The NFP Power Rankings

Every Tuesday, the National Football Post brings you our weekly power rankings: a breakdown of how we stack up the teams.

Week 9 (previous rankings included)

APDarren Sharper heads a dangerous New Orleans defense.

1. (1) New Orleans Saints: 7-0
The Saints have now scored six defensive touchdowns this season—and they still have Drew Brees.

2. (2) Indianapolis Colts: 7-0
The Colts found a way to win with the winning TD pass coming from someone other than Peyton Manning.

3. (6) Minnesota Vikings: 7-1
Brett Favre was near perfect in his return to Lambeau, and the Vikings are pulling away in the NFC North.

4. (4) New England Patriots: 5-2
The Pats come off the bye week and get to see the Dolphins and the wildcat offense for the first time in ’09.

5. (5) Pittsburgh Steelers: 5-2
The Steelers head to Denver for a big-time November game under the Monday night lights.

6. (3) Denver Broncos: 6-1
Now we get to see how Josh McDaniels and his team responds after they were shut down in Baltimore—and the schedule isn’t getting easier.

7. (8) Cincinnati Bengals: 5-2
Cincinnati comes off the bye week with a rematch against Ray Lewis and the Ravens. Can they do it again?

8. (12) Philadelphia Eagles: 5-2
The Philly big-play offense isn’t slowing down after they rolled the G-Men at home—and their defense continues to force turnovers.

APMaybe Miles Austin really is the real deal in Dallas.

9. (9) Dallas Cowboys: 5-2
Tony Romo is playing his best football and Miles Austin is showing that he wasn’t a one-week wonder. Can they go into Philly and take over first place in the East?

10. (16) Baltimore Ravens: 4-3
If the Ravens stick to their game plan from this past week, they will be playing football in the postseason.

11. (14) Houston Texans: 5-3
The Texans are becoming a running football team—and they are winning games because of it.

12. (11) Atlanta Falcons: 4-3
The good from last night is that Michael Turner can still get to the edge and produce. The bad is that the Falcons are now three games behind the Saints.

13. (7) Arizona Cardinals: 4-3
Kurt Warner had a game to forget and the defense didn’t show up at home against the Panthers. A bad loss for ‘Zona.

14. (10) NY Giants: 5-3
The schedule is now exposing some major issues for the Giants—and they are sliding fast.

15. (18) San Diego Chargers: 4-3
The next three weeks should decide the Chargers’ season: at the Giants, vs. the Eagles and at the Broncos.

16. (13) Green Bay Packers: 4-3
The late comeback made it interesting, but it was obvious that the Packers don’t match up with the Vikings at this point of the season.

APRonnie Brown and the Dolphins meet the Pats this weekend.

17. (21) Miami Dolphins: 3-4
The Dolphins found a way to close out a fourth quarter lead, and a win over New England this week will tell us that they are for real.

18. (19) Chicago Bears: 4-3
The Bears didn’t have to play good football to beat Cleveland, but that won’t work against the rest of the league.

19. (15) NY Jets: 4-4
All of that talk coming out of New York has led to a .500 record for the Jets.

20. (17) San Francisco 49ers: 3-4
QB Alex Smith and rookie WR Michael Crabtree make this offense more explosive—now they have to start winning together.

21. (24) Carolina Panthers: 3-4
The Panthers recognized early in the game that they could run the ball up and down the field out in ‘Zona.

22. (20) Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-4
Maurice Jones-Drew is the game plan in Jacksonville right now, and he needs more touches.

23. (22) Buffalo Bills: 3-4
The mini-run by the Bills came to a close as they were shredded up front by a much more physical Texans offensive front.

24. (23) Seattle Seahawks: 2-5
The Seahawks can’t compete with the top dogs in the NFC—or the NFC West.

APVince Young delivered the Titans their first win of the season.

25. (30) Tennessee Titans: 1-6
That was the type of football we expected to see from Jeff Fisher’s team all season.

26. (25) Oakland Raiders: 2-6
The Raiders are destined for double digits losses—again.

27. (27) Kansas City Chiefs: 1-6
The Chiefs return to action without Larry Johnson—and that might be a good thing.

28. (28) Washington Redskins: 2-5
It should be interesting to see what Sherm Lewis came up with over the bye week for a team that needs a win in the worst way.

29. (32) St. Louis Rams: 1-7
A nice win for Steve Spagnuolo and a defense that is finding out how to make big plays.

30. (26) Detroit Lions: 1-7
The Detroit fans realized that Matthew Stafford is still a rookie in a game they needed to have against the Rams.

31. (29) Cleveland Browns: 1-7
A complete mess in Cleveland…not much else to say.

32. (31) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 0-7
Rookie Josh Freeman will get the ball for the league’s only winless team at home against the Pack.

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