With a quarter of the season finished for most of the NFL teams, the league is still a volatile and unpredictable place on a minute-to-minute basis. Each week, it seems the game we are most sure of turns into a barn burner, while the much-anticipated matchup becomes a laugher.
2014 NFL power rankings: Chiefs, Cowboys climbing in Week 5
With some of the top teams enjoying a week off, others emerged as legitimate contenders.
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
No game showcased that more than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beating the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on Sunday. After being pounded 56-14 by the Atlanta Falcons, the winless Buccaneers went into Pittsburgh with backup quarterback Mike Glennon and pulled out the upset with less than 10 seconds remaining.
SB Nation Power Rankings
Then there are the New Orleans Saints. New Orleans was favored to go into AT&T Stadium and beat the Dallas Cowboys, except it didn't. Dallas dominated, leading 24-0 at halftime and never looking back. Suddenly, the Saints went from being a good team dealing with a slow start to ... are they good? Welcome to the NFL in 2014.
Monday night also gave us a dose of wildness. With the fans of Arrowhead Stadium creating a Guinness Book of World Record for sound in an outdoor stadium, the Kansas City Chiefs thrashed the New England Patriots 41-14. The beating was so sound that Tom Brady was benched in the fourth quarter after throwing his second interception of the night. Suddenly, the Chiefs are back in the AFC playoff mix and New England appears to be falling apart.
The only undefeated teams remaining are the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals, both of which had byes this weekend. Both teams will play marquee matchups this Sunday, with the Cardinals traveling to take on the Denver Broncos while Cincinnati tries to keep the Patriots down in a Sunday Night Football contest at Gillette Stadium.
Here's a full look at how the sports media outlets ranked the teams after Week 4:
| Rk. | Team | Record | SB Nation | ESPN | NFL.com | Football Outsiders | Average |
| 1 | Seattle Seahawks | 2-1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | Denver Broncos | 2-1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3.25 |
| 3 | Cincinnati Bengals | 3-0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.75 |
| 4 | Arizona Cardinals | 3-0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 4.5 |
| 5 | San Diego Chargers | 3-1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 6.25 |
| 6 | Baltimore Ravens | 3-1 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6.25 |
| 7 | Detroit Lions | 3-1 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7.5 |
| 8 | San Francisco 49ers | 2-2 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 19 | 11.75 |
| 9 | Philadelphia Eagles | 3-1 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 7.5 |
| 10 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2-2 | 10 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 14.75 |
| 11 | Dallas Cowboys | 3-1 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 11.5 |
| 12 | Green Bay Packers | 2-2 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 9.75 |
| 13 | Houston Texans | 3-1 | 13 | 13 | 21 | 24 | 17.75 |
| 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | 2-2 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 15.25 |
| 15 | New England Patriots | 2-2 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 23 | 18 |
| 16 | Chicago Bears | 2-2 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14.75 |
| 17 | Carolina Panthers | 2-2 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 27 | 21 |
| 18 | Indianapolis Colts | 2-2 | 18 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 14 |
| 19 | Atlanta Falcons | 2-2 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 4 | 14.75 |
| 20 | New York Giants | 2-2 | 20 | 19 | 13 | 11 | 15.75 |
| 21 | Buffalo Bills | 2-2 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 10 | 19.25 |
| 22 | Cleveland Browns | 1-2 | 22 | 25 | 24 | 16 | 21.75 |
| 23 | New Orleans Saints | 1-3 | 23 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 21.75 |
| 24 | Miami Dolphins | 2-2 | 24 | 22 | 17 | 20 | 20.75 |
| 25 | Minnesota Vikings | 2-2 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 25 |
| 26 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1-3 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 31 | 28.75 |
| 27 | New York Jets | 1-3 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 26 |
| 28 | Washington | 1-3 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 22 | 26 |
| 29 | St. Louis Rams | 1-2 | 29 | 30 | 28 | 29 | 29 |
| 30 | Tennessee Titans | 1-3 | 30 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 29 |
| 31 | Oakland Raiders | 0-4 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 30 | 31.25 |
| 32 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 0-4 | 32 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 31.5 |
The four polls we use
We use four separate rankings to find our weekly average. We do this to get a broad scope of how the 32 teams are seen after four weeks. Our power rankings sources are from our in-house rankings, ESPN and NFL.com. Additionally, we use the DVOA rankings from Football Outsiders as an important statistical piece to the formula.
See More:
