Not only did the NFL reach its halfway point after Week 9 action, but a wild, crazy trade deadline threw a monkey wrench into the NFL's balance of power – maybe.
The Colts responded to their first loss since Week 4 by trading for a two-time All-Pro cornerback. The Ravens are back to winning streaks again, and padded their pass rush before the deadline. The Seahawks stayed hot, and gave Sam Darnold another weapon in the passing game.
Now, we buckle up for some outstanding matchups between several of our top-10 teams over the next few weeks.
Remember, our rankings are based on overall team performance. We will never buy into the theory that Team A must be ranked higher than Team B just because A beat B at some point in the season or because Team A has a better record than Team B. Any given Sunday…
Without further ado, our Week 9 power rankings:
1. Indianapolis Colts (7-2): Had 6 turnovers – 6! – and still only lost by 7 in Pittsburgh, then got some extra Sauce to power up for second half. Look for rebound vs. Falcons.
Last week: 1
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2): Got some much-needed rest during bye, have brutal stretch vs. Patriots, Bills, Rams.
Last week: 3
3. Los Angeles Rams (6-2): Slammed Saints like they should, face major tests ahead in 49ers, Seahawks, Bucs.
Last week: 5
4. Seattle Seahawks (7-2): Addition of WR Rashid Shaheed to already thriving offense could make Seattle best in NFC.
Last week: 6
5. Denver Broncos (7-2): Win at Texans ties them with Patriots for NFL's longest win streak (6 games), have allowed 17 or fewer in 4 of those 6.
Last week: 7
6. Philadelphia Eagles (6-2): New-look pass rush gets put to test right away vs. Packers, Lions in consecutive weeks. Run game will be vital.
Last week: 8
7. Buffalo Bills (6-2): Have outscored last 2 opponents 68-30, including big win over Chiefs. Bills looking Super again.
Last week: 9
8. Detroit Lions (5-3): Surprising loss coming out of bye vs. Vikings. This team is dominant at times but inconsistent. Should bounce back vs. Commanders.
Last week: 2
9. Green Bay Packers (5-2-1): Loss at home to Panthers shows Packers still leave meat on bone. Loss of TE Tucker Kraft for season will hurt.
Last week: 4
10. Kansas City Chiefs (5-4): Tough team to figure out but still as good as anyone on best day. Should've traded for RB help.
Last week: 10
11. New England Patriots (7-2): Could make major rankings jump with win vs. Buccaneers, their biggest test since Week 5 vs. Bills.
Last week: 11
12. Los Angeles Chargers (7-2): Loss of LT Joe Alt will hurt this team over long haul. Have lost both OTs for rest of season.
Last week: 12
13: San Francisco 49ers (6-3): Have chance to sweep series vs. Rams with win. Niners have injury issues but are well coached.
Last week: 13
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3): Only Steelers could lose to Bengals but beat Colts. Still not convinced this is more than an average team.
Last week: 16
15. Baltimore Ravens (3-5): Two straight wins and got QB Lamar Jackson back with Vikings, Browns, Jets on deck. Ravens making move.
Last week: 17
16. Carolina Panthers (5-4): Much different team when RB Rico Dowdle is main ball carrier. Defense playing better than anticipated. Saints up next.
Last week: 19
17. Chicago Bears (5-3): Bounced back from Ravens loss to win shootout vs. Bengals. Defense has struggled as of late.
Last week: 15
18: Jacksonville Jaguars (5-3): Somehow almost lost to bad Raiders team. Another above-.500 squad that's not very good, and QB Trevor Lawrence has regressed.
Last week: 14
19. Minnesota Vikings (4-4): Major upset of Lions has them at .500. Can they pull off another upset vs. Ravens?
Last week: 20
20: Houston Texans (3-5): Broken record team – great defense every week held back by lethargic offense every week.
Last week: 18
21. Arizona Cardinals (3-5): Offense much better with QB Jacoby Brissett as starter, can Cards get back into NFC West? Seahawks up next.
Last week: 25
22. Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1): New DT Quinnen Williams, LB Logan Wilson should help, but secondary still a mess.
Last week: 21
23. Atlanta Falcons (3-5): Much more competitive, but loss to Patriots was third straight. Playoffs looks bleak for them.
Last week: 23
24. Washington Commanders (3-6): Lost fourth straight and lost QB Jayden Daniels again. Everything that could go wrong has.
Last week: 22
25. Cincinnati Bengals (3-6): Have allowed 121 points last 3 games – more than 40 PPG. You can't get much worse defensively.
Last week: 24
26. New York Giants (2-7): With Packers, Lions and Patriots up next after Bears, could be a long time before Giants win again if they lose to Chicago.
Last week: 26
27. Cleveland Browns (2-6): Winnable game vs. Jets coming out of bye. Will HC Kevin Stefanski giving up play-calling be good for QB Dillon Gabriel?
Last week: 27
28. New Orleans Saints (1-8): QB Tyler Shough took the L in his debut, as expected. Will we see improvement vs. Panthers?
Last week: 28
29. Las Vegas Raiders (2-6): Finally healthy, TE Brock Bowers shined again. Still wasn't enough for Raiders to win. Broncos up next – yikes.
Last week: 29
30. Miami Dolphins (2-7): Fired GM, pawned off best pass rusher, now face Bills. Rough week for Dolfans.
Last week: 30
31. New York Jets (1-7): Fire sale led to trades of CB Sauce Gardner, DT Quinnen Williams. Franchise hitting reset button – again. Will they win another game?
Last week: 31
32. Tennessee Titans (1-8): At least the offense scored more than 14 points for first time since Week 5.
Last week: 32
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