NFL Power Rankings: Reviewing Week 9 Standings After Sunday's Action

Another week in the books, and the NFL midseason playoff picture is as cloudy as ever. 

With 17 teams currently under .500 and another four hovering right at the .500 mark, the NFL is filled with mediocrity (and worse, in some cases). 

Fortunately, Week 8 brought us a handful of marquee matchups, most notably between the Broncos and Packers and the Steelers and Bengals. 

Predictably, the top of this week's power rankings are filled the four remaining unbeatens. But a few other teams that got off to slow starts have climbed their way into the top 10 and are waiting to make their move should any of the game's elite slip up.

Rank	Team	W-L
1	New England Patriots	7-0
2	Denver Broncos	7-0
3	Cincinnati Bengals	7-0
4	Carolina Panthers	6-0
5	Green Bay Packers	6-1
6	Arizona Cardinals	6-2
7	Minnesota Vikings	5-2
8	New Orleans Saints	4-4
9	Atlanta Falcons	6-2
10	Oakland Raiders	4-3
11	St. Louis Rams	4-3
12	Seattle Seahawks	4-4
13	Pittsburgh Steelers	4-4
14	New York Jets	4-3
15	New York Giants	4-4
16	Philadelphia Eagles	3-4
17	Buffalo Bills	3-4
18	Miami Dolphins	3-4
19	Indianapolis Colts	3-4
20	Dallas Cowboys	2-5
21	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	3-4
22	Kansas City Chiefs	3-5
23	Baltimore Ravens	2-6
24	San Diego Chargers	2-6
25	Jacksonville Jaguars	2-5
26	Washington Redskins	3-4
27	Houston Texans	3-5
28	Cleveland Browns	2-6
29	Chicago Bears	2-5
30	San Francisco 49ers	2-6
31	Detroit Lions	1-7
32	Tennessee Titans	1-6

2. Denver Broncos

Joe Mahoney/Associated Press

Reports of Peyton Manning's demise appear to have been premature. 

It wasn't exactly vintage Manning against the Packers on Sunday night, but it was an efficient performance and certainly worthy of bumping the undefeated Broncos up a few spots in the power rankings. 

Manning is like the power pitcher in baseball that loses a few miles per hour off his fastball and evolves into a pitcher who can paint the corners. He may rely on his receivers a little more, just as the pitcher would begin to rely on his defense, but Manning still gets the job done at a high level. 

Having survived their first major test against the Packers, the Broncos are on a collision course with the Patriots, who are set to visit Denver on November 29. Could that be another battle of the unbeatens?

3. Cincinnati Bengals

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

It was far from a dominant performance, but the Bengals survived in Pittsburgh and now hold a four-game lead in the the AFC North. 

"

The Bengals lead the AFC North with a 12% chance of winning the Super Bowl. https://t.co/9ybtTfmCVK pic.twitter.com/XIaP6rgYZb

— FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) November 2, 2015"

The most encouraging takeaway from the Bengals' win may have been their ability to pull out a victory when Andy Dalton wasn't at his best. 

Dalton posted a season-low Total QBR of 27.9 against the Steelers, the first time he's dipped below 50 this season. Over the past two seasons, the Bengals were 4-7 on the road in games in which Dalton failed to produce a Total QBR of 50 or higher. 

The Bengals host the Browns and Texans over the next two weeks, putting them in excellent position to improve to 9-0 heading into a showdown at Arizona on November 22.

10. Oakland Raiders

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

The rebuilding process isn't complete, but the Raiders may be in the early stages of putting together a special team. 

The brightest young star in Oakland, quarterback Derek Carr, has been leading the way with 622 yards, seven touchdowns and zero interceptions over the past two weeks. 

On Sunday, Carr become the first Raiders quarterback to throw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns in a victory since Kerry Collins did so in 2004.

"

Where would Derek Carr be taken if we re-drafted 2014? He’s pretty darn good.

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) November 1, 2015"

While the Raiders' 4-3 record isn't overly impressive, two of their three losses have been at the hands of the Broncos and Bengals, who are a combined 14-0 this season.

The Raiders are one of just six AFC teams above .500, which currently puts them in playoff position.

Oakland will face one of its toughest road tests of the season next week in Pittsburgh, followed by a matchup against the Vikings at home. Two battles with potential playoff teams should help determine if the Raiders are ready to compete in 2015, or if the rebuilding process needs to take a few more steps this offseason.