NFL power rankings: Week 9

Week 8 of the NFL regular season was full of upsets, one-sided contests and close matchups from start to finish. Now that the dust has settled, here are the top teams in the league heading into Week 9.

0. The Kansas City Chiefs

This column will always feature the Kansas City Chiefs at rank 0. The NFL is currently rigged so that the Chiefs will win it all, and, as such, I refuse to have them take up a spot on the list of best teams in the league. They aren't one of the best teams in the league; they just get constantly bailed out by the refs. That is my stance unless, by some miracle, they don't win a Super Bowl, God help us all if they three-peat this year.

8. The Baltimore Ravens

As I mentioned last week, the Ravens are an incredibly volatile team. Their defensive production has slowed as the season has progressed, but the offense has managed to pick up the slack. In a matchup that I thought would be equivalent to David vs. Goliath, the 1-6, Jameis Winston-led Browns played a full 60 minutes of football and handed the Ravens a tough loss. While the Ravens acquired Diontae Johnson to shore up their offense, it's still going to take  more than a new receiver to get this team back on track.

7. The Denver Broncos 

The Broncos are a very interesting team to me. On one hand, their defense is one of the better units in the league, and they've beaten teams they're supposed to beat somewhat handily. On the other hand, they haven't really faced a solid team outside of the Buccaneers. They have a real test ahead of them, facing the Ravens, Chiefs and a red-hot Falcons team over the next three weeks. While it’s a daunting stretch of games to stare down, if the Broncos are at the very least able to play well in close games, they may emerge as one of the better teams in the league.

6. The Minnesota Vikings

Last week, I said the current Vikings team reminded me of the 2022 Vikings, who played many close, one-score games over the course of their season. But after two straight losses, they're starting to remind me of the 2016 Vikings team that started off 5-0 and ended their season 8-8, missing the playoffs. Now, while that may be a bit of an overreaction after a close loss to a rising Rams team, the team also can't possibly repeat that record. This is because seasons are now 17 games instead of 16, so the team can't collapse to an 8-8 finish like they did in 2016. With their remaining schedule, an 8-9 finish isn't out of the question if they can't get back to winning.

5. The Houston Texans

The Texans are concerning me a bit. All season I've expected them to blow out all their weaker opponents, but that's only really happened in one game against the Patriots. Even last week, Anthony Richardson and the Colts played a horrible game, and the Texans barely escaped with a three-point win. A trade to bolster their receiving corps might help, especially now that Stefon Diggs is out for the season, but this team has some kinks to work out as they make their way through the back-half of the season.

4. The Green Bay Packers

This Packers team has a lot going for them right now. Despite a second injury to Jordan Love and a close win against Jacksonville, players like Tucker Kraft and Josh Jacobs have helped pick up the slack. The Packers' defense is also nothing to scoff at, with Xavier McKinney's league-leading six interceptions anchoring one of the league's better units. While the rest of the season features multiple difficult opponents, the Packers should have no issues handling the rest of their schedule if they continue playing the way they are.  

3. The Washington Commanders

The Commanders had a very sloppy win against the Bears last week, but I don't think it would have been that close if Jayden Daniels had been healthy. The team's only real issue was its inability to finish drives, resulting in only field goals being scored by the team until the last play of the game. That said, the Commanders can only continue to improve as Jayden Daniels' rib injury heals and their offense gets back in sync.

2. The Buffalo Bills

The Bills are a scary team. Josh Allen threw only his first interception of the season last week, and they manhandled a solid Seahawks team with standout performances from Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman. I wasn't sure at the start of the season if the team’s approach of receiver-by-committee would work, but the offense so far has been firing on all cylinders week in and week out. Unless Josh Allen returns to old form and starts turning the ball over multiple times in a game, this team is definitely playoff-bound.

1. The Detroit Lions

12-15, 85 yards, three touchdowns. Those are Jared Goff’s  passing stats from his game against the Titans. But if those were only his stats, how did the team score 52 points? Jahmyr Gibbs cracked off a 70-yard touchdown run, David Montgomery ran in a touchdown and threw a touchdown to Sam LaPorta, Kalif Raymond returned a punt 90 yards for a touchdown, and Jake Bates nailed a 51-yard field goal all before the end of the third quarter. The Lions had amazing field position throughout the game thanks to poor special teams plays from the Titans, and for the second week in a row, they are still the best team in the league.