In Week Four of the NFL season we saw some of the powerhouses continue to push opponents around at will while the league's doormats continued to get pummeled. Two previously undefeated teams experienced losing for the first time this season while at least one potential Super Bowl contender found themselves closer to fading out of the playoff race with only one quarter of the games played. The Jets were able to prove that they don't need Sanchez behind center to fumble in new and embarrassing ways.
1. Denver (1) - The Broncos keep on rolling. While Manning threw for his usual four TDs it was Knowshon Moreno who took the spotlight as he rushed for 78 yards and a TD on only 12 carries. The Broncos should sail to 6-0 before Manning heads to Indy for a Week 7 reunion with his old team.
2. Seattle (2) - The Seahawks looked completely beatable for three quarters on Sunday before riding a 14 point fourth to overtime and an eventual victory at Houston. They may have not put up the style points they have in past weeks but Pete Carroll's team showed they could be resilient in a tough environment.
3. New Orleans (3) - It only took a few minutes before Drew Brees and the Saints turned a much anticipated matchup of unbeatens into a rout on Monday night. With the Falcons troubles the Saints may have already locked up the NFC South.
4. Kansas City (5) - It's about time to realize that this team is for real. The Chiefs became the latest team to put a hurting on the Giants. They'll match up against Tennessee this week to determine who the league's biggest pleasant surprise is.
5. New England (7) - The Patriots went into Atlanta and put a beating on the Falcons, well, until the last 10 minutes they did. The loss of Vince Wilfork could devastate the surprising defense but Gronk and Amendola should be returning to help bolster the offense soon.
6. Tennessee (14) - "Defense wins championships," the old saying goes. Well, the Titans defense is fierce right now and while winning championships might be a lot to ask but winning a division seems within their sights.
7. Chicago (4) - It's hard to tell if Jay Cutler's performance against Detroit was a one-game blip on the radar or a return to his previous reputation for trying to force every pass into triple coverage. If it's the latter the Bears are in trouble.
8. Detroit (17) - When Reggie Bush is on the field the Lions are a completely different team. Chicago had no answers for him; as long as he stays healthy the Lions could be trouble in a very difficult NFC North.
9. Indianapolis (13) - The Colts became the first team to trail the Jaguars by 3 points this year. They promptly scored 37 unanswered to make up for that shame.
10. San Francisco (10) - The Niners were able to finally show that they are capable of being a dominant team; they will need to do it against someone other than the Rams for people to stop worrying about the play of Kaepernick.
11. Green Bay (12) - Absence only makes the heart grow fonder... By not playing the Packers managed to look better than many of the teams around them in the standings.
12. Miami (6) - The Dolphins were the victims of a beat down by Drew Brees and Co. on Sunday, therefore proving they were mortal. If they can bounce back against a struggling Ravens team this week they'll be right back on track.
13. Houston (8) - The only thing stopping the Texans from falling further is that they had the Seahawks on the ropes Sunday, something no other team has been capable of doing.
14. Baltimore (11) - The good news: Joe Flacco threw for 347 yards and two scores. The bad news: Bufffalo caught five of the absurd 50 balls Flacco threw.
15. San Diego (20) - If nothing else the Chargers showed that they could come back from a deep hole as they scored 20 unanswered to beat Dallas. Now they need to work on avoiding those deficits.
16. Dallas (16) - Apparently the Cowboys are incapable of playing well outside of Jerry World. We'll find out how good their home field advantage is when the Broncos visit on Sunday.
17. Carolina (21) - The Panthers looked like they might be finally getting things together on both sides of the ball against the Giants, the bye week should only help.
18. Atlanta (15) - The Falcons have had a brutal schedule - New Orleans, New England, Miami and St. Louis - and they haven't really been blown out so there is a chance they turn things around. That being said, 1-3 is pretty far behind when you share a division with the Saints.
19. Buffalo (22) - The Bills should be pleased with themselves after holding on for a tough victory against the Ravens; but they should be kicking themselves for picking Flacco off five times and still barely eeking out the victory.
20. Cleveland (25) - Trent who? Brandon what? The Browns have turned things around 180 degrees since benching their QB and trading their star running back.
21. Cincinnati (9) - This team looks like fierce tigers while playing at home and pathetic, little kittens on the road.
22. Arizona (26) - The Cardinals won an incredibly ugly game against an even uglier Tampa Bay team. As usual Patrick Peterson was fantastic with two interceptions.
23. Philadelphia (18) - Week One sure seems like it was a long ways away, doesn't it?
24. New York Jets (19) - Gino Smith introduced us to Butt Fumble 2.0 on Sunday. While not being as impressive as the first Butt Fumble it was still a thing of beauty.
25. St. Louis (23) - The Rams were only able to muster a pathetic 188 yards against the Niners on Thursday night, that should be more than enough to beat Jacksonville this week.
26. Washington (27) - The team with the controversial nickname was able to finally put one up in the win column against the Raiders. Washington would be a pretty good team this year if they were allowed to count the first quarter as practice.
27. Minnesota (29) - The Vikings and Steelers made a pretty good argument to the English people about why soccer is the real "football" on Sunday. Still, Adrian Peterson was his usual fantastic self and Matt Cassel showed signs of the QB that filled in for Tom Brady.
28. Pittsburgh (30) - The Steelers were almost able to make a comeback and get that elusive first victory in London. They can really use the bye week to right this sinking ship.
29. Tampa Bay (28) - The Bucs look like they are trying to imitate their legendary 1976 team. The Bucs will be on bye this week so here's a friendly reminder that most of the time a coach gets fired mid-season it is during the bye week.
30. Oakland (24) - The A's are in the playoffs!!!!
31. New York Giants (31) - Eli Manning was only sacked 3 times, a massive improvement from last week! Somehow the Giants are only two games out of the NFC East lead.
32. Jacksonville Jaguars (32) - Last week the Jaguars had to bribe their fans with two free beers in order to get them to come to the stadium; fans were treated to the Jags' biggest lead of the season when they took a 3-0 lead against the Colts. During the game a plane flew over the stadium with a banner calling for the team to bring in Tim Tebow. This may be rock bottom.
