When it comes to Creative Misfortune Power Rankings, production is combined with potential to determine a team's true strength compared to the rest of the league. Winning isn't the only factor, but it is one of the most important components of the rating. I don't believe teams can be powerful if they consistently lose, even to other great teams.
The Forked Few~
Abandon hope and fortune all ye who rank here
# 32 - Jacksonville Jaguars (previous: 32)
The Jaguars have lost every game this season by an average score of 38-14.
# 31 - Oakland Raiders (previous: 30)
The Raiders head into their bye week with an interim coach and no real hope for the remainder of the season.
# 30 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (previous: 31)
Huge win by the Buccaneers in Pittsburgh on Sunday, but nobody believes Tampa Bay has magically turned a corner.
# 29 - St. Louis Rams (previous: 29)
A bye week to heal and recover. Normally I'm not a big fan of teams getting a bye week so early in the season, but if any team needed one, it was the Rams.
# 28 - Tennessee Titans (previous: 27)
After a dominating week one victory, the Titans have gone on a three-game slide and they have not looked competitive in any of those three losses.
The Creatively Challenged~
Folly remains ever their mistress
# 27 - New York Jets (previous: 25)
Funny, we haven't heard much about the Jets since they defeated the Raiders the first week of the season.
# 26 - Washington Redskins (previous: 18)
The blowout loss to the Giants last Thursday night was a fluke. The Redskins are not as bad as they looked in that game and they can prove that on Monday night if they can stay close with Seattle.
# 25 - Carolina Panthers (previous: 16)
Once an all-mighty, undefeated team at 2-0, the Panthers have been beaten up and knocked so hard back down to earth, I don't know if they will even recover this season.
# 24 - New Orleans Saints (previous: 19)
Defense is killing the Saints and their offense has not been playing great enough to make up the difference. Maybe a home date with Tampa Bay will get the Saints back on their winning ways.
# 23 - New England Patriots (previous: 7)
People have said it all season long, but I think we may have finally witnessed the true beginning of the end of the Patriots' dynasty. Tom Brady benched in the fourth quarter. That is not a sign of great things to come for this franchise.
# 22 - Cleveland Browns (previous: 21)
What will the Browns do coming out of their bye week? They have great potential, but just not playoff potential.
# 21 - Chicago Bears (previous: 10)
The Bears were blasted in their home stadium by Green Bay. I can't remember a Chicago team ever playing this poorly on defense.
The Remarkably Average~
Dancing the fine line between misfortune and glory
# 20 - Green Bay Packers (previous: 28)
The Packers made a statement in Chicago last week. They will not go quietly and leave the division in the hands of the Lions and Bears without a fight.
# 19 - San Francisco 49ers (previous: 23)
A solid win at home because of the great play of their defense. The offense shows flashes of brilliance, but they just don't seem like they have pulled it all together yet.
# 18 - Pittsburgh Steelers (previous: 17)
Seriously? The Steelers had the game won, multiple times, and they still collapsed late in the fourth quarter and allowed the Buccaneers, a team down 56-0 during their last game at one point, to win in their stadium.
# 17 - Miami Dolphins (previous: 26)
A nice win on the road in Oakland is just what the Dolphins needed to clear their head after two straight losses.
# 16 - New York Giants (previous: 24)
When Eli Manning is great, he's really great. When he's terrible, he's really terrible.
# 15 - Buffalo Bills (previous: 11)
EJ Manuel benched so the team can win now. Somehow I don't think Kyle Orton is the answer to any team's "win now" equation.
# 14 - Minnesota Vikings (previous: 22)
Looks like the Vikings have finally found their quarterback of the future. Now if he could just stay healthy, they might really have something.
# 13 - Atlanta Falcons (previous: 6)
After completely dominating the Buccaneers, the Falcons are dominated by the Vikings. The Falcons are an impressive 2-0 at home and a woeful 0-2 on the road. Can anybody say 8-8?
The Fortunate Seven~
The best of those not yet elite
# 12 - Kansas City Chiefs (previous: 20)
I have never seen the Chiefs dominate a game so decisively like they did on Monday night. The fact that they were playing the New England Patriots makes their impressive victory all the sweeter.
# 11 - Denver Broncos (previous: 12)
Questions still remain unanswered for the Broncos at every position except quarterback. Did they figure everything out during their bye week? A tough home game against the upstart Cardinals should be a good barometer for measuring Denver's possible success through the rest of the season.
# 10 - Philadelphia Eagles (previous: 2)
Impressive that the Eagles almost defeated the 49ers in San Francisco with nothing but defense and special teams. Not so impressive is that Philadelphia's offense couldn't generate any points. The Eagles would have lost 26-0 if the defense and special teams had not figured out a way to score.
# 9 - Houston Texans (previous: 14)
Injuries are quickly taking their toll on the Texans.
# 8 - Indianapolis Colts (previous: 13)
Despite their .500 record, nobody wants to play the Colts right now.
# 7 - Dallas Cowboys (previous: 15)
The defense continues to get better and better and the offense has so far avoided making big mistakes. Funny how the offense does better when they have a decent running game going and use it to take pressure off Romo so he doesn’t have to throw the ball 50 times a game.
# 6 - Seattle Seahawks (previous: 5)
Seattle needs a win coming out of their bye week just to keep pace in the tough NFC West division.
The Creative Elite~
Wielding misfortune at its finest
# 5 - Detroit Lions (previous: 8)
The Lions continue to win, despite their lack of discipline.
# 4 - Arizona Cardinals (previous: 3)
Coming out of their bye week and going on the road to face the Denver Broncos. We'll know soon enough how strong of a team Arizona truly is after that game is played.
# 3 - San Diego Chargers (previous: 4)
The Chargers just keep on winning and have yet to lose to a shaky opponent like they have so many times in the past.
# 2 - Baltimore Ravens (previous: 9)
The Ravens seem to have put the drama of the Ray Rice incident behind them, at least on the field. Let's hope some good completely unrelated to football, comes out of that situation.
# 1 - Cincinnati Bengals (previous: 1)
Nothing happened during the bye week to convince me Cincinnati is not one of the best teams in the league right now. They have a chance to prove it this Sunday night when they take on the reeling Patriots in New England.
Week 4 Power Ranking Awards:
The Free Fallers - New England Patriots (-16), Chicago Bears (-11), Carolina Panthers (-9), Philadelphia Eagles (-8), Washington Redskins (-8)
The Biggest Movers - Miami Dolphins (+9), Dallas Cowboys (+8), Kansas City Chiefs (+8), Minnesota Vikings (+8), New York Giants (+8)
Maintaining The Status Quo - Cincinnati Bengals (1), St. Louis Rams (29), Jacksonville Jaguars (32)
Creative Misfortune Super Bowl XLIX Favorites ~ After Week 4
AFC Favorite:
NFC Favorite:
Check back tomorrow for week 5 predictions.
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