NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Which Direction Is Each Division Trending?

Just as NFL power rankings can tell you how well each team has performed up to any particular point in the season, they can also show the strengths of each division. Here, I will use my Week 9 power rankings to frame which divisions are rising and which continue to fall.

AFC North (Pittsburgh Steelers: 3, Baltimore Ravens: 7, Cincinnati Bengals: 10, Cleveland Browns: 23)

Depending on whose statistics you trust, the AFC North boasts four of the top five defenses in the NFL through eight weeks. Three of its four teams are above .500 and in the top 10 of my power rankings.

Three of those four teams also notched wins in Week 8, with the Ravens coming from behind to defeat the Arizona Cardinals, the Bengals manhandling the Seattle Seahawks and the Steelers besting the AFC-favorite New England Patriots.

It's clear the AFC North is one of the best divisions in the league and its stock only continues to rise. 

AFC East (New England Patriots: 5, Buffalo Bills: 6, New York Jets: 12, Miami Dolphins: 30)

The AFC East has spent a lion's share of the last 10 years as the Patriots' division, and though the Jets have emerged as a powerful squad in the past two years, it's the surprising 5-2 Buffalo Bills that are the Patriots' true rivals in 2011.

The Patriots remain an offensive powerhouse, but it's their slumping defense that will have them falling in the rankings, if they fail to improve. The Bills appear to have the best chance at longevity, though the Jets could return from their Week 8 bye rejuvenated.

But it's those winless Dolphins that drag the AFC East down; Miami can't really get much worse.

AFC South (Houston Texans: 4, Tennessee Titans: 16, Jacksonville Jaguars: 24, Indianapolis Colts: 32)

The AFC South is split in two. On one hand, the dominant Houston Texans and the respectable (if inconsistent) Tennessee Titans are in the top half of the Week 9 power rankings. Meanwhile, the Jaguars and Colts both sit in the bottom 10, with the Colts as the very worst in the league at 0-8.

The Jaguars' defense continues to impress, but that doesn't help much, considering their flat offense designed to prevent rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert from making too many mistakes. And the Colts are bad on all sides of the ball, looking so poor that even a healthy Peyton Manning couldn't save them now.

With only one team in the top 10 of my power rankings, the AFC South doesn't stack up well with the other divisions in the NFL.

AFC West (San Diego Chargers: 12, Oakland Raiders: 18, Kansas City Chiefs: 20, Denver Broncos: 31)

If there's one division in the AFC that's slipping down the rankings, it's the West, with no teams in the top 10.

The Chargers are perennial playoff favorites but have failed to fulfill that potential. The rest of the AFC West hasn't done much to inspire in recent seasons. The Raiders had a chance to take the lead, but the team is now a major question mark as quarterback Carson Palmer learns his new offense.

The Broncos, as we all know, have a number of troubles of their own, which start (but don't end) with quarterback Tim Tebow. While the Chiefs have bounced back from an 0-3 start with a three-game winning streak, the Chargers are a formidable foe and divisional rival who will put up quite the fight this evening. The AFC West is sinking, but it's not too late for three of its teams to turn things around.

NFC North (Green Bay Packers: 1, Detroit Lions: 8, Chicago Bears: 15, Minnesota Vikings: 26)

The NFC North was slated to be one of the more difficult divisions in 2011 and it certainly has lived up to that hype. The defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers are the only undefeated team in the league, and the Detroit Lions are clearly the NFL's most improved franchise after the Buffalo Bills.

Three NFC North teams are in the top half of my Week 9 power rankings, and each team continues to climb. The switch to Christian Ponder at quarterback has only served to help the Vikings, who have two wins on the season but could easily notch more. And while the Bears are inconsistent, they've earned decisive wins that prove their potential.

Momentum is clearly on the side of the NFC North, and its teams' respective stocks continue to rise.

NFC East (Philadelphia Eagles: 14, New York Giants: 17, Dallas Cowboys: 21, Washington Redskins: 28)

Yes, the NFC East is the most competitive division in the NFL right now, but that's not necessarily a good thing. Three of its four teams stand at 3-4, while the New York Giants top the division at 5-2. Mistakes, missteps, fluky wins and losses and a whole host of issues have made it an unpredictable division—but not a very inspiring one.

It's hard to figure out what to make of the Dallas Cowboys, who followed up a 34-7 Week 7 win with a 34-7 Week 8 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles started the season 1-4 but have won their last two games. And the Washington Redskins appear in full collapse mode, dropping their last three, capped off with a 23-0 blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 8.

These facts only indicate a confused division that is sliding, as a whole, down the power rankings. Even the Giants fell this week, after their unimpressive victory over the winless Dolphins.

NFC South (New Orleans Saints: 9, Atlanta Falcons: 11, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 19, Carolina Panthers: 22)

Though the members of the NFC South are slowly sliding down the power rankings, it remains a strong division, boasting four dynamic teams, three of which have winning records through eight weeks.

However, with the Saints losing to the previously-winless St. Louis Rams, the Buccaneers dropping to the Chicago Bears in London in Week 7, and the Panthers unable to pull out close victories despite their best efforts, the teams may be slipping.

The NFC South is in danger of becoming like the NFC East—a muddled group of inconsistent teams, with no clear playoff favorite yet to emerge. It's a bit more competitive and exciting than the NFC East, to be sure, but as a whole, it's on a downward trend.

NFC West (San Francisco 49ers: 2, St. Louis Rams: 25, Seattle Seahawks: 27, Arizona Cardinals: 29)

For yet another season, the NFC West is the league's worst division, with only the 49ers having a winning record while the remaining three have combined for fewer wins (four) than San Francisco has (six).

The Niners are the No. 2 team in the entire league, and they've earned it by beating good teams both at home and on the road. The Rams and Seahawks have each beaten tough teams—the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants, respectively—but neither has capitalized.

While I'd love to say that the 49ers' inspired play elevates the rest of the division, the Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks are just too poor. The good news is that it can't get much worse for the division, unless San Francisco starts to significantly slip.

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 result of tonight's Chiefs-Chargers contest