NFL Power Rankings: Week 9 (2021)
What a week in the NFL! Down goes number one as the Cardinals fall on their home field to the shorthanded Packers. Down goes number two; the Buccaneers lost to Trevor Siemian and New Orleans in a game the Saints needed to win. So, we’ve got two new teams at the top of the Week 9 power rankings and a whole bunch of changes below them.
We also had some shake-ups in the middle of the pack. First, Pittsburgh topped the division-rival Browns, Tennessee effectively wrapped up the AFC South – unless something drastic happens – as they beat the Colts in overtime, and the legend of Mike White was born in New York. Then, in improbable comeback fashion, the Jets’ backup quarterback took down the Bengals, the team who entered Week 8 as the top seed in the AFC.
Just another week in the NFL. Let’s check out the full rankings.
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NFL Power Rankings Week 9
| Team | Rank (Δ) | Last Week | Next Week | Notes |
| Los Angeles Rams | 1 (+3) | W 38-22 @ HOU | vs. TEN (SNF) | The Rams ascend back to the top. Don’t be fooled by the final – this was 38-0 entering the 4th. |
| Green Bay Packers | 2 (+4) | W 24-21 @ ARI | @ KC | Seven in a row for the Packers, the latest without their top three WR on the road against the undefeated Cardinals. |
| Dallas Cowboys | 3 (+2) | W 20-16 @ MIN | vs. DEN | This is a complete football team, confirmed. |
| Buffalo Bills | 4 (-1) | W 26-11 vs. MIA | @ JAC | Buffalo started alarmingly slow out of the bye against a terrible Miami team. |
| Arizona Cardinals | 5 (-4) | L 24-21 vs. GB | @ SF | Finally, a loss. |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6 (-4) | L 36-27@ NO | Bye | You can’t lose to Trevor Siemian and stay in the top five. |
| Tennessee Titans | 7 (+1) | W 34-31 @ IND | @ LAR (SNF) | Your AFC South champions. |
| New Orleans Saints | 8 (+5) | W 36-27 vs. TB | vs. ATL | The Saints had to have this win, and they got it. Huge. |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 9 (+1) | Bye | @ NYG | The Raiders will venture east out of the bye. |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 10 (-3) | L 34-31 @ NYJ | vs. CLE | The AFC’s former top seed just lost to the Jets’ backup quarterback. |
| Baltimore Ravens | 11 | Bye | vs. MIN | The Ravens need to beat Minnesota to keep pace in this division. |
| New England Patriots | 12 (+3) | W 27-24 @ LAC | @ CAR | Uh-oh, don’t let the Patriots find their groove. |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 13 (-4) | L 27-24 vs. NE | @ PHI | The Super Bowl talk may have been a bit premature. |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 14 | W 20-17 vs. NYG | vs. GB | They won, but it’s ugly in KC right now. |
| Cleveland Browns | 15 (-3) | L 15-10 vs. PIT | @ CIN | Injuries and poor performance have derailed a year that was once so promising. |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 16 (+4) | W 15-10 @ CLE | vs. CHI (MNF) | Big divisional win without an offense or a kicker. |
| Seattle Seahawks | 17 (+1) | W 31-7 vs. JAC | Bye | Seattle kept hope alive if Russell Wilson can get back soon. Faint hope, but hope nonetheless. |
| San Francisco 49ers | 18 (+1) | W 33-22 @ CHI | vs. ARI | Like Seattle, there’s a sliver of hope left for the Niners. |
| Indianapolis Colts | 19 (-3) | L 34-31 vs. TEN | vs. NYJ (TNF) | The Colts needed a win to keep their season alive. Disappointing loss. |
| Carolina Panthers | 20 (+2) | W 19-13 @ ATL | vs. NE | Finally, the defense looked like it did in the first month. |
| Minnesota Vikings | 21 (-4) | L 20-16 vs. DAL | @ BAL | A home loss to Cooper Rush is less than ideal. |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 22 (+2) | W 44-6 @ DET | vs. LAC | There ya go, Eagles offense! |
| Denver Broncos | 23 (+3) | W 17-10 vs. WSH | @ DAL | Strong performance from the defense. |
| Atlanta Falcons | 24 (-3) | L 19-13 vs. CAR | @ NO | Their only wins are walk-off field goals over the Giants and Dolphins and in London over the Jets. |
| New York Giants | 25 (-3) | L 20-17 @ KC | vs. LV | Three losses by a combined seven points. Where could this team be if Joe Judge and Jason Garrett weren’t around? |
| Chicago Bears | 26 (-1) | L 33-22 vs. SF | @ PIT (MNF) | They started better without Matt Nagy, but in the end, it’s the same old Bears. |
| New York Jets | 27 (+3) | W 34-31 vs. CIN | @ IND (TNF) | Mike White for MVP! |
| Washington Football Team | 28 (-1) | L 17-10 @ DEN | Bye | It somehow gets worse each week. |
| Miami Dolphins | 29 (-1) | L 26-11 @ BUF | vs. HOU | If they can’t beat the Texans next week… |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 30 (-1) | L 31-7 @ SEA | vs. BUF | Off a bye, they just lost by 24 to Geno Smith. Josh Allen next week should be fun. |
| Houston Texans | 31 | L 38-22 vs. LAR | @ MIA | All the points came in garbage time. This team is hard to watch. |
| Detroit Lions | 32 | L 44-6 vs. PHI | Bye | There are a few bad teams on the schedule ahead, but I genuinely would not be surprised if the Lions go 0-17. |
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Big Movers
Green Bay Packers
This feels very familiar. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are locked in, and legitimately nothing is slowing them down, not even losing their top three wide receivers two days before traveling to the west coast to play the undefeated Cardinals on a Thursday night. But, the defense, while it’s been better, is still questionable. Rodgers can go through the regular season as usual, but will the defense doom them in the playoffs again? We shall see.
New Orleans Saints
This is such a well-coached team under Sean Payton. It’s almost unfathomable that New Orleans, who just topped the defending-champion Buccaneers with their backup quarterback, got embarrassed by Carolina and beaten at home by the Giants. Trevor Siemian is technically their third-stringer, depending on how you view Taysom Hill. Huge, huge win for the Saints to keep them right in the thick of things in the NFC.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers still have absolutely no offense, but their defense showed up and essentially won them a huge divisional road contest against Cleveland. They’ll probably need to find a temporary kicker, which could loom large for a team with trouble finding the endzone. But if the Pittsburgh defense plays to its potential, they could sneak their way up a suddenly winnable AFC North.
Random Musings
Cincinnati Bengals
Week after week, the power rankings have shown nothing but love to the upstart Bengals until today. Of course, young teams will stumble, so I won’t go too hard on Cincinnati, but you can’t lose to the Jets and their backup quarterback. Better yet, you can’t let Mike White throw for over 400 yards after holding the Ravens to 17 points in Baltimore just a week prior. This season has been crazy. Add this game to the ever-growing list of insanity. The Bengals can’t let this loss define their season; this division is right there for the taking.
Cleveland Browns
Staying with the AFC North theme – as I’ve been saying, this division is there for any of the four teams to win. But the Browns have easily been the most disappointing of the group. They had legitimate Super Bowl aspirations but now sit in last place at 4-4 with a banged-up quarterback, a thinning group of running backs, and a demanding schedule ahead. I hate to say it about a team I was rooting for, but this has all the makings of a .500 season instead of the 11-12 win year Browns fans had hoped for.
Detroit Lions
Effort can only take a team so far, and the 2021 Detroit Lions are proof of that. Perhaps not on Sunday against the Eagles. However, they were embarrassed by a pretty bad Eagles team, losing by 38 on their home field to a team who was averaging just 22.7 points per game coming in. Here’s who the Lions have remaining on their schedule: Steelers, Browns, Bears, Vikings, Broncos, Cardinals, Falcons, Seahawks, Packers. Is it that difficult? No, but there are no Jaguars, Dolphins, Texans, etc., on there. So Detroit will have to put together a complete game and get a stroke of luck to avoid 0-17.
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