No change at the top, but there was plenty of shakeup otherwise in the weekly NFL power rankings.
So far, the single most impactful free agent signing of the offseason has proven to be the Kansas City Chiefs signing Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III away from the Seattle Seahawks.
Patrick Mahomes looks like his old self, Andy Reid is still Andy Reid, but the biggest reason the Chiefs top our TeamFB7 NFL Power Rankings for a second straight week is what Walker has done to transform the Kansas City rushing attack.
More on that and the rest of the league as we shake up the rankings entering Week 5 …
Tier 1 Super Bowl Contenders
1. Kansas City Chiefs (4-0, no change): Kenneth Walker III is leading the NFL in rushing yards (537), yards per carry (6.2) and combined rushing/receiving yards (621) with 6 total TDs through four games. He’s given the Chiefs an element of their offense that simply didn’t exist last year (and hasn’t really existed for a few years). He’s taken a lot of pressure off QB Patrick Mahomes, who has been solid in his return from knee surgery with 1,032 passing yards, 9 TDs and 2 INTs despite a middling cast of pass-catchers.
2. San Francisco 49ers (4-0, up 1 spot): Brock Purdy has been as good as any quarterback in football this season with 1,007 passing yards, 11 TDs and 1 INT along with 122 rushing yards and a score. TE George Kittle has made a strong comeback from his torn Achilles with 22 catches for a team-high 244 yards and 4 TDs, and Mike Evans (24-213-2) has made an impact when he’s been on the field while dealing with an injury to his ribs. Just as important has been Fred Warner’s return to the middle of the defense (40 tackles and 2 forced fumbles). The 49ers have arguably the best resume so far with wins over the Rams and Broncos.
3. Seattle Seahawks (3-1, up 2 spots): The Seahawks are patching together the run game with Zach Charbonnet still working back from his torn ACL and rookie Jadarian Price now on injured reserve with a chest injury, but they got a spark last week from former Packers RB Emanuel Wilson (130 combined rushing/receiving yards and 2 TDs in a 30-23 win over the Chargers). All the while, there’s always Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has been sensational with 32 catches for 481 yards and 6 TDs through four games.
4. Los Angeles Rams (2-2, no change): The Rams came perilously close to a 1-3 start after entering the fourth quarter trailing by 10 points last week at Philadelphia before rallying for a 24-20 win. The return of star WR Puka Nacua made a difference as he had 9 catches for 125 yards and a rushing TD in that game. When this team gets full strength — DT Aaron Donald didn’t play last week and elite EDGE Myles Garrett is going to miss most of the first half of the season — it’s still probably the team to beat in the NFL.
5. Buffalo Bills (3-1, down 3 spots): The Bills’ defense is starting to look like a bit of a problem as they’ve given up at least 29 points in three of their four games so far, and it finally got them in Week 4 in a 29-26 loss to the Patriots. But Josh Allen (1,039 passing yards, 6 TDs, 3 INTs, 118 rushing yards, 7 TDs) is the best in the business and James Cook (421 rushing yards and 3 TDs on 6.0 YPC) is still at the top of his game.
6. Baltimore Ravens (3-1, no change): Here the Ravens go again, riding the Lamar Jackson injury rollercoaster as an ankle injury threatens to sideline the star QB this week and potentially beyond. Jackson’s injuries last season ultimately derailed Baltimore’s season and led to the firing of longtime head coach John Harbaugh. Baltimore’s peak potential is as high as any team in the league when Jackson, RB Derrick Henry and WR Zay Flowers are all healthy, but the defense has been vulnerable and Jackson’s availability is paramount for this team.
7. Chicago Bears (3-1, no change): Ben Johnson has the Bears looking like one of the best teams in the NFL (again) while rotating through three starting quarterbacks in the first four games. Tyson Bagent will be the QB until Caleb Williams is ready to return from his hamstring injury, but it doesn’t seem to matter who is back there with Johnson pulling the strings and the league’s best rushing attack (196.3 YPG) leading the way. Both D’Andre Swift (311 rushing yards and 3 TDs on 4.5 YPC) and backup Kyle Monangai (324 and 3 TDs on 5.3 YPC) rank among the top eight rushers in the league.
Expected Playoff Teams With Potential For More
8. Denver Broncos (2-2, no change): Head coach Sean Payton is taking play-calling duties back from offensive coordinator Davis Webb after a 24-14 loss to the 49ers. It’s the second time in four games Denver has been held to 14 or fewer points as they rank 27th in both total offense (280.3 YPG) and scoring (18.5 PPG).
9. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-1, up 1 spot): Liam Coen, good ball coach. The Jaguars aren’t flashy, they don’t have a lot of star power beyond QB Trevor Lawrence and yet they are just so collectively solid and well-coached. This team will be a factor all season again.
10. New England Patriots (2-2, up 6 spots): For the first time, 2026 Drake Maye looked mostly like 2025 Drake Maye in a big 29-26 road win over the Bills as he passed for 269 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT and rushed for 54 yards. Star WR A.J. Brown should be nearing a return from his ankle injury in the coming weeks, so the Patriots are more than capable of going on a big run like they did last year. This could be the lowest they are in the power rankings the rest of the way — or Maye reverts back into a mutated form of Blake Bortles like he was the first three weeks.
11. Cincinnati Bengals (2-2, down 2 spots): Maybe the rush to coronate the revamped Bengals was premature, as they’ve lost back-to-back games now despite big games from QB Joe Burrow. New season, same ol’ Bengals after all?
12. Dallas Cowboys (2-2, down 1 spot): The Cowboys keep investing assets in improving their woeful defense — most recently acquiring cornerback Joey Porter Jr. from the Steelers last week — and their defensive continues to be woeful regardless. But Dak Prescott (1,065 yards, 8 TDs and 1 INT) and CeeDee Lamb (NFL leading 37 catches for 498 yards, with 4 TDs) have been the best passing connection in the league so far and all it took was 17 catches for 189 yards and the game-winning TD for the Cowboys to beat the winless Texans last week, 34-30.
13. Atlanta Falcons (2-2, up 8 spots): The Falcons are fun again! New head coach Kevin Stefanski just needed a QB who wasn’t Cooper Rush (or Tua Tagovailoa). Since Michael Penix Jr.’s return to action the last two games, the Falcons have been the top offense in football with a 35-14 win at Green Bay and a 45-24 victory at New Orleans on Monday night. Bijan Robinson (339 rushing yards and 4 TDs over those two games) and Drake London (14 receptions for 290 yards in that time) have come alive for Atlanta.
14. Minnesota Vikings (4-0, down 1 spot): The Vikings keep winning thanks to a defense that is giving up the fewest points in the league at 12.8 per game and fifth-fewest yard at 289.3 per game. But the offense is struggling (see the team’s 15-10 win over the lowly Dolphins last week) as new QB Kyler Murray hasn’t made much of an impact so far. Star WR Justin Jefferson is back from missing a game with a sprained ankle, so that should help.
Just Need To See It A Little More To Believe
15. Las Vegas Raiders (3-1, up 2 spots): Klint Kubiak would get our vote for NFL Coach of the Year at this point, but can the Raiders really keep this up? Even in their first loss of the season last week, they played the unbeaten Chiefs to a 30-27 final score. Kirk Cousins has 1,026 passing yards, 11 TDs (tied for the NFL lead) and 4 INTs and has thrown multiple touchdowns in every game. That seems unsustainable, but maybe Kubiak really is that much of an offensive savant.
Postseason Fringe
16. Detroit Lions (2-2, down 4 spots): The Lions have all the familiar offensive star power, but it’s not going to matter much if the defense continues to be the absolute worst in the league. Detroit is giving up 423.8 YPG — 31.5 more than any other team — and 31.8 PPG (second-worst behind the Saints).
17. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2, down 3 spots): This team might be cooked. Standout veteran right tackle Lane Johnson abruptly retired this week a month into his 14th season citing the need to focus on his mental health. Standout left guard Landon Dickerson is still out with a knee injury. And the Eagles traded two-time Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens to the Ravens this week. Meanwhile, RB Saquon Barkley, top WR DeVonta Smith and WR Dontayvion Wicks are all dealing with hamstring issues, and QB Jalen Hurts is healthy but has seemingly decided he no longer cares to run the football.
18. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2, no change): It took four games for QB Aaron Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy to start visibly sniping at each other with expletives during a game. So they’ve got that going for them. Rodgers has played solidly with 999 yards, 7 TDs and 4 INTs, but he’ll be without No. 2 WR Michael Pittman Jr. for a while due to a foot injury. RB Jaylen Warren is off to a strong start, though, with 309 rushing yards and 3 TDs on 5.6 YPC and 143 receiving yards.
19. Indianapolis Colts (2-2, up 3 spots): Coach Shane Steichen doesn’t have much to work with and is coaching for his job this season, but he’s kept the Colts competitive and exceeding our expectations so far even with QB Daniel Jones not playing all that great in his return from a torn Achilles and his top receiver Alec Pierce sidelined indefinitely.
20. Carolina Panthers (2-2, up 4 spots): We’re just going to keep referring to them as the Jekyll & Hyde Panthers until they look like the same team — good or bad — two weeks in a row. Reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan is coming off a monster performance with a career-high 14 catches for 192 yards and 2 TDs. Bryce Young leads the NFL with 1,268 passing yards (9 TDs and 2 INTs) in what could prove to be a breakout season for the former No. 1 overall pick. The Panthers are spunky — just still unreliable until proven otherwise.
21. Green Bay Packers (2-2, up 2 spots): The Packers have been mostly putrid, the offensive line is wreck, the running game is non-existent. But there is still the hope that star edge rusher Micah Parsons’ return at some point in the next month or so could make the difference if they can just hang on until then. That part is no guarantee, however. Green Bay barely got past the winless Buccaneers and an undrafted rookie QB making his first start last week, winning 17-14.
22. Cleveland Browns (3-1, up 8 spots): Maybe this is selling the Browns and Deshaun Watson short, but it’s been six years since he was last a good NFL quarterback so consider us dubious still that this continues.
Better Than This But Can’t Ignore That Only 1 0-4 Team Has Ever Made The Playoffs
23. Houston Texans (0-4, down 8 spots): Head coach DeMeco Ryans is taking over defensive play-calling duties as the once-vaunted Texans defense ranks 20th overall (343.8 YPG) and tied for 26th in scoring (27.3 PPG allowed). At least the Texans get to play the similarly winless Titans this week.
24. Los Angeles Chargers (0-4, down 4 spots): Stop us if you’ve heard this one before … Justin Herbert is one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the league and it’s undermining the Chargers potential while coach Jim Harbaugh deflects questions about the offensive line.
Better Luck Next Year
25. New Orleans Saints (1-3, down 6 spots): Where is all that Saints hype now after they got embarrassed in a 45-24 loss at home to the Falcons on Monday night with their defense unable to make any stops. New Orleans is giving up the most points in the league at 32.0 per game.
26. New York Giants (2-2, up 3 spots): Cherish the Jameis Winston Experience while you can. The QB who gave us the only 30 TD, 30 INT season in NFL history back in 2019 with Tampa Bay is at it again, throwing 3 TDs and 2 picks with 250 yards in a 36-24 win over the Cardinals last week.
27. Washington Commanders (1-3, no change): Jayden Daniels is back at quarterback this week, missing just two games after dislocating his non-throwing elbow yet again. Can Daniels keep that elbow safe and give the Commanders’ season a spark?
28. New York Jets (1-3, down 3 spots): The Jets made a defensive interception for the first time since 2024! Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick did the honors last week in a loss to the Bears. After a breakout Week 3 with 7 catches for 105 yards and a TD, rookie first-round tight end Kenyon Sadiq came up empty in Week 4 on 4 targets.
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4, down 3 spots): Undrafted rookie QB Jalon Daniels will make his second start filling in for injured Baker Mayfield after throwing for 148 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs with 55 rushing yards in a 17-14 loss to the Packers.
The Race Is On For The No. 1 Draft Pick
30. Arizona Cardinals (1-3, down 2 spots): Maybe Jacoby Brissett is better off as a backup QB after all. He tossed 3 picks in the Cardinals’ 36-24 loss to the Giants while managing only 166 passing yards as Arizona lost one of the more winnable games on its schedule.
31. Tennessee Titans (0-4, no change): The Titans have at least been frisky the last couple weeks, threatening an upset vs. the Eagles and not folding against the Ravens despite a substantial deficit. And hey, No. 4 overall draft pick Carnell Tate broke out with 9 catches for 145 yards in Week 4 (but also fumbled twice, losing one).
32. Miami Dolphins (0-4, no change): The Dolphins now have no star power on offense after losing RB De’Von Achane to a season-ending ACL and are the overwhelming favorites to land the No. 1 pick and draft the top QB in the 2027 NFL Draft (as was seemingly the plan and hope all along).
