Power Rankings: The Five Teams That Look Real After Week 4

Four weeks is enough to separate the contenders from the teams that got lucky with their schedule. Here is how we see the league right now. One undefeated team is a mirage, and one 2–2 team is quietly the best in its conference. Our rankings lean on what usually predicts the rest of a season — point differential, turnover margin, efficiency on third down and the quality of the opponents each team has actually beaten — rather than on the win-loss column alone.

A quick note on method before we start. Early-season records are noisy. A tipped pass, a missed field goal or a fumble that bounces the wrong way can swing a game, and four games is a very small sample. That is why we care more about how a team wins than whether it wins. Teams that dominate the line of scrimmage and protect the football tend to keep winning. Teams that survive close games on late luck tend to come back to earth.

1. Austin Comets (4–0)

The best defense in the league by almost every measure. They have allowed just 11 points per game and forced nine turnovers. What makes Austin so convincing is that none of its wins felt fluky. The Comets have led in the fourth quarter of all four games, and opponents have reached the red zone only eight times all season.