We did a quarterly power ranking and since then some teams on the cusp have totally fallen off, we’re looking at you Falcons and Texans, and some have remained consistently inconsistent as evidenced by the glut of teams within two games of .500.  

Here are my rankings as of the end of week 9. We will have another power ranking come out after week 13. 

 

  1. Kansas City - (Previous 5). Lone unbeaten team in the league so they are #1 by default despite an opponent win % under .450. This team suffocates you with defense and NFL MVP candidate Jamaal Charles. They don’t blow teams out, which makes them vulnerable to an upset with a big play by the other team.  

  2. Seattle - (2). No change for a team that lost to Indianapolis but looked in control against Arizona on the road. The problem is they looked bad against a shorthanded Rams team on Monday night. Good news is that Percy Harvin is expected back in the next couple weeks.  

  3. Denver - (1). Looking old and tired!! Bye week comes at the right time. The pass defense needs to be addressed for a long postseason run.  

  4. New Orleans - (3). The injury to Jimmy Graham could derail them come postseason time. Looking like they will be playing for home field at the end of the season.  Rob Ryan has done some of his best work using three safeties in the stead of linebackers.  

  5. Indianapolis - (13). Giant slayers! Have beaten Seattle, San Francisco, and Denver, but also lost to San Diego. Trade for Richardson not looking like a big difference maker at this point. Defense is still suspect. Under ranked at quarter pole.

  6. Green Bay - (12). Looking like another team under ranked at the quarter mark. The offense is balanced with Eddie Lacy running,  which has allowed losses at the receiver skill positions to not be season killers. They have a better D than people give them credit for.  Rodgers not being out for season could make them a playoff sleeper, but they have to get there first with Seneca Wallace.  

  7. San Francisco - (11). Haven’t hit their stride offensively yet, but Kaepernick has played better the last couple weeks. The defense has withstood some injuries to linebackers and kept the team in the division race with wins in four straight.  

  8. Cincinnati - (7). They will go as far as Andy Dalton can take them.  They have beaten the Pats, Jets, Lions, and Bills since quarter mark. Well rounded team that seems to be figuring out the best balance between running backs Bernard and Law Firm. Injury to DT Atkins could be a season changer much like Wilfork in N.E.

  9. New England - ( 4). Injuries on the defensive side of the ball have begun to take their toll on the team as a whole. Tom Brady looking flustered and flabbergasted on the field wishing he still had Wes Welker squirting all over the field.  Gronk’s return hasn’t supplied the spark they had hoped, but it looks to be coming.

  10. Detroit - (14). Awesome finish beating Dallas at home and showing that Matt Stafford is knocking on the door of elite status in the league.  They need the pass defense to step up in the second half of the season.  

  11. Carolina - (18). The real Cam Newton sure stood up the last four weeks beating lesser opponents, but looking good doing so, and giving the team momentum.  The defense has kept them in most games ranking 2nd and 10th in opposing rushing and passing yards against.  

  12. Dallas- (9). Will probably win the NFC east but with injuries to an already porous defense this team isn’t a serious title contender.  Demarco Murray needs to stay healthy to keep opposing defenses honest against Tony Romo.  

  13. Chicago - ( 8). Another team the injury bug bit hard.  Josh McCown hasn’t been a drop off from Jay Cutler, which is a testament to Marc Trestmen’s offensive scheme.   The defense is noticeably less stout against the run, which teams will exploit.  

  14. San Diego - (19). Philip Rivers is playing well and is probably the bounce back player of the year thus far. Nipping at his heals for this award is teammate Ryan Mathews, who is finally living up to the first round draft pick hype that he came into the league with.  To be serious playoff contenders they need the defense to steal them a game, which they didn’t get in Washington.  

  15. Baltimore - (16). This team is losing close games.  They need to get Ray Rice back to form or have Joe Flacco step up like he did in last year’s playoffs.  The defense has been average and just released safety Michael Huff and end Marcus Spears in hopes of sparking a run.  

  16. Arizona - (17). Carson Palmer continues to struggle, and Larry Fitzgerald continues to toil in mediocrity in the desert.  Watch out for Andre Ellington, all 5’9 199 lbs, to help balance the offense in the second half.  The defense is this teams savior in most games.  

  17. New York Jets - (22). Geno Smith has an every other week great game.  The problem is the off week he still plays, and plays poorly, as evidenced by getting benched against the Bengals in a 49-9 loss.  Rex Ryan’s seat not looking so hot anymore as he has gotten well played games out of his defense.  Huge win against the Saints keeps them in the 2nd wild card race.

  18. Tennessee - (15).  This team has lost three in a row and a loss to the Rams would essentially end their playoff hopes in a tight AFC.  They need Chris Johnson to resemble the all-purpose threat he was two years ago in the worst way.  Jake Locker has been hurt and Ryan Fitzpatrick showed why he was cut by Buffalo filling in.  

  19. Buffalo - (21). Treading water with fill ins at QB and banged up RBs.  This team is close as they dominated the game against the unbeaten Chiefs, but costly turnovers spoiled the upset bid.   The defense is healthy finally and Jairus Byrd didn’t get traded, which means the brass thinks that they are close to contending right?

  20. Oakland - (26). This Pryor kid can play! He and Darren McFadden form a dangerous zone read duo.  The problem, as Washington fans can attest, is that when your QB is your best playmaker and he gets hammered several times a game that spells short shelf life in this league.  The defense has kept them in games and come up with timely stops to preserve wins except against an Eagles team that dusted them.  

  21. Miami - (6).  Had lost every game since starting 3-0 and are starting to lose ground on D despite the win at home versus Cincinnati.  Free agent acquisition WR Wallace looking like the worst signing of the off season in the league.  Not getting enough from the running game.    

  22. Cleveland - (28). Riding the coat tails of Brian Hoyer winning them some games and then getting hurt.  They are down to Jason Campbell running the offense so it looks like they are again throwing in the towel on the season.  Shocked they didn’t trade WR Gordon.  

  23. St. Louis - (27). The defense has shown well keeping them in games with Chris Long and Robert Quinn showing the talent that got them drafted in the first round in subsequent years.  An already stagnant offense might actually get a boost from Kellen Clemens at QB.  

  24. New York Giants - (30).  Started the turnaround with a better effort against Chicago in week 6, and won the next two games outright.  Dreadful running back situation isn’t helping Eli run a balanced offense.  He has cut down the turnovers, which has been huge in the wins.  

  25. Philadelphia - (23).  Chip Kelly’s genius has been caught by the rest of the league.  Not helping that is the injury carousel at QB and a lethargic D.  

  26. Atlanta - (20).  The wheels have fallen off for the Falcons.  Injuries to key players on both sides of the ball have made this team rethink their standing as contender, or time to begin rebuilding.

  27. Washington - (25).  Not throwing the ball downfield as much as last season.  The O line needs to be improved so Griffin doesn’t end up in a hospital, again.  Defense can’t stop anybody despite having Orakpo and Kerrigan on the outside rushing the passer.  

  28. Pittsburgh - (29). Found a run game to help ease burden from Big Ben, but they are losing the war of attrition on the OL.  Pass defense is ranked 2nd.  

  29. Houston- (10).  And now we enter the portion of teams that have major questions at the QB position.  

  30. Minnesota - (24).  Couldn’t pull the plug on the Josh Freeman experiment quick enough.  They were rumored to be shopping pending UFA Jared Allen at the deadline, they should have taken the draft pick.  

  31. Tampa Bay - (31). Tire fire. Even with Doug Martin this team was in trouble, without him for probably the rest of the season this team, (and its coach), is dead in the water.

  32. Jacksonville - (32). No redeeming quality about this team.  Their best moment of the year so far has been covering a four touchdown spread versus Denver.