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2018 NFL Power Rankings: Tiers are forming

NFL: Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Week 4 of the 2018 NFL season is complete, which means it is time to take a look at our Week 5 20218 NFL Power Rankings. As we reach the quarter mark of the season, we are starting to see teams settle into the rankings, as well as teams hitting their bye weeks already. That does not mean we are not seeing plenty of movement within the rankings, but it feels more like that movement is in tiers of teams, rather than a team jumping up or dropping substantially.

Time to see what happened in Week 4 and where teams rank heading into Week 5.

At the top

The Los Angeles Rams hold on to the top spot, while the Kansas City Chiefs move into the second position and the Jacksonville Jaguars move up to third. All six of the top teams this week won their games, with each, other than the Rams, moving up one spot as the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, and New England Patriots hold the remaining slots. The Philadelphia Eagles dropped five positions to number seven, while the Carolina Panthers actually move up two positions despite being on a bye week. The Minnesota Vikings move down one spot to ninth after losing to the Rams, and the Los Angeles Chargers are up to positions to break into the top ten.

Miami Dolphins

Miami loses three positions this week after laying an egg on Sunday against the Patriots. It could be more of a drop, but the Patriots rank as high as they do, despite the slow three-game start to the season, because they are always capable of a win like that - especially when it is against Miami. This week against the Cincinnati Bengals will determine if Miami should be in the top 12, or if they should fall a lot more.

Biggest Climb

The Oakland Raiders jump up five spots from 31st to 26th after their win over the Cleveland Browns. This puts them just a couple of spots behind the Browns in the rankings, which feels a little odd, but Cleveland has looked like a better team this year, so it should be okay in the long run.

Biggest Drop

The Eagles had the biggest drop, losing five as they went from two to seven this week. This is not so much as a sign of their play as it is a sign of everyone else around them winning. The Eagles should be among the elite teams in the league all year.

At the bottom

Like at the top where the six teams to start the rankings won, the bottom six teams in this week’s rankings all lost. The Arizona Cardinals are 0-4 on the season and in the cellar. The New York Jets are 31st, while the New York Giants are 30th - not a great time to be a fan of a team calling MetLife Stadium home. The Detroit Lions are 29th, while the Buffalo Bills fall three places to 28th and the Indianapolis Colts fall one spot to 27th. Indianapolis feels like the team - if they can put it all together - that has a chance to jump out of the bottom tier and make a run into the heart of the rankings.

2018 NFL Power Rankings Week 11

Rank Team LW Results Change
Rank Team LW Results Change
1 New Orleans Saints (8-1) 2 W, 51-14 @ Bengals 1
2 Kansas City Chiefs (9-1) 3 W, 26-14 vs. Cardinals 1
3 Los Angeles Rams (9-1) 4 W, 36-31 vs. Seahawks 1
4 New England Patriots (7-3) 1 L, 10-34 @ Titans -3
5 Los Angeles Chargers (7-2) 5 W, 20-6 @ Raiders 0
6 Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2-1) 6 W, 52-21 vs. Panthers 0
7 Minnesota Vikings (5-3-1) 8 BYE 1
8 Green Bay Packers (4-4-1) 9 W, 31-12 vs. Dolphins 1
9 Carolina Panthers (6-3) 7 L, 21-52 @ Steelers -2
10 Houston Texas (6-3) 10 BYE 0
11 Chicago Bears (6-3) 13 W, 34-22 vs. Lions 2
12 Tennessee Titans (5-4) 17 W, 34-10 vs. Patriots 5
13 Washington Redskins (6-3) 15 W, 16-3 @ Buccaneers 2
14 Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) 14 L, 14-51 vs. Saints 0
15 Atlanta Falcons (4-5) 11 L, 16-28 @ Browns -4
16 Philadelphia Eagles (4-5) 12 L, 20-27 vs. Cowboys -4
17 Miami Dolphins (5-5) 16 L, 12-31 @ Packers -1
18 Seattle Seahawks (4-5) 18 L, 31-36 @ Rams 0
19 Indianapolis Colts (4-5) 22 W, 29-26 vs. Jaguars 3
20 Baltimore Ravens (4-5) 21 BYE 1
21 Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6) 19 L, 26-29 @ Colts -2
22 Detroit Lions (3-6) 20 L, 22-34 @ Bears -2
23 Dallas Cowboys (4-5) 27 W, 27-20 @ Eagles 4
24 Buffalo Bills (3-7) 28 W, 41-10 @ Jets 4
25 Arizona Cardinals (2-7) 23 L, 14-26 vs. Chiefs -2
26 Cleveland Browns (3-6-1) 30 W, 28-16 vs. Falcons 4
27 New York Giants (2-7) 31 W, 27-23 @ 49ers 4
28 San Francisco 49ers (2-8) 26 L, 23-27 vs. Giants -2
29 Denver Broncos (3-6) 29 BYE 0
30 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6) 24 L, 3-16 vs. Redskins -6
31 New York Jets (3-7) 25 L, 10-41 vs. Bills -6
32 Oakland Raiders (1-8) 32 L, 6-20 vs. Chargers 0