2022 NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Cowboys crack top 5, Packers keep struggling

28. Carolina Panthers

Eddy Pineiro has to be thankful that the trip between Atlanta and Charlotte is a short one. The Carolina Panthers kicker twice had a chance to win the game for his team but missed an extra point at the end of regulation as well as one in overtime.

The fourth-quarter kick came after a miraculous 62-yard touchdown from P.J. Walker to D.J. Moore but Moore was flagged for taking off his helmet after the play. The 15-yard penalty made it a 48-yard extra point and Pineiro missed it.

He had a shot at redemption from 32-yards out following a C.J. Henderson interception but missed again. Atlanta was able to capitalize and win by three, sending Carolina to 2-6 on the year.

27. Pittsburgh Steelers

Mike Tomlin has never had a losing record in his career and that’s likely to change this season. The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to 2-6 on the season with a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend.

Their defense had no answers for Jalen Hurts who threw four touchdowns. They also had no one that could cover A.J. Brown who caught three of those.

What had to be frustrating was how they struggled to move the ball and had to use trick plays — like the Chase Claypool touchdown pass — to finish drives. Meanwhile, the Eagles just lined up and bullied them all day.

Of course, this is one of the better front offices in the history of the game and they’ll remain patient with this rebuild rather than fire a great coach because of one bad season.