The Cincinnati Bengals have fallen in this week's NFL power rankings after a 30-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Several outlets released updated rankings Tuesday, with the Buffalo Bills claiming the top spot on multiple lists. The Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers also appeared at or near the top.
Here's where the Bengals rank heading into Week 4.
The number in parentheses indicates how many spots Cincinnati moved up or down from the previous week's rankings.
USA TODAY NFL Week 4 power rankings: No. 17 (🔻11)
Cincinnati has dropped to No. 17 in USA TODAY's Week 4 NFL power rankings. Nate Davis wrote that the Bengals suffered an "unanticipated defensive breakdown" in Sunday's loss, leaving them with a 2-1 record so far this season.
The defeat also dropped Cincinnati
into a four-way tie for first place in the AFC North, Davis noted.
For the Win Week 4 power rankings: No. 8 (🔻3)
For the Win'sRobert Zeglinski wrote that the Bengals' defense looked like a "dominant, well-oiled machine" through the season's first two weeks. However, after allowing the Steelers to score 30 points and gain more than 400 yards Sunday, he questioned whether the loss was a "one-off" against a "motivated divisional opponent" or a "harbinger of things to come."
"Suffice it to say, Cincinnati still has work to do on that side of the ball," Zeglinski wrote.
CBS Sports NFL Week 4 power rankings: No. 14 (🔻10)
The Bengals plummeted in CBS Sports' Pete Prisco's rankings, but the NFL writer says he's not surprised.
"The defense came back to reality in the loss to the Steelers. They now face a tough Jaguars offense at home this week," Prisco wrote.
The Athletic NFL Week 4 power rankings: No. 15 (🔻8)
Despite a steep drop in The Athletic's Week 4 power rankings, writers Josh Kendall and Chad Graff remain confident in quarterback Joe Burrow.
The pair wrote that Sunday's loss was not "exactly Joe Burrow's fault." Burrow finished with 282 passing yards, three touchdowns and a 123.9 passer rating. However, he also committed a "costly fumble" as Cincinnati approached field goal range in the final minute.
"For the season, Burrow is tied for ninth in the league in touchdown passes (six) and top 12 in passer rating (106.6), yards (743), off-target rate (7.8 percent) and explosive pass percentage (18.2)," they wrote.
Yahoo NFL power rankings: No. 12 (🔻7)
The Bengals fell from No. 5 to No. 12 in Yahoo's Week 4 power rankings. Following Cincinnati's Week 3 loss, NFL and betting writer Frank Schwab wrote, "so much for that notion that the Bengals' defense is much improved."
"This was a typical Bengals game through the past few years, in which the offense plays well enough to win and the defense isn't good enough," he continued. "It looked fixed through two weeks, especially in a 20-6 win over Houston. Now all of the old concerns have reemerged."
Schwab also pointed to special teams mistakes, including a punter penalty that led to a Steelers touchdown and a fumbled punt that set up three more points for Pittsburgh.
ESPN power rankings: No. 12 (🔻9)
The Bengals dropped nine spots to No. 12 on ESPN's official power rankings. Journalist Ben Baby highlighted running back Chase Brown who was expected to play a major role in Cincinnati's offense and has delivered through three games.
"He is second on the team with 229 scrimmage yards (197 rushing, 32 receiving) and has 13 targets (seventh among RBs). But that hasn't led to big points for fantasy managers. Brown has just one touchdown, with a season high of 18.8 fantasy points in Week 1 against the Bucs," Baby wrote.
Sports Illustrated NFL power rankings: No. 13 (🔻7)
The Bengals landed at No. 13 on Sports Illustrated's NFL power rankings. Despite the close loss to the Steelers, Conor Orr wrote that "losing to the Steelers, an offense that I felt was one of the worst in the NFL over the first two weeks of the season, was incredibly disappointing."
"Coverage busts. Missed or unwilling tacklers. The AFC North is less of a division than a bizzaro circle that exists outside time and space that must conform to certain truisms—one being that all teams must play down to the level of one another," Orr said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals plummet in NFL power rankings after loss to Steelers
