NFL Power Rankings: Sliding Teams That Will Continue Their Free Falls

There are a few types of teams in the NFL. First, you can look at the top of my rankings below and see the Green Bay Packers, the undisputed No. 1 team in the league. After that, you can order a few of the other top teams differently, but they all belong.

Then, you can take a look at the bottom and see the Colts and Dolphins. They are at the bottom of the rankings, which is precisely where they belong.

Then, we have teams like the Eagles and Chiefs. They had abysmal starts, but are now on nice winning streaks and sitting in the middle of the pack, likely to keep moving up.

Lastly, you have the teams that started okay but are now in a fall. These falls are not going to be ending anytime soon. Their starts were good, but nothing more than a mirage.

That's who we're looking at here.

Washington Redskins

With no Tim Hightower for the rest of the year and Santana Moss out for a long time, the Redskins' seasons appears hopeless. Actually, it is hopeless.

The Giants are 5-2, the Eagles are surging and even the Cowboys have shown us that they are capable of very strong play this season.

The road gets no easier for Washington from here on out. They have one game remaining against each of their division opponents, as well as dates against the 49ers, Jets and Patriots. All three of those games are at home, but anything more than 1-2 would be very optimistic.

The 'Skins have absolutely no offensive punch. Their pass rush is strong, but they have very little else. Anything better than 6-10 is going to be tough for them.

Cleveland Browns

While we're on the subject of teams with no offensive punch, let's shift our attention to the Browns. Cleveland does have breaks in its schedule, but they have plenty of challenges as well.

The Browns have five games in their division this year, and can easily go 0-5 in those. They also get a test against the Texans this week.

Now, the Browns do have a strong defense, but have no offensive ability whatsoever. Josh Cribbs is their only threat.

Last Sunday's game vs. San Francisco taught us something about the Browns. The 49ers were terrible offensively in the second half. Yet, they managed to score 20 points, which was good enough for a convincing win.

That's not a very hard formula to follow.

San Diego Chargers

Unlike the first two teams, the Chargers have a lot of punch. They have great players up and down the roster, but are just not playing good football right now. Don't expect that to change.

The Chargers only remaining games that can be considered as locks, or anything close, are against the Broncos and Jaguars.

Other than that, this team has a very real chance at losing the rest of their games. That would put them at 6-10. Even if that doesn't happen, it's a long way to put them at 10-6.

The playoffs will be without the Chargers again this year.

Michael Dixon's Week 9 NFL Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers	7-0
2. San Francisco 49ers	6-1
3. Pittsburgh Steelers	6-2
4. New England Patriots	5-2
5. Baltimore Ravens	5-2
6. Detroit Lions	6-2
7. New York Giants	5-2
8. Cincinnati Bengals	5-2
9. Buffalo Bills	5-2
10. New Orleans Saints	5-3
11. Chicago Bears	4-3
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers	4-3
13. Atlanta Falcons	4-3
14. Kansas City Chiefs	4-3
15. Oakland Raiders	4-3
16. Houston Texans	5-3
17. New York Jets	4-3
18. Philadelphia Eagles	3-4
19. San Diego Chargers	4-3
20. Tennessee Titans	4-3
21. Dallas Cowboys	3-4
22. Minnesota Vikings	2-6
23. Carolina Panthers	2-6
24. Cleveland Browns	3-4
25. Washington Redskins	3-4
26. Jacksonville Jaguars	2-6
27. Seattle Seahawks	2-5
28. St. Louis Rams	1-6
29. Denver Broncos	2-5
30. Arizona Cardinals	1-6
31. Indianapolis Colts	0-8
32. Miami Dolphins	0-7