NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Will the AFC’s Best Win the Super Bowl?
The NFL power rankings Week 9 are bringing a decidedly one-sided feel to the NFL. Through the first eight weeks of the regular season, it's clear that the AFC is the better conference, featuring more teams with better records than the NFC.
But is the AFC's best team the favorite to win the Super Bowl? To answer that question, we're bringing you a comprehensive look at where everyone stands in Week 9, plus telling you whether the best team on the list will win the Super Bowl. Let's get going.
The Worst Of The Worst: 32-26
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32. Buffalo Bills—The Bills are the only winless team left in the NFL, and until they get over that hump, they won't move out of the basement. Still, they've looked better than some others down here.
31. Dallas Cowboys—Talk about a royal mess; the Cowboys are looking worse with each passing week. It takes a special kind of stink to lost to the Jags that badly.
30. Carolina Panthers—The Panthers haven't looked like anything resembling an NFL team for most of the year. Adios, John Fox.
29. Minnesota Vikings—You know things are bad when your fans have talked themselves into Tavaris Jackson solving their problems at quarterback.
28. Denver Broncos—This season is spiraling quickly out of control in the Mile High City.
27. San Francisco 49ers—Hey, a win! Troy Smith for MVP!
26. Arizona Cardinals—Yeesh. This is getting ugly. Can't score, can't stop anyone. These are the Cards I remember from my childhood.
Not Completely Terrible: 25-21
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25. Cleveland Browns—A bye week sees them stand pat, but who knows what next week will bring?
24. Cincinnati Bengals—How quickly things go south once everyone stopped being scared of Carson Palmer and Cedric Benson.
23. San Diego Chargers—Sure, they won this week. But Norv Turner's still a terrible coach, and the defense isn't as good as you think.
22. Detroit Lions—With a big win over Washington this week, and a healthy offense, the Lions could still get to eight wins with a strong finish.
21. Oakland Raiders—I don't care that they creamed Seattle; give me a third straight win, and then you'll make the top 20.
20. Washington Redskins
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Where They Stood Last Week: 15
Why The Move: The Redskins fell to the mighty Lions in Week 8, 37-25.
Why They Could Be Higher: They play in a tough conference, and could easily be 5-3.
Why They Could Be Lower: Their defense is atrocious, and they choked away a win against Houston.
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19. Seattle Seahawks
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Where They Stood Last Week: 17.
Why The Move: The Seahawks got waxed on the road against Oakland, in a result that shocked people only in the margin of victory.
Why They Could Be Higher: The Seahawks still lead the NFC West at 4-3, and are dominant at home.
Why They Could Be Lower: The NFC West is the weakest division in football, and the Seahawks can't win away from Qwest Field, falling to 1-4 with Sunday's loss. The offense still has issues with consistency.
18. Jacksonville Jaguars
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Where They Stood Last Week: 20.
Why The Move: Another win sees Jacksonville climb slowly up the ranks.
Why They Could Be Higher: They're still in the AFC South race, and they've beaten the Colts.
Why They Could Be Lower: The defense is easily one of the three or four worst in football in 2010. The offense can be completely locked down by remotely competent defenses.
17. St. Louis Rams
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Where They Stood Last Week: 19.
Why The Move: Another win from the Rams sees them jump again in the standings. They can see the top 15 from here.
Why They Could Be Higher: The offense is balanced, the defense isn't awful, and the Rams are learning to win close games.
Why They Could Be Lower: St. Louis has yet to beat anyone outside of the Edward Jones Dome, and hasn't beaten anyone of consequence yet.
16. Chicago Bears
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Where They Stood Last Week: 16.
Why The Move: The bye week means the Bears stay put.
Why They Could Be Higher: The offense has been explosive at times...
Why They Could Be Lower: And punchless at others. Jay Cutler HAS to stop throwing interceptions with such frequency.
15. Miami Dolphins
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Where They Stood Last Week: 18.
Why The Move: A nice win over a fading Bengals team sees Miami jump a spot or two in the rankings.
Why They Could Be Higher: Their losses have come to the Steelers, Patriots and Jets, three of the NFL's top teams in 2010.
Why They Could Be Lower: They're so boring. The defense is still not as talented as they've been playing.
14. Philadelphia Eagles
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Where They Stood Last Week: 14.
Why The Move: The Eagles had a bye, so nothing changes here.
Why They Could Be Higher: The offense is one of the most explosive in football.
Why They Could Be Lower: The defense allows other teams to be just as explosive.
13. Houston Texans
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Where They Stood Last Week: 9.
Why The Move: The Texans looked all out of sorts against the injury depleted Colts, in a game that was never really as close as the announcers tried to make it sound.
Why They Could Be Higher: The offense has the potential to be explosive, and the defense does have a phenomenal pass rush.
Why They Could Be Lower: The offense has sputtered on occasion, the defense gives up big yards and points. They don't quite feel like a playoff team yet.
12. Tennessee Titans
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Where They Stood Last Week: 7.
Why The Move: A nasty loss to a San Diego team that hasn't looked great in 2010 drops the Titans out of the top 10.
Why They Could Be Higher: Chris Johnson is still blowing holes in defenses, and the defense has looked solid for much of 2010.
Why They Could Be Lower: Vince Young is still not a consistent passer, the defense is prone to serious lapses (like last week against the Chargers).
11. New York Jets
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Where They Stood Last Week: 4.
Why The Move: A shutout to the Packers proves the Jets aren't a top 10 team just yet, although they're close.
Why They Could Be Higher: A defense that is slowly getting back into 2009 form, and an offense that has shown it's capable of putting big points on the board.
Why They Could Be Lower: The offense proved this week that it's still got some bugs to work out, and the defense isn't the impenetrable wall it was in 2009.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Where They Stood Last Week: 13.
Why The Move: A win over the Cardinals showed that the Bucs can be an excellent offensive team, especially against a crappy defensive one.
Why They Could Be Higher: The offense is capable of being great, and with a running game now led by LaGarrette Blount, they could have the balance they need to win the division.
Why They Could Be Lower: The defense still gives up big plays and scores, and they still haven't beaten anybody.
9. New Orleans Saints
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Where They Stood Last Week: 12
Why The Move: A big win over the previously top-ranked Steelers is more than enough to get the Saints back into the top 10.
Why They Could Be Higher: Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas should be back any week now, and the pass defense is superb. The Saints seem to be rounding into form offensively.
Why They Could Be Lower: The run defense is still awful, and the offense still isn't back where it was last year.
8. New York Giants
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Where They Stood Last Week: 8.
Why The Move: The Giants had a bye in Week 8. Nothing new here.
Why They Could Be Higher: Their offense is superb, and the defense seems to get better each week.
Why They Could Be Lower: Eli Manning still throws too many interceptions, and the defense is capable of getting burned.
7. Kansas City Chiefs
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Where They Stood Last Week: 11.
Why The Move: Another win sees Kansas City make another leap in the rankings.
Why They Could Be Higher: The offense is pure smashmouth, and the whole team seems to know how to win football games. It's seldom pretty, but the Chiefs get the job done.
Why They Could Be Lower: They're not exactly explosive offensively, and they have yet to beat anyone of consequence in 2010, outside of maybe the Jaguars. I'm still wary of the defense, and Matt Cassel can't throw on decent defenses.
6. Atlanta Falcons
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Where They Stood Last Week: 6.
Why The Move: The Falcons had a bye, so they stand pat in the standings.
Why They Could Be Higher: The offense is balanced, the defense has been somewhat solid, particularly against the run, and they're leading one of the most competitive divisions in football.
Why They Could Be Lower: The pass defense has looked shaky without Dunta Robinson concussing opposing wideouts, and the offense can be stopped.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers
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Where They Stood Last Week: 1.
Why The Move: The Steelers fell to the Saints as their offense fell silent in the Superdome.
Why They Could Be Higher: The defense is arguably the best in football, and the offense has the potential for great things.
Why They Could Be Lower: The offense showed this week that it still has a ways to go before it can be considered elite. The defense isn't impenetrable.
4. Green Bay Packers
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Where They Stood Last Week: 10.
Why The Move: A masterful defensive performance allowed the Packers to overcome a miserable offensive showing in a 9-0 win over the Jets.
Why They Could Be Higher: The defense is firing on all cylinders, and the offense is much better than what we saw against the Jets. The Packers are still one of the best teams in the NFC.
Why They Could Be Lower: The offense isn't what it was advertised to be, as they've struggled to put points on the board with consistency.
3. Indianapolis Colts
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Where They Stood Last Week: 5.
Why The Move: An excellent win over Houston sees the Colts back into the top three.
Why They Could Be Higher: They're 5-2, despite having two healthy receivers and one reliable one, plus no running backs who are healthy, and a defense that has also battled injuries. The pass rush is one of the best in the NFL.
Why They Could Be Lower: The defense has been atrocious against the run, and while the Colts have lacked a true running game in the past, it's never been this bad. Joseph Addai, Donald Brown and Mike Hart are all banged up, meaning Indy lacks anything resembling a playmaker in the backfield.
2. Baltimore Ravens
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Where They Stood Last Week: 2.
Why The Move: Baltimore had a Week 8 bye, so no change in their ranking.
Why They Could Be Higher: The offense is starting to click, the defense is slowly rounding into form, and the Ravens could easily be the class of the NFL right now.
Why They Could Be Lower: Two losses, a defense that's vulnerable to the pass still, and an offense that's not firing on all cylinders quite yet.
1. New England Patriots
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Where They Stood Last Week: 3.
Why The Move: A nice win over the Vikings, coupled with a Baltimore bye and a Pittsburgh loss, sees the Pats take over the top spot in the rankings.
Why They Could Be Higher: They can't be.
Why They Could Be Lower: The pass defense has been downright atrocious in 2010, unable to stop even average passing games.
Can They Win the Super Bowl?
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As of right now, no. The Patriots running game is still wildly inconsistent, and the defense struggles to contain most offenses.
The passing game is as good as ever behind Tom Brady, but it's that defense that concerns me. They would get smoked by a high-octane team, and while the offense could keep up to an extent, there's only so much they can do.
Still, they're the best team in football in Week 9. Next week, who knows?
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