Week 4 Power Rankings: Stillers, Bears, Jets up; Giants, Packers, Chargers down

Plenty of changes at the top this week, with the defending champion Saints losing, the Steelers winning again despite continued quarterback issues and the Bears beating the Packers on Monday night.
Up: Steelers, Chiefs, Bears, Jets. Down: Giants, Dolphins, Packers, Chargers.

Ranking, team, record, previous week’s ranking

1. Steelers (3-0) (4): Stunning how the Steelers have weathered the Ben Roethlisberger suspension and injuries to QBs Byron Leftwich and Dennis Dixon. Great defense and great coaching by Mike Tomlin.
2. Colts (2-1) (5): Colts have bounced back quite nicely from opening day loss in Houston with convincing wins over Giants at home and Broncos on the road.
3. Saints (2-1) (1): Garrett Hartley was a hero of the NFC Championship Game, but now his job is threatened after early-season struggles, including missed FG in OT against the Falcons.
4. Bears (3-0) (7): Jay Cutler gets it done in the fourth quarter against the Packers to keep Chicago the only unbeaten team in the NFC.
5. Jets (2-1) (9): In his last two games, Mark Sanchez has six TDs and no INTs. That’s a winning formula, even when the “D” struggles like it did against Dolphins.
6. Packers (2-1) (2): Packers tie dubious franchise record with a whopping 18 penalties. No wonder they went belly-up at Soldier Field.
7. Texans (2-1) (3): Texans come back to earth after 2-0 start, losing at home to Pokes.
8. Ravens (2-1) (8): Joe Flacco finally looks like a big-time QB with three TDs against Browns. Trade for Anquan Boldin already paying dividends.
9. Patriots (2-1) (10): Pats’ defense nearly goes belly-up against Bills, but it’s Tom Brady – who else? – to the rescue.
10. Chiefs (3-0) (12): Are the Chiefs for real? Sure looks that way after another resounding win, this time over a desperate 49ers team.
11. Bengals (2-1) (11): Bengals hold serve against woeful Panthers on the road. Up next: Brownies in Cleveland.
12. Dolphins (2-1) (6): After two road wins, Dolphins lose to Jets in thrilling home opener. Game not decided until final play – an INT by Drew Coleman in the endzone.
13. Falcons (2-1) (18): Falcons are the first to beat defending Super Bowl champion Saints, winning an OT thriller on the road.
14. Titans (2-1) (13): Titans take advantage of mistake-prone Giants to keep pace with Texans and Colts in AFC South.
15. Eagles (2-1) (17): Four more TDs for Michael Vick. Up next: home to the Redskins and former Iggles QB Donovan McNabb.
16. Cowboys (1-2) (21): Crisis averted, Part II: After speculation about Wade Phillips’ job security, Pokes beat Texans on the road to avoid 0-3 start.
17. Redskins (1-2) (16): This ought to be interesting: After upset loss in St. Louis, Donovan McNabb goes to Philly to visit his former team. We expect Philly will roll out the welcome mat with plenty of boos.
18. Chargers (1-2) (15): Chargers sticking to script by getting off to yet another sluggish start under Norv Turner.
19. Broncos (1-2) (19): Broncos pull to within three, 13-10, in third quarter, but late collapse leads to 27-13 Colts win.
20. Vikings (1-2) (20): Crisis averted, Part I. Vikings continue domination of Lions to get first win of the season.
21. Seahawks (2-1) (22): Resourceful Seahawks hold off Chargers, as former Jet Leon Washington produces two kickoff return TDs.
22. Giants (1-2) (14): Plenty of ugly stats in this one, including three turnovers and 11 penalties.
23. Buccaneers (2-1) (23): Down 28-6 at half, Bucs never in it against Stillers.
24. Cardinals (2-1) (27): Cardinals can thank their lucky stars – and Sebastian Janikowski’s missed field goals – for upset win at Raiders.
25. Rams (1-2) (29): Sam Bradford quickly making a believer out of Rams fans with nice win over Redskins.
26. Jaguars (1-2) (24): After 13-of-30 performance, David Garrard’s time in Jacksonville starting to slip away.
27.. Bills (0-3) (32): Ryan Fitzpatrick lights up Pats’ defense, but Tom Brady does the same to Bills.
28. 49ers (0-3) (25): Not long after getting a vote of confidence, offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye gets a pink slip.
29. Raiders (1-2) (26): QB Bruce Gardkowski got his job done; Janikowski didn’t. After getting Raiders into field goal position to win it, Seabass misses.
30. Lions (0-3) (28): When you don’t have anything nice to say …
31. Browns (0-3) (31): See Lions comment …
32. Panthers (0-3) (30): Rookie Jimmy Clausen loses his debut against Bengals.

Week 4 schedule
Jets at Bills
Ravens at Steelers
Bengals at Browns
Broncos at Titans
Panthers at Saints
Lions at Packers
Seahawks at Rams
49ers at Falcons
Texans at Raiders
Colts at Jaguars
Redskins at Eagles
Cardinals at Chargers
Bears at Giants
Patriots at Dolphins

Byes: Cowboys, Chiefs, Vikings, Buccaneers