NFL Power Rankings, Week 9: Bears drop 4 spots after nightmare loss

The Chicago Bears were 25 seconds away from leaving Week 8 with a 5-2 record, keeping them right in the thick of the heavily contested NFC North. Instead, some questionable coaching decisions and a tipped Hail Mary pass sent them away with their third loss of the season and firmly into last place in the division.

To be clear, Chicago’s season is not over despite what you may read on social media. In fact, 4-3 after Week 8 is where many fans and analysts had this team in their preseason predictions. But a brutal loss like that, especially considering how poor Caleb Williams and the offense looked for the first three quarters, really takes the wind out of the team’s sails, especially when you hear players openly questioning decisions made by the coaches.

As we enter Week 9, the Bears are knocked down a few spots from last week, but their fall is joined by another NFC North team. Where does everyone end up? Let’s get into the rankings.

1. Detroit Lions (Last week: 1)

I almost couldn’t believe it as I checked NFL scores on Sunday: the Lions had put up 52 points with Jared Goff attempting just 15 passes. This team is a juggernaut.

2. Buffalo Bills (Last week: 4)

Josh Allen finally threw his first pick of the season, but it didn’t matter as Buffalo cruised to a 31-10 victory over the Seahawks. His MVP campaign rolls on.

3. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: 2)

I won’t drop the Ravens too far despite losing to a horrendous Browns team. Sometimes good teams lose to bad teams and that’s all there is to this one. In better news, the Ravens have another solid receiver in the room as they completed a trade for Diontae Johnson.

The #Ravens are trading for #Panthers WR Diontae Johnson, sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo, as Baltimore loads up. pic.twitter.com/pZdx1ORPmd

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 29, 2024

4. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: 6)

Somehow, despite Patrick Mahomes on track for the worst season of his career, the Chiefs remain undefeated. I have no answers.

5. Green Bay Packers (Last week: 5)

Barely beating the 2-6 Jaguars doesn’t inspire much confidence in this team as serious contenders, so they stay put despite the win.

6. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: 3)

After starting the season 5-0, the Vikings have dropped two straight and are in danger of landing in “fraud watch”. They face the listless Indianapolis Colts, who just benched Anthony Richardson, on Sunday Night Football. A loss there will send them plummeting down these rankings.

7. Atlanta Falcons (Last week: 9)

It was good to see the Falcons bounce back from a brutal loss to Seattle, but they’ll need to post another convincing win before I can put them any higher than this.

8. Houston Texans (Last week: 8)

Similar to the Packers, I can’t give the Texans a boost in the rankings with a narrow win over a bad team. Also, they just lost Stefon Diggs for the season, adding to their long list of injury woes.

Texans WR Stefon Diggs out for rest of season with torn ACL. pic.twitter.com/4iV11cRLQP

— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2024

9. Washington Commanders (Last week: 10)

Ugly wins still count as wins, but what was the league’s #1 offense looked impotent for much of the afternoon against the Chicago Bears. With the chief criticism of the Commanders being a lack of convincing performances against good defenses, this week didn’t help their case much.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: 11)

This team is definitely better with Russell Wilson finally starting games, but Monday night’s snooze-fest against the New York Giants didn’t inspire much confidence in this team as a legit contender in the AFC.

11. Chicago Bears (Last week: 7)

That was a gut-wrenching way to lose a game, but Bears fans are no strangers to losing on a Hail Mary miracle. Up next they have the up-and-down Arizona Cardinals which should serve as a palette cleanser for the team and fans. Another dud, however, could send the team into freefall down these rankings.

12. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: 16)

After a rough first quarter, the Eagles ran away with a win over the Bengals. That’s two convincing wins in a row for Philly as they look to regain control of the NFC East.

13. Denver Broncos (Last week: 15)

Winners of five of their last six, the Broncos are sitting pretty at 5-3 but a date with the Baltimore Ravens, who just acquired receiver Diontae Johnson from the Carolina Panthers, should bring them back to Earth.

14. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: 17)

No Brandon Aiyuk, apparently no problem for the 49ers as they defeated the Cowboys to keep their playoff hopes afloat.

15. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: 12)

The Colts dropped another one to division rival Houston Texans this week. Making matters worse, head coach Shane Steichen has inexplicably decided to bench 22-year-old quarterback Anthony Richardson in favor of 39-year-old Joe Flacco. While it makes sense in the short term (Flacco can certainly be better than what Richardson has been of late), this seems to run contrary to the preseason plan: get Richardson through his rookie lumps and develop him into a dependable starter.

Abandoning the plan after just 8 weeks is a move that reeks of desperation and may prove to be Steichen’s undoing in Indy.

The Anthony Richardson benching is laughably bad. You knew that he was a project and you’re giving up 10 games in.

He isn’t a lock to be Josh Allen obviously but imagine if the Bills benched Allen after 10 games. Turning a hypothetical say 30% chance of a franchise QB into a 0%…

— Akash (@YZR_Fantasy) October 29, 2024

16. LA Rams (Last week: 21)

Don’t look now but the Rams have won two in a row to place themselves within one game of the rest of their division. With Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back, the Rams might be able to salvage their season, or at least stave off the calls to hit a full reset.

17. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: 14)

It’s still early in the season but I’m calling it. The Bengals will miss the playoffs (again) and head coach Zac Taylor will have to fight for his job. They’re now 3-5 on the season and haven’t won a home game since January.

18. LA Chargers (Last week: 19)

The Chargers picked up a sorely needed win though it came against a sinking Saints team. Despite being 4-3 we still don’t seem to know much about this team.

19. Seattle Seahawks (Last week: 13)

One week after dominating the Atlanta Falcons, the Seahawks looked completely outmatched against the Buffalo Bills, losing 31-10 in a game that wasn’t even as close as the final score. They’re 1-4 in their last five games but are somehow still tied for first place in the NFC West.

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last week: 18)

The Bucs put up a good fight against the Falcons, but without star receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, their hopes of another playoff run are bleak.

21. Arizona Cardinals (Last week: 23)

I wanted to bump the Cards up higher with their impressive win over Miami, who now has Tua back under center, but I still can’t trust them. It’s been a rollercoaster year for this squad and after two wins in a row, you almost have to expect a stinker in Week 9, especially with Chicago’s vaunted defense on deck.

22. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 20)

It’s over for Dallas this year. They haven’t won a home game since Dember of last year. They’re 3-4 and their schedule only gets tougher from here. They still haven’t paid star pass rusher Micah Parsons. It’s just all bad in Jerry Jones’ world right now.

Jerry Jones hopes to turn the Cowboys’ season around for a “storybook ending.”

What is the name of the story for the Cowboys this year? pic.twitter.com/27h2kvQ3eX

— UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio (@UnSportsESPN) October 30, 2024

23. New England Patriots (Last week: 24)

The Patriots got a win over the crashing Jets, but they lost rookie quarterback Drake Maye to a concussion. Here’s hoping he can pass through the concussion protocol swiftly and get right back on the field next week.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 22)

The Jags almost pulled off the upset win, but giving up a game-winning drive to Malik Willis is just so on-brand for Jacksonville. $275 million quarterback Trevor Lawrence looked better but once again through an indefensible interception early in the game. Now that they’ve traded away left tackle Cam Robinson, it looks like they’re officially waving the white flag this year. The only question left is who else will be moved for draft assets before the deadline?

25. Las Vegas Raiders (Last week: 29)

They played the Chiefs tough and only lost by seven, but this is still a bad team in need of a fresh face at quarterback.

26. Cleveland Browns (Last week: 31)

A fluke win over the Ravens gets Cleveland a modest bump in the rankings, but it won’t likely last for long.

27. Miami Dolphins (Last week: 26)

Miami finally got Tua back just in time to lose to Arizona. At 2-5, their season is all but over.

28. New York Giants (Last week: 28)

Like the Raiders, the Giants played a tough game against a superior team but still came up short. I’m not sure how much longer head coach Brian Daboll can keep up the charade with Daniel Jones. He’s just not a starting quarterback in the NFL.

29. New Orleans Saints (Last week: 27)

Once Derek Carr returns to the lineup, the Saints might be a decent team again, but at 2-6, the playoff window for this year is already closed.

30. New York Jets (Last week: 25)

What else can we say about this trainwreck? Robert Saleh has to be laughing himself silly with the way the Jets have looked since they fired him.

31. Carolina Panthers (Last week: 32)

The Panthers move up one spot in the rankings, but it’s not for anything they did well. It’s just because the next team was so historically inept in Week 8 that I had to have them in the 32nd spot.

32. Tennessee Titans (Last week: 30)

The Lions dropped 52 points on the Titans last week, and they did it all with quarterback Jared Goff attempting just 15 passes. They could have let a fan put on a jersey and helmet and take snaps for them and Detroit still would have cruised to a win.

There is literally nothing good to say about the Titans right now. Mason Rudolph is not an upgrade over Will Levis. The defense can no longer even keep them in games against teams with winning records. Head coach Brian Callahan, hailed as an offensive genius in the offseason, has been completely outcoached in every game so far this season and is already on the hot seat.

I want to say “it can’t get worse than this” but I’m afraid that the Titans would take that as a challenge.