NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Steelers and Titans Tumble, Raiders Rise
NFL Week 9 Power Rankings are starting to take shape with one game left to play. But who's No. 1 now that last week's No. 1 and No. 2 lost?
It was a tough week for the top two teams, but not all is lost—except their top rankings. The Raiders compiled two "statement" games in a row, and that's definitely reflected in the rankings.
The defending Super Bowl champs started climbing back up the charts, and the Rams and Lions are no longer near the bottom.
Read on for the complete list.
The Bottom Two
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32. Buffalo Bills: This team just can't catch a break. But they play hard. However, being the only winless team in the NFL puts them at the bottom of the list.
31. Carolina Panthers: The Panthers just aren't a very talented team and the record reflects this. Matt Moore is not the answer at quarterback and Jimmy Clausen isn't ready. With no quarterback to depend on, it's hard to win games.
One Step Up from the Bottom
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30. Dallas Cowboys: Nothing has gone right for the Cowboys this year and the latest drubbing by the Jacksonville Jaguars only proved the Cowboys defense isn't much to be afraid of this season. We're not even going to discuss the quarterback.
29. Denver Broncos: The mystery of what happened to the Broncos is a puzzling one. But the answer lies somewhere between the lack of a running game, a weak defense and a front office that made a lot of mistakes this past offseason.
Scrambling For Answers
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28. Minnesota Vikings: Whether or not Brett Favre plays this Sunday seems to be irrelevant, as the team can't put together a complete game. The Vikings' season is just about over and Favre looked about 80 years old as they carted him off the field yesterday.
27. San Francisco 49ers: Troy Smith's play elevated the 49ers a few spots this week. The victory over the Broncos was needed for the team to not completely fall apart. But Alex Smith may be looking for work if Troy Smith gives the Niners offense the spark it needs.
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Teams That Should Be Better
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26. Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals offense is sputtering and the defense isn't making the stops it made last year. With as many weapons as the Bengals have, it's a bit of a surprise to see the Bengals doing so poorly.
25. Arizona Cardinals: It was vintage Derek Anderson yesterday as the former Pro Bowl quarterback came out and moved the offense before self-destructing at the end of the game. The Cardinals will continue to flounder until Max Hall can find his way. Or until head coach Ken Whisenhunt finds another quarterback.
Missing Pieces
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24. Detroit Lions: This is the highest the Lions have been rated all season, and if they keep playing like they did yesterday, it will be the lowest they'll be rated from here on out. Matthew Stafford played like a star quarterback and the rest of the team looks good. The Lions finally seem to have turned a corner.
23. Chicago Bears: The Bears were idle this week, but they have no offensive line. And quarterback Jay Cutler may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from the constant beating he's taken this season.
Wondering What Happened
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22. Washington Redskins: The Redskins barely beat the Bears last week despite the turnovers. And they were completely beaten in the second half by the Detroit Lions. Donovan McNabb was benched and the Redskins now have a lot of questions to answer.
21. Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks got beat in every aspect of the game yesterday, as the Raiders defense made sure Matt Hasselbeck wished he was playing somewhere else. Pete Carroll's team isn't as good as advertised.
20. Cleveland Browns
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Last Week: 22
The Browns were idle this week. But they upset the New Orleans Saints last week, have a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals that raises them to third in the division and have had the lead in most games this season before losing in the fourth quarter.
The game this week versus the Patriots is by no means going to be a walk in the park for Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the rest of the New England squad. The Browns will go into this game expecting to win.
19. Jacksonville Jaguars
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Last Week: 24
The Jaguars had a great win over the Dallas Cowboys, and David Garrard had a near-perfect QB rating to go along with his four touchdowns.
The Jaguars have been inconsistent this year. But they're the kind of team that could end up sneaking into the playoffs with a good run at the end of the year.
18. St. Louis Rams
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Last Week: 23
The Rams are now finding ways to win as Sam Bradford had two touchdown passes in yesterday's game, and managed victory despite Steven Jackson only having 59 rushing yards. Granted, the Rams played the Carolina Panthers. But the win pushes the Rams to 4-4, just behind the Seahawks in the NFC West.
17. San Diego Chargers
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Last Week: 25
The Chargers offense put up their usual numbers, except this time the Chargers found a way to win. The Chargers seem to be following their script of the last few seasons under Norv Turner—under-perform at the beginning of the season before fixing the mistakes and winning the division.
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Last Week: 15
The Buccaneers slipped one in the rankings just because of the incredible movement around them. The Buccaneers put together a good fourth-quarter rally yesterday, but they did almost lose to the Arizona Cardinals.
The Buccaneers are tied with the Falcons for the NFC South division lead. But they need to play better against teams like the Cardinals if they want to win the division.
15. Oakland Raiders
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Last Week: 18
The Raiders are rising through the ranks as the offense Al Davis is drawing up in the Necronomicon is finally coming into being. The last two weeks have shown that the Raiders offense can put up points and the AFC West will be taking a whole new shape.
14. Houston Texans
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Last Week: 9
This ranking is based on my prediction that the Texans will lose against the Colts on Monday Night Football. But even if that happens, don't expect the Texans to be down this low for long.
Matt Schaub and the offense have too many weapons not to win a lot of games.
Obviously, if the injuries to the Colts are too much for Peyton Manning to overcome tonight, you can throw this slide out the window.
13. Philadelphia Eagles
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Last Week: 11
The Eagles were idle this week and movement around them dropped them two spots. But Michael Vick is supposed to be back under center this weekend. If predictions play out the way many think they will, the Eagles will be back in the top 10 very soon.
12. Green Bay Packers
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Last Week: 12
The Green Bay Packers had an uninspiring win over the New York Jets yesterday. But a win is a win is a win, and the Packers ranking remains static.
The good news is that a lot of the Packers' mistakes from the early part of the season appear to have been fixed. So look for the Packers to rise in the rankings in the coming weeks.
11. Miami Dolphins
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Last Week: 13
The Dolphins took care of business on the road, as they've done all season. They beat the Cincinnati Bengals, who don't look anything like the playoff team of a year ago.
The Dolphins would be ranked higher if they only could win at home.
10. New York Jets
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Last Week: 3
The Jets take a real tumble after getting shut out at home in a game in which Mark Sanchez barely had an impact outside his two interceptions.
While Sanchez had 256 yards on the day, none of them resulted in a touchdown. The wind kept a field-goal attempt from succeeding, and that about sums up the Jets' day.
9. New Orleans Saints
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Last Week: 16
The New Orleans Saints came out angry after being upset by the Cleveland Browns last week. The Saints didn't play a great game, but neither did the Steelers. The Saints improved as the game went on, capitalizing on Steelers turnovers.
The Saints showed promise on Sunday night that they may finally be coming out of their Super Bowl hangover.
8. Indianapolis Colts
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Last Week: 10
This ranking is based on my prediction that the Colts will find a way to win against the Texans tonight. That being said, Joseph Addai is battling injuries and Dallas Clark is out for the year.
Austin Collie is still healing from thumb surgery, leaving Reggie Wayne as Peyton Manning's lone big target.
If the Colts lose, it's going to be a long tumble.
7. Atlanta Falcons
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Last Week: 8
The Falcons were idle this week, but with Matt Ryan and Roddy White, the Falcons' air attack can be lethal. They face a rising Tampa Bay team this week and the outcome could seriously affect the rankings.
6. Baltimore Ravens
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Last Week: 7
The Ravens were idle this week. They play the Miami Dolphins this coming Sunday at home, which is dangerous for the Ravens as the Dolphins haven't lost on the road yet this year.
5. Kansas City Chiefs
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Last Week: 5
The Buffalo Bills have almost played spoiler to several teams, with Kansas City being the most recent. The Chiefs defense only allowed 10 points yesterday, so that keeps K.C. where it is in the rankings.
The Chiefs survived a scare by taking the game all the way down to the final seconds of overtime and avoiding the tie. But this win isn't going to get them any higher in the rankings.
4. Tennessee Titans
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Last Week: 2
The Titans lost a good game to the San Diego Chargers, a team that should be in the top 10 if it weren't for all the defensive mistakes this season. Tennessee lost Vince Young and Kenny Britt to injuries during this game and it wasn't able to pull out a victory. But there's a lot on this team to be afraid of.
The Titans still have Kerry Collins and Chris Johnson, and even though Johnson had a bad day, he doesn't have very many of them.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
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Last Week: No. 1
The Steelers lost a hard game to the New Orleans Saints, but the game was decided by a few second-half Steelers turnovers. The Steelers aren't a 15-1 team and probably aren't a 14-2 team, so a few losses aren't a big surprise.
Their defense still is incredibly tough and Ben Roethlisberger still is the quarterback.
2. New England Patriots
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Last Week: 4
The Patriots jump two spots after their victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The Patriots offense showed up this week, and the defense didn't break against Adrian Peterson or Brett Favre.
The Patriots take the lead in the division. But their road goes through Cleveland next, which relishes the role of spoiler.
1. New York Giants
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Last Week: 6
The Giants were idle this week, but after seeing this week's games, the Giants appear to have a defense that can go toe-to-toe with any offense in the league. And Eli Manning can move the offense against just about any defense.
The Giants play the Seahawks this week, and there doesn't seem to be much that will stop the Giants at the moment.
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