In a particularly difficult year to do weekly NFL Power Rankings, with all sorts of turnover at the top and turmoil in the top 10, one thing has kept me grounded in a stable reality: The New York Jets were clearly the worst team in the league.
Of course, then they go out and pull off a comeback against the Bengals that seemed to defy both logic and their capabilities. They looked good. Explosive, even. And they did it with Justin Fields at quarterback.
Now I have to rethink everything — at least at the bottom. Interestingly, the top is a little more stable this week. Here are my Week 9 NFL Power Rankings.
*Super Bowl LX odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
Super Bowl odds: +650
They get to stay right where they are thanks to their Week 8 bye. And they should be in position to stay one more week with a game against the Vikings on Sunday. Then it gets tougher with trips to Washington and Philadelphia.
Super Bowl odds: +1000
They shouldn’t flinch from the top, either, as they come out of the bye to play the awful Saints, before a tough division showdown one week later in San Francisco.
Super Bowl odds: +700
Jordan Love and the Packers’ defense both came alive in a dominating performance in Pittsburgh — their best win since they beat the Lions way back in Week 1.
Super Bowl odds: +900
There might be better 1-2 offensive punches than Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor, but certainly not many. The Indy Express is starting to feel like an unstoppable train.
Super Bowl odds: +1900
Just 212 yards of offense against the Saints? Yikes. Injuries have taken all the explosiveness out of this team and seriously hurt Baker Mayfield’s MVP run.
Super Bowl odds: +1100
Welcome back, Saquon Barkley. His 150 yards and his club’s revenge against the Giants gave the Eagles reason to feel good heading into their bye week. And they’ve got two weeks to pray Barkley’s groin injury really isn’t serious.
Super Bowl odds: +750
They ran through a pretty good Carolina defense for 245 yards on the ground thanks to 216 yards from James Cook. Josh Allen hasn’t been in MVP form of late, but maybe he doesn’t have to be.
Super Bowl odds: +500
A top-five defense. A top-five offense. Winners of three straight now and winners of five of their past six. A win in Buffalo next Sunday and they might end up real close to the top of this list.
Super Bowl odds: +2500
They’re set up nicely to go on a run if they can come off this bye and win in Washington. Aside from a tricky game in L.A. against the Rams, they might not be challenged much again until mid-December.
Super Bowl odds: +1900
They lit up the Cowboys with 44 points, which is impressive. More impressive was their defense holding a dangerous Cowboys offense to just 24.
Super Bowl odds: +2800
Putting up 30 points and 422 yards against a strong Cleveland defense is no joke. The only thing keeping the Pats out of the top 10 at this point is their pillowy soft schedule.
Super Bowl odds: +3000
They deserve a better fate, because injuries have really decimated them. But they gave up 475 yards to a bad Houston offense and weren’t very good when they had the ball, either.
Super Bowl odds: +7500
It’s not just that Aaron Rodgers couldn’t beat his old team — the only NFL team he hasn’t beaten. It’s that the Steelers have lost two straight now, with the Colts and Chargers up next.
Super Bowl odds: +7500
They went into their bye coming off two straight losses where they scored a combined 19 points. They better come out of it strong in Las Vegas this weekend.
Super Bowl odds: +2800
It’s really tempting to believe they’re back after their domination of the Vikings this past Thursday. They ran the ball and played defense like everyone always expected. But they’ve only beaten the Vikings and Dolphins over the past five weeks, so proceed with caution.
Super Bowl odds: +6000
Even without Nico Collins, C.J. Stroud and the Texans lit up the 49ers defense. Yes, the Niners are battered by injuries. But give the Texans a little credit. They’ve now won three of four.
Super Bowl odds: +15000
They deserve a bigger slide after a loss in Baltimore. But in fairness to them, it’s the best game the once-powerful Ravens have played in a while.
Super Bowl odds: +18000
It doesn’t matter that Kirk Cousins was forced to start for the injured Michael Penix Jr. Losing to the awful Dolphins at home in blowout fashion is about as humiliating as it gets — even for this confounding team.
Super Bowl odds: +20000
I know Jerry Jones thinks he was right with the way he built this defense around the absence of Micah Parsons. But use your eyes. He was clearly wrong.
Super Bowl odds: +50000
Would things have been different this past Sunday if Bryce Young had been healthy enough to play instead of Andy Dalton? Not the way their defense rolled over for the Bills’ ground assault.
Super Bowl odds: +6000
They are heading in the wrong direction with their third straight loss. And they’ll need Jayden Daniels back for their next two — home games against the Seahawks and the Lions.
Super Bowl odds: +1900
A win is a win, and good for them. But unless they go on a roll when Lamar Jackson returns, perhaps as soon as Thursday night, this ranking is where they belong.
Super Bowl odds: +25000
J.J. McCarthy is on the verge of a return, but can he save a Vikings team that has lost two straight out of their bye and is staring at a brutal schedule the next five weeks?
Super Bowl odds: +30000
Their season is on the brink after a five-game losing streak, and they come out of their bye with games at Dallas and at Seattle. Can Kyler Murray save them? Or will they turn to Jacoby Brissett instead?
Super Bowl odds: +100000
Just when it seems like there’s no possible way Mike McDaniel can survive in Miami, the Dolphins go into Atlanta and blow the doors off the Falcons. What? How?
Super Bowl odds: +30000
Speaking of coaches that I can’t believe still have a job … blowing a 14-point lead in the last eight minutes and giving up 502 yards to the winless Jets sure feels like a fireable offense for Zac Taylor. And just when it looked like Joe Flacco was going to save their season, too.
Super Bowl odds: +100000
It was no surprise, really, that the Giants gave up 150 yards to old friend Saquon Barkley and lost a 13th straight game in Philadelphia. But it sure is alarming that their defense keeps looking worse and worse.
Super Bowl odds: +100000
Their top-ranked defense was no match for Drake Maye and the Patriots. Now they get a bye week to rest up and prepare for the game of the year — in New York against the one-win Jets!
Super Bowl odds: +100000
Give Justin Fields credit. He took a verbal beating from owner Woody Johnson last week, then responded with a terrific game that included three fourth-quarter touchdown drives. So what were you saying about your QB, Woody?
Super Bowl odds: +100000
It’s Tyler Shough time in New Orleans — finally — after the Saints benched Spencer Rattler in the midst of their loss to the banged-up Bucs. Shough wasn’t any better, but he’s the future now.
Super Bowl odds: +100000
Will this be Geno Smith’s last stand in Vegas, or are the Raiders ready to turn to Kenny Pickett? Big decision for a team that has only one win — over the Titans — in its last six games.
Super Bowl odds: +100000
The Titans are simply terrible and, with a sell-off expected, it might get worse before it gets better. But don’t look know: Cam Ward has actually looked promising the past three weeks.
Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He spent six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him on Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.
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