NFL power rankings: Detroit Lions the class of the NFC North after 4 weeks
Dan Campbell correctly noted after the Detroit Lions’ blowout of the Green Bay Packers last week that there truly is no quarter pole in the NFL season anymore.
“I’m not great at math,” Campbell said. “But it’s hard to quarter things now with 17 weeks.”
Indeed it is, so rather than wait till a quarter of the way through the Lions’ fifth regular season game Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, I figured I’d use this week’s power rankings to take stock of the NFC North.
The Lions are the best team in the division by a wide margin, even if their lead right now over the Packers is a single game.
They have the division’s best defense, best quarterback, best running game and best special teams. They have the best coaching staff in the North and they’ve already played (and beaten) the best team on their schedule.
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It’d be an upset if the Lions don’t win the division at this point, and a rash of injuries is about the only thing I can see preventing that from happening.
The second-best team in the division is a toss-up between the Packers and Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings have the better quarterback and the game’s best receiver; their offense will be able to score points as long as Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson stay healthy. But Green Bay has the better overall roster.
The Packers looked awful last week against the Lions, and Jordan Love leaves lots to be desired at quarterback. Green Bay is lucky to be 2-2 right now; the Packers beat the lowly Chicago Bears in Week 1 and needed an 18-point comeback in Week 3 to beat a New Orleans Saints team that lost its starting quarterback during the game. The Packers get the edge, though, because they have the more favorable schedule with two winnable road games against AFC West opponents sandwiching a bye in the next three weeks.
The Vikings play two of the NFL's best teams in the next three weeks but have a winnable stretch of games after that. They sit eight spots behind the Packers in my power rankings, but both are part of the NFL’s large middle class, capable of making the playoffs but no threat to do any real damage if they get in.
As for the division’s fourth team, the Bears, they’re the worst team in the NFL. Their offensive line is a sieve, they have no playmakers on defense and their quarterback is a running back who the coaching staff is trying to make throw the ball.
They’ll be lucky to win three games, which makes them the favorite to land USC quarterback Caleb Williams, a potential franchise changer, as the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft in Detroit. The Bears have been awful on the field, but they do have one important thing going for them: They also own the Panthers’ first-round pick in 2024 – and Carolina and Chicago are the only two winless teams remaining in the NFL.
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NFL power rankings entering Week 5
1. San Francisco 49ers (4-0)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (4-0)
3. Kansas City Chiefs (3-1)
4. Buffalo Bills (3-1)
5. Dallas Cowboys (3-1)
6. Miami Dolphins (3-1)
7. Detroit Lions (3-1)
8. Baltimore Ravens (3-1)
9. Seattle Seahawks (3-1)
10. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2)
11. Cleveland Browns (2-2)
12. Los Angeles Chargers (2-2)
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1)
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2)
15. Indianapolis Colts (2-2)
16. Houston Texans (2-2)
17. Green Bay Packers (2-2)
18. Washington Commanders (2-2)
19. Cincinnati Bengals (1-3)
20. New Orleans Saints (2-2)
21. Tennessee Titans (2-2)
22. Los Angeles Rams (2-2)
23. Atlanta Falcons (2-2)
24. New York Jets (1-3)
25. Minnesota Vikings (1-3)
26. Las Vegas Raiders (1-3)
27. New York Giants (1-3)
28. New England Patriots (1-3)
29. Arizona Cardinals (1-3)
30. Denver Broncos (1-3)
31. Carolina Panthers (0-4)
32. Chicago Bears (0-4)
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions NFL power ranks: Taking stock of NFC North after 4 weeks
