NFL Power Rankings 2016: Week 9 Standings, Team Stats and Season Review
We've reached the official halfway point of the 2016 NFL season. Eight weeks have gone by, and there will be eight more after Week 9 comes to a conclusion.
By now, we have a fairly good idea of which teams are good, which can be competitive and which are playing for 2017 and beyond. There is still much to sort out, of course, but we have enough data to accurately judge where teams currently stand.
So how do the 32 NFL teams shape up? That's what we're going to examine. We'll take a look at the league standings as well as each team's offensive and defensive (yardage) rank, per NFL.com. We'll then provide our Week 9 power rankings and examine some of the more notable rankings of the bunch.
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NFL Standings and Statistical Rankings
| New England Patriots | 7-1 | 8th | 14th |
| Buffalo Bills | 4-4 | 24th | 16th |
| Miami Dolphins | 3-4 | 18th | T-20th |
| New York Jets | 3-5 | 22nd | 19th |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 4-3 | 11th | 27th |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3-4-1 | 6th | 24th |
| Baltimore Ravens | 3-4 | 25th | 4th |
| Cleveland Browns | 0-8 | 15th | 32nd |
| Houston Texans | 5-3 | 29th | 5th |
| Tennessee Titans | 4-4 | 9th | 10th |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3-5 | 13th | 29th |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 2-5 | 26th | 13th |
| Oakland Raiders | 6-2 | 5th | 31st |
| Denver Broncos | 6-2 | 27th | 3rd |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 5-2 | 14th | 15th |
| San Diego Chargers | 3-5 | 12th | 18th |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6-1 | 4th | 12th |
| New York Giants | 4-3 | 19th | 17th |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 4-3 | 28th | 8th |
| Washington Redskins | 4-3-1 | 3rd | 22nd |
| Minnesota Vikings | 5-2 | 31st | 2nd |
| Green Bay Packers | 4-3 | 20th | 7th |
| Detroit Lions | 4-4 | 21st | 23rd |
| Chicago Bears | 2-6 | 16th | 9th |
| Atlanta Falcons | 5-3 | 1st | 25th |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3-4 | 17th | 26th |
| New Orleans Saints | 3-4 | 2nd | 28th |
| Carolina Panthers | 2-5 | 7th | T-20th |
| Seattle Seahawks | 4-2-1 | 23rd | 6th |
| Arizona Cardinals | 3-4-1 | 10th | 1st |
| Los Angeles Rams | 3-4 | 30th | 11th |
| San Francisco 49ers | 1-6 | 32nd | 30th |
Power Rankings
| 1 | New England Patriots |
| 2 | Dallas Cowboys |
| 3 | Denver Broncos |
| 4 | Oakland Raiders |
| 5 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 6 | Atlanta Falcons |
| 7 | Minnesota Vikings |
| 8 | Seattle Seahawks |
| 9 | Houston Texans |
| 10 | Green Bay Packers |
| 11 | New York Giants |
| 12 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 13 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 14 | Washington Redskins |
| 15 | Buffalo Bills |
| 16 | Tennessee Titans |
| 17 | Detroit Lions |
| 18 | Arizona Cardinals |
| 19 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 20 | Baltimore Ravens |
| 21 | Miami Dolphins |
| 22 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 23 | New Orleans Saints |
| 24 | Indianapolis Colts |
| 25 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 26 | San Diego Chargers |
| 27 | Carolina Panthers |
| 28 | New York Jets |
| 29 | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 30 | Chicago Bears |
| 31 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 32 | Cleveland Browns |
Notable Rankings
7. Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings may have been the last team to hold an unblemished record, but they've now lost two in a row. It appears that the team could also be set for a slide down both the standings and our power rankings.
While the Vikings do boast a top-tier defense—rated eighth overall by Pro Football Focus—it's proving not enough to overcome struggles on the other side of the football. Quarterback Sam Bradford (passer rating of 98.2) is still playing well, but the offensive line is not.
The line—rated 32nd in pass blocking and 28th in run blocking by Pro Football Focus—has become a major liability. Bradford has been sacked 19 times through six games, and the Vikings rank just 31st in rushing offense (71.9 yards per game).
To make matters worse, it appears starting guard Alex Boone suffered a concussion during Monday night's loss to the Chicago Bears:
If the Vikings cannot figure out how to improve their line in a major way, it's going to be difficult to make a strong postseason run. The current formula simply isn't sustainable. For example, the Vikings held the Bears to 20 points on Monday, yet the game still felt incredibly lopsided in Chicago's favor.
Unfortunately, Minnesota wasn't able to snag any premier line help before Tuesday's trade deadline. For now, it seems the Vikings will try to make what they have work.
13. Pittsburgh Steelers
Like the Vikings, the Pittsburgh Steelers have lost two games in a row. They've also temporarily lost quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to a torn meniscus.
As things stand, we have the Steelers ranked as a borderline playoff team. They're sitting atop the AFC North standings, but they don't exactly have a stranglehold on the division. A loss to the Baltimore Ravens this week could put a damper on their hope of winning the division.
The problem for Pittsburgh—aside from Roethlisberger's injury, of course—is a defense that is more opportunistic than talented. It is a unit that is best when playing with a lead, and it can be exploited by physical offenses when the Steelers are trailing.
This was clearly evident during Pittsburgh's Week 6 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Miami battered the Steelers defense on the ground, and Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns.
Overall, Pittsburgh is rated just 24th in defense by Pro Football Focus.
To win against quality teams, the Steelers are going to have to outscore their opponents (what a novel idea!) by leaning on offense. Weapons like Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell give the Steelers the firepower to rack up enough points to win. The team is averaging 24.3 points per game.
A lot is going to depend on the health of Roethlisberger.
According to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette, Roethlisberger's return could come this week:
If Big Ben can get the scoring back on track, the Steelers will have a chance to make a run.
16. Tennessee Titans
Don't look now, but the Tennessee Titans might just be legitimate players in the AFC South. The team has a dominant rushing attack (152.2 yards per game), an emerging young quarterback and one of the top offensive lines in the NFL.
The Titans are rated second in both run blocking and pass blocking by Pro Football Focus.
Tennessee absolutely embarrassed the Jacksonville Jaguars last Thursday night and could take a big step toward the postseason with a win this week against the San Diego Chargers.
"I felt like that's what we talked about, how we wanted to play," tight end Delanie Walker said of last week's win, per Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. "We played like we were the leaders in our division today. ... It's got to carry on week after week."
The Titans are going to have to continue playing at a high level if they wish to enter their Week 13 bye with momentum. After the Chargers, Tennessee faces games against the Green Bay Packers and rival Indianapolis Colts.
For now, though, the Titans should feel good about the fact they are obviously better than they were a year ago.
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