2022 NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Cowboys crack top 5, Packers keep struggling
By Randy Gurzi
The Dallas Cowboys scored a big win and cracked the top 5 of our 2022 NFL Power Rankings while the Green Bay Packers lost to the Buffalo Bills and continue to fall
It was another exciting weekend of football with several games coming down to the wire while others were statement wins. The NFC East had a little bit of all of that as the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles won big over the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers respectively, and the Washington Commanders scored a late touchdown to upset the Indianapolis Colts.
Sunday was then capped off with Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills showing they’re still for real by knocking off the Green Bay Packers— while Allen also showed he’s one of the hot young stars and Aaron Rodgers is on the way out.
With all that going on, we revisit the weekly 2022 NFL Power Rankings, starting with a familiar team at No. 32.
2022 NFL Power Rankings Week 9
50. . . Previous: 32nd. Detroit Lions. 32. team
32. Detroit Lions
Once again, the Detroit Lions came close but couldn’t get the job done. They took an early lead in Week 8 against the Miami Dolphins and then led until 12 seconds left in the third. Miami scored on an 11-yard touchdown by Mike Gesicki to go up 31-27.
Detroit had a couple of chances in the final quarter to take the lead back but had to punt and then turned it over on downs. As has been the case since last season, there will be plenty who defend Dan Campbell and say his team fights hard every week.
However, there are plenty of other teams that have holes on the roster and eventually get wins. Some day, we’ll have to ask if he’s right for the job since they find new ways to lose every week under his leadership.
31. team. 10. . . Previous: 31st. Houston Texans
31. Houston Texans
Another game, another loss for the Houston Texans. This time, they fell to the Tennessee Titans who were starting rookie Malik Willis in place of an injured Ryan Tannehill. Willis was uninspiring with 55 yards on 6-of-10 passing but the ground game was unstoppable.
Houston surrendered 314 rushing yards with Derrick Henry going for 219 of those yards, as well as two touchdowns. The Texans got one touchdown, a pass from Davis Mills to Dameon Pierce, but that was in the closing seconds meaning it wasn’t really a close game even though it was a low-scoring affair.
It’s hard to see too many more opportunities for wins on the Houston schedule but that could help them land a franchise quarterback in the draft. There’s at least one silver lining.