthers this year, and Cam Newton has been outstanding.

25 (-). Denver Broncos. (1-3, 1-3-0 ATS.)
John Elway himself couldn’t have saved them on Sunday. You just have to take that on the chin and move on.

26 (+1). Seattle Seahawks. (1-3, 2-2-0 ATS.)
Tarvaris Jackson had his best game as a pro last Sunday, and Seattle did well to come back and cover against Atlanta.

27 (+5). Kansas City Chiefs. (1-3, 2-2-0 ATS.)
The Chiefs won, but the problems run deep at Kansas City.

28 (-4). Jacksonville Jaguars. (1-3, 0-4-0 ATS.)
Anybody got a number for Brett Favre?

29 (-1). Indianapolis Colts. (0-4, 2-2-0 ATS.)
Curtis Painter will come good yet. It’ll just take a while, is all.

30 (-1). Miami Dolphins. (0-4, 1-3-0 ATS.)
Tony Sparano was 11-5 in his first season with the Fish. He’s 14-22 since. That’s not going to last.

31 (-1). Minnesota Vikings. (0-4, 2-2-0 ATS.)
The Viking were one intercepted pass away from the Super Bowl on January 24th last year, and now they’re one of the worst teams in the League. That’s the value of seizing the day.

32 (-1). St. Louis Rams. (0-4, 0-4-0 ATS.)
No wins straight up, no wins against the NHL betting spread. The numbers say it all for the worst team in the League.