NFL Week 9 Power Rankings

Whether you’re happy or sad about the election results, at least there’s football!

1.   Atlanta Falcons (8-0) – I wish the Falcons had played a team with a winning record recently, but they haven’t since week 2 against the Broncos. A lot of their recent games have been close, so I think it’s a matter of time before their perfect streak comes to an end. Until then, this is the #1 team in the NFL.

2.   Houston Texans (7-1) – This weekend the Bears will prove whether the Texans are legit or not. If Matt Schaub and Arian Foster can overcome the stellar Bears defense, this team will get a confidence boost bigger than any of their past wins. This game and the game in December against the Patriots are the toughest remaining games on their schedule.

3.   Chicago Bears (7-1) – I’ve never seen a defense so dominant. They mastered the game-plan of keep Cutler off the field and just score with their defense; it’s more reliable. With the pressure off Cutler, he’s performed much better than expected. They have two tough games coming up, though, with the Texans and 49ers.

4.   San Francisco 49ers (6-2) –The ‘Niners get to play the Rams at home coming off their bye week. It’s as if they have two bye weeks to prepare for the Bears, who come to town next week.

5.   Green Bay Packers (6-3) – Aaron Rodgers has found his magic again despite being without his best receivers.

6.   Denver Broncos (5-3) – Peyton Manning is making a strong case for MVP, not to mention Comeback Player of the Year, which they might as well just give him now. Not only is Manning on fire, but the Broncos defense has been impressive.

7.   New England Patriots (5-3) – The Pats come off their bye week to play the Bills, Colts, Jets, and Dolphins. They should improve to 9-3 before facing their biggest test of the season when the Texans come to Foxboro.

8.   New York Giants (6-3) – It seems as if blowing big leads has finally come to bite the Giants in the behind. They need to start playing a full 60 minutes of football and stop relying so heavily on Eli to come in clutch in the fourth quarter.

9.   Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3) –   I’m not ready to jump on the Steeler bandwagon just yet. Their running game has improved dramatically and their defense is holding strong despite Polamalu’s absence. They’ll have an easy win this weekend against the Chiefs before facing their tough division rival, the Ravens.

10.   Baltimore Ravens (6-2) – Yea, I knocked the Ravens pretty hard this week for a team that’s 6-2. Joe Flacco has been so inconsistent and the defense is not the dominant force we are used to seeing. I honestly had the Browns upsetting the Ravens this past weekend for these reasons.

11.   Seattle Seahawks (5-4) – Russell Wilson kept his cool and was able to overcome an early deficit against the Vikings. He threw for 3 TDs in the first half alone.

12.   Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4) – I didn’t think the Buccs could compete for a wild card spot but they have a legitimate chance if they keep up their recent surge.

13.   Detroit Lions (4-4) – Finally, the Lions we all were expecting this year showed up. It’s still hard to believe, though, that Megatron only has 1 TD catch on the season. Madden curse?

14.   Indianapolis Colts (5-3) – The Colts climbed up my rankings this week in a big way. It’s hard to believe that with the youth of the team and the absence of the new coach that they are 5-3. Who would have thought they would stand a good chance of making the playoffs only a year after going 2-14.

15.   Miami Dolphins (4-4) – Coming off a tough loss last week, the Dolphins have a chance to bounce back this week against the Titans. They must take advantage of that game and the following game against the Bills in order to build momentum. They will need it in order to compete against the Seahawks, Patriots, and 49ers.

16.   Minnesota Vikings (5-4) – Christian Ponder has plummeted and shows no sign of stopping. They should be fighting for a wild card spot, but it seems as if it’s already out of reach despite their record.

17.   Dallas Cowboys (3-5) – Jerry Jones’ interview before the Sunday night game was embarrassing. When asked if he would have fired himself as GM he said yes…but doesn’t plan on giving up the position. Jason Garrett needs to go as well. Tony Romo needs to be coached and he isn’t getting that from Garrett.

18.   New Orleans Saints (3-5) – It took an awful Eagles O-line to make the Saints look like they know how to play defense. This team will be competitive, but with a non-existent defense it will be difficult to piece together wins.

19.   Washington Redskins (3-6) – Injuries are taking their toll on the Redskins. They should be a very good team eventually, but not this year. I don’t agree with Coach Shanahan seemingly throwing in the towel during his press conference after the last game.

20.   Cincinnati Bengals (3-5) – The Bengals are just too young to compete consistently in the AFC. Their offensive line needs to improve in order to give Dalton more time in the pocket.

21.   New York Jets (3-5) – The Jets have a really tough match up coming off their bye week when they travel to Seattle. If they can steal a win, it would dramatically jump-start this team. I don’t see that happening, however.

22.   Arizona Cardinals (4-5) – The Cardinals have dropped 5 straight games. Their offensive line continues to get abused week in and week out.  Things are not looking good in Arizona.

23.  Philadelphia Eagles (3-5) – I’m in shock that Andy Reid wasn’t fired Monday morning. He probably should have been. I can guarantee you it will come on “black Monday,” the Monday after week 17.

24.   Cleveland Browns (2-7) – The coaching may be the biggest obstacle in the way of the Browns’ success, aside from the lack of talent. Why on earth is Brandon Weeden throwing 37 attempts per game when Trent Richardson is only getting 16 carries?

25.   Oakland Raiders (3-5) – I hate having Darren McFadden on my fantasy team every year. He’s always hurt. If you ignore the 3 picks, Carson Palmer was impressive in his last game throwing for over 400 yards and 4 TDs.

26.   San Diego Chargers (4-4) – Here’s a stat to make Chargers fans cringe: the 4 wins their team has this season came from teams that have a combined record of 8-25.

27.   St. Louis Rams (3-5) – The Rams look to avenge their thumping in London by taking on the 49ers in San Francisco…

28.   Buffalo Bills (3-5) – Hey! Fitzpatrick didn’t throw a pick last weekend! Things are starting to look up in Buffalo…

29.   Tennessee Titans (3-6) – My poor friend is a Titans fan. I asked if he wanted to watch that game on Sunday and he said, “Nope, they’re playing the Bears.” It’s much better that he didn’t watch.

30.   Carolina Panthers (2-6) – It took the Redskins for the Panthers to find their second win. They need the draft badly.

31.   Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7) – As Brian Billick said, “Hey, it could be worse…they could be the Kansas City Chiefs.”

32.   Kansas City Chiefs (1-7) – This team has many needs including a new coaching staff, a new quarterback, and defensive talent. No big deal, right?