NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Can the New Orleans Saints Climb Back Into The Top 10
The NFL Power Rankings Week 9 edition is here and with each passing week, it gets harder and harder to make this list.
The gap between teams is razor-thin and teams that we thought would be bad are in the hunt, and teams we expected to be playing meaningful games in January are struggling to stay in the playoff chase. It's just a crazy year.
If you have any thoughts, make sure to leave them in the comments.
Nos. 32-21: Bottom Of The Barrel
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32. Buffalo (Last Week: 32): Another close, but no cigar game for the Bills against Kansas City last week.
31. Dallas (Last Week: 30): With Jon Kitna under center, things are going to get ugly fast in Big D.
30. Carolina (Last Week: 28): It's good to see the Panthers responding well after a win.
29. Denver (Last Week: 28): The Broncos just look awful at this point of the year.
28. Cincinnati (Last Week: 25): Carson Palmer keeps throwing picks and the Bengals keep losing games.
27. Minnesota (Last Week: 24): Brett Favre is falling apart before our eyes. It's sad to see.
26. San Francisco (Last Week: 29): The 49ers beat Denver in a big "home" game (in London).
25. Detroit (Last Week: 31): Matthew Stafford is back and he had great success throwing to Calvin Johnson all day.
24. San Diego (Last Week: 26): The Chargers got a big win over a very good Titans team.
23. Cleveland (Last Week: 21): The Browns are looking for their second straight win against the Patriots. Good luck.
22. Arizona (Last Week: 19): The Cardinals lost a tough one to Tampa Bay. I'd get used to more of those in Arizona.
21. Chicago (Last Week: 18): The Bears are a lot worse than their record shows.
No. 20: St. Louis Rams
2 of 21
Last Week: 23
The Rams are a scrappy young team and they keep finding ways to win.
St. Louis doesn't have many targets for Sam Bradford but Bradford keeps making plays to players like Danny Amendola. The Rams are right in the thick of things in the NFC West and will likely be there all year long.
I'm stunned by the Rams.
No. 19: Seattle Seahawks
3 of 21
Last Week: 17
The Seahawks are a curious team that I can't quite figure out.
Some weeks they'll look potent and dangerous and the next they get steamrolled. I get the feeling that will be the theme all year long with this team. Then again, that's more than anyone expected at the start of the season.
Pete Carroll has done a heck of a job this year.
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No. 18: Washington Redskins
4 of 21
Last Week: 16
It's turning into a total disaster in the first year of the Mike Shanahan era.
You bench Donovan McNabb for Rex Grossman while the game is still in reach? Well that sounds like a great plan, until you realize Grossman is terrible and no matter how bad McNabb had been playing, he's still a better option than Grossman.
Smooth move. Bringing in JaMarcus Russell for a tryout was none too smart either.
No. 17: Oakland Raiders
5 of 21
Last Week: 22
Who is this Oakland Raiders team?
The Raiders have had two great games on offense in a row and with Darren McFadden and Jason Campbell, Oakland is looking like they may be able to make a run at the Chiefs for the top spot in the AFC West.
I can't believe I just typed that.
No. 16: Jacksonville Jaguars
6 of 21
Last Week: 20
The Jaguars have been an up-and-down team, but right now, Jacksonville is up.
However, that win did come against the hapless Cowboys, who were without Tony Romo. It's much easier to beat Jon Kitna than Romo. Jacksonville ripped Dallas apart and David Garrard had his best game of his career last week.
We'll see if Jacksonville can string some wins together.
No. 15: Miami Dolphins
7 of 21
Last Week: 13
The Dolphins cannot rely on their kicker, Dan Carpenter, forever.
Carpenter had to kick five field goals to help take down the Bengals last Sunday and Chad Henne struggled a bit before making plays late to help win the game. Randy Moss would have helped, I'm just saying.
Now they have to see him in two weeks against the Titans.
No. 14: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
8 of 21
Last Week: 15
Okay, I'm officially in on Tampa Bay.
The Bucs just keep finding ways to win and it doesn't matter who the competition is. Sure, Tampa Bay lost to the Saints, but Josh Freeman is a fourth-quarter quarterback and he's going to only get better. It seems like the Bucs have their franchise quarterback.
Remember when people thought Raheem Morris wasn't an NFL coach? Oops.
No. 13: Houston Texans
9 of 21
Last Week: 8
Are the Texans overrated? No, couldn't be. That's never happened.
The Texans looked bad against the Colts and that pass defense is so awful that I'm not sure Houston can make a run to the playoffs for the first time in their existence. I'm not sold on this team and they just haven't looked good.
Where is the Matt Schaub from last year?
No. 12: Kansas City Chiefs
10 of 21
Last Week: 12
A win is a win, but that game shouldn't have been as close as it was.
If the Chiefs want to be a playoff team, they need to put the Bills away. I know Buffalo gave Baltimore trouble as well, and the Bills aren't as bad as their record, but it was a sloppy performance. If the Chiefs want to win the division, they need to play better.
I'm not a huge fan of Matt Cassel but we shall see if he can improve.
No. 11: Philadelphia Eagles
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The Eagles are past the bye and they'll be getting Michael Vick back.
It's not indicative of Kevin Kolb's performance, because he did play well in his time under center, but it's time to go back to Vick and he'll take on Peyton Manning and the Colts this week. It'll be a tough test and we'll see exactly where the Eagles are.
I'm not sure Philly fans will like the results.
No. 10: New Orleans Saints
12 of 21
Last Week: 14
With the way the Saints had been looking coming into the game against Pittsburgh, I didn't think they had a chance.
Drew Brees and the rest of the Saints looked like the defending Super Bowl champions for the first time all season against the Steelers. We'll see if the Saints can keep it up, and if they do, they are the class of the NFC.
I'm sure New Orleans can't wait to get Reggie Bush back.
No. 9: Tennessee Titans
13 of 21
Last Week: 6
The Titans lost to San Diego in a hard-fought game where Vince Young and Kenny Britt went down.
At the end of the game, Tennessee was still in a position to win the game, which says something about this year's Titans. Throw Randy Moss into the mix and all of a sudden there's more running lanes for Chris Johnson.
Watch out for Tennessee.
No. 8: Green Bay Packers
14 of 21
Last Week: 10
The Packers had a huge win against the Jets last week and I was stunned to see it happen.
Think about it, no Ryan Grant, Donald Driver is banged up and countless other players are injured and Green Bay went out and beat the Jets, who had looked great until that point. Aaron Rodgers is a great leader and has turned into a great quarterback.
Green Bay will be in the mix all year long.
No. 7: Atlanta Falcons
15 of 21
Last Week: 9
Atlanta is the best team in the NFC South and the Falcons will get a chance to prove that against Tampa Bay this weekend.
The Falcons win this game and they control their own destiny in terms of the NFC South crown and a playoff spot. Matt Ryan is having a great year and the running game is a force to be reckoned with in Atlanta.
It'll be a fun race in the NFC South.
No. 6: New York Giants
16 of 21
Last Week: 7
The Giants are in the mix as the best team in the NFC, whatever that stands for these days.
New York still makes a lot of mistakes, especially Eli Manning, who forces throws he really shouldn't. However, the Giants have a great running game and plenty of targets to throw to. The defense is also playing at a high level in New York.
The Giants will be playing deep into the winter.
No. 5: New York Jets
17 of 21
Last Week: 2
The Jets had an awful performance on Sunday. There's no other way to describe it.
There were punters trying to run 20 yards for a first down, there were bad coaching decisions and Mark Sanchez played poorly. It was the perfect storm of events that brought down the Jets, who had been playing well.
Look for New York to rebound rather quickly.
No. 4: Pittsburgh Steelers
18 of 21
Last Week: 1
The Steelers were the best team in football before they had played the Saints last Sunday.
Now Pittsburgh looks human on defense, and while teams don't have the offense that New Orleans does, teams will be able to make plays and score enough points to get by. Losing Aaron Smith will hurt the defense more than people realize.
Either way, the Steelers are right in the thick of things.
No. 3: Indianapolis Colts
19 of 21
Last Week: 3
Player after player keeps falling down around Peyton Manning but that doesn't stop him.
Manning torched the Texans last week and he does it with a cast of characters a lot of people have barely heard of. Only Manning could put up performances like that. Indy is leading the AFC South and controls its own destiny.
I'm not sold on the Colts long term, but right now, look out.
No. 2: Baltimore Ravens
20 of 21
Last Week: 5
The Ravens are going to be fresh off the bye and they're right in the mix in the AFC.
The offense in Baltimore has come along since struggling against the Jets at the beginning of the year, and Ray Rice has gotten past his injury and has produced big time for the Ravens this year. Don't forget Anquan Boldin and what he does for Joe Flacco.
If the Ravens fix some flaws in the defense, look out. Who would ever think that would be said about the Ravens?
No. 1: New England Patriots
21 of 21
Last Week: 4
The Patriots are the only one-loss team in football and have looked better and better as the weeks have gone by.
The defense, which has struggled at times, is starting to gel and the offense is rolling even without Randy Moss. The Patriots just look like those Super Bowl teams and that's certainly an encouraging sign for Patriots fans.
However, don't forget that it is a young defense. There will be growing pains.
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