NFL Week 9 power rankings: Vikings holding steady, Bills inch up, Chiefs defense pounding
November 2, 2017 at 11:58AM
1. Patriots, 6-2 (Last week, 1): They have won four in a row, giving up fewer than 18 points in each game during that stretch.
2. Eagles, 7-1 (2): Already fifth in the league in rushing, the streaking Eagles add more power with their trade for Jay Ajayi.
3. Rams, 5-2 (3): A bye week followed by a semi-bye week at the Giants.
4. Chiefs, 6-2 (4): The offense looked sluggish, but the defense and special teams hammered free-falling Denver on Monday.
5. Vikings, 6-2 (5): Good teams prevail when layup games start going south. And nothing is further south than trailing Cleveland.
6. Seahawks, 5-2 (6): Good couple of days for Russell Wilson. Throws for 452 yards, wins a shootout and gets a new left tackle in Duane Brown.
7. Steelers, 6-2 (7): Held the host Lions to nine points, no touchdowns in five red zone trips.
8. Saints, 5-2 (8): They ran the ball 30 times and threw it 28 against the Bears while stretching their winning streak to five games.
9. Bills, 5-2 (10): The defense is tied for second in points against, tied for first in takeaways and not missing Marcell Dareus in the least.
10. Panthers, 5-3 (13): Cam Newton averaged less than 5 yards on 32 pass attempts, but the defense dominated the lowly Buccaneers.
11. Cowboys, 4-3 (17): The Ezekiel Saga: He's suspended. No he's not. Yes he his. No he's not. Yes he is. No he's not. Yes he is …
12. Jaguars, 4-3 (12): They have surpassed last year's win total with a points differential that's 15.5 better than a year ago.
13. Texans, 3-4 (11): They need to start winning some of these Deshaun Watson shootouts.
14. Falcons, 4-3 (18): A win at the Jets doesn't turn the tide on a team that's still disappointing.
15. Redskins, 3-4 (9): Proving once again that a team can't compete when its offensive line is in crisis.
16. Bears, 3-5 (15): They were a little sloppy in New Orleans, but they are also a lot more competitive than I expected.
17. Lions, 3-4 (16): Loss to Steelers proves the Lions can't win with Matthew Stafford getting zero run support.
18. Ravens, 4-4 (27): If you have this team figured out, let me know.
19. Dolphins, 4-3 (14): Re-read No. 18.
20. Packers, 4-3 (20): Mike McCarthy can silence all detractors if he used the bye week to find a way to win with Brett Hundley.
21. Titans, 4-3 (21): Bye week helped Marcus Mariota's hammy heal. He needs his mobility.
22. Jets, 3-5 (19): They are tailing off, but I like how hard they compete. Especially after we all accused them of tanking.
23. Chargers, 3-5 (23): A narrow loss at New England tells me this team isn't out of the playoff picture just yet.
24. Bengals, 3-4 (25): They hit the road for three weeks against the Jags, Titans and Broncos.
25. Broncos, 3-4 (24): When Brock Osweiler is your savior, chances are you're in deep you-know-what.
26. Cardinals, 3-4 (26): Adrian Peterson will find out just how far the drop in Drews is between Brees and Stanton.
27. Raiders, 3-5 (22): Suddenly that big win at K.C. doesn't feel like a corner-turning triumph.
28. Buccaneers, 2-5 (28): Trying to give Giants a run for NFL's most disappointing team.
29. Colts, 2-6 (29): Colts officially go from "When will Andrew Luck return?" to "Why would Andrew Luck return?"
30. Giants, 1-6 (30): Next.
31. 49ers, 0-8 (31): A second-round pick for Jimmy Garoppolo was a wise move, but he can't do it by himself.
32. Browns, 0-8 (32): I was going to say they can't lose on a bye week, but then they botched the paperwork on the AJ McCarron trade.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
