NFL Week 9 Power Rankings

Week 8 Picks - Results
1. Chris: 16 (8 straight, 8 spread)
Brandon: 16 (8 straight, 8 spread)
3. Jason: 14 (8 straight, 6 spread)
4. Dave: 7 (5 straight, 2 spread)
(Dave, what happened?)



Chris' prize for winning is taking the week off from Power Rankings, so here's my take:

The NFL is so ridiculous this season - there are legitimately two dozen teams with a chance to make a deep playoff run. I blogged last week about how the NFC is bad. The AFC might be equally as bad. We thought we knew that Pittsburgh and the Jets were solid atop the league - they both lost miserably. It looks like we're going back to the usual powerhouse teams at the top, led by their powerhouse quarterbacks.

1. New England Patriots (6-1). Bullets Blog Last Week: 3. Last Week: W, 28-18 (MIN)
The Pats have been so consistent for the last decade that they are clearly the favorite to win in this year of uncertainty. Tom Brady could throw to high school recievers and make them look like solid NFL recievers. What could bite them in the ass is their lack of pass defense (worst in the league). But don't expect Cleveland to give them any problems there next week.

2. Indianapolis Colts (5-2). BBLW: 5. LW: W, 30-17 (HOU)
Oh, Peyton Manning. I'd say the Colts have redeemed themselves for their Week 1 loss to Houston. As I write this, I'm watching SportsCenter and they have nominated Peyton for "King of the Night." He threw for 200+ yards and two touchdowns - fairly unimpressive. Um, hello, ESPN? Yeah, um, TIM LINCECUM. I'm sorry, that's not even football-related.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2). BBLW: 1. LW: L, 20-10 (NO)
4. New York Jets (5-2). BBLW: 2. LW: L, 9-0 (GB)
I just don't even know. I thought this was going to be the AFC Championship matchup and we would finally get past Brady-Manning (because who doesn't like to spice things up?). But no, these teams are not actually that good. They are still good, don't mistake that. They just aren't head and shoulders above the rest of the league. They played miserably, and that is the only way to describe it. Bullets Blog's two highest-ranked teams combined for 10 points against the struggling Saints and depleted Packers. (shaking my head)

5. Baltimore Ravens (5-2). BBLW: 4. LW: Bye
6. New York Giants (5-2). BBLW: 6. LW: Bye
7. Atlanta Falcons (5-2). BBLW: 7. LW: Bye
Since none of the 5-2 teams lost last week, it's easy enough to just rank them in the same order as before. Congratulations, gentlemen, for not being embarassed last weekend. Unfortunately, I don't get to make fun of anybody on these teams this week.

8. Tennesee Titans (5-3). BBLW: 8. LW: L, 33-25 (SD)
We are now at the point where a loss to the lowly Chargers doesn't even matter that much. Tennessee is a solid team (or as solid a team as you'll find this season) when they put it together - and any team with Chris Johnson is dangerous on a week-to-week basis.

9. Kansas City Chiefs (5-2). BBLW: 9. LW: W, 13-10 (BUF)
They won to improve to 5-2, but it was the most unimpressive win in football history. The graphic on espn.com that shows each drive on the background of the field stayed between the 30 yard lines for the entire game. It was pathetic. But not as pathetic as if KC would have lost to the Bills. More on that later.

10. New Orleans Saints (5-3). BBLW: NR. LW: W, 20-10 (PIT)
Two things. They beat our first-ranked team. And they have Drew Brees.

32. Buffalo Bills (0-7). BBLW: 32 (fourth straight week). LW: L, 13-10 (KC)
God really does hate Buffalo, doesn't he? How often do you see an overtime game give each team four drives? How often do overtime games end with last-second field goals? How did the Bills not win this game? Do they still have Brian Moorman?