NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Post-Thursday Night Football Standings, Review

Once again, Thursday Night Football had more to say about NFL draft order than a Lombardi Trophy chase as the San Francisco 49ers moved past the Oakland Raiders, 34-3. 

Which isn't to say the game wasn't fun in its own little way. Nick Mullens came out of nowhere for the 49ers under center, casually tossing three touchdowns while the Jon Gruden-led rebuilding plan took another misstep for the Raiders, now 1-7.

But the schedule got the appetizer out of the way in preparation for a stunning main course, highlighted by a stare down underneath the national spotlight between Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady in the Sunday night slot. 

Before a surefire consequential weekend slate, let's review where teams stand in the power rankings. 

2018 NFL Power Rankings

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

Washington Redskins

Adam Hunger/Associated Press

It sure doesn't look like the Washington Redskins will release their stranglehold on the NFC East anytime soon. 

The Redskins quickly went from one of the NFL's most inconsistent teams by swapping wins and losses over their first four games against varying levels of competition to winning three in a row. 

That three in a row includes taking down would-be contenders like Carolina and Dallas, in large part because the offense has 33-year-old Adrian Peterson propping it up. Over the team's last three wins, Peterson has a minimum of 97 yards rushing and a 4.1 yards-per-carry average.

While not quite as quick as he used to be, Peterson mostly looks like his old self: 

Pair a strong running game with an elite defense and it explains the 5-2 mark for Washington. 

The Redskins rank fifth in the NFL by only permitting 19.1 points per game, as well as only allowing 242.3 passing yards (13th) and 80.1 rushing yards (2nd). Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen are former first-round picks keying the unit up front, and the front office just added a starting safety at the trade deadline with Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. 

With the 4-4 Philadelphia Eagles as the next closest team in the NFC East, get used to seeing the Redskins at the top. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

Don Wright/Associated Press

Flash in the pan or something more? 

It seems like we do this every year with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They started slow, tying with the Cleveland Browns before losing to legit competition against Kansas City and Baltimore. Fast forward to Week 8 and they have rattled off three wins in a row, including a takedown of a five-win Cincinnati team. 

The 4-2-1 mark is good enough for first in the AFC North, but at the same time, the win over the Bengals came on a last-second pass and the other two wins over the stretch came against lowly Atlanta and Cleveland teams. 

For now, James Conner in place of Le'Veon Bell is the biggest reason the Steelers are able to pull away from opponents: 

But Conner only managed nine carries for 19 yards during a Week 4, 26-14 loss to Baltimore and again has to deal with the Ravens in Week 9, this time on the road. 

In other words, fans are about to find out if the Steelers are for real. And it couldn't be more important—the remaining schedule features brutal games against Carolina, Jacksonville, the Los Angeles Chargers,  New England and New Orleans. 

Getting swept by the Ravens to let Cincinnati inch closer in the AFC North is a potential disaster area for the Steelers. 

Indianapolis Colts

Ben Margot/Associated Press

With Andrew Luck under center, it is impossible to count out the Indianapolis Colts. 

This is especially the case in the always-iffy AFC South, where Houston currently holds the lead and Tennessee and Jacksonville continue to grossly underperform. 

At the same time, the Colts seem to be on an upswing after winning two in a row. Granted, those came over Buffalo and Oakland, but the good news is they have five road games out of the way already and a Week 9 bye to get ready for the season-ending stretch. 

Luck has turned down his turnovers over his last two outings and currently sits on a 65.8 completion percentage with 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He hasn't been sacked in three straight games, the ground game has put up 100-yard rushers and he's clearly the perfect fit with head coach Frank Reich, or vice versa: 

As usual, defense is a problem, with the unit ranked 26th by coughing up 26.6 points per game. If the Colts can shore up those problems through adjustments during the bye week, they come out of it with six home games left, five winnable games in the AFC South and the only non-divisional opponents being winnable as well against Miami, Dallas and the New York Giants. 

Luck will have to carry the defense along as usual, but with the right head coach at the controls and Luck's arm showing more zip by the week should have Colts fans excited—and NFL fans excited to see one of the league's premier passers back in the game.