Already 1/4 of the way through the 2015 NFL season. Can you believe it? It seems like just yesterday that New England and Pittsburgh were squaring off on a Thursday night.
I'm not sure we know a hell of a lot just yet. Five teams are 4-0 (with the aforementioned Pats 3-0), but other than Green Bay and Denver there will be questions lingering for most of the remainder of the season.
I went 10-5 picking the games straight up. Kinda got bit by road teams again (really, I'll never learn), but all in all it wasn't that bad. Unexpected results like Buffalo going belly up to the Giants continue to confound me. I would have never picked the Giants to win that game.
Injuries have dictated a lot of what's gone on in the first quarter. Hopefully the next three quarters don't result in more quarterbacks going out.
Here are the Rankings for Week 4:
1.) New England (3-0) [no change]
After the bye, the Pats head to Dallas to take on the toothless Cowboys. Even I can't take the Cowboys in good conscience in this situation.
Next opponent: at Dallas (10/11)
2.) Green Bay (4-0) [no change]
It's funny that when the Packers' usually dominant offense went a little quiet, the defense stepped up and absolutely stifled San Francisco. I'm starting to wonder how the 49ers beat Minnesota, really. And while the Packers are nearly unstoppable at home, on the road they're something else entirely. If the defense hadn't stepped up, a close game could've been even closer.
Next opponent: vs. St. Louis (10/11)
3.) Denver (4-0) [+1]
Not exactly a dominating win against a clearly weaker Minnesota team. But the Broncos are 4-0 and have faced some adversity in getting there. One would expect that having to get in the swing of things rather than starting off like a house on fire would benefit the team as they try to get to the Super Bowl again. If anything, the first quarter has shown us that the defense is this team's strength, whereas the offense was clearly ahead in prior seasons.
Next opponent: at Oakland (10/11)
4.) Atlanta (4-0) [+1]
Even when Julio Jones has an off day, the Falcons' offense is primed to score in bunches. RB Devonta Freeman took over by scoring 3 TD's again and Leonard Hankerson is revelatory as the 2nd receiver. Was he getting favorable coverage as a result of Julio acting like a decoy? Maybe so, but it worked nonetheless.
Next opponent: vs. Washington (10/11)
5.) Carolina (4-0) [+1]
Is it Cam Newton, or Josh Norman and a bit of luck on offense? I'll go with the latter; Norman is going to make a boatload of cash after the season if he continues to play at this level. Newton is no slouch either, even as he makes guys like Ted Ginn Jr. look like perennial All-Pro receivers. Suddenly the NFC South is pretty good after a moribund 2014 season.
Next opponent: at Seattle (10/18)
6.) Cincinnati (4-0) [+1]
There are a number of people bandying about words like "impressive" and "complete" when describing the Bengals. And they'll be playing a good team at home in Week 5 at 1PM EDT. Advantage, Bengals, right? We'll see if Kam Chancellor and the rest of Seattle's defense can rattle Dalton. If it were a prime-time game, I'd take Seattle no matter what the spread.
Next opponent: vs. Seattle (10/11)
7.) Arizona (3-1) [-4]
A slight drop for one of the alleged "good" teams. St. Louis is not a good team, no matter how well they showed in AZ; I'm willing to bet that they fall flat on their faces this week in Green Bay. The Cardinals, meanwhile, head to Detroit to play the only remaining winless team, and if this isn't a trap game, I don't know what is.
Next opponent: at Detroit (10/11)
8.) NY Jets (3-1) [-]
I don't know if I would call the earliest Sunday game "redemption" necessarily, but after not really showing up against Philly the Jets took out a division rival and got them to fire their coach. Funny that Todd Bowles was the interim coach in Miami, couldn't get a shot, and continued to ply his craft as defensive coordinator until getting this chance with the Jets. Funnier that he's got the Jets playing well and getting a bunch of turnovers.
Next opponent: vs. Washington (10/18)
9.) Indianapolis (2-2) [-]
It's a rough week when a 2-2 team that just scraped by Jacksonville (in OT no less) makes it into the Rankings. Rougher still when that team is down its starting QB for a week in preparation for a Thursday game. The Colts have been unimpressive through the first quarter, but because they're in the AFC South, still have a chance to go somewhere.
Next opponent: at Houston (10/8)
10.) San Diego (2-2) [-]
I'm usually loath to use the word "escape" in reference to a win. But let's face it, San Diego escaped with a win. Thanks to an offside penalty on the Cleveland special teams, the Chargers got a second chance to kick the game-winning field goal. And of course, it went through.
Next opponent: vs. Pittsburgh (10/12)
That's all for this week. See you next week.
