Nine Straight Threes' NFL Power Rankings: Week 9

The Week 9 rankings are here, and boy, doesn’t it seem like you just got done reading Week 8’s? Well, that’s because you probably just did. We’re back on something approaching a schedule this week, and one of the biggest problems in compiling this week’s rankings was sorting out the bottom. Virtually all of last week’s cellar dwellers lost, sometimes to each other, and the few that won don’t deserve to move up too much.

In the land of contenders and would-be contenders, a few loud messages were sent: Baltimore told Denver to go back to the kids’ table, Detroit delivered a bad-weather clinic in Green Bay, and bullied the Packers. Jared Goff? He just kept completing passes, even in the rain, even with gloves on.

Arizona continued their winning ways, dominating the Bears in a game that also saw rain and hail in a stadium that has a retractable roof. The Rams and Seahawks played a bizarre thriller with a wild ending, and yes, the Rams are in fact on a roll.

We’re at the halfway point, and a few things seem clear: The Chiefs are a very real threat to three-peat, the Lions refuse to blink, and Baltimore’s best looks virtually unbeatable. So does something less than their best, which was Thursday night’s thriller over Cincinnati.

The trade deadline was very active, too. Recognizable names changed teams; will any of them put their new employer over the top?

The most intriguing group of teams is the six to eight or so immediately behind the league’s big dogs. Will a true contender emerge from their ranks? Will a team languishing in the middle of the rankings put it all together and make a run? I’ll give you one team from each conference that might fit that bill: The Chargers in the AFC, and the deeply chaotic Cardinals in the NFC.

As always, NST’s power rankings take two factors into account: Performance and watchability. Away we go.

An Affront to Decency

32. New Orleans Saints (2-7)

LW: 29

Derek Carr threw a “hospital ball” to Chris Olave that unfortunately lived down to its name. Then, Michael Thomas got on Twitter and crushed Carr in a series of tweets. Carr claimed afterward that he wasn’t sure what he did to make Thomas dislike him so much. Oh, and Cam Jordan sent a tweet after the game apologizing to the city of New Orleans. The Saints lost, in case you were wondering. Dennis Allen? See ya!

Week 10: vs. Atlanta

31. Las Vegas Raiders (2-7)

LW: 30

They got up 7-0 on Cincinnati, and were never really in it after that. The Bengals scored 21 unanswered points when the game was 10-10, and that was that. This should be one of the proudest, strongest brands in the NFL. Like, they should be better more often, and routinely be seen in prime time. Instead they’re just like a wrestling jobber, or the default that you start with in create-a-team mode (can you still do that) in Madden or College Football. I’m not even sure what Raiders fans are hoping for in the immediate future. A quarterback? A new owner? Competence? Whatever they want, what they’ve got is Luke Getsy, James Cregg and Rich Scangarello being fired, and Norv Turner coming in. I’m sure that’ll work.

Week 10: Bye