Lounging Pass: 2022 NFL: Week 9 Power Rankings & The Rest

Tier I - The "Bryce Young Sweepstakes" Duo

32.) Houston Texans = 1-5-1 (116-154)

31.) Detroit Lions = 1-6 (173-225)

There are only two one-loss teams, and both are about that bad in reality in my mind. The Texans just need more talent, and the Lions need a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball. It was nice to see hte Lions offense move the ball again after two completely fallow weeks. I don't think there's any pressure on Lovie Smith, but I've finally started hearing negativity around Dan Campbell. Needs to be some, to be honest.

Tier II - The "Just Not Good" Duo

30.) Pittsburgh Steelers = 2-6 (120-197)

29.) Carolina Panthers = 2-6 (158-186)

The Steelers and Panthers brief honeymoons of beating Tampa are a thing of the past. For the Panthers, they easily could have won, but I do wonder how long the interim-coach bump will last. It seems like DJ Moore is going to stay, but losing McCaffrey and having to start PJ Walker certainly will impact them at some point. For the Steelers, its becomign more and more inevitable that the Tomlin .500+ streak is going to come to an end. More than that, oddly specific, blunt criticism from Steeler players themselves that the team isn't prepraing enough. Don't know if that's to throw shade on an increasingly embattled Matt Canada.

Tier III - The "Worse than they should be" Trio

28.) Arizona Cardinals = 3-5 (182-210)

27.) Las Vegas Raiders = 2-5 (163-174)

26.) Jacksonville Jaguars = 2-6 (172-158)

There's a huge chasm of teams in the middle, and these three are interesting to me because they really should be better than they are given how they've performed. This is more true of the Raiders (-11 point differential) and Jaguars (still somehow positive at +14), who have paired close losses for the most part with two fairly convincing wins. The Jags are way more worrisome, as Lawrence looks worse each week after a decent start. Everything that has happened since taking that 14-0 lead in Philadelphia has been a disaster. The Cardinals look so much better with Hopkins back, and a healthy Watt. They're probably already too far behind to go anywhere, but its nice having Nuke making ridiculous catches again. For the Raiders, there is a chance that loss is the start of McDaniels becoming Denver McDaniels again in terms of the team maybe checking out.

Tier IV- the "Truly worse than they should be" Duo

25.) Indianapolis Colts = 3-4-1 (129-157)
24.) Denver Broncos = 3-5 (121-132)

So, the Sam Ehrlinger experience was interesting, but the Colts biggest issue is still a lack of explosion on offense, adn the more and more we watch, the clearer and clearer the fault seems to be on that ridiculously expensive OL not performing well. The Colts defense consistently plays well, but the OL can't let the offense get out of first gear. For the Broncos, a close win over Jacksonville is not enough for suddenly problems to be fixed. Wilson looked slightly better, having 3-4 drives where it all looked in rhythm, but also a fair amount of 3-and-outs and an ugly pick.

Tier V - The "Suddenly rising quasi-contenders" Quadro

23.) Chicago Bears = 3-5 (155-181)
22.) Cleveland Browns = 4-4 (200-199)

21.) Atlanta Falcons = 4-4 (200-205)

20.) Washington Commanders = 4-4 (142-172)

The Bears blowout may have looked ugly, but what I also saw was a Fields-led offense move the ball consistently against what was one of the best defenses in the league. The turnovers ballooned the final score, but the team's ability to move the ball is definitely promising. The Browns MNF performance was dominant, but also something the Browns can build off of. That was the best game they've played in the trenches in some time. Especially their OL. That was a dominant performance even in pass protection. For the Falcons, technically they're now alone in 1st place, but the defense is a problem without AJ Terrell. The offense will score around 24 points each week, but with the way the defense is currently playing, that will result in a decent amount of losses. For the Commanders, it might be too little, too late after the 1-4 start, but Heinecke looks OK, the OL looks better and Terry McLaurin is being unleased. If/When Chase Young gets back they could go on a bit of a run. The dream of all 4 NFC East teams making the playoffs is not dead yet.

Tier VI - The "This is why people say the league is bad" Trio

19.) Los Angeles Rams = 3-4 (118-157)

18.) Green Bay Packers = 3-5 (145-173)
17.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers = 3-5 (146-151)

Admittedly, it being a bit kitschy to group these three together, but they all have a similar theme: these were the three best teams in the NFC last year, and two have already exceeded their loss total from 2021 (Packers, Buccaneers) and the Rams are well on the way. All three are not good. Each had a clear opportunity to make a statement against a better team, and all three failed quite badly. The Rams had a little energy early but lost easily by 17. The Packers are getting praised for their performance in a game they lost by 10 and were down 7-24 at halftime. And the Bucs led 10-3 but then found themselves down 27-16, as they too weren't really all that competitive. Sure, there is enough time for things to change, but right now these are just middling teams.

Tier VII - The "Not sure what's going on" Quadro

16.) New Orleans Saints = 3-5 (199-200)

15.) Los Angeles Chargers = 4-3 (164-189)
14.) New England Patriots = 4-4 (177-163)

13.) New York Jets = 5-3 (176-159)

12.) Cincinnati Bengals = 4-4 (186-164)

So hard to know what to do with these teams. The Saints are two games under .500, but have generally played well when not throwing two pick-sixes. Kamara is getting healthier, and Andy Dalton looks comfortable in that offense. For the Chargers, by record they deserve to be here. By performance they don't. This is a vote in trust of Herbert, but him being this long into the season with a ypc under 10. Something has to give. For the Patriots and Jets, for sure we can leave wondering what the hell Zach Wilson was doing on those last two picks, but Jones didn't look all that great either. The two teams are fairly similar in my mind, but I have a bit more trust in teh Jets defense, to be honest. For the Bengals, I'm truly worried about what that performance means for the rest of their time without Chase. Maybe it was a confluence of that and this just being one of those games, but that was a awful performance. There's time to make it up, but they need to piling up wins in this stretch - in a way maybe the worst time to have to miss JaMarr.

Tier VIII - The "They can't keep doing this" Duo

11.) New York Giants = 6-2 (163-157)

10.) Tennessee Titans = 5-2 (132-138)

9.) Seattle Seahawks = 5-3 (210-199)

The Giants were understandably fallow on offense missing like every skill position guy apart from Saquon. I still trust that offense to score enough given how consistently good the defense is. Hopefully they get some of those guys back. For Tennessee, it will be a great test to see them in Kansas City next week - more on that later. For the Seahawks, at some point the offense has to be trusted to keep more or less this level of production up, and their defense has quietly been really good the last handful of games. Their young secodnary players didn't have the most challenging opponents this week, but have been great so far.

Tier IX - The "Not sure what we have here" Uno

8.) Miami Dolphins = 5-3 (178-192)

There's a lot of weirdness for Miami. They are 4-0 in games that Tua finishes, but two of those were quite miraculous wins (Bills, Ravens). They were not good at all without Tua. With Tua back, they should be good, but the defense has struggled for many weeks now, with some of the early season pass rush success having quieted down significantly in recent weeks. The Dolphins with Tua are clearly a good team, but I do think the "4-0 with a healthy Tua" is a bit overstating their true talent and ability.

Tier X - The "Just Plain Good" Trio

7.) San Francisco 49ers = 4-4 (176-147)

6.) Baltimore Ravens = 5-3 (208-183)

The 49ers inexplicable 14-28 loss to Atlanta is really hurting things right now. Aside from that game, they've been a very reasonably good team in every other game. McCaffrey is being used well and when Deebo gets back they will be frightening to match up with. XXXXXXXXXXXXX. The Ravens win against Tampa was a super impressive win, especially keeping their control after many missed opportunities in the first half. Their run game in the second half was incredible, as the OL has really started to set them up well. The pass rush is starting to improve again. Health is a tremendous thing. This is the Ravens we all expected last year.

Tier XI - The "I don't know what to think" Uno

5.) Minnesota Vikings = 6-1 (173-144)

So, on one hand you have a team that is 6-1, with the only loss being on the road to the undefeated team (albeit, a loss that they looked terrible in). The wins, while not being dominant, are generally be a decent amount (only two were by less than a TD). The team has a lot of good players, and unexpected contributions like a sudden revival of Patrick Peterson. The Vikings are good, but they are so hard to get behind. Be it like this past game, or the one against Chicago a few weeks back, where a great start becomes a closer-than-it-should win. Or just a lack of trust in Kirk Cousins over the course of a season. It is hard to really "love" the Vikings, despite the record. They have a tough next 4-5 weeks (before a pretty easy end), but the Vikings are almost certainly winning this division.

Tier XII - The "Cream of the Crop, Pt. 1" Duo

4.) Dallas Cowboys = 6-2 (183-133)

3.) Kansas City Chiefs = 5-2 (223-172)

People will forever say that there are no good teams or whatever, but the top-4 is actually quite strong in my eyes. The Cowboys two losses are a strange opening night loss (forgiveable) and a loss to the undefeated Eagles. For the Chiefs, it was their own inexplicable loss due to losing their kicker against Indy, and to the best in the league Bills. Aside from that, both have been fantastic. Dak looks good and with him that offense can complement what has remained a top five defense. For the Chiefs, they have the best offense in the league by a decent amount by most metrics, and the defense should start getting healthier. Both are in great position - I guess the Cowboys only issue is that they share a division with one of the teams ahead of them.

Tier XIII - The "Cream of the Crop, Pt. 2" Duo

2.) Philadelphia Eagles = 7-0 (196-118)
1.) Buffalo Bills = 6-1 (203-98)

This is the first week I gave at least a moment to consider if I should have the Eagles over the Bills. In the end, the fact that the Eagles have played a far easier schedule has me keeping the Bills at the top spot, but the Eagles point differential is now approaching what you would want a 7-0 type team to be. Hurts is starting to open it up. What is tough is they really don't have a challenging schedule at all. They can go like 14-3 with great underlying numbers and still not really "proven" themselves. For the Bills, there were some troubling signs, like Allen's two bad interceptions, and a disappointing OL performance, and the Poyer injury (though it seems it might be OK). Of course, this is a game that they won by 10, and probably would win by more if not for those Allen bone-headed picks and some acrobat catches by Packers' WRs. The Bills are dominant, but they have to be cleaner.

Looking Ahead to Next Week's Games

Byes: Cleveland Browns (3-5), Dallas Cowboys (6-2), Denver Broncos (3-5), New York Giants (6-2), Pittsburgh Steelers (2-6), San Francisco 49ers (4-4)

13.) Las Vegas Raiders (2-5) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6) (1:00 - CBS)

12.) Green Bay Packers (3-5) @ Detroit Lions (1-6) (1:00 - FOX)

I call it "Bad vs. Bad" Sunday, as

11.) Philadelphia Eagles (7-0) @ Houston Texans (1-5-1) (TNF - Prime)

10.) Indianapolis Colts (3-4-1) @ New England Patriots (4-4) (1:00 - CBS)
9.) Minnesota Vikings (6-1) @ Washington Commanders (4-4) (1:00 - FOX)

I call it "it's that time of year" Thursday and Sunday, as

8.) Carolina Panthers (2-6) @ Cincinnati Bengals (4-4) (1:00 - FOX)

7.) Los Angeles Chargers (4-3) @ Atlanta Falcons (4-4) (1:00 - FOX)

I call it "The Middle is OK" Sunday, as

6.) Los Angeles Rams (3-4) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5) (4:25 - CBS)

I call it "What, what.... what happened" Sunday, as

5.) Seattle Seahawks (5-3) @ Arizona Cardinals (3-5) (4:05 - FOX)
4.) Miami Dolphins (5-3) @ Chicago Bears (3-5) (1:00 - CBS)