In a week with a number of bye weeks, there were a lot of stagnant teams in this week’s power rankings.
Also, last week, many of the top teams lost, making it difficult to rank them. This week, many of those same teams won (or were inactive) which means another tough week of sorting this thing out. Still, I stand by believing that at least 10 or so teams could win the Super Bowl right now. Let’s find out who those teams might be in this week’s power rankings after nine weeks of football.
32. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week: 29)
Logic would seem to point to the Raiders being the worst team in football because there’s a decent chance that they won’t win a single game this season. However, the Jaguars have found a way each week to look worse, while the Raiders have hung around in games. They have been out-scored by a total of 110 points this season, too, which is never good.
31. New York Jets (LW: 30)
The Jets also get slotted behind the Raiders this week. New York has the second worst point differential behind Jacksonville, and putting Michael Vick under center didn’t help, as the Jets only mustered 10 points against the Chiefs on Sunday.
30. Oakland Raiders (LW: 28)
Oakland hung around against the Seahawks, but once again, couldn’t get it done. There’s just not enough playmakers on this team for me to believe that the Raiders will pick up at win at any point this year.
29. Tennessee Titans (LW: 31)
After a bye, the Titans managed to move up, but only because of recency bias with the Jets, Jaguars and Raiders all looking actively bad. With the Titans facing a likely fired up Ravens team after they lost to the Bengals, Tennessee will probably look just as bad as those three teams this weekend.
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 32)
Each week, it seems like the Buccaneers find a new way to lose. Yet, they find a way each week to at least be somewhat competitive. The connection of Mike Evans and Mike Glennon also gives me hope for the future of this team.
27. Atlanta Falcons (LW: 25)
Atlanta and Chicago both got bumped down on bye weeks. The teams that moved above them (Minnesota, St. Louis) looked good enough that I have far more hope than both these teams. However, the Falcons enter a three-game stretch against the Bucs, Panthers and Browns, which are all winnable games.
26. Chicago Bears (LW: 23)
With these rankings, if I’m stuck, I try to think about which team I’d rather be coaching right now. If I was Marc Trestman, I’d be panicking that there was no one healthy to play in the secondary and that my entire offense would collapse if Matt Forte were to sustain an injury. There’s just more reason to hold out hope for these other teams inside the bottom 12 than the Bears.
25. Houston Texans (LW: 24)
We’ve finally reached Ryan Mallett time. Against the Eagles on Sunday, Ryan Fitzpatrick completed just 48.1 percent of his passes, which was likely the breaking point. However, Mallett won’t have much of a supporting cast if Arian Foster misses time with his injury.
24. Washington Redskins (LW: 22)
Although Robert Griffin III has only played in three games this season, he’s been pressured on 38.1 percent of his dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. No quarterback is going to be effective if they are seeing that much pressure. Washington will continue to struggle if it can’t keep RGIII upright.
23. Minnesota Vikings (LW: 27)
It’s only fair to put the Vikings over the Redskins after Minnesota beat them on Sunday. Teddy Bridgewater completed 61.9 percent of his passes, and could have had a huge play to Cordarrelle Patterson had Bridgewater been slightly more accurate. Minnesota will be a competitive team this year in most of their games going forward, even if they only win six or so games.
22. St. Louis Rams (LW: 26)
The Rams showed this week they can rely on their defense to win games. St. Louis held the 49ers to 10 points after they had scored at least 14 points in every game this season, and while the sacks may not be there Robert Quinn is having another great year.
21. New York Giants (LW: 21)
It might seem weird that the Giants didn’t drop after losing big to the Colts on Monday night, but they are still a more talented team that St. Louis and Minnesota. Odell Beckham is the real deal, and the offense has potential if Eli Manning started to make better decisions with the football. However, there’s no way this team even gets close to playoff contention.
20. Buffalo Bills (LW: 20)
The Bills are a frustrating team to me. There’s honestly no real reason why this team should be 5-3, but here we are. Sammy Watkins is the only real playmaker on offense with Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller out, and that will catch up to them against a good Chiefs defense this week. Buffalo’s upcoming schedule is tough, too, so I don’t see them being any more than a .500 team by the time this year is over.
19. Carolina Panthers (LW: 19)
Like the Giants, it seems weird that the Panthers didn’t move after losing to the Saints by a considerable margin last Thursday. Still, Cam Newton and Kelvin Benjamin are going to continue to make things happen, and their upcoming schedule is incredibly easy. All but two of their remaining opponents currently have a record above .500 (and one of them is the Browns).
18. San Francisco 49ers (LW: 14)
Even for being a .500 team, the 49ers haven’t looked all that convincing. I was low on them last week, and continue to be so this week. They have been outscored by a net 10 points this season, the offense is just 19th in yards per game, and the defense is allowing over 22 points per game. Also, why Frank Gore didn’t get a carry at the goalline at the end of Sunday’s game, I will never understand.
17. Cleveland Browns (LW: 17)
Cleveland deserves to sit here for another week. If it is able to upset the Bengals and actually make some noise in the AFC North, they can move up to the rest of the real playoff contenders, but none of their wins in the past two weeks have been truly convincing. Brian Hoyer has been just good enough, but the defense is significantly improved from a few weeks ago.
16. San Diego Chargers (LW: 11)
Just a few weeks ago, the Chargers were definitively in the top five of these rankings. Now, Philip Rivers can’t get anything going, and the injuries finally seem to be catching up to San Diego. Among the notables missing include corner Jason Verrett, linebacker Manti Te'o, backs Ryan Mathews and Donald Brown and even Brandon Flowers is dealing with a concussion now.
15. New Orleans Saints (LW: 18)
The Saints are basically trending in the exact opposing direction of the Chargers. Who would have thought that Mark Ingram would ever really make this much of a difference? With he and Jimmy Graham healthy, I have no doubt the Saints will end up winning the NFC South.
14. Baltimore Ravens (LW: 12)
From half to half, fans really have no idea what to expect from the Ravens right now. The first half of Sunday night’s game against the Steelers was actually competitive, but the Ravens fell apart in the second. Joe Flacco has six interceptions and five touchdowns in the second half of games this season, compared to 11 touchdowns and two picks in the first half, per ESPN. Baltimore needs to find some consistency.
13. Miami Dolphins (LW: 15)
Right now, the Dolphins are just outside my predictions for the AFC Wild Card. There’s just not enough offensive weapons in Miami for me to be impressed, but Ryan Tannehill is starting to become underrated as an athlete in the plays that Bill Lazor is calling. Their third-ranked scoring defense might be enough to get them that second Wild Card spot, though.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 16)
Before I propel Pittsburgh into the top 10, I need to see more out of this team consistently. They’re only three weeks removed from barely getting past the Texans, and four weeks removed from being embarrassed by the Browns. Ben Roethlisberger isn’t going to throw six touchdowns every week, so the defense is going to have to step up their play eventually.
11. Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 13)
I’m already handing the first AFC Wild Card over to Kansas City. They are just one flukey game in Week 1 against the Titans from being 6-2, and they have wins against the Dolphins, Patriots and Chargers. Even with their early defensive injuries this season, they are still the second best scoring defense in the league, which will be enough to get them to 10 wins.
10. Dallas Cowboys (LW: 7)
Cowboys fans shouldn’t panic. Yet. If the Jaguars somehow make this weekend’s game in London close, it could be cause for concern, but if Tony Romo is able to return to the states healthy, they’ll be fine, but the two games in his half of the season against the Eagles will be key.
9. Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 10)
Speaking of the Eagles, it looks like Mark Sanchez is going to have to take them to the playoffs at this point. While Nick Foles might be back in time for the postseason, this is Sanchez’s team for the next few weeks. Which may not necessarily be a bad thing. Philly should be able to keep on ticking with Chip Kelly’s system.
8. Seattle Seahawks (LW: 8)
This is where the stagnating at the top comes into play. The Seahawks weren’t impressive enough to move up, but they did at least win. Still, Russell Wilson has struggled in his past three games, and the home-field advantage this season is not what Seattle is used to in year’s past. Derek Carr should be throwing in the towel after the second quarter, not looking to make plays in the fourth that could have tied the game.
7. Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 5)
The Bengals drop this week despite a win. Andy Dalton looked like he was ready to give the game away to the Jaguars in the fourth quarter of last weekend’s game, but Jeremy Hill broke out a huge run and saved the Bengals. With all but one of their remaining games against opponents currently .500 or better, Cincinnati will certainly be tested, but you can’t argue with just two losses on the year.
6. Green Bay Packers (LW: 6)
This is just a case of the bye weeks. No reason to move the Packers up or down heading into what should be an easy win over the Bears on Sunday night.
5. Indianapolis Colts (LW: 9)
The Colts are quite good enough yet to be grouped in with Denver and New England, but they certainly are good enough to be the third most likely option to win the AFC right now. Andrew Luck became the first quarterback in history to throw for 350 yards in five consecutive road games, and they might be able to get Robert Mathis back eventually to help bolster the pass rush.
4. Detroit Lions (LW: 4)
Like Green Bay, there’s no reason to move the Lions this week.
3. Denver Broncos (LW: 1)
Were the Broncos going to finish with just one loss all season? Unlikely. Still, their loss to the Patriots was very convincing in New England’s favor, and at least for the long term, Denver’s pass defense needs to improve if these two teams face off again in the AFC Championship game.
2. New England Patriots (LW: 3)
Many of my fellow writers in the football world have the Patriots at No. 1 this week. There’s certainly a case to be made there, but much of their offensive success rides on Rob Gronkowski, who has never been able to stay healthy throughout his career. Going back to the coaching comparison for these power rankings, I’d rather be Bruce Arians right now with a great defense and blossoming passing game rather than Bill Belichick and just hanging on to hope that Gronk doesn’t break something before the playoffs.
1. Arizona Cardinals (LW: 2)
Everyone on this Arizona coaching staff defenses the Coach of the Year award. It helps that Carson Palmer has 11 touchdowns to just three total turnovers and he’s had a rating of at least 90 in each of his starts. It’s easy to just say that the Cardinals are not as strong as New England, but they do have wins against the 49ers, Cowboys, Eagles and Chargers, four wins that show they can compete with playoff teams in the NFL.