Who Dat Dish; Week 3 NFL Power Rankings – Bears Drop After Loss

Several teams are coming off the bye-week including the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings and the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs and while the Chiefs will look to stay undefeated this week both the Vikings and Cowboys are hoping to even their records after a 1-2 start.

Minnesota may now have much needed help in the receiving core acquiring wide receiver Randy Moss from the Patriots in exchange for their third round pick next year. Favre and the receiving core have struggled mightily this season and Moss’ addition is a last ditch effort by the franchise to get them back on the winning track.

The 3-0 Bears marched into the Meadowlands to take on the Giants and most thought the Bears offense would be too much for the Giants to handle, however the pass rush  generated by the Giants lead to nine first half sacks of Cutler eventually pushing him out of the contest altogether with a concussion.

Eli and the Giants would go on to win the game on the running of Ahmad Bradshaw who rushed for over one hundred yards while chipping in a touchdown knocking off the last remaining undefeated NFC team.

Here are the top five teams according to WhoDatDish.com heading into week 5, rankings based off of week 4 performances…

1. New Orleans Saints (3-1)

The Saints are a kick away from being 4-0 and two games ahead in the NFC South but Hartley and fate decided other wise losing a close game to the Falcons last week. They bounced back with a 16-14 win over the Carolina Panthers and while some might argue the Saints offense is not playing they way it should last week, with out Pierre Thomas or Reggie Bush, the unit topped four hundred yards of total offense but only could muster one lone touchdown. Receiver Lance Moore fumbled at the one yard line and later running back Chris Ivory coughed up the ball just shy of the 25 yard line, you take back these fumbles and it’s perhaps a thirty point game. The Saints will enter into a rather soft three game series taking on th Cardinals, Bucs and Browns before a home showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Can the injury riddled squad continue to find ways to win?

2. Kansas City Chiefs (3-0)

Fresh off a bye-week the Chiefs are rested and prepared for a big game against the Indianapolis Colts who are 2-2 courtesy of a 59 yard field kicked by Jacksonville’s Josh Scobee. No one expected the Chiefs to start so strong but the fact remains their offense is playing great, primarily the running game, and the defense is tough against the run rarely giving up any points. If they can shut down Manning and improve to 4-0 this week it will be a strong statement that they are a legitimate play-off team.

3. Baltimore Ravens (3-1)

The Ravens are a force to contend with in the AFC North and currently are top dog after a hard fought win over the Pittsburg Steelers. Offensively the Ravens have had better seasons but when you have a defense as dynamic as they do scoring is optional as the Ray Lewis led unit is statistically among the best  in the NFL in virtually every category.

4. New York Jets (3-1)

LaDainian Tomlinson has had a re-birth as a Jet after being cast off the San Diego Chargers in the off-season even unseating projected starter Shonn Greene so far this year. Last week against the Bills Tomlinson rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns and his efforts help secure their third straight division win. Young quarterback Mark Sanchez has seemingly found his stride throwing for 637 yards and eight touchdowns over the last three games.

5. Green Bay Packers (3-1)

The Pack could have been higher but losing to the Bears behind an abundance of penalties coupled with the narrow win over the Detroit Lions last Sunday puts them firmly in the fifth spot. However with Aaron Rodgers playing like a potential MVP they are a very dangerous team to contend with, did I mention they have the raining defensive player of the year Charles Woodson in their secondary.

Staff writer Josh Joffrion’s picks…..

Honorable Mention- Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans: Houston began it’s season with a win over the Colts and have only one loss and that to their in-state rivals, the Dallas Cowboys.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs have undoubtedly been the surprise of 2010 and after reeling off 3 straight wins, took last week off and look to face Indianapolis this week.

5. New Orleans Saints

They haven’t been terrible but they haven’t been great either and now, with plenty of injuries on both sides of the ball, the Who Dat Nation is getting worried but they’re still 3-1 despite the adversity.

4. Green Bay Packers

After a loss to Chicago, and escaping by the skin of their teeth against the Lions, Aaron Rodgers and the Pack are 3-1. The team is still talented and can only get better

3. New England Patriots

The question for the Pats is how much will the trading away of star receiver Randy Moss hinder their very productive offense? My guess is not much. After a decisive 41-14 victory over the Dolphins in which Moss didn’t have a catch, head coach Bill Bellichick feels confident enough in his team.

2. New York Jets

Rex Ryan’s team started the season with a 10-9 loss at the hands of the Ravens, since then they’ve reeled off three straight wins including a decisive victory of the third ranked Patriots.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers

After starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for the first four games, both third quarterback Dennis Dixon and fourth quarterback Charlie Batch split games due to injuries. Amazingly, the Steelers are 3-1 with Roethlisberger ready to take the reigns again.

Check out Keith Null’s weekly article about the Saints on NFL.com by clicking here.

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