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

Week 9 opened with a clash between NFC West conference rivals. The San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals did battle on Thursday night, and ultimately, the 49ers emerged with their undefeated record intact.

It wasn't easy, as the Cardinals closed to within three points late in the fourth quarter. However, the 49ers did what they needed to do to close out a tough road game. That's all that good teams care about.

If San Francisco isn't the best team in football, it's certainly close. The New England Patriots get a slight edge as defending Super Bowl champions, but one could easily argue that the 49ers have been the more dominant team.

How does the rest of the NFL stack up after eight-plus weeks of action? Let's take a look.

Week 9 Power Rankings, Post TNF

1. New England Patriots

2. San Francisco 49ers

3. New Orleans Saints

4. Green Bay Packers

5. Baltimore Ravens

6. Minnesota Vikings

7. Kansas City Chiefs

8. Indianapolis Colts

9. Seattle Seahawks

10. Dallas Cowboys

11. Buffalo Bills

12. Los Angeles Rams

13. Houston Texans

14. Philadelphia Eagles

15. Carolina Panthers

16. Jacksonville Jaguars

17. Detroit Lions

18. Arizona Cardinals

19. Oakland Raiders

20. Los Angeles Chargers

21. Tennessee Titans

22. Chicago Bears

23. Cleveland Browns

24. Pittsburgh Steelers

25. Denver Broncos

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

27. New York Giants

28. New York Jets

29. Atlanta Falcons

30. Washington Redskins

31. Miami Dolphins

32. Cincinnati Bengals

3. New Orleans Saints

Bill Feig/Associated Press

The New Orleans Saints may not be undefeated, but they're playing like a team that could be. The team's one loss came against the Los Angeles Rams, in a game that saw starting quarterback Drew Brees leave the field with a hand-ligament injury.

Brees returned in Week 8 to lead a dominating effort against the Cardinals. The Saints won every game without him, thanks to the play of backup Teddy Bridgewater.

The Saints haven't just endured the loss of Brees, either. They've won games without star running back Alvin Kamara and without tight end Jared Cook. This is a resilient team and one that can fight through adversity during the postseason.

New Orleans is also a balanced team. It ranks 12th in total offense (375.2 yards per game) and sixth in total defense (316.5 yards per game allowed). The Saints are built to take on any opponent in any venue at any time.

It won't come as a shock to see New Orleans in the NFC title game again this year. Perhaps this time their run won't end on a fluky play. New Orleans is on bye in Week 9.

4. Green Bay Packers

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

One could view the Green Bay Packers as sort of a 3B team alongside the Saints. The Packers are also balanced—they're seventh in scoring offense, 11th in scoring defense—and have fought through injury.

Star wideout Davante Adams has been out since Week 4 with a toe injury, and the Packers have continued rolling.

The good news is that Adams is back at practice this week and could make his return against the Los Angeles Chargers.

"I'm thinking we're getting to that point where I can realistically make that call, it's day to day still but I'm feeling a lot better," Adams said, via the team's official website.

Unlike the Saints, the Packers do not have a commanding lead in their division. They're just one game ahead of the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North, so it's imperative that they continue winning.

We'll likely get an idea of just how good the Packers are in a couple of weeks. They'll take on the 49ers in San Francisco in Week 12.

32. Cincinnati Bengals

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

Moving into last place this week are the Cincinnati Bengals. On paper, they may be more talented than the winless Miami Dolphins. From an organizational standpoint, however, Cincinnati is the worse team.

The difference here is that the Dolphins are trying to be bad. While the front office remains coy about it, Miami is tanking for a high draft pick in 2020. They've also been busy trading away quality players in favor of future draft picks. They'll have five draft picks in the first two rounds this offseason.

The Bengals, meanwhile, stubbornly refused to deal players this season. They hung on to guys like A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert through the trade deadline, which isn't going to help the long-term rebuilding process in Cincinnati.

Hanging on to Green, in particular, was a baffling decision. He's in the final year of his contract and remains sidelined with an ankle injury.

Yes, Green's eventual return may benefit rookie quarterback Ryan Finley, who is taking over for the benched Andy Dalton. However, Cincinnati should be able to evaluate its young signal-caller with the same players that Dalton had.

The fact that Cincinnati hasn't traded away key players and still cannot pick up wins is troubling. Perhaps the switch to Finley will provide a spark. If it doesn't, the Bengals may still be winless when they face the Dolphins in Week 16.