ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

Rank Last Week Team 1 BAL 1 1 2 1 2 IND 2 2 3 4 3 NYG 3 6 1 2 4 NO 4 5 6 3 5 MIN 5 4 4 5 6 NYJ 6 3 5 6 7 NE 8 7 7 7 8 ATL 9 8 8 9 9 PHI 7 9 11 8 10 GB 11 10 10 10 11 CIN 10 14 13 12 12 SD 13 16 9 13 13 DEN 16 11 17 11 14 CHI 12 12 14 17 15 SF 14 17 12 15 16 PIT 15 15 15 14 17 DAL 17 13 16 16 18 TEN 21 18 19 18 19 ARI 18 19 20 23 20 HOU 20 24 18 22 21 BUF 23 23 23 20 22 JAC 19 22 24 25 23 SEA 24 21 21 24 24 MIA 22 26 22 21 25 CAR 26 25 27 19 26 WAS 29 20 26 28 27 OAK 25 28 28 26 28 DET 28 27 25 27 29 CLE 27 29 31 29 30 KC 30 31 29 32 31 TB 31 30 30 31 32 STL 32 32 32 30

Before I solicit advice for the Week 5 power rankings, please know the chart shows how ESPN.com panelists voted last week.

The next round of balloting closes after the Monday night game between Brett Favre and the former team of Brett Favre. Teams listed in red on the chart lost games in Week 4.

ESPN.com power rankings run each Tuesday during the NFL season, accompanied by my look inside the rankings on the NFC West blog.

And now, the power rankings revisited ...

The reckoning: Four games featured lower-ranked teams defeating higher-ranked teams:

• (7) New England 27, (1) Baltimore 21. Seattle apparently isn't the only team to complain about officiating. Referee power rankings in the works. Seriously.
• (16) Pittsburgh 38, (12) San Diego 28. Tough to beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
• (22) Jacksonville 37, (18) Tennessee 17. Would Titans be 0-4 with Albert Haynesworth?
• (24) Miami 38, (21) Buffalo 10. The Terrell Owens signing was an offseason PR move all the way.

Still to play: (10) Packers at (5) Vikings on "Monday Night Football."

Welcome to Loserville: The six worst teams in the Week 4 rankings lost by a combined 178-79 count even though the Browns and Bucs lost by three apiece. Nice work in particular from the Raiders and Rams. No wonder Los Angeles hasn't rallied to bring back the NFL.

Doing 120 in the southbound lane: Oakland, Tennessee, Buffalo and Seattle.

Northbound in a hurry: Denver, San Francisco. Who knew Mike Singletary and Mike Nolan could be so effective working apart? Are the Broncos and 49ers worthy of the top 10? If so, which incumbent top 10 teams should be former top 10 teams?

My early favorite for the No. 1 spot: Indianapolis. The Ravens could slide to No. 5 or No. 6 behind the Colts, Giants, Saints, Vikings (if they win) and Patriots.