1 (1)

Colts

  4-0  

  Manning engineered a dramatic road win versus the Jets as Indianapolis remained undefeated. With Tennessee on deck it’s looking like 5-0 heading into the bye… But the first three games after the bye are versus Washington, at Denver, and at New England. It will take some mighty fine football to double the record to 8-0.

2 (5)

Broncos

  2-1  

  While on a bye week Denver reclaims the #2 rank held during preseason thanks to the Patriots’ mauling of the Bengals. There’s a reason we didn’t crucify the Broncos for losing in St. Louis week 1, or for only scoring 9 points in a win versus Kansas City week 2, while other power rankings sent Denver tumbling out of the top 10… That reason was displayed in week 3 when Denver shut down the Patriots’ offense, and demonstrated again week 4 when the Bengals could not. Good defense wins in the long run. The Broncos held their ground in these level headed power rankings that don’t jump teams off a cliff over a single uncharacteristic performance.

3 (6)

Patriots

  3-1  

  New England rushed the ball for over 200 yards at Cincinnati as Dillon & Maroney went wild in a blowout. The offense finally got a healthy Doug Gabriel involved for four quarters which provides the receiver presence needed to take pressure off Ben Watson, which in turn opens doors for both the pass and the run. Dare we say, “the New England offense is back?”
With Gabriel on the field, yes… Notice the beauty of the top 3 ranked teams this week. The Patriots own the Colts. The Colts own the Broncos. The Broncos own the Patriots. The 2006 plot thickens, but the song remains the same.

4 (9)

Bears

4-0

Trounced the Seahawks who were playing without Alexander… As promised earlier this season, if the Bears got their offense going, deep into the top 10 they would rise.

Jaguars

  2-2

  After keeping the Colts’ offense in check week 3 at the RCA Dome but not coming away with the win, the Jacksonville defense suffered a bit of a let down versus Washington plus Santana Moss had his first big game of the year… The Jaguars faced a brutal schedule the first 4 games that included Dallas, Pittsburgh, at Indianapolis, and at Washington. So there’s no need to sound the alarm at 2-2. Reserve any alarm sounding for next weekend if the Jaguars lose to the fiesty New York Jets.

6 (3)

Bengals

3-1

In the week 2 power rankings we noted that if Cincinnati’s run defense continued at the impressive pace seen in week 1 and week 2 it would spell trouble for the rest of the league… Unfortunately for the Bengals, week 4 was the second game in a row the defense allowed big yardage on the ground, as New England rushed for over 200 yards in a blowout defeat raising more questions about the playoff worthiness of the defensive unit.  

7 (7)

Steelers

  1-2

  With a week 4 bye, the Steelers had plenty of time to steam over a game they arguably should have won versus the Bengals… Remember Pittsburgh’s previous loss came at Jacksonville, so it’s still too early to knock the champs out of the top 10. Beware of power rankings that do, as such ratings may become {{{unstable}}}.

Cowboys

  2-1  

Dallas blew out the winless Titans as expected. The Cowboys opened up a large enough lead where they only needed to call 5 pass plays the entire second half.

9 (4)

Seahawks

  3-1  

  Playing without Alexander, the Seahawks were decimated by the Bears in Chicago… If Seattle wants to return to the Super Bowl this season, they just might have to win a January playoff game in zero degree weather at Soldier Field this coming January… Brrrrrrr!

10 (10)

Panthers

  2-2  

  Got what is suddenly classified as a ‘big home win’ versus the Saints.

11 (12)

Ravens

  4-0

  Baltimore made it back to back last second wins. This week it was at home versus the Chargers which is more impressive than last week against the Browns, as the Ravens continue to inch up the rankings. But considering the Chargers have a first year starter at QB and have yet to beat a top caliber team, we’re in no hurry to assign too much credence to this victory. If nothing else, ask yourself if the Ravens would beat any of the above teams on a neutral field… Probably not. Yet most power rankings have the Ravens ranked in the top 5. With games at Denver and versus Carolina on deck, a little more patience is required before the Ravens crack the top 10 in these self proclaimed “level headed” NFL power rankings…

12 (15)

Eagles

3-1

After trailing at the half at home against the Packers, the Eagles woke up in time to surge passed Green Bay in the second half. We’re fairly certain that won’t work versus next week’s opponent, the Cowboys.

13 (16)

Saints

3-1

2006’s hot start came to an end versus the Panthers as the running game was held to just 63 yards. On the plus side the Saints held a 4th quarter lead in Carolina, and that’s an impressive feat for any team when Steve Smith is on the field.

14 (17)

Falcons

3-1

  Shut down the Cardinals’ offense while Vick and crew rushed for over 200 yards.

15 (11)

Vikings

2-2

  Came up just short for the second week in a row. The loss in Buffalo makes 4 of 4 games the Vikings have played in the 2006 season each decided by 5 points or less. Minnesota holds wins over the Panthers and Redskins. Meanwhile, San Diego ranked below has wins over the Raiders and Titans, in case you were seeking clarification.

16 (20)

Redskins

  2-2

Scored a huge win versus the Jaguars to get back to the .500 mark. Portis rushed for over 100 yards and Santana Moss’ hamstring looked just fine as he broke lose for 3 TD’s. With Moss and Portis playing at this level, the Redskins are a different team. Although this game might have been lost if it had been played in Jacksonville or on a neutral field.

17 (13)

Chargers

2-1

Lost a heartbreaker at Baltimore. But can’t lose focus now with an angry Steelers team visiting in week 5 still fuming over their own blown lead versus Cincinnati… Question: What will competing power rankings do with a San Diego team they ranked #5 with a first year starter at QB, and no wins versus a team ranked higher than #29? Answer: Probably drop them 10 spots in only a week, just as quickly as they pumped them up for beating the Raiders and Titans… No such problem with these NFL power ratings.

18 (14)

Giants

  1-2  

Coming off a week 4 bye, the Giants return to action week 5 at home in a key divisional showdown versus the suddenly surging Redskins.

Chiefs

1-2

  Got their first win of the season shutting out the 49ers. The next step is to get back to the .500 mark. A trip to Arizona in week 5 could be their ticket.

20 (18)

Rams

3-1

  Won but surrendered 34 points to Detroit; ranked #29 in the week 3 NFL power rankings. There’s a bit of a log jam in the power rankings between spots 12 and 22. So the weak quality of some of the Rams’ wins has to be taken into consideration. We’re not forgetting the impressive week 1 home victory versus the Broncos. But then there’s that week 2 loss at San Francisco. And week 1 is slipping further and further into the past. Meanwhile the Chiefs ranked above, lead for most of their week 2 game *in* Denver, and then didn’t lose to the 49ers in their next outing… They shut them out.

21 (21)

Jets

2-2

Nearly upset the Colts. But Manning worked his magic, and coach Mangini might have gambled one too many times as the Jets turned the ball over on a 4th a goal with the score tied… Normally a team would move up for giving the Colts such a scare. But there’s a real log jam above, and little room to budge this week for near upsets… You might have noticed the Saints moved up for holding a 4th quarter lead in Carolina. If this game had been in Indianapolis, some space would have been cleared for the Jets to move up. A follow up solid performance next week in Jacksonville would do the trick.

22 (22)

Bills

2-2

Got back to .500 with a win versus a Vikings team that entered the game with two wins versus playoff teams from a season ago… But there’s not much room for the Bills to move up this week as they previously lost to the Jets above, and we are not ready to say they’re ahead of the Chiefs or Giants each with a double digit number of wins last season, and losses this season versus top teams only. Meanwhile the Vikings have wins versus the Panthers and Redskins. And this week’s game might have swung to the Vikings favor if it was played in Minnesota or on a neutral field. Again, there’s quite a log jam with 13 teams above .500 and 6 more teams at 2-2, and 3 very good teams at 1-2 including the champs… One of the six .500 teams at 2-2 has to bring up the rear for the time being.

Buccaneers

0-3

  Coming off a week 4 bye, Tampa Bay will attempt to get its first win of the season week 5 in New Orleans. At 0-3 the Buccaneers still possess a top defense that would likely be capable of getting a win versus most or all of the teams ranked below.

24 (27)

Browns

1-3

  Surmounted an 18 point deficit at Oakland to get their first win of the season.

25 (23)

Cardinals

1-3

  Suffered a 22 point loss in Atlanta causing Warner to lose the starting QB job next game versus the Chiefs… Would Matt Leinart have performed better versus a Falcons defense that has kept three of four opposing offenses out of the end zone, including two playoff teams from last season?

26 (25)

Dolphins

  1-3

  Miami was held to 70 yards rushing in a hard to swallow loss at Houston… On a neutral field the Dolphins would probably beat the Texans due to the quality of their defense. But the Miami offense had better improve in a hurry with a trip to New England on deck.

27 (28)

Packers

1-3

  Couldn’t hold a first half lead in Philadelphia and were simply blown out in the second half.

28 (26)

49ers

1-3

Third time giving up 30+ points in 2006 as the 49ers were shutout in Kansas City.

29 (32)

Texans

1-3

  Houston got their first win of the season, upsetting a Miami team that nearly lost to Tennessee the previous week.

30 (29)

Lions

0-4

  Third game in a row surrendering more than 30 points.

31 (31)

Raiders

0-3

  Blew an 18 point lead at home versus the Browns. It was the second time Oakland lost at home against Cleveland over the last seven games spanning back to 2005.

32 (30)

Titans

0-4

Second loss by 30+ points in 2006 as Tennessee was overwhelmed by the Cowboys in Vince Young’s first start.