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Week Four Power Rankings

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Darin Gantt believes Carolina Panthers fans are overreacting to the team's losses to the Broncos and Vikings and expects them to improve with an easier schedule ahead. He also talks about protests' impact on the team.

1. Broncos (3-0; last week No. 1): Maybe they shouldn’t have drafted Paxton Lynch, after all.

2. Patriots (3-0; No. 2): Maybe they should have drafted Paxton Lynch (if they’d had a first-round pick).

3. Vikings (3-0; No. 6): Defense and coaching are great, offense is good enough. But here’s hoping they don’t need a field goal in the playoffs. Or an extra point.

4. Panthers (1-2; No. 3): Sure, no team with a losing record has ever landed this high. But no elite team has faced defenses like Denver’s and Minnesota’s in the first three games of a season.

5. Packers (2-1; No. 8): The offense is fixed. As long as they play the Lions every week.

6. Eagles (3-0; No. 19): That “they haven’t beaten anybody” excuse went out the window on Sunday.

7. Ravens (3-0; No. 11): Winning ugly is always better than losing pretty.

8. Seahawks (2-1; No. 9): With a return to the place where they won a Super Bowl looming, they finally are looking like the team that did.

9. Steelers (2-1; No. 4): The fact that it has been 27 years since the last 31-point loss won’t make Steelers fans feel much better about Sunday’s debacle.

10. Texans (2-1; No. 7): The good news? The Patriots didn’t score 40 against the Texans this time. The bad news? The Patriots only needed three to win.

11. Chiefs (2-1; No. 12): If they can avoid another slow start, a strong finish could get them a division title and a bye.

12. Cowboys (2-1; No. 14): Once they put Humpty Dumpty back together again and he falls off the wall (again), things won’t may not be as dire.

13. Falcons (2-1; No. 16): Kyle Shanahan may end up being a head coach, after all.

14. Giants (2-1; No. 13): The kicking net was one unsportsmanlike conduct foul away from being ejected.

15. Raiders (2-1; No. 17): The defense showed up in Nashville, even though the offense almost didn’t.

16. Cardinals (1-2; No. 5): Jake Delhomme says, “Wow, that playoff meltdown has really affected Carson Palmer.”

17. Bengals (1-2; No. 10): It’s impossible to lose in the playoffs for the sixth straight year if you don’t qualify.

18. Jets (1-2; No. 15): The Jets had a come-to-Jesus meeting on Monday. On Sunday against Seattle, their fans could be telling the team to go to hell.

19. Rams (2-1; No. 26): Given Jeff Fisher’s mastery of the Buccaneers, maybe his next job should be in the NFC South.

20. Dolphins (1-2; No. 20): The standings should have a separate category for beating the Browns in overtime, because it doesn’t feel like a win.

21. Buccaneers (1-2; No. 18): The first walk-and-chew-gum test for head coach/playcaller Dirk Koetter didn’t go very well.

22. Titans (1-2; No. 21): There’s a fine line between 3-0 and 1-2, and the Titans are on the wrong side of it.

23. Colts (1-2; No. 25): Win notwithstanding, Andrew Luck is still closer to Archie than Peyton on the Manning scale.

24. Washington (1-2; No. 29): The 2015 version of the team returned, thanks to a cameo appearance from the 2015 version of the Giants.

25. Bills (1-2; No. 31): LeSean McCoy’s hard-charging runs made it clear that he was very happy about the change in coordinators.

26. 49ers (1-2; No. 22): The 49ers are unstoppable, when they have seven months to get ready for a game.

27. Lions (1-2; No. 23): No one expected them to win in Green Bay for a second straight year, but that doesn’t make “1-2" look any better.

28. Chargers (1-2; No. 27): Another week, another season-ending injury to a key player.

29. Saints (0-3; No. 24): If 2017 free agency were to begin right now, the Saints possibly would have a chance to turn things around.

30. Jaguars (0-3; No. 28): “Here are the Jaguars, London. Much earlier than usual. Before they have a really, really bad record.”

31. Browns (0-3; No. 32): Maybe Terrelle Pryor should kick field goals, too.

32. Bears (0-3; No. 30): The Bears aren’t who we thought they were. They’re worse.