Based on what we saw in Week 8, the powerful NFC West may be down to two teams. The San Francisco 49ers got manhandled by the division-leading Seattle Seahawks while continue to see some of their most important players succumb to injuries. As for the Los Angeles Rams, they laid an egg against the Miami Dolphins. Meanwhile, the Arizona Cardinals climbed in our power rankings during their bye week because several other thought-to-be top teams in the league suffered surprising losses.
Let’s make the Week 9 list from the No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs all the way down to the No. 32 New York Jets.
1. Kansas City Chiefs (7-1) – The Chiefs were one of the biggest favorites ever in Week 8 and—as expected—still didn’t have much trouble covering the spread against the Jets. (previous: 1)
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-0) – Already the last undefeated team in football, Pittsburgh stayed that way with an absolutely huge win over the AFC North rival Ravens. (previous: 2)
3. Seattle Seahawks (6-1) – Russell Wilson bounced back from a three-interception performance one week earlier to reassert himself as the overwhelming MVP favorite. (previous: 4)
4. Baltimore Ravens (5-2) – There may be no shame in losing to Kansas City and Pittsburgh, but those losses hurt bad in the AFC pecking order. And the fact both came at home hurts more. (previous: 3)
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2) – Tampa Bay did not do a whole lot on Monday Night Football, but it did enough to stay in first place in the NFC South. Tom Brady remains in fine form. (previous: 6)
6. Arizona Cardinals (5-2) – The Cardinals moved into solo second in the NFC West during their bye week, but they could have used a Seattle loss to San Francisco. (previous: 8)
7. New Orleans Saints (5-2) – Like the division rival Buccaneers, the Saints got a win in Week 8 and did so without being impressive. Get your popcorn ready for Sunday’s head-to-head showdown. (previous: 10)
8. Green Bay Packers (5-2) – Not even the absence of star RB Aaron Jones can account for what happened this past weekend. Losing to Minnesota at home is an unmitigated disaster. (previous: 7)
9. Tennessee Titans (5-2) – Things have suddenly gone from bad (an OT win over Houston and their first loss of the year to Pittsburgh) to worse (a 31-20 loss at Cincinnati) for the Titans. (previous: 5)
10. Indianapolis Colts (5-2) – Tennessee has company atop the AFC South, and it comes in the form of the Colts. Seriously, how did this team lose to Jacksonville in Week 1? (previous: 11)
11. Buffalo Bills (6-2) – The Bills really haven’t played a good game since Week 4. Nonetheless, they have won two in a row and lead the AFC East at 6-2. (previous: 13)
12. Las Vegas Raiders (4-3) – The Raiders aren’t good enough to be in the business of caring about style points, and that’s a good thing because they wouldn’t get any for a 16-6 win over Cleveland. (previous: 17)
13. Miami Dolphins (4-3) – Tua Tagovailoa’s first start was thoroughly unspectacular. But, hey, he committed four fewer turnovers than Jared Goff! The Dolphins’ defense is the real deal. (previous: 18)
14. Los Angeles Rams (5-3) – L.A. can lick its wounds from a loss to Miami during its bye, but then it has to face Seattle, Tampa Bay, San Francisco, and Arizona in succession. Ouch! (previous: 9)
15. Chicago Bears (5-3) – I don’t care how good the defense is. Chicago cannot be considered a legitimate contender when its starting quarterback options are Nick Foles and Mitchell Trubisky. (previous: 14)
16. Denver Broncos (3-4) – The Broncos aren’t a team built to erase 24-3 second-half deficits. Fortunately for them, the Chargers are a team built to blow 24-3 second-half leads. (previous: 22)
Keep doubting us.
There’s no quit in this squad. pic.twitter.com/Cn6cyG5ndl
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) November 3, 2020
17. Cleveland Browns (5-3) – The Browns are 5-3, but their point differential is minus-31. The latter statistic is probably a truer indication of this team’s quality than the record. (previous: 15)
18. Philadelphia Eagles (3-4-1) – Somehow the Eagles have won three of their last five games. Oh yeah, “somehow” is playing two straight games against NFC East rivals. (previous: 23)
19. Los Angeles Chargers (2-5) – Atlanta leads the NFL in finding different ways to lose football games, but the Chargers are making a real run for it. They are 2-5 and should be 5-2. (previous: 16)
20. Carolina Panthers (3-5) – Carolina failed to pull off a season sweep of the Falcons, but Christian McCaffrey could be coming back. The Panthers need him in the worst way with Kansas City and Tampa Bay upcoming. (previous: 20)
21. San Francisco 49ers (4-4) – San Francisco is a last-place team (albeit in the NFC West). Now, both Jimmy Garoppolo and George Kittle are out for the foreseeable future. (previous: 12)
22. Detroit Lions (3-4) – I can’t think of a more non-descript team than the Lions. They aren’t terrible, but they also aren’t anywhere close to good. They just take up space in this league. (previous: 19)
23. Cincinnati Bengals (2-5-1) – No team has lost more close games that the Bengals…so they decided not to play a close one. They dominated Tennessee from start to finish. (previous: 26)
24. Atlanta Falcons (2-6) – The Falcons play the Chargers in Week 14 to see which team can out-choke the other. It’s hard to see Atlanta winning many games between now and then based on the schedule. (previous: 29)
25. Minnesota Vikings (2-5) – In one of the more bizarre results in a bizarre year, Minnesota went into Lambeau Field and beat Green Bay 28-22. Dalvin Cook went absolutely wild. (previous: 28)
26. New England Patriots (2-5) – Well, the Patriots are at least going to win four games this season, because they still get to play the Jets twice—including in Week 9. (previous: 21)
27. The Washington Football Team (2-5) – A bunch of bad football teams won games in Week 8, which is why the Football Team dropped spots. But it did not drop spots in the NFC East standings. (previous: 24)
28. Houston Texans (1-6) – The Texans have had the hardest schedule in the NFL. They have the easiest schedule the rest of the way. They could try to tank and would still win plenty of games down the stretch. (previous: 25)
29. New York Giants (1-7) – A team that is 1-7 could actually end up being the best team in its division. You cannot make this stuff up, folks. Whatever the case, the Giants are better than 1-7. (previous: 30)
30. Dallas Cowboys (2-6) – The Cowboys have lost their last three games by a combined 86-22 margin. Their season-long point differential (minus-81) is second-to-last in the NFL, better than only the Jets. (previous: 27)
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6) – Good news: Jacksonville did not lose (because it had a bye, of course). Bad news: it still has Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Baltimore, and Indianapolis on the schedule. (previous: 31)
32. New York Jets (0-8) – The biggest losers in Week 8 were the Jets (26-point setback against Kansas City). The biggest loser in Week 9 will be the fans, who have to watch this team on Monday Night Football. (previous: 32)
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