NFL Power Rankings: Which Teams Are Slipping Downhill?

Just like every week in the NFL, teams have made significant movement up and down the power rankings. Headed into Week 9, three have dropped after losing big games in Week 8.

The New Orleans Saints, who have sat in the top three of the power rankings most of the season, dropped from third going into Week 8 to ninth this week, because of their 31-21 loss to the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

The Rams, winless going into the game, seemingly had little chance to defeat the 5-2 Saints. Instead, they completely dominated the New Orleans offense, starting with quarterback Drew Brees. The St. Louis defense terrorized Brees all day long, sacking him six times and intercepting him twice, with his offensive line unable to stop the Rams pass rush for four full quarters.

At the same time, St. Louis capitalized on the Saints' shaky defense, with running back Steven Jackson rushing for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Indeed, even a team that had everything going against it headed into this contest found a way to shut down what was the NFL's highest-scoring, most productive offense.

While it's certainly not the end of the world for the Saints, it's clear that they've a great deal of work to do after being so thoroughly embarrassed by a team itself familiar with embarrassment this season.

The Dallas Cowboys, on the other hand, have risen and fallen in the power rankings every week. One of the most confounding teams this season, Dallas has had amazing comebacks and dominant showings mitigated by serious losses marred by a number of mistakes.

Another serious loss befell the Cowboys in Week 8, as they were defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles 34-7, with that lone score not coming until they were thoroughly blown out in the fourth quarter.

Dallas couldn't achieve anything on both offense and defense, as they were outgained 495 yards to 267 and ran just 49 plays to the Eagles' 70. The Eagles, coming off their bye, seemed to have found a way to right their sinking ship and demonstrated that in a big way with a win over the Cowboys that saw Dallas drop in the power rankings from 16 last week to 21 this week.

Another slide is not so surprising, but it's a slide nonetheless. The Indianapolis Colts confirmed that they're the worst in the league with a 27-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 8.

Blanked 20-0 until the third quarter, the Colts had more receiving and rushing yards than Tennessee, but two turnovers and other mistakes steered them to their eighth straight loss on the season and the title of undisputed worst in the league.

Going from 31st to 32nd in the rankings doesn't seem like much of a slide, but considering how the Colts simply gave the game away proves that a drop of one is serious indeed, when it lands you at the very bottom of the pack.

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

*Subject to change pending outcome of tonight's Chargers-Chiefs contest