Riggo’s Power Rankings Week 4: Houston Texans and The Elite Have Separated Themselves
By Jeff Johnson
The top 6 teams in our power rankings, although not set in stone, have really started to separate themselves in the rankings. Yes the Packers and 49ers lost, but remember, the 49ers played an early game that started 10AM Pacifc Time, and don’t get me started on the Packers game. The Falcons have played really well on the road this year so far, the Ravens are showing they are a solid team, and the Texans look like they can win anywhere, anytime, in a division that will hand them six wins alone. After that, you have some really good teams, but right now don’t look like they can contend for a Super Bowl since they all have some major hole in their resume. Look for 7-16 continue to shift wildly as they did this past week with the Giants making the biggest move from 14 to 6, and the Lions plummeting seven spots after the only person that didn’t know the snap was going to happen was the center on a very crucial 4th down play.
| Rank | Team | Record | Last Week | Comment |
| 1 | Texans | 3-0 | 2 | The Texans showed they are for real. The only thing they have lost so far is part of Schuab’s ear. |
| 2 | Falcons | 3-0 | 4 | The Falcons look like they could win the AFC West and the NFC South this year. |
| 3 | 49ers | 2-1 | 1 | Proves lesson number #1 of my picks. It’s hard for West Coast teams to win games that start at 1PM ET. |
| 4 | Ravens | 2-1 | 5 | After physically battling a tough Patriots team, the short week doesn’t look so bad when it’s Cleveland coming to town on a short week. |
| 5 | Packers | 1-2 | 3 | The Packers were the better team on Monday, but what’s happened to the explosive offense from last year? |
| 6 | Giants | 2-1 | 14 | Coughlin continues to prove that you can be a disciplinarian and get the most out of your team in this current era. |
| 7 | Patriots | 1-2 | 9 | Is the dominance of the Patriots over? @ Buffalo, Denver, and @ Seattle used to be a for sure 2 out of 3. Not anymore. |
| 8 | Bears | 2-1 | 10 | One thing is for sure. Chicago dominates at home with combined victories of 64-27. |
| 9 | Seahawks | 2-1 | 12 | Maybe they didn’t win. What is of no doubt is that this is a very tough place to win after beating the Cowboys and Packers this year. |
| 10 | Steelers | 1-2 | 6 | The Pirate continues to lead his team, but was the rest was too hurt, and maybe looking forward to a bye week and lost a game that could come back to haunt them. |
| 11 | Broncos | 1-2 | 7 | Maybe it’s Denver and it’s quarterbacks. Manning is doing his best impersonation of Tebow and waiting for the 4th quarter for late game heroics. |
| 12 | Cardinals | 3-0 | 11 | It was just 4 years ago that the offense carried this team. The defense will not sneak up on anyone now. |
| 13 | Cowboys | 2-1 | 13 | The Seattle loss doesn’t look so bad anymore, and Dallas has a chance to really prove itself before its bye week on Monday night. |
| 14 | Eagles | 2-1 | 8 | I said it before and I’ll say it again. You can’t win if you turn over the ball 4 times a game. |
| 15 | Buccaneers | 1-2 | 17 | Tampa Bay will play everyone tough this year, but I’m sure they would prefer to not have to charge the line on a kneel down at the end of the game. |
| 16 | Bengals | 2-1 | 19 | The offense can put up the points. That’s for sure. But it will remain in the middle of the pack if they can’t stop the opposing team putting them up too. |
| 17 | Chargers | 2-1 | 15 | So that’s what happens when the Chargers face a real team. Now they have to travel to a KC and prove they still aren’t too highly ranked. |
| 18 | Jets | 2-1 | 22 | Sanchez loses one game and the calls for Tebow are already starting. Was Tebow going to complete passes the receivers were dropping? |
| 19 | Bills | 2-1 | 23 | The Bills have the offense when everyone is healthy. Can they put up enough offense without so many of their offensive weapons to beat the Patriots? |
| 20 | Redskins | 1-2 | 18 | Cincinnati just called. They just threw another TD pass for 50 plus yards. |
| 21 | Vikings | 2-1 | 26 | Ponder is quietly becoming a quarterback that has the rest of the NFC North thinking it has the best quarterbacks of any division. |
| 22 | Chiefs | 1-2 | 27 | This must be a misprint. THIS defense kept the Saints to -16 yards in the 4th qtr and OT. Now they have a home game for the AFC West lead. |
| 23 | Lions | 1-2 | 16 | If there is one person that should know you aren’t going to snap the ball, it should be the center. |
| 24 | Rams | 1-2 | 20 | Seattle’s defense comes to town, and Bradford needs to prove this offense just had one bad day or else they could be out of the NFC West race early. |
| 25 | Saints | 0-3 | 21 | What’s worse than going 0-3? The teams they have lost to are 0-6 when they aren’t playing the Saints. |
| 26 | Panthers | 1-2 | 24 | The theory that Cam Newton needs his running game to succeed is starting to become a proven statement. |
| 27 | Raiders | 1-2 | 32 | No mistake, McFadden is the key in Oakland, but Palmer is showing signs of being the quarterback he was before his knee injury. |
| 28 | Colts | 1-2 | 25 | Luck won more games at Stanford because there his defense could hold a lead when the opposing team only had 45 seconds to score from it’s own 20 and no timeouts. |
| 29 | Titans | 1-2 | 28 | A 14-point lead with less that 30 seconds to go should be a game you win in regulation. |
| 30 | Jaguars | 1-2 | 31 | He got the win, but Gabbert shouldn’t be feeling too comfortable. With 45 seconds left to go in the game, he was 9 for 20 and 68 yards passing. |
| 31 | Dolphins | 1-2 | 29 | Reggie Bush’s injury could have lead to a 1-15 season. The Jets game was a chance to win a game when they won’t get too many chances. |
| 32 | Browns | 0-3 | 30 | The Browns need more production out of Richardson, because Weeden isn’t ready to lead this team to victories. Oh, hello short week to Baltimore. 0-4 coming soon. |
September 16, 2012; Jacksonville, FL, USA; A Houston Texans player holds up his helmet prior to the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. The Texans defeated the Jaguars 27-7. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE
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