JACKSONVILLE – Here are senior writer John Oehser's Week 9 2016 NFL power rankings. And we all know how important these are:
Rank.Team (Rec) | Last week | Comment
1.New England Patriots (7-1) | 1 | And on and on they go …
2.Dallas Cowboys (6-1) | 3 | Pretty easy choice as NFC's best team right now
3.Denver Broncos (6-2) | 5 | Righting their ship after a couple of rocky weeks in early October
4.Seattle Seahawks (4-2-1) | 4 | They're not dominant, but they'll be there at the end
5.Kansas City Chiefs (5-2) | 7 | Up next: the Jaguars – and this may be Jags' strongest opponent to date
6.Oakland Raiders (6-2) | 8 | Went 2-0 on Florida road swing
7.Minnesota Vikings (5-1) | 2 | Offensive struggles are becoming very, very real
8.Atlanta Falcons (5-3) | 9 | Have scored at least 23 points in every game this season
9.Green Bay Packers (4-3) | 6 | Aaron Rodgers will keep Pack in all games – but enough to contend?
10.Philadelphia Eagles (4-3) | 10 | They're good, but are they consistent enough to contend all season?
11.Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) | 11 | Flexed Steel Muscles during bye week
12.Houston Texans (5-3) | 15 | 5-0 in Houston this season
13.Buffalo Bills (4-4) | 12 | Patriots just got a lot further away
14.Arizona Cardinals (3-4-1) | 13 | Season starting to get away from a would-be contender
15.Cincinnati Bengals (3-4-1) | 14 | See "Arizona Cardinals"
16.Washington Redskins (4-3-1) | 17 | Quietly very much in the NFC playoff chase
17.Detroit Lions (4-4) | 16 | Close to being much better than .500, but they're not
18.New York Giants (4-3) | 18 | Big Blue used the bye to enhance their status in tough NFC East
19.Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4) |19 | Bucs are 0-3 at home this season
20.San Diego Chargers (3-5) | 20 | Rivers will keep them in games – but perhaps not the playoff chance
21.Los Angeles Rams (3-4) | 21 | Jared Goff didn't start during the bye, either
22.Miami Dolphins (3-4) | 22 | In position for a wild-card push after the bye
23.Tennessee Titans (4-4) | 25 | Not flashy, not dominant … but much improved
24.New York Jets (3-5) | 27 | Two consecutive wins … but not looking like a contender
25.New Orleans Saints (3-4) | 28 | Can victory over Seattle catapult them into contention?
26.Baltimore Ravens (3-4) |24 | Still have lost four consecutive games since Week 3 victory at the 'Bank
- Indianapolis Colts (3-5) | 23 | Starting to let Houston get away
28.Carolina Panthers (2-5) | 29 | That's one … can they claw their way all the way back?
29.Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5) | 26 | Sinking fast again
30.Chicago Bears (2-6) | 31 | Impressive showing in prime time Monday
31.San Francisco 49ers (1-6) | 30 | Eased through the bye week and dropped a spot in their ranking
32.Cleveland Browns (0-8) | 32 | Eight and counting
