The NFL is officially through three weeks of the 2026 season. There have been up-and-down moments for every team in the game so far, and there is a lot of uncertainty still to be sorted out.
Now that the league is fast approaching its first-month milestone, there will start to be some separation between the teams capable of going for a run and those who will have the 2027 NFL Draft on their mind quickly. Good quarterback play is dominating the game, but the six teams that used a new quarterback from Week 1 went 6-0 in Week 3. That includes the Chicago Bears, who earned a big win with Case Keenum under center on Monday Night Football.
When power ranking the league, it isn't about putting the standings on a sheet. It is about ranking teams by how
good they are now. Heading into Week 4, this is all 32 teams through that type of lens:
The Contenders
1. Buffalo Bills (Last Week: 2)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week: 3)
3. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week: 1)
4. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week: 4)
5. Denver Broncos (Last Week: 5)
6. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week: 10)
7. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week: 6)
8. Detroit Lions (Last Week: 11)
9. Chicago Bears (Last Week: 13)
10. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week: 9)
11. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week: 12)
12. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week: 14)
13. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week: 18)
14. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 7)
Are the Las Vegas Raiders for real? Maybe. They are tied with the always great Kansas City Chiefs atop the AFC West at 3-0. They were supposed to be the one bad team in an elite division, but that's not the case so far. Can they continue to climb the ranks? Or will they eventually come crashing back down?
The Buffalo Bills and Chiefs sit atop right now, which feels right, but the Seattle Seahawks take a slight fall after an uncharacteristic loss to the Washington Commanders. That ends a long winning streak that includes the playoffs, so it had to come eventually.
Seattle can't get too comfortable now and let this linger, because thier division rival San Francisco 49ers are heating up in a big way. The NFC West has three Super Bowl contenders, as long as the Los Angeles Rams get back on track after a modest start to a season in which they began as the favorites.
The Baltimore Ravens saved themselves with a huge play at the end of the game in Brazil, giving them the ability to kick a game-winning field goal with less than a second left on the clock. Lamar Jackson is playing well, as are other AFC quarterbacks like Joe Burrow of the Bengals, Trevor Lawrence of the Jaguars, and Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos. Can one of them take down Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes?
Then there is the NFC North. The Minnesota Vikings find themselves 3-0 after three tough victories. This was the case last year: if they get okay quarterback play, their roster is so good that they can win big. Well, JJ McCarthy wasn't even okay. He was straight up bad. This year, Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz have played well enough to get the most out of this elite roster. The Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears are each 2-1 thanks to high-flying offenses and defenses that are improving. This battle is going to be incredible to watch, especially if Green Bay can figure it out and make it a 4-horse race.
Teams to Watch
15. Washington Commanders (Last Week: 21)
16. New England Patriots (Last Week: 8)
17. Cleveland Browns (Last Week: 27)
18. New York Giants (Last Week: 26)
19. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 20)
20. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: 16)
21. Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 19)
The Washington Commanders get their props this week. They finally earned thier first win of the season, and it came with their backup quarterback as Jayden Daniels recovers from a gruesome-looking injury. It also came against last week's number one-ranked team and defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. For now, they get to be a part of this tier.
Other surprises, in a good way, are the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns. At 2-1, they are starting to make people wonder if they can win more games than expected this year.
As for the New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, and Green Bay Packers, being in this tier is a disaster. That is especially true for Green Bay, who already had to overcome playing in the NFC North. Now, they have to overcome it while digging out of this early-season hole that they've dug themselves into. It may get worse before it gets better for the Packers.
More to Prove
22. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week: 22)
23. Houston Texans (Last Week: 15)
24. Carolina Panthers (Last Week: 23)
25. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: 17)
26. New York Jets (Last Week: 30)
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 25)
28. New Orleans Saints (Last Week: 24)
29. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: 28)
30. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week: 29)
31. Tennessee Titans (Last Week: 31)
32. Miami Dolphins (Last Week: 32)
A handful of 1-2 and 0-3 teams are starting to emerge as contenders for the bottom 10 NFL teams. It's not a spot that any of them want to be in, but it's the reality of thier start. Among them are the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Indianapolis Colts, who are all reeling from high expectations coming into the season. If any team in this group pulls themselves out of this disastrous start, it's one of them.
The Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans are the bad teams that are playing poorly. Unlike some of the other 0-3s, these two make perfect sense. At the end of the year, it is these two who are the most likely to be selecting first in the draft.
This group also has the "any given Sunday" mentality attached to it. The Arizona Cardinals have a win over the Chargers, while the New York Jets have played some really good teams until the very end, including a win over the Green Bay Packers.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: NFL Week 4 power rankings: Vikings continue climb, Bears back on track
