NFL Power Rankings: Week 9 Edition

Week 8 of the 2019 NFL regular season schedule is officially in the books. Now it’s time to see how all 32 teams stack up heading into Week 9. For reference purposes, here is a link back to last week’s NFL Power Rankings.

BLG’S WEEK 9 NFL POWER RANKINGS

1 - New England Patriots (Last Week: 1) - 8-0 halfway through the season. The Pats’ +189 point differential is 59 points better than the next closest team. They’ve had an easy schedule but they’ve been dominant.

2 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 2) - The Saints look as dangerous as ever with Drew Brees back.

3 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 3) - The 49ers continue to prove they’re for real. Second best point differential in the league in part thanks to a defense that’s allowing just 11 points per game. Nick Bosa is a monster.

4 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 4) - Aaron Rodgers is ridiculous. 10 touchdowns to just one interception in his last three games.

5 - Baltimore Ravens (LW: 5) - The Ravens return from their bye to host the Pats. Big challenge.

6 - Indianapolis Colts (LW: 6) - Frank Reich has the Colts at 5-2 and first in the AFC South with Jacoby Brissett under center.

7 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 8) - The Seahawks are 6-2 but they only have the 12th best point differential given how they’ve been in so many close games this year.

8 - Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 7) - Matt Moore hasn’t been bad but he’s obviously no Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs might be without their star quarterback for another week or two.

9 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 9) - The Vikings have gone 4-0 and outscored their opponents by 58 points since that bad loss in Chicago.

10 - Houston Texans (LW: 11) - The Texans rank 10th in point differential and 14th in DVOA. They’re firmly above average but not elite. Losing JJ Watt for the season is a big blow.

11 - Los Angeles Rams (LW: 13) - Playing Atlanta and Cincy in back-to-back weeks helps you get out of a slump.

12 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 10) - Kyle Allen is no longer undefeated as a starting quarterback He’s also no longer interceptionless after throwing three in San Francisco. Just one bad game or a sign of things to come?

13 - Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 15) - Gardner Minshew has established himself as the Jaguars’ franchise quarterback. In the minds of the fans, at least.

14 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 14) - The Cowboys return from their bye to play the G-Men in North Jersey. Dallas already defeated NYG in Week 1 but that was when Eli Manning was still starting.

15 - Detroit Lions (LW: 15) - Matthew Stafford’s 105.3 passer rating ranks sixth best in the NFL.

16 - Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 18) - The Eagles kept their season alive by playing bully ball in Buffalo. They’re not going to be able to rely on the run game like that every week, though. The passing attack is going to have to play a big part in winning games and it’s hard to feel great about Carson Wentz’s current cadre of wide receivers.

17 - Buffalo Bills (LW: 11) - The Bills failed to prove that they’re not just a “paper tiger” that got to 5-1 by beating bad teams.

18 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 19) - Going down by two touchdowns by Miami isn’t a good look but at least they were able to come back for the win.

19 - Tennessee Titans (LW: 21) - 2-0 with Ryan Tannehill taking over for Marcus Mariota.

20 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 26) - The Bolts fired offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt despite coming away with a win in Chicago. I guess they’re looking for a spark.

21 - Chicago Bears (LW: 17) - Mitchell Trubisky has five touchdown passes this year. Two came in garbage time against New Orleans and the other three were against Washington. I’m beginning to think he’s not very good. Also, Matt Nagy is a fraud.

22 - Oakland Raiders (LW: 22) - The Raiders aren’t actually good but they’re definitely a step above the truly bad teams.

23 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 20) - The Cards managed to beat three bad teams before getting blown out in New Orleans. There’s hope for the future but this team is still at least a year away.

24 - Denver Broncos (LW: 23) - Joe Flacco openly ripped the Broncos’ coaching staff for coaching scared. Now he’s going to miss Week 9 due to pain in the neck. Brandon Allen will get the start as the Broncos stare 2-7 in the face.

25 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 23) - Jameis Winston has accounted for seven interceptions and five fumbles in the Bucs’ last two losses. Seems bad, man.

26 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 25) - Same old Browns. Everyone hyping up this team in the offseason should be required to apologize.

27 - New York Jets (LW: 27) - Sam Darnold doesn’t stand a chance behind the Jets’ disastrous offensive line.

28 - New York Giants (LW: 28) - Daniel Jones throwing for four touchdown in a loss seems stomachable for Giants fans. The fact he’s accounted for an NFL-high 13 turnovers despite only starting six games is more troublesome.

29 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 29) - Matt Schaub throwing for 460 yards is not something I would’ve expected to happen in 2019. Despite his valiant efforts, the Falcons are 1-7.

30 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 30) - The Bengals are 0-8 at the bye. They still get NYJ and Miami this season so maybe they’ll pick up a win or two?

31 - Washington Redskins (LW: 31) - Washington could be looking at 1-8 with a trip to Buffalo this week.

32 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 32) - The Dolphins have actually shown some fight in recent weeks. But they’ve been smart enough to make sure they lose and keep that No. 1 overall pick.