NFL Week 4 schedule rankings: Top 5 chaos games, from Ravens-Chiefs to Parsons vs. Cowboys

Week 4 of the NFL season is upon us, and its viewers are in for a sensory overload Sunday if it plays out anything like Weeks 1-3.

We prepared a longer intro paragraph here. Alas, it was swatted away by a 300-something-pound lineman with blurring speed, and then he took it the other way for six points. That’s an occupational hazard now.

The 18 weeks of the regular season and the subsequent month of playoffs eventually flatten out into one Super Bowl winner, but fandom is more fun when we appreciate each Sunday as its own mega-episode. Will every Week 3 fourth-quarter blocked kick (four of them!) and game-winning field goal (four of them!) be remembered come January? Probably not. Were they collectively awesome and, for the unaffiliated, kind of hilarious? Without a doubt.

This recurring piece sorts NFL Sundays by different criteria. Our Week 4 rankings are in search of drama — the uncut on-screen chaos specific to this sport.

Week 4 viewing guide

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5. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1) at San Francisco 49ers (3-0)

In Week 2, the Jaguars took a winding 31-27 loss to the Bengals … because their defense let a backup QB lead a 92-yard game-winning drive. In Week 3, the Jags turned it around for a tense 17-10 win over the Texans … because their defense picked off a recent Offensive Rookie of the Year QB. Jacksonville is thoroughly unpredictable, from its freewheeling passer (Trevor Lawrence) to its two-way mystery box (Travis Hunter) and its over-caffeinated mascot (Jaxson de Ville).

Per usual, the hosts are forced to dial up their resiliency this weekend. San Francisco is battling another round of critical injuries and depth depletion. It’s a bummer that seems to happen annually, so much so that Scoop City did a breakdown titled “Why Always Us?” — and that was before Nick Bosa’s season-ending ACL tear. Winning games while the world tries to say, “it’s not your year” requires a certain embrace of the chaos. Accordingly, the Niners have beaten their first three opponents by a combined 10 points. Whether it’s Brock Purdy or Mac Jones under center, San Francisco should feel comfortable in a tight spot.

4. Green Bay Packers (2-1) at Dallas Cowboys (1-2)

There are a couple of elements dampening this matchup’s bedlam prospects. For one, Green Bay is coming off a playoff berth in 2024 and boasts top-five Super Bowl odds in 2025. Neither is true of Dallas. Also, “Sunday Night Football” is stuck on a two-week stretch of stinkers.

The potential for madness starts with the Cowboys secondary. Consider Russell Wilson’s current game log: 168 yards and zero TDs in Week 1, 450 yards and three TDs in Week 2, 160 yards and zero TDs (and a lost job) in Week 3. Can you guess which game was against Dallas?

After Week 2, the Bears were reeling from a “kick in the teeth.” Right now, Caleb Williams is the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Week. Do you know which secondary Williams faced last Sunday? Yeah, it was the Cowboys with their incredibly gross 9.4 net yards per pass allowed this season.

Green Bay isn’t showing up to a chaos potluck empty-handed, though. The Packers just lost to the Browns, which still feels weird typing out. The final five drives made for a dizzying sequence: Browns FG, Packers INT, Browns TD, Packers FG attempt blocked, Browns 55-yard walk-off FG. The Packers are also bringing Micah Parsons to “Jerry World” for the first time since he was traded to Green Bay a month ago.

Maybe Parsons’ pressure will force a game-swinging turnover from Dak Prescott on a given down. Whether that happens or not, Parsons’ presence should rile up both fan bases and the postgame pressers.

3. Indianapolis Colts (3-0) at Los Angeles Rams (2-1)

The Colts are 3-0 with Daniel friggin’ Jones. Is that not sufficient anarchy? Fine, how about the Week 2 win, 29-28 over the Broncos, revived by a game-ending “leverage” call? Now that’s what we’re talking about.

Jones, head coach Shane Steichen and offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter have somehow threaded together the NFL’s second-best offense (in both points and yards). Indy is tied for the league lead in 40+ yard passing plays, and Jonathan Taylor is tied for the lead in 40+ yard rushes. The amount of football followers who saw this coming could possibly fit into a midsized sedan. Seth Irskens, singer of Colts corridos, is in the driver’s seat.

As for the Rams, Sean McVay’s squad would also be 3-0 if not for a second-half collapse against the defending champs last weekend. Despite that inexplicable final 20 minutes of game time in Philly, L.A. looks threatening with big-play potential on both sides of the line. Puka Nacua leads the NFL in receiving, while Davante Adams still has the juice with consecutive touchdown grabs. Byron Young has leveled up in his third year, with at least one sack in every game so far. Emerging as something of a shiny NFL vacation spot for both conferences, SoFi Stadium has a split crowd on most weekends, which gives the action a college football bowl vibe.

2. Baltimore Ravens (1-2) at Kansas City Chiefs (1-2)

It’s disorienting enough that one of these perennial contenders will be 1-3 through the season’s first quarter. Under the expanded playoff format implemented in 2020, only five teams to start 1-3 or worse went on to make the postseason, per TruMedia.

Last year’s Ravens-Chiefs meeting was an automated chaos machine. It ended with Isaiah Likely’s end zone catch that was called a touchdown and then overturned by a fraction of a toe grazing the white chalk. Don’t forget that original on-field TD ruling meant the score was 27-26, with no time on the clock and an extra point pending … and John Harbaugh sent Lamar Jackson out to go for two.

Despite the recent division titles and MVP quarterback seasons, Baltimore has become the breeding lab for new, inventive and elaborate ways to lose football games. The Ravens doubled down on that mission statement in their SNF all-timer versus the Bills to open this season. They rapidly shift between must-see brilliance and surreal glitches (Week 1’s fourth quarter, Derrick Henry’s recent fumbles, Mark Andrews’ drop, that cursed 2024 game with six Steelers field goals). It must be an exhausting watch for the team’s fans (and its rivals), but everyone else is hooked on this show.

There’s not a ton to say about the omnipresent Chiefs, who lost to two good teams (Chargers, Eagles) and beat a bad one (Giants). Kansas City’s predilection for one-score games is well known. Recent iterations of this dynasty have excelled in clutch minutes; tightrope situations play to Patrick Mahomes’ resourcefulness, Steve Spagnuolo’s defense and the overall core’s playoff experience. Things might be a bit less buttoned-up this Sunday — Xavier Worthy was listed as a full participant for Thursday’s practice.

CBS has its A-team on the broadcast, of course. Jim Nantz is a magnet for back-and-forth classics. Listen close and you’ll already hear Tony Romo, yelping and squawking with excitement about a late-game third down.

1. Philadelphia Eagles (3-0) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-0)

When zoomed out, Ravens-Chiefs has more gravity — it’s one of the era’s defining pairs, and it stars two quarterbacks with a combined four MVP trophies.

But right now, Week 4’s best bet for chemically altering football lies with Eagles-Bucs. You may not know just how frenetic the 2025 Buccaneers have been, because you are a well-rounded person with a lot going on, and because Tampa is not at the same level of national fixation (yet).

Week 1: Baker Mayfield gut-check touchdown drive in Atlanta, ending with the go-ahead score and a missed extra point. The Falcons flipped a switch and stormed down the field in the final minute, then Younghoe Koo shanked the kick at the buzzer. Kaos Krewe, 23-20.

Week 2: Nick Chubb broke away for a late touchdown to put the Texans up in Houston. Mayfield responded with another gut-check drive for 80 yards, sealed by a game-winning TD with six seconds left. Kaos Krewe, 20-19.

Week 3: Tampa’s defense allowed two field goals across the first three periods in its home opener. Then the Jets surged to three fourth-quarter TDs, including a blocked kick returned for a score, and New York suddenly had its first lead since the first drive. Mayfield, the probiotic king of Florida, whipped up a third gut-check drive for Chase McLaughlin to close it out at the horn with a 36-yard field goal. Kaos Krewe, 29-27.

That’s three wins, by one, two and three points.

If there ever was a worthwhile chaos collaborator, it would probably be the winged champs who went a majority no-huddle in the second half against the Rams and scored 26 unanswered points. The same folks who blocked two late field goal tries to secure a record-book comeback and deliver the baddest of bad beats.

Undefeated teams and maximum unpredictability. Eagles at Bucs: Let Timbers Be Shivered.

Updated Week 4 odds

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(Photo of Derrick Henry: Bryan Bennett / Getty Images)