2019 NFL power rankings, Week 4: Saints rise, Chargers slide

Recap: Seven days after falling behind 21-0 in the second quarter at Lambeau Field, the Vikings opened up a similar lead against the visiting Raiders before Jon Gruden’s club finally got on the scoreboard. Running back Dalvin Cook continues his impressive start and rolled up 110 yards and one score on the ground courtesy of just 16 carries. All told, Mike Zimmer’s club leaned on its ground attack once again and Minnesota responded with 211 yards rushing. Meanwhile, much-maligned quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 174 yards and one score. But more significantly, the eight-year pro did not fumble for the first time in three games and wasn’t sacked as well.

Next Week: Zimmer’s club faces a divisional rival on the road for the second time in three weeks and hopes to fare better than they did a year ago against the eventual NFC North champs. Last season, the Purple Gang was swept by the Bears for the first time since 2011. And the Vikings are just 2-9 in their last 11 appearances at Soldier Field.

Playoff hopes: There’s obviously a long way to go in a very rugged NFC North where all four teams (pending the Bears’ outcome at Washington on Monday night) have had their share of moments. More importantly, the Minnesota offensive line is playing much better than a year ago and that could lead to big things down the road.

Recap: Like the Bills and Chiefs, Kyle Shanahan’s club kicked off the season with a pair of road wins and now would play their first home game of the season. The opposition would be the winless Steelers, with second-year quarterback Mason Rudolph making his first NFL start. San Francisco’s offense rolled up 571 yards last week at Cincinnati and looked to keep things going against a struggling Pittsburgh defense. But that unit would come up with four Niners’ turnovers in the first half and a fifth late in the fourth quarter. But eventually quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and company settled in, gouged the Steelers for 436 total yards and rallied in the final minutes to win.

Next Week: It is vacation time for Shanahan’s squad as the Niners have the week off. When the club returns to action in Week 5, the team is back home and takes on another AFC North squad in the Browns, the third straight games versus an inter-conference foe. The teams last met in 2015 at Cleveland and the 49ers came up short, 24-10.

Playoff hopes: There’s been no postseason appearances for this franchise since the team reached the NFC title game in 2013. But Shanahan and company are off to a solid start, winning their first three games for the first time since 2012. Of course, slaying the Rams, Seahawks and even the Cardinals has been a real problem as of late.

Next: Nos. 8 and 7