NFL Power Rankings 2018: Week 9 Edition

Week 8 of the 2018 NFL regular season schedule is in the books. Now it’s time to see where all 32 teams rank. For reference purposes, here is a link to last week’s NFL Power Rankings.

BLG’S WEEK 9 NFL POWER RANKINGS

1 - Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 1) - Undefeated through the first half of the NFL season. Not totally invulnerable, though.

2 - New England Patriots (LW: 2) - The Pats have won five in a row. They’re back in comfortable control over the AFC East.

3 - Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 3) - Second best point differential in the NFL.

4 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 4) - The Saints can prove they’re the biggest threat to the Rams by beating them in the Superdome this weekend.

5 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 5) - The Packers likely would’ve beaten the Rams if Ty Montgomery didn’t go rogue and actually gave Aaron Rodgers a chance to win the game at the end.

6 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 8) - After getting off to a 1-2-1 start, the Steelers are now first in the AFC North at 4-2-1.

7 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 9) - The Panthers might be more legitimate than most thought. They’re 5-2 and coming off a big win over Baltimore.

8 - Baltimore Ravens (LW: 6) - Make that two losses in a row for the Ravens. Surprising to see Baltimore’s defense allow 36 points.

9 - Chicago Bears (LW: 11) - After suffering two close losses, the Bears bounced back with a win. The victory allowed the Bears to jump from last to first in the NFC North.

10 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 10) - The Bolts return from their bye to play in Seattle. Tough test for them.

11 - Washington Redskins (LW: 12) - Washington has won three in a row. They’re getting really good production out of a 33-year-old Adrian Peterson.

12 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 13) - The Seahawks are still a legitimate playoff contender. Seattle owns the league’s seventh best point differential.

13 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 7) - There was no Minnesota Miracle for the Vikings this time. The Vikes are clearly a step below the true elites in the NFC.

14 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 14) - The Bengals almost found a way to blow a big lead over the Bucs but they ultimately held on.

15 - Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 15) - The reigning Super Bowl champions are still alive after reaching 4-4. It wasn’t a pretty win over a bad Jags squad but the Eagles will take it. The best thing this team has going is that Carson Wentz is very good.

16 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 16) - Not a great bye week for Atlanta with New Orleans and Carolina getting wins.

17 - Houston Texans (LW: 18) - Don’t look now but the Texans have won five in a row. Still not convinced they’re actually really good.

18 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 19) - Bad bye week for Dallas. The Cowboys are third in the NFC East after seeing Philadelphia and Washington win their Week 8 games.

19 - Detroit Lions (LW: 17) - It looked like the Lions were building some momentum but that vanished with a 14-point home loss to Seattle.

20 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 20) - The Bucs have rightfully realized that Jameis Winston is not the answer. It’s time to roll with Ryan Fitzpatrick. They’re a more dangerous team with Fitzmagic under center.

21 - Indianapolis Colts (LW: 26) - Frank Reich is getting the most out of this Colts roster. He’s looking like a pretty good head coach.

22 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 21) - Miami is going nowhere fast as Brock Osweiler continues to be their starter.

23 - Tennessee Titans (LW: 22) - Bye week. Losing ground in the AFC South.

24 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 23) - Well, the Browns finally did the right thing and fired Hue Jackson, who was a terrible head coach during his Cleveland tenure. Todd Haley is also out. Maybe the Brown see some addition by subtraction.

25 - New York Jets (LW: 24) - It’s a growing pains kind of season for the Jets.

26 - Denver Broncos (LW: 25) - Sitting at 3-5, the Broncos have two teams ahead of them in the AFC West. There’s a reason they’re expected to be sellers at the NFL trade deadline.

27 - Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 27) - The Jags’ defense is not what it used to be considering they’ve allowed 28.5 points per game in their last four matchups. Also, Blake Bortles still stinks.

28 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 29) - Both of the Cardinals’ two wins have come over a bad San Francisco team this year. At least Josh Rosen is showing some positive signs?

29 - Buffalo Bills (LW: 28) - The Bills’ offense is ... offensive. This team owns the worst point differential in the NFL.

30 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 30) - With Jimmy G out for the year, might as well lose a bunch of games and get a really good draft pick.

31 - New York Giants (LW: 31) - Are Pat Shurmur and/or Dave Gettleman 100% locks to be with the team next season? Eli Manning certainly shouldn’t be.

32 - Oakland Raiders (LW: 32) - The tank is on in Oakland. The Raiders will have three first-round picks to work with in the 2019 NFL Draft.