NFL standings: Week 4 begins to separate teams

The National Football League is a crazy place. One week, a team can look like a Super Bowl contender, before looking like a group of chumps the following week. The NFL only has a 16-game season, but it feels like a campaign where fortunes can turn in an instant.

Last week, we watched the Baltimore Ravens continue to crumble. Baltimore was picked by many to go to the Super Bowl, and now it is 0-3 and without outside linebacker Terrell Suggs for the season with a torn Achilles. The Ravens must get rolling immediately, and have a golden chance to do it against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Pittsburgh has plenty of problems in its own right, with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger out 4-6 weeks with a sprained MCL. Michael Vick will start in Roethlisberger’s place, hopeing to keep the Steelers afloat until November.

Meanwhile, a couple of contenders are strutting their stuff. The New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals are all 3-0 after resounding victories over the weekend. New England pounded the Jacksonville Jaguars, while Green Bay pummeled the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cardinals took down the San Francisco 49ers, 47-7.

Let’s take a look at the NFL standings heading into Week 4:

[table id=105 /]

If some of these 0-3 want any shot of climbing out of the hole, they need to win this week. The two teams without a win in the NFC North are really up against it, with the Chicago Bears starting Jimmy Clausen at quarterback against the surging Oakland Raiders. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions are trying to knock off the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football at CenturyLink Field.