2024 NFL Power Rankings: Week 9

What an incredible weekend of football. The end of the 1 pm slate, or the “witching hour” as it’s called on NFL RedZone, had some wild finishes. But nothing compared to the Hail Mary Jayden Daniels hit to lift the Commanders over the Bears. Insane.

Now that we’re almost halfway through the NFL season, we’d normally have a pretty good idea of how the playoff race is shaping up. And in the AFC, we do. But the NFC is a mess. I can safely eliminate just three teams from contention. There could well be a 10-win NFC team left out of the playoffs.

Here are the full power rankings: 

1 — Kansas City Chiefs (7-0, —)

The Chiefs are holding onto this ranking by default, but things look sloppy and out-of-sync in Kansas City. In the weeks since WR Rashee Rice was lost for the season with a leg injury, the rest of this receiver room hasn’t stepped up.

2 — Detroit Lions (6-1, —)

Lions QB Jared Goff threw for 85 yards and the Lions put up 51 points. Insane box score. Detroit is a wagon.

3 — Buffalo Bills (6-2, up 2)

The Bills rolled into Seattle and cruised to an easy win. Winning the AFC East for a fifth consecutive year seems like a formality at this point.

4 — Green Bay Packers (6-2, up 2)

Starting QB Jordan Love had to leave this game with a groin injury and No. 2 QB Malik Willis once again made his case as the best backup quarterback in the league. The Packers will hope Love can go next week when the Lions roll into town.

5 — Baltimore Ravens (5-3, down 2)

The Ravens defense had no answers for… Browns QB Jameis Winston and WR Cedric Tillman. The loss in Cleveland snapped a five-game winning streak.

6 — Minnesota Vikings (5-2, down 2)

A missed facemask on Thursday night cost the Vikings a shot at a game-tying drive against the Rams. Cracks are showing in DC Brian Flores’ vaunted defense. A crucial home tilt with the Colts awaits on Sunday night.

7 — Houston Texans (6-2, —)

Colts receivers dropped three touchdowns in Houston, allowing the home team to escape with a three-point win. The Texans have major pass protection issues to work out, and WR Stefon Diggs’ status is up in the air after he suffered a non-contact knee injury.

8 — San Francisco 49ers (4-4, up 2)

They almost let another game slip away late, but the 49ers got their act together and locked down the win against the Cowboys Sunday night. It’s been an inauspicious start to the season, but in a wide-open NFC West, everything is still in front of this team.

9 — Atlanta Falcons (5-3, up 4)

This team is starting to click at the right time. After shredding through the Tampa Bay defense, the Falcons have a commanding lead in the division.

10 — Washington Commanders (6-2, down 1)

Four field goals and the most insane play of the season. The Washington offense struggled to finish drives all day until it mattered most. Daniels outplayed Bears QB Caleb Williams in the battle of the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the draft.

11 — Philadelphia Eagles (5-2, up 6)

Is this the real Philadelphia Eagles team? A 20-point win in Cincinnati was impressive, but the question remains if they can stack performances like this week over week.

12 — Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4, down 4)

The team is already missing WRs Chris Godwin and Mike Evans badly. Evans, at least, should return later this year. Unfortunately, the Buccaneers are now down two games in the NFC South to the Falcons after Atlanta completed the season sweep.

13— Seattle Seahawks (4-4, down 2)

The Seahawks rollercoaster continues. One week they roll into Atlanta and dominate, the next they fold at home against the Bills. Seattle is like most of the teams in this range: capable of beating or losing to any team in the league any given Sunday.

14 — Indianapolis Colts (4-4, —)

Colts QB Anthony Richardson continues to be the most divisive player in the league. Box score scouting continues to be the go-to for his critics, as several of his best passes were dropped on Sunday.

15 — Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2, down 1)

RB Najee Harris and WR Calvin Austin III were the engines Monday night, as the Steelers managed enough offense to keep the Giants at bay. QB Russell Wilson continues to steady the ship, but Pittsburgh will need more offensive firepower moving forward to maintain first place in their division.

16 — Cincinnati Bengals (3-5, down 1)

This is why dropping so many games to open the season is a problem. It leaves you little margin for error the rest of the way. The Bengals can’t afford more games like the blowout home loss they suffered to Philadelphia.

17 — Chicago Bears (4-3, down 1)

Oh, Tyrique Stevenson. Oh no. The second-year cornerback went viral after taunting the Washington crowd mid-play, then tipping the Hail Mary pass into the end zone where Commanders WR Noah Brown caught it for the walk-off win. Final play aside, this Bears offense couldn’t get much done against a soft Washington defense.

18 — Arizona Cardinals (4-4, —)

First-round WR Marvin Harrison Jr. had inexplicably disappeared from this offense at times, but he reminded us all why he was considered one of the top prospects in the 2024 draft. No one in the Miami secondary could cover him.

19 — Los Angeles Rams (3-4, —)

Don’t look now, but the Rams are starting to get healthy. This is a team I picked to win their division early in the season, and they’re still right in the mix with WRs Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back in the lineup.

20 — Los Angeles Chargers (4-3, —)

Despite a sloppy performance, the Chargers nabbed the win over New Orleans. Second-round WR Ladd McConkey continues to impress, providing an excellent foundation from which to continue building out this receiving core.

21 — Denver Broncos (5-3, —)

With the caveat that it came against the Panthers, first-round QB Bo Nix had his best game of the season. He’s starting to come into his own.

22 — Dallas Cowboys (3-4, up 1)

After a disastrous third quarter, it looked like the Cowboys were going to make it competitive late against the 49ers. They couldn’t complete the comeback and are now staring up at both the Eagles and Commanders in the NFC East standings.

23 — Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6, up 1)

It was a valiant effort, but the Packers managed to complete the comeback. Jacksonville is playing with more fire, but it’s not leading to wins.

24 — Miami Dolphins (2-5, up 2)

Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa made his return, slid to avoid contact on some runs, and couldn’t pull out the win. It was a reminder this team wasn’t exactly lighting it up to open the season, even with Tagovailoa in the lineup.

25 — New York Jets (2-6, down 3)

Surprising no one, firing HC Robert Saleh didn’t solve all the Jets’ problems. A loss to the Patriots is a new low this season, and a wildcard berth is rapidly slipping away from this team. Not what they expected from a full season with QB Aaron Rodgers.

26 — Cleveland Browns (2-6, up 6)

In a damning referendum on the Browns’ insistence in sticking with QB Deshaun Watson for so long, Winston stepped under center and revived this offense, securing the upset win over the rival Ravens. It remains to be seen if this was a one-game anomaly or if Winston can keep the Browns competitive over the rest of the season.

27 — Tennessee Titans (1-6, down 2)

Titans QB Mason Rudolph made his second consecutive start over QB Will Levis. It didn’t matter, as for the first time this season, the Titans just weren’t competitive in a blowout loss to the Lions.

28 — Las Vegas Raiders (2-6, —)

The Raiders let a prime opportunity to knock off the Chiefs slip through their fingers. The offense showed signs of life against a pretty good Kansas City defense.

29 — New Orleans Saints (2-6, down 2)

At least this loss was more competitive.

30 — New England Patriots (2-6, up 1)

Sensational first-round QB Drake Maye suffered a concussion in the first half, but backup QB Jacoby Brissett stepped back into the lineup to lead the upset win over the Jets. It’s a win Patriots fans will treasure, as long as it doesn’t move them out of prime draft position by the end of the season.

31 — New York Giants (2-6, down 2)

HC Brian Daboll’s sideline expressions keep getting weirder. Rookies WR Malik Nabers and RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. are the bright spots on this offense, but New York kicked too many field goals to walk out of Pittsburgh with a win.

32 — Carolina Panthers (1-6, down 2)

The silver lining for Panthers fans: QB Bryce Young looked better! He looked last year bad, not the first two games of this year bad. If veteran QB Andy Dalton misses more time with his thumb injury, Young will get more opportunities to prove he can develop.