NFL Power Rankings: Which Playoff Pretenders Are Falling Fast?

We are halfway through the NFL season—well almost—and we know less today than we did before teams started playing games. The only thing that we know for sure is the Green Bay Packers are really good; beyond that is a mystery. 

There are some teams that have begun to separate themselves from the pack, but they still have serious questions that have to be answered in the coming weeks. 

On the other hand, there are teams that we assumed were going to be playoff contenders, but can't seem to get out of their own way. They have the talent to be great, but for whatever reason, things haven't come together. 

So which teams are going to drop like flies in the coming weeks?

 

No. 9 New England Patriots

The Patriots continue to be the most one-dimensional team in the NFL. If you can contain Tom Brady, you can beat them easily. Not a lot of opposing defenses are able to do that, but it is not an impossible feat.

The defense continues to bury the offense any chance that it can. Against the Steelers, they allowed Ben Roethlisberger to throw for 365 yards and two touchdowns.

They have not been giving up as many points in the last three weeks as they did in the first four, but they aren’t able to get teams' offenses off the field and get the ball back in Brady’s hands.

 

No. 11 New Orleans Saints

The Saints should be wholly embarrassed with the way they played on Sunday in St. Louis. You can’t be thought of as a legitimate Super Bowl contender and lose to a winless team.

Drew Brees has now had two mediocre games in the last three weeks, and his struggles are magnified by the fact that the running game has been so inconsistent this season.

The defense continues to be a source of problems. There is no excuse for giving up 31 points to a Rams team that scored just 56 points in the first six games.

It is officially panic time in New Orleans.

 

No. 12 Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens continue to be the most puzzling team in the NFL. As bad as things were for them after losing to Jacksonville last Monday, they did not exactly inspire a lot of confidence in their comeback victory over Arizona.

Quarterback Joe Flacco still looks uncomfortable with everything he does, and if it weren’t for Ray Rice bailing him out, we would be talking about another loss.

At this point in the season, the Ravens are no longer one of the best teams in the AFC. They have time to turn it around, but it looks like they are a pretender at this juncture.

 

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