NFL Power Rankings Week 4: Updated Standings, Predictions Before MNF

The third week of the 2016 NFL season is almost in the books. After the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons do battle on Monday night, every NFL team will have played three full contests.

We’ve learned quite a bit about each of the 32 teams so far this season, even though injuries, unexpected performances and on-field surprises have done their part to cloud the big picture.

Injuries have probably been the biggest storyline of the early season, as a number of top-level players are set to miss significant time. The Minnesota Vikings, for example, have already placed starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and star running back Adrian Peterson on injured reserve.

However, some of these injuries have allowed us to gain even more insight into the makeup of these teams. Those Vikings added quarterback Sam Bradford after the Bridgewater injury and have followed him to a perfect 3-0 record. Their latest win—a 22-10 romp over the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers—showed just how complete the Vikings are.

Likewise, the New England Patriots have proved that setbacks are not going to hold the team back early in 2016. Despite missing starting quarterback Tom Brady, losing backup Jimmy Garoppolo to injury and starting rookie Jacoby Brissett against the Houston Texans, the Patriots managed to produce a stunning 27-0 Week 3 win.

The Patriots and Vikings are two of five teams that remain undefeated thus far, but records aren’t everything. We’re going to take what we’ve learned so far in the young season and apply it to our power rankings. This is an early look at the Week 4 rankings, so we’ll be filling in the blanks with our prediction for Monday night’s game. In addition, we’ll be examining some notable rankings from our list.

Our rankings are based on factors such as team record, on-field performances, opponents played and team health where applicable.

Notable Rankings

1. Denver Broncos

We won’t hold it against you if you think the Denver Broncos don’t deserve to be at the top of our rankings. After all, the Patriots could certainly go in the No. 1 slot, especially considering all New England has overcome to get to 3-0.

Still, the Broncos are defending Super Bowl champions, and they seem to be getting better as the season wears on. The defense still looks like a championship-caliber …

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