Welcome to Week 9 of the Pro Football Network company-wide NFL power rankings. While I provide my own power rankings following the conclusion of each Sunday’s action, we’ll be polling each of PFN’s NFL contributors to assemble our list.
Each week, we’ll combine rankings from yours truly, Chief Content Officer David Bearman, NFL Director Adam Beasley, Betting Director Brian Blewis, Audience Engagement Director Mike Gambardella, COO Matt Infante, Bengals Reporter Jay Morrison, Cowboys Reporter Jess Nevarez, NFL Analyst Dallas Robinson, and Fantasy Director Kyle Yates.
Which teams are too high or too low as we enter Week 9 of the 2023 NFL season?
32) Carolina Panthers
Week 8 Ranking: 32
The Panthers finally got into the win column against the Texans on Sunday, but they remain at the bottom of the power rankings for at least another week. With Kyler Murray’s return imminent, we likely see the Panthers remain here or nearby for the remainder of the season.
31) Arizona Cardinals
Week 8 Ranking: 31
As they have in most games so far in 2023, Arizona stuck around against a much better team for longer than they should have been able to. However, in the end, it wasn’t enough.
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A bad interception led to a quick score, and then a three-and-out gave Baltimore a field goal, making it a three-score game.
30) New York Giants
Week 8 Ranking: 28
The Giants game against the Jets was one of the worst offensive performances we’ve seen in recent memory. New York managed… wait for it… negative net passing yards for four quarters of NFL football.
29) Chicago Bears
Week 8 Ranking: 29
The Bears added Montez Sweat at the trade deadline and did not move Jaylon Johnson. However, that won’t magically transform them into a playoff roster. They struggled offensively against a Chargers defense that has been one of the worst in the league this season.
T-27) Las Vegas Raiders
Week 8 Ranking: 27
The Raiders’ offense was horrific against the Lions, but with the help of a Marcus Peters pick-six, Las Vegas was able to stay within earshot of Detroit until the fourth quarter, because football is weird.
T-27) New England Patriots
Week 8 Ranking: 26
The Patriots kept it close against the Dolphins for a while. However, the game would have likely gotten out of hand quickly had New England not gotten a couple of turnovers from Miami.
26) Green Bay Packers
Week 8 Ranking: 24
Jordan Love has not been good enough. Outside of a single long field-goal drive before halftime, the offense was terrible. Their first four drives were three-and-outs.
25) Denver Broncos
Week 8 Ranking: 30
Denver hadn’t beaten the Chiefs since 2015, and Patrick Mahomes had never lost a divisional game on the road. Both of those things changed.
The defense actually had a good day against Kansas City, proving exactly how funky football can be, considering they allowed 70 points against the Dolphins in Week 3.
24) Washington Commanders
Week 8 Ranking: 23
Sam Howell was surgical against Philadelphia on Sunday, but he missed a few throws late in the game that could have kept Washington in it. Instead, the Commanders lost by a touchdown and decided to blow up their already putrid defense by trading their top two pass rushers.
23) Indianapolis Colts
Week 8 Ranking: 22
The Colts are a well-coached team, but they are clearly understaffed on both sides of the ball. Their secondary struggled to keep things in front of them against the Saints and were bludgeoned over the head by Taysom Hill on the ground.
22) Tennessee Titans
Week 8 Ranking: 25
Will Levis was wonderful in his NFL debut. The Titans have been trying to implement the “F it, Nuk is out there somewhere” tactic all season, but Ryan Tannehill was unable to find that rapport with DeAndre Hopkins. Sure, the veteran receiver dabbled in some offensive pass interference along the way, but that’s always been part of his game.
21) Minnesota Vikings
Week 8 Ranking: 17
The Vikings won the battle, but they lost the war. They outplayed the Packers and have been playing good football over the past five weeks, even after losing Justin Jefferson.
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Kirk Cousins will miss the rest of the season, but a move for Joshua Dobbs might be enough to keep Minnesota competitive.
20) Los Angeles Rams
Week 8 Ranking: 16
The Rams have been competitive so far in 2023 despite having one of the youngest rosters in recent memory. However, they ran into a Cowboys buzzsaw in all three phases of the game. Matthew Stafford got banged up early on, and he eventually left the game.
19) Houston Texans
Week 8 Ranking: 14
The Texans have been better than expectations this season, but losing to the Carolina Panthers certainly won’t win them any favors. C.J. Stroud played relatively well against Carolina amid middling production. The Buccaneers will be a good barometer for the Texans in Week 9.
18) Atlanta Falcons
Week 8 Ranking: 18
The Falcons looked like the best team in the NFC South before Sunday, but they struggled to get stops against Levis making his first start as a professional quarterback. Desmond Ridder turned the ball over on a fumble again against Tennessee while also being sacked five times.
Taylor Heinicke could be in line to start in Week 9.
17) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 8 Ranking: 20
The Buccaneers offense is a slow starter, and that simply didn’t work against the Bills. They can’t run the ball and have been leaning on Baker Mayfield on third and fourth down to elevate them. Yet, even in a one-sided matchup, they were a split second away from beating Buffalo in the final seconds.
16) New York Jets
Week 8 Ranking: 15
The Jets look a lot like they did a year ago. Their defense borders on outstanding, but the offense could only manage two third-down conversions and 12 total first downs on 17 drives against the Giants on Sunday.
15) New Orleans Saints
Week 8 Ranking: 21
Rashid Shaheed may look a bit awkward wearing No. 22, but don’t let the weird WR number distract you from the fact that he is one of the most dangerous big-play threats in the NFL. And against the Indianapolis Colts, Taysom Hill had an incredibly productive outing as a runner.
14) Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 8 Ranking: 13
Losing Kenny Pickett is a tough blow. Although the Steelers’ offense wasn’t particularly dangerous against the Jaguars with him, Mitch Trubisky’s turnovers hurt the team in relief of Pickett. However, the young QB assured reporters that he’ll be playing against the Titans on Thursday.
13) Los Angeles Chargers
Week 8 Ranking: 19
The Chargers couldn’t afford to lose against Chicago. Their coach’s seat must already be hot, given how much the organization has tried to find the right answer for his team defensively. But beating Chicago also won’t gain them much favor in the power rankings.
12) Cleveland Browns
Week 8 Ranking: 10
The Browns might be a great football team, but they need their $230 million quarterback to be even a fraction of the player we saw as a Houston Texan. The Browns’ defense is arguably the best in the world, and they just need their QB to play relatively well to give them a chance to win the AFC North.
11) Seattle Seahawks
Week 8 Ranking: 11
Geno Smith and the Seahawks’ offense didn’t have the cleanest day against Cleveland, but it was enough to eventually get the best of the Browns in the end.
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Six of Seattle’s nine drives after the first quarter ended up being three-and-outs, and they didn’t manage a single double-digit play drive for the game. But they also added Leonard Williams at the deadline to bolster their defense.
10) Cincinnati Bengals
Week 8 Ranking: 12
Joe Burrow is back, baby.
T-8) Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 8 Ranking: 7
Trevor Lawrence played well against the Steelers, aside from a wildly inappropriate pass attempt into the end zone. But it’s been the Jaguars’ defense that has been their calling card. The defense is currently fourth in EPA and seventh in success rate.
T-8) Buffalo Bills
Week 8 Ranking: 9
The Bills played an incredibly weird game on Thursday night, which shouldn’t be all that surprising given it was a Thursday Night Football game.
7) Detroit Lions
Week 8 Ranking: 8
The Lions thoroughly outplayed the Raiders on Monday Night Football, but a lackluster play outside of structure from Jared Goff kept the game close. If he can continue to avoid unnecessary turnovers, this offense, and the Lions team in general, can compete with anybody.
6) San Francisco 49ers
Week 8 Ranking: 3
The 49ers have lost three straight games, but at the deadline, they acquired Chase Young, bolstering their pass-rushing unit alongside Nick Bosa, Javon Hargrave, and Arik Armstead.
San Francisco needs their quarterback to get back on track and regain his composure, but this team is ready-made to compete for a championship.
5) Dallas Cowboys
Week 8 Ranking: 6
The Cowboys offense looked much different after the bye week than it did before. They used motion at the snap at the highest rate of the season.
Dallas’ passing attack seemed to have an answer for every question the Rams’ defense asked them. And Dak Prescott has turned back the clock on his playmaking ability over their past two games.
4) Miami Dolphins
Week 8 Ranking: 5
Jalen Ramsey has already transformed the Dolphins defense. Mac Jones didn’t even want to look his direction, let alone throw that way. But he tried anyway, and Ramsey nearly took his pass all the way back to the house.
3) Baltimore Ravens
Week 8 Ranking: 4
The Ravens are in the same tier as the other top teams when looking at EPA, but they’re far and away the best team in the NFL when looking at DVOA. The passing attack is operating at a level we’ve never seen, and Mike Macdonald’s defense has been astounding.
2) Kansas City Chiefs
Week 8 Ranking: 1
Losing to the Broncos is a tough look, but the Chiefs are still a team that has won just shy of 80% of their games with Mahomes as their starter. In other words, Kansas City will be just fine.
It certainly helps that their defense is probably the best it has been in Mahomes’ time as the starter.
1) Philadelphia Eagles
Week 8 Ranking: 2
It’s not always pretty with the Eagles, but with A.J. Brown and Jalen Hurts on the same page, anything is possible. They seem to have that special “get it done” gene. When one aspect of their game is struggling, another will step up and play at an elite level to push them past their opponent.
From the current NFL standings to team depth charts to coverage of every game in the 18-week NFL schedule, we have all the news from around the league to keep you up to speed!
