nfl power rankings week 9 rams
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Thanks to Arizona and Tampa Bay both losing, the Rams are atop the latest power rankings.

The Cardinals have lost a game.

The Chiefs are at .500 after Week 8.

The Patriots may be turning a corner.

The Lions are the Lions.

The Rams are “all in.”

It’s the NFL! The best reality show there is!

And this ever-intriguing season continued with an action-packed Week 8. What do the latest 2021 NFL Power Rankings look like with Week 9 approaching?

32. Detroit Lions ( → )

The Lions are really bad.

I have nothing else to say — they’re really bad.

Poor Dan Campbell. Poor Jared Goff. Good for Matthew Stafford.

31. Houston Texans ( → )

The most intriguing story coming out of the Texans organization the past few weeks was the speculation that their highly expensive and controversial third-string quarterback may be getting traded.

Well, that didn’t happen.

Anyway, the Texans have lost seven straight after commencing the season with a victory over Jacksonville. This season is a wash — it always has been.

30. Jacksonville Jaguars ( → )

The Jaguars finally won a game in Week 6 and entered the bye week with their heads held high.

That’s until they somehow lost to Geno Smith by 24 points.

I would say Urban Meyer has hit a new low, but, he’s been through worse this year.

Much worse.

29. Miami Dolphins ( ↓ 1 )

The Dolphins are a lost cause but have been for a while.

They’re now on a seven-game losing streak and couldn’t come up big in the fourth quarter against the Bills in Week 8, having allowed 16 points in those 15 minutes.

28. New York Giants ( ↓ 1 )

The Giants are back in the loss column after suffering a three-point defeat against the struggling Chiefs Monday night.

New York forced a crucial turnover late in the fourth quarter to give itself the ball with the score tied at 17. However, an offsides penalty negated that and the Chiefs eventually kicked the go-ahead field goal and won the game.

I’m glad the Giants run laps in practice though — really keeps them disciplined.

27. New York Jets ( ↑ 2 )

Quarterback controversy in Florham Park?

I’m kidding — let’s settle down. But Mike White did indeed put together a fantastic performance against the Bengals this past Sunday.

In what seemed like an improbable win for the Jets, the primary backup quarterback threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns.

The Jets are now 2-5 on the year but have defeated Tennessee and Cincinnati — two top-tier AFC ballclubs.

26. Atlanta Falcons ( → )

Atlanta remains right at No. 26 despite losing to Carolina. Some expected the Falcons to come up short and that’s what occurred — there’s no reason to really change their ranking following a 19-13 defeat.

25. Chicago Bears ( → )

The Bears were somewhat expected to come up short against the 49ers, who desperately needed a victory after losing four straight.

That’s exactly what happened — Chicago lost 33-22 and Justin Fields threw for 175 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

24. Washington Football Team ( ↓ 1 )

Washington is down in the dumps at this point.

It cannot compete in the NFC with Taylor Heinicke at quarterback and lost to a struggling Broncos team on Sunday 17-10.

Maybe the Football Team should just wave the white flag on this season.

23. Denver Broncos ( ↑ 1 )

Denver won in Week 8. Denver was also smart following Week 8, realizing it likely can’t compete in the AFC given it doesn’t employ a consistent quarterback in either Teddy Bridgewater or Drew Lock. Thus, the Broncos traded Von Miller to the Rams.

Bottom-tier teams: be more like Denver.

22. Philadelphia Eagles ( → )

The Eagles don’t get much credit for defeating the Lions 44-6.

As I said before, the Lions are bad. Like, really bad.

I won’t give any team credit for defeating them at this point. If any team loses to Detroit, I will start a petition to move that organization to the XFL or that Fan Controlled Football thing that Johnny Manziel is in.

21. Seattle Seahawks ( → )

The Seahawks don’t get much credit for blowing out the Jaguars.

This team still fields Geno Smith as its starting quarterback and needs to return Russell Wilson as quickly as possible if it wants to compete in the strong NFC West division.

20. Carolina Panthers ( → )

The Panthers are back in the win column, but it wasn’t pretty.

Carolina only defeated Atlanta by six and Sam Darnold threw for just 129 yards while only completing 54.2% of his throws.

19. Minnesota Vikings ( ↓ 5 )

I told you not to sleep on the Vikings.

But even I’m taking a nap right now.

Minnesota lost to Cooper Rush and the Cowboys Sunday night — it was a game the Vikings should’ve absolutely won with Dak Prescott on the sideline.

The Vikings may be stuck in the mud this year unless they can swiftly turn it around.

18. Indianapolis Colts ( ↓ 1 )

Carson Wentz is very mistake-prone and made multiple of them late in the game against Tennessee on Sunday. They cost the Colts the victory — the Titans eventually won by a field goal in overtime.

For that, the Colts drop one spot after they won three of their four previous games prior to Sunday’s loss.

17. San Francisco 49ers ( ↑ 1 )

We’ll improve San Francisco’s ranking by one spot because it finally snapped a four-game losing streak.

But defeating a struggling Bears team with a rookie quarterback and a head coach who might be on the hot seat won’t get you much credit.

Except if you’re the Lions. Because the Lions are…you know…really bad.

16. Pittsburgh Steelers ( ↑ 3 )

Could the Steelers be getting back on track following a win over Cleveland?

They’re now 4-3 and just a game back of the AFC North lead. Not to mention, they play the Bears and Lions in their next two games — Pittsburgh could get on a roll here.

15. Cleveland Browns ( ↓ 4 )

Oh Cleveland.

You never fail to disappoint us.

The Browns were in the No. 11 spot last week but drop to No. 15 following a loss to Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers.

The Browns are now 4-4 and sit in last place in the AFC North — was their postseason era just one year? Will they even make it back to January football this season?

14. New Orleans Saints ( ↑ 2 )

What a win for the Saints, who were missing their starting quarterback, Jameis Winston, for much of the game.

New Orleans took down the Tom Brady-led Buccaneers in Week 8 and improved to 5-2 on the year.

But with Winston (torn ACL) now out for the season, it’s unclear what the team will do at the most important position.

Maybe Sean Payton gives Cam Newton a call?

13. Kansas City Chiefs ( → )

The Chiefs are still a struggling ballclub.

I won’t give them much credit for only defeating the Giants by three points, especially given the late-game penalties Big Blue committed.

By the way, what in the world is wrong with Patrick Mahomes? He just looks so off.

12. Los Angeles Chargers ( ↓ 2 )

What’s going on with the Chargers?

Justin Herbert has now constructed two consecutive underwhelming performances and the team has lost two straight.

The most recent defeat came against the Patriots and rookie quarterback Mac Jones.

The Chargers, at 4-3, need to get back on the right track very soon.

11. New England Patriots ( ↑ 4 )

On the contrary, the Patriots look great.

Not only did they defeat the Jets in Week 7 by 41 points, but they also just picked off Justin Herbert twice in a big 27-24 win over the Chargers.

New England is seemingly turning a corner at the perfect time.

10. Las Vegas Raiders ( ↑ 2 )

The 5-2 Raiders are a top-10 team because of their strong offense but will have a notable task this coming Sunday.

Vegas plays the Giants on the road — Big Blue’s defense has been solid the last two weeks.

9. Cincinnati Bengals ( ↓ 2 )

Poor Bengals.

They were looking to be one of the teams to beat in the AFC, and while I believe they still are, they came up short against Mike White and the Jets in Week 8.

Yes, Mike White.

This was a trap game for Cincinnati, and the Joe Burrow-led squad couldn’t handle the Florham Park faithful.

But, it was just one loss — I believe the Bengals can bounce back, which is why they remain in the top 10.

8. Baltimore Ravens ( ↑ 1 )

The Ravens move up to No. 8 to make room for the Bengals’ aforementioned drop-off.

This comes in spite of the fact Baltimore’s bye week occurred in Week 8.

7. Tennessee Titans ( ↑ 1 )

The Titans move up one spot after an overtime win over Indianapolis, but I’m skeptical of them moving forward given the injury to Derrick Henry. The star running back is on injured reserve due to a foot injury and is out indefinitely.

6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers ( ↓ 4 )

Tampa Bay drops four spots after losing to a very beatable Saints team that lost quarterback Jameis Winston (torn ACL) in the middle of the game.

What a disappointing performance from the Bucs — just unacceptable.

Anyway, they’ll probably redeem themselves when they play Washington in Week 10 (their bye is this coming week).

5. Arizona Cardinals ( ↓ 4 )

I’m not happy with Kliff Kingsbury.

The Cardinals were down three points to the Packers with no timeouts and 15 seconds remaining and decided to throw a back-shoulder pass to A.J. Green in the end zone. Green never turned around and the Packers picked it off.

The smart play would’ve been for Kyler Murray to roll out and throw it away to take around seven seconds off the clock. Then, the Cardinals would be in the position to kick the game-tying field goal and not provide the Packers much time for a Hail Mary (although it’s Aaron Rodgers, so take that with a grain of salt).

Because of all this, I lower the Cardinals’ ranking by four spots.

4. Green Bay Packers ( ↑ 2 )

The Packers move into the top five following their win over the then-undefeated Cardinals last Thursday night.

Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdowns in the absence of numerous weapons, including Davante Adams.

The longtime quarterback could be making another MVP run after seven consecutive wins — will he eventually earn the prestigious award?

3. Dallas Cowboys ( ↑ 2 )

The Cowboys didn’t even need Dak Prescott to defeat the Vikings on Sunday Night Football.

That’s how good this team is.

Dallas is officially a top-three squad in my book — sorry Giants fans.

2. Buffalo Bills ( ↑ 2 )

The Bills move up two spots thanks to their win over the Dolphins as well as the Cardinals’ and Buccaneers’ respective losses.

Josh Allen remains the MVP favorite and threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns in the 26-11 victory.

1. Los Angeles Rams ( ↑ 2 )

The Rams are “all in,” according to themselves and basically everyone on Twitter.

Their scouting department doesn’t have much left to do, also according to basically everyone on Twitter.

Los Angeles is now 7-1 and just traded multiple picks for edge rusher Von Miller. The Rams have their eyes set on the Super Bowl, and given how they’ve played and the state of their roster, it’s certainly a feasible goal.

Follow Ryan Honey on Twitter: @RyanHoneyESNY

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Ryan Honey is a staff writer and host of the Wide Right Podcast.