After all the smoke cleared around Week 8 of the NFL season, the Denver Broncos were able to hold onto their top spot in the power rankings. However, there was ample movement behind them, including by another AFC team with a Hall of Fame-quality quarterback who the Broncos happen to visit this week.
NFL power rankings, Week 9: Cardinals, Patriots rise after impressive wins
The Broncos are still the best team in the NFL, but plenty changed below them in Week 8.
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
The New England Patriots destroyed the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Gillette Stadium behind five Tom Brady touchdown passes, 51-23. Rob Gronkowski caught three of them, perhaps signaling that New England is once again a major contender for Super Bowl glory. The Patriots moved up seven spots this week, the largest jump of any team.
Down in the desert, the Arizona Cardinals pulled off a thrilling last-second win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Arizona improved to 6-1 on the season and 13-3 in its last 16 games dating back to 2013. The Cardinals remain two games up in the NFC West, leading both the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. Arizona has a crucial game coming up against another tough NFC East opponent in the Dallas Cowboys.
One top team that tumbled was the Indianapolis Colts. Winners of five straight before Sunday, the Colts were humiliated by Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 51-34 defeat. Roethlisberger had an all-time day, throwing for over 300 yards before halftime and finishing with 522 yards and six touchdowns. Indianapolis dropped to 5-3 but still leads the woeful AFC South by one game over the Houston Texans.
Below are the Week 9 power rankings:
| Team | Record | SB Nation | ESPN | NFL.com | Football Outsiders | Average |
| Denver Broncos | 6-1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 6-1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 6.0 |
| New England Patriots | 6-2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 5.3 |
| Detroit Lions | 6-2 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 8.0 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6-2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 6.3 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 5-2 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5.3 |
| Green Bay Packers | 5-3 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 7.3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4-2-1 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12.0 |
| San Diego Chargers | 5-3 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 8.5 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 5-3 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 10.0 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 4-3 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 4 | 10.5 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 4-3 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 7.8 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 4-3 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 13.8 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 5-3 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 12.3 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 5-3 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9.8 |
| Buffalo Bills | 5-3 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16.0 |
| Cleveland Browns | 4-3 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 17.8 |
| Miami Dolphins | 4-3 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 9 | 15.5 |
| Houston Texans | 4-4 | 19 | 21 | 19 | 22 | 20.3 |
| New Orleans Saints | 3-4 | 20 | 17 | 20 | 15 | 18.0 |
| New York Giants | 3-4 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21.3 |
| Washington | 3-5 | 22 | 24 | 22 | 23 | 22.8 |
| Carolina Panthers | 3-4-1 | 23 | 20 | 23 | 26 | 23.0 |
| Chicago Bears | 3-5 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 23.8 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 3-5 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 30 | 26.3 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 2-6 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 19 | 24.5 |
| St. Louis Rams | 2-5 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 29 | 27.3 |
| New York Jets | 1-7 | 28 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 28.8 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1-6 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 32 | 30.0 |
| Tennessee Titans | 2-6 | 30 | 28 | 28 | 25 | 27.8 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 1-7 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31.0 |
| Oakland Raiders | 0-7 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 27 | 30.8 |
The four polls we use:
We use four different rankings for our weekly average. The thought is to get a wider sense of where all 32 teams are being valued with seven weeks complete. Our power rankings sources are from our in-house rankings, ESPN and NFL.com. We also factor in DVOA rankings from Football Outsiders to add an objective statistical measurement to the formula.
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