There is no reason to assume anything else at this point, but the drama of Week 9 in the NFL was above and beyond. Some of the top teams in the NFL fell for the first time in a while, two bitter AFC rivals took things down to the last play, and there were plenty of late-game heroics.
And of course, a handful of mind-boggling special teams blunders, which has become the norm in the NFL this season.
In our NFL Power Rankings ahead of Week 10, we're not only recapping the week that was, but assessing each team based on how well they've passed the eye test at this point. We'll also be factoring in some head-to-head matchups and ranking teams a bit based on their projection going forward. But as always, these are also very much an "in the moment" sort of ranking, similar to how it might be if this were a college football-style ranking system. Who were the biggest risers and fallers this week?
NFL Power Rankings, Week 10: Rams take top spot; Lions & Chiefs fall
32. New Orleans Saints
Things went about as predictably for the Saints on the road against the Los Angeles Rams as you could have possibly imagined. Although there was maybe some initial excitement over Tyler Shough making his first start this season, the luster wore off almost immediately. The Saints were clobbered against the Rams, who were not only coming off of a bye, but getting one of the best offensive weapons back (Puka Nacua).
And now we wait. What will the Saints be doing at the NFL trade deadline? Is this team going to sell a bunch of veterans or are they going to hold firm? Mickey Loomis better have multiple cell phones attached to him at all times, because regardless of what he ends up doing, he’s going to have to take a lot of calls.
31. Tennessee Titans
We had a feeling the Titans would lose in Week 9, but also had a little bit of a feeling they’d at least keep it close. And they definitely did that against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 9. That Titans’ defense – shorthanded at this point, to be fair – just couldn’t get off the field late in the game to keep the comeback alive, and they couldn’t hold onto the early lead they sprinted off to.
The toughest thing for the Titans is we’re just not seeing much from the offense week-to-week, not a ton of improvement, and not many building blocks for the future around Cam Ward right now. The Tennessee offense was a brutal 1-of-9 on third downs against the Chargers, and they completely spoiled an early pick-six and defensive touchdown.
Just like many teams at the bottom of this list, the Titans are a team to watch at the NFL trade deadline as a seller, as we’ve already seen them move off of a number of players.
30. Cleveland Browns
Browns were on a bye week in Week 9
The Cleveland Browns obviously had some extra time to think about the NFL trade deadline, where they are once again holding onto superstar Myles Garrett. Garrett committed himself to the Browns’ organization, so why would they do anything otherwise?
Still, we have to expect the Browns will be at least somewhat active ahead of the NFL trade deadline with so many young players on the roster ready to prove they should be part of this team’s core moving forward. And at this point, that’s all this season is really about for the Browns: Evaluation. Winning would be a fun bonus on top of everything.
The fun development to watch for this team in the second half of the season will be their quarterback situation. Are we going to see Shedeur Sanders at some point?
29. Miami Dolphins
The winds of change have already started blowing in South Beach. After getting beat up by the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night football, the Dolphins and general manager Chris Grier decided to “mutually part ways”. Obviously, there have been disagreements between Grier and the ownership of the team about how to proceed going forward.
The reports right now seem to indicate that Grier felt there was still hope that the core of the roster could turn things around, but management must not have been on board for that idea. Either way, the Dolphins don’t seem poised for a roster dump at the trade deadline. We might see a couple of trades, but the expectation right now is that the team will hold onto players like Jaylen Waddle. They’re going to be one to watch leading up to the November 4 deadline.
28. New York Jets
Jets were on a bye week in Week 9
Not only did the Jets start moving some pieces before the NFL trade deadline, but they added one in the process as well. That’s something GM Darren Mougey definitely learned as an apprentice under Broncos GM George Paton – never give away assets without getting the value you truly want in return.
So in exchange for cornerback Michael Carter II, he brought wide receiver John Metchie III on board to fortify a rough position for the Jets this season.
The Jets have been a relative disaster this season, but getting that first win for Aaron Glenn was huge, and now we turn our attention for what other parts might get moved at the deadline. The internal belief should be that this thing doesn’t need to be taken down to the studs. They need a QB to make everything go.
27. Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders showed some fight against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9, but it still wasn’t good enough. The 2-point attempt by Geno Smith and the Raiders in overtime was so disappointing, especially given what they had to overcome just to get in that position in the first place.
The Raiders have a quick turnaround to go on the road and face the Denver Broncos now in Week 10, and they’re going to have to do it with a bad taste in their mouths. At this stage of the season, the gap between the Raiders and everyone else in the AFC West is substantial enough that they probably won’t be a factor, but with Brock Bowers in the lineup this team has the look of a spoiler.
We’ll see what the Raiders do at the trade deadline now, with all eyes on wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.
26. Arizona Cardinals
Cardinals play Monday night vs. Dallas Cowboys
The wait for the Cardinals to get their second half underway has been a little brutal for the fan base. Jacoby Brissett came this close to helping the Cardinals get back on track ahead of the bye, but this team enters their Monday night matchup against the Cowboys an extremely disappointing 2-5. And they don’t even get to come out of the bye week playing at home.
The Cardinals have to go on the road Monday night to face the Cowboys, where Dallas is averaging over 40 points per game this season playing at home. They’ve got to follow that up by going on the road to face off against the Seattle Seahawks, who have been one of the most complete teams in the NFL.
These next two weeks are going to determine whether the Cardinals are going to completely shift focus to the 2026 NFL Draft, or jump in the NFC Wild Card race.
25. New York Giants
When you have a young team like the New York Giants, you’re not surprised by outcomes like we saw against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Even with the 49ers making the dreaded trip out East to play in the 1;00 PM ET time window, the Giants couldn’t take advantage.
Once again, however, this Giants team is really just trying to put as much of a proof of concept out there as they possibly can for next season. How much are you really reading into this year without Malik Nabers and now Cam Skattebo as well?
Jaxson Dart led the team in rushing on Sunday and had a pair of touchdown passes. That defense just couldn’t hold in the 4th.
24. Washington Commanders
In reality, we could probably even have the Commanders lower than this. For a team that played in the NFC Championship last year, the expectations were a lot higher this year.
For Washington to get dog-walked by the Seahawks in front of the entire country is brutal, but with Jayden Daniels in the lineup (and those sick uniforms), everyone expected more than what we saw. Which was more like the Washington Doormats than anything else.
The Commanders have fallen way behind the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East, obviously, but there's time for them to get back into the mix as a Wild Card team. Everyone understands that injuries play a major role, but what we've seen from the Commanders this year is nothing remotely close to what we saw from them a season ago.
23. Cincinnati Bengals
Well at this point, Joe Flacco is producing the types of results that we sort of got accustomed to from the Cincinnati Bengals last year. We are seeing him and that offense put up a bunch of yards and points, but the defense of the Bengals simply cannot do its part.
It’s embarrassing.
The Bengals got 470 yards and four touchdowns out of Flacco (who did have two interceptions, to be fair), but Cincinnati’s defense couldn’t seal the deal when Flacco put the team up 42-41 late in the game.
If you were to strictly look at the offensive box score, you would think the Bengals absolutely wiped the floor with the Bears. They allowed the Bears 576 yards of offense, including – this is not a misprint – 283 yards rushing.
Cincinnati’s defense is pathetic, which is too bad, because Flacco might actually make this team interesting.
22. Atlanta Falcons
How many times are we going to see weird stuff happen this year on special teams? The Atlanta Falcons really lost this game against the New England Patriots in Week 9 on a missed PAT?
Okay, we get it – games come down to more than just one PAT. But seriously, there’s something going on with special teams around the league this year. It’s been wild, even for the “Witching Hour” on NFL Red Zone standards.
The Falcons really couldn’t afford this loss, even though it was against an AFC opponent. Finding a way to win this game would have gotten them back to .500 on the season, but it wasn’t meant to be. We mentioned that more things contribute to a close loss than just a missed PAT, how about 1-of-10 on third downs? That’ll do it. Yeah, that’ll do it.
21. Houston Texans
You can’t fault the Houston Texans too much for what went down in a predictable defensive battle against the Denver Broncos in Week 9, especially with CJ Stroud going down early in this game with a concussion. Davis Mills made some throws against the Broncos, but that Denver defense showed its teeth in the second half, especially, and Mills couldn’t do anything against it.
The Texans’ defense did a great job for the most part against Bo Nix and the Denver offense, picking off a pass and getting a good rush, but the offense couldn’t cash in when they actually got to the red zone. The Texans were 0-3 in red zone chances on the day, including some chances from just one yard out.
Settling for field goals buried them against the Broncos, and even a free three points before the first half ended along with a blocked field goal wasn’t enough. This Houston team is 3-5 and in a really tough spot right now.
20. Minnesota Vikings
We’ve got to eat some serious crow on the Vikings this week. I’ve got to eat some serious crow on the Vikings this week. I thought the Vikings were going to lose for sure with JJ McCarthy having his first game back in the lineup against the Detroit Lions…
…on the road…
But to the credit of not only McCarthy, but obviously Kevin O’Connell, the Vikings pulled off maybe the biggest shocker of the weekend. McCarthy threw a pair of touchdowns and an interception as the Vikings held on for a 27-24 win against their division rivals, a win that could not have been more important based on everything else we saw transpire in Week 9.
Now, the Packers have two losses (and a tie), the Lions and Bears each have three losses already, and the Vikings have just four. It’s not unrealistic that this team could go on a little run after what went down in Week 9.
19. Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys play Monday night vs. Arizona Cardinals
It’s not exactly the marquee matchup Week 9 of the NFL season revolves around, but the Cowboys’ matchup against the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football looms large. It could determine a lot of things about the direction of the Cowboys, whether they do a little selling before the deadline or whether they do some buying.
Maybe some big-game hunting, even…
The Cowboys have been a completely different, borderline unrecognizable team at home compared to on the road. Playing at home, Dallas is averaging over 40 points a game. When they go on the road, they’re averaging 23. We’ve seen these struggles even more pronounced against some of the better teams in the league, as you’d expect.
Dallas needs a game-changer for the defense, and while Micah Parsons ain’t coming back, maybe they can get someone to at least keep the ship afloat this season. It would be a shame to completely waste this offense.
18. Baltimore Ravens
As expected, the return of Lamar Jackson has the Baltimore Ravens skyrocketing back up our weekly NFL Power Rankings. Jackson’s return to action included a four-touchdown performance against the Miami Dolphins and the Ravens looked like the Ravens we’ve expected all year. Maybe equally important to the return of Jackson was the return to form of the Baltimore defense, as well.
Through the first month of the season, we saw this Ravens team struggle to close games and obviously they put themselves in a really rough spot. But a win with Snoop Huntley under center last week followed by another quick win on Thursday with Lamar Jackson back in the fold has this team threatening in the AFC North once again. It helps that the Steelers left the door open a crack while Jackson was out.
17. Jacksonville Jaguars
I am not going to lie, I don’t really love the Jacksonville Jaguars right now. Even with somewhat of a signature win a handful of weeks ago against the Chiefs, and even with a record of 5-3 (just one game behind the Colts now in the loss column), it’s hard to fully commit to “buying” what the Jags are selling right now.
This team has some grit. They’ve got some pieces on both sides of the ball. They got a win against the Raiders in pretty thrilling fashion, but it wasn’t the type of win you show off to your friends, either. The Jags defense had no answer whatsoever for Raiders superstar tight end Brock Bowers, who had three touchdowns in his return to the field.
If Jacksonville’s defense is allowing a 70 percent conversion rate on third downs, they’re going to have a hard time beating teams not named the Raiders. We should find out if the Jags are for real now with a road matchup against the Texans on deck and the Chargers in Jacksonville after that.
16. Carolina Panthers
How interesting are the Carolina Panthers?
What we saw last week with Andy Dalton playing quarterback for this team is not representative of just how solid they have been when 2023 #1 overall pick Bryce Young is out there on the field. And while Young may not have lit up the stat sheet against the Packers, nobody walks into Lambeau Field and just gets a win these days.
While there is some intangible effect of having Young out there for this offense, let’s talk about the truly tangible: Rico Dowdle.
The former Dallas Cowboys running back has been sensational for the Panthers this season, and had another incredible game against the Packers. He had 130 rushing yards and a couple of touchdowns on the ground, as well as a couple of catches. When you go on the road and win the turnover battle as well as win in the rushing department, good things happen.
15. Chicago Bears
How about the Chicago Bears? The Bears are another team that’s a little difficult to figure out this season, but actually in a fun way, unlike some other confusing teams.
Coming off of a bye week, the Bears played the Cincinnati Bengals in what wound up being one of the most entertaining games of the entire slate. Caleb Williams had three touchdown passes, DJ Moore threw a touchdown, and rookie Colston Loveland made the play of the game with his catch and run to win it. And where in the world did 176 yards from Kyle Monangai come from?
The Bears had an absolutely silly 30 first downs against the hapless Bengals defense, and 576 total yards of offense with 283 on the ground. Even with no defense really being played in this game, the Bears’ defense still came up clutch with three turnovers. This team is exciting when they’re exciting. Does that even make sense?
14. Los Angeles Chargers
It was a brutal start for the Los Angeles Chargers against the Tennessee Titans in Week 9, but Justin Herbert overcame his brutal pick-six and put the team on his back.
Not only did Herbert throw a pick-six, but the Chargers’ special teams then allowed Chimere Dike, a really underrated rookie for the Titans, to take a punt back for six as well. It was about as non-ideal of a start as you could possibly draw up, but the Chargers found a way.
Herbert finished with three total touchdowns on the day, four if you count his touchdown to Titans linebacker Cody Barton, and the Chargers managed to stay a game behind the Broncos, get ahead of the Chiefs by 1.5, and ultimately get a necessary AFC win. The loss of Joe Alt at this point is extremely troubling. The Chargers’ offensive line has been hit hard this year and I’m not sure they can sustain without Alt. Justin Herbert was sacked six times against the Titans.
13. San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are just a fun team to watch week after week. This has been Mac Jones’s team for the majority of this season, and with another efficient effort against the Giants in Week 9, you wonder if they’ll keep riding the hot hand. He had just five incomplete passes and a pair of touchdowns.
How much is Brock Purdy going to improve the offense right now?
Maybe the 49ers have felt more comfortable keeping Purdy on the sideline to recover with the way Jones has played, and I’m sure Purdy will play when he’s ready, but it’s interesting to ponder, anyway. The 49ers are now 6-3 and somewhat quietly have been able to keep pace with the rest of the NFC West in the win column up to this point. They just need the Rams and Seahawks to slip up.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers
Just when we were about to write the Steelers off for their ugly handful of weeks, they come out and get a really quality (and somewhat confusing) win against the Indianapolis Colts.
Everyone knows why it was a quality win, the Colts came into this past week with the best record in football. So get to the point – why was it a “confusing” win? Well, how often do you see teams force six turnovers in a game and only win by seven points? If the Colts didn’t get a late field goal, it would have been a 10-point win, but still…
The Steelers were only able to conjure up 225 yards of total offense despite the six turnovers by the Colts, and that lack of offensive efficiency bled into their third-down effectiveness. They only converted 4-of-12 on the day. You’re not going to scoff at a win, by any means, but the Steelers are another team that I just can’t fully buy into at this point.
11. Detroit Lions
I would say this was one of the more surprising losses we’ve seen from the Detroit Lions in the past couple of years that they’ve been true contenders in the NFC North. The Lions were coming off of a bye week and had to face JJ McCarthy and the Vikings at home.
And they kind of got bullied for some of this game.
The final score indicates a three-point game, but it was a 10-point game late into the 4th quarter and the Lions’ desperation attempt fell short, obviously. With the Packers also losing to the Panthers this weekend, this is a particularly unsettling loss for Detroit.
The Lions haven’t been “dominant” the entire season, but this was one we expected them to win, and they faltered. Penalties (10 for 76 yards) were rough in this game for Detroit, especially with five of them moving the chains for Minnesota.
10. Kansas City Chiefs
Just when we’re starting to buy stock in the Kansas City Chiefs again, they go and pull a stunt like this.
The Chiefs went on the road to give the Buffalo Bills their annual glimmer of hope, it seems, and the loss was costly. Not only did the Chiefs lose a head-to-head matchup against the Bills, but they also lost ground to both the Chargers and the Broncos in the AFC West. There’s still plenty of time left in the season, but this Chiefs team has struggled more frequently this season than we’ve grown accustomed to.
After absolutely blowing through the Lions and Raiders, and the Ravens not long before that, I thought certainly the Chiefs were back back. Turns out, the Bills had Patrick Mahomes in a rough spot on Sunday as Mahomes completed just 15-of-34 passes with no TDs and an interception.
The Chiefs now head to their bye week and they’ll emerge from that with a tough test on the road against the division-leading Broncos on November 16.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buccaneers were on a bye in Week 9
One of the things we talked about before the 2025 season even started was that the Buccaneers have one of the biggest margins for error in the entire NFL. The state of the NFC South has proven that to be pretty much true. Even with the Panthers lurking close behind, the Bucs are clearly in the driver’s seat of the NFC South right now and there’s no sign they’re going to struggle all that much.
Reflecting back on the first half of the year for this team, the Cardiac Bucs came through in the clutch more than most. We saw this team close games out thanks to Baker Mayfield, who’s played at an MVP level at times this season. And he’ll have to work even more magic if the Bucs’ injury issues linger into the second half of the season.
Still, this is one of the top contending teams in the NFC right now and they should be dangerous in the playoffs if they can get there mostly healthy.
8. Green Bay Packers
Just like a couple of other teams that were near the top of this list just a week ago, we can’t bury the Green Bay Packers for one loss at home against the Carolina Panthers.
But, seriously, guys?
Let’s not add too much insult to injury. The Packers and their fans have had enough this weekend with the loss to the Panthers, which was even worse when it was learned that superstar tight end Tucker Kraft suffered a torn ACL in the matchup. Brutal on top of brutal.
Luckily for the Packers, there is a former second-round pick from the same draft class as Kraft waiting in the wings for his opportunity, and it will be a huge chance for Luke Musgrave to step up in the Green Bay offense.
There’s no doubt that this was a rough one for Green Bay. They were 1-for-5 in trips to the red zone and simply couldn’t cash in when they got chances. The Panthers defense got the better of them, even with the Packers playing at home.
7. New England Patriots
It came down to a missed PAT, but the Patriots held on for dear life and got their seventh win of the season, and maybe most impressively, their fourth road win of the season…
…out of four road games overall.
The Patriots have been outstanding on the road this season, and the 24-14 lead they built early in the second half against the Falcons held, despite the offense doing really nothing of note (or good) for most of the second half overall.
Drake Maye continues to impress, although what do we have to do to get him to get sacked less? Maye was sacked six times against the Falcons, he threw a second-half interception, and he lost one of his two fumbles. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with Drake Maye, obviously, but they’ve got to do something to better protect that asset. He has already been sacked as many times this year (34) as he was his entire rookie season.
6. Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles were on a bye in Week 9
After losing a couple of games in a row, the Philadelphia Eagles returned to form just in time for their bye week. Jalen Hurts only completed 34 passes over the past two weeks, but seven of them went for touchdowns. Still, it’s fair to say this Eagles team is anything but “locked in” right now overall. The consecutive losses against the Broncos and Giants were a necessary wake-up call for the team, but we’re seeing Howie Roseman get a little reactive lately.
The Eagles brought Brandon Graham out of retirement to help the pass rush, and they’ve already made a couple of trades to get some help in the secondary, bringing in Jaire Alexander in a deal with the Ravens and Michael Carter in a deal with the Jets.
And the watch continues for Roseman to make another bold move to upgrade his defensive front.
5. Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are the late 90s Chicago Bulls when it comes to beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular season. And they are pretty much whoever plays the Dodgers in the World Series against the Chiefs when it comes to the playoffs.
Sorry Bills fans, I know you’re riding high after a big win over Kansas City on Sunday afternoon. I just had to get that jab in there, because we’ve all seen this story before. The Bills get an emotional regular season win against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, followed by a heartbreaking loss in the playoffs.
It’s up to Buffalo to change that narrative, but getting there is half the battle. The Bills are dealing with one of the hottest teams in the NFL in their own division, the Patriots, and right now just have to keep pace to even be hosting playoff games in January at this point.
4. Seattle Seahawks
At this point, we’ve really got to start talking about the Seattle Seahawks as being in the conversation, right up there with the Rams, Eagles, and Packers as being the class of the NFC. This is one of the most complete and well-rounded teams in the NFL right now, and everyone got a front row seat to that as they took on the Washington Commanders on Sunday Night Football.
The Seahawks have all the makings of something really special when it comes to the balance they have on offense and how tough they have been defensively under Mike Macdonald. There’s no reason to think this team will disappear down the stretch run with such a dynamic group of offensive weapons and Sam Darnold playing as well as we’ve seen so far this season.
This is a team that deserves a lot more love than they’ve gotten up to this point in the season. They are for real.
3. Denver Broncos
Winners of six straight games, it’s safe to say the Denver Broncos are one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now. The Patriots are the only other team with that long of a winning streak going at this point.
The Broncos have proven this season that they can do a lot of things you look for in championship-quality teams. They have finished one-score games (which was a big problem a year ago). They blew out the Cowboys last week. They play tough defensively, as we saw on Sunday against the Houston Texans.
The one issue with this Broncos team right now is penalties. Well, that, and maybe some inefficiency on offense. Inconsistency. There are aspects of this team that can be frustrating but the results are good so far. The Broncos are good.
2. Indianapolis Colts
For a week, we’re not going to knock the Colts too far off the pedestal. I think that’s only fair. The Colts, for the majority of this season, have been arguably the most complete team in the NFL. And they struggled against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It happens.
The Colts lost by seven to the Steelers on the road, but they kind of got their teeth kicked in by the Steelers in this one. After getting out to a 7-0 lead, the Steelers scored 24 unanswered points and the Colts simply couldn’t overcome it.
Perhaps the most concerning aspect of this game for the Colts was the fact that Daniel Jones had three interceptions and three fumbles, two of which were lost. If you were one of the ones out there waiting for the clock to strike midnight, it might have just happened.
1. Los Angeles Rams
I don’t want to knock any teeth out with this take, but are the Rams the best team in the NFC? The NFL? Is it time to start having that conversation?
When you look at this roster, and the fact that they just addressed arguably their biggest weakness with the Roger McCreary trade, there’s an argument to be made. At least if we’re applying the college-style rules to these rankings, I think you would have to say the Rams look like the best team in the NFL right now, though that’s obviously TBD on a week to week basis.
The Rams do have it all. They’ve got a head coach-quarterback combo that has been to the mountaintop before. They have playmakers. They have a great defense. The makings are there for this team to be Super Bowl champs yet again this season.