Not even here were the top five set in stone. And now that every team has played eight games, I think we have a better idea who is for real and who isn't.
As always, these Rankings are descriptive rather than predictive. I waited until each team had played half their schedule for a reason, after all. And I still qualify that we actually know nothing until the season is over. True, we have ideas and we can pick the results with a fair amount of sophistication and accuracy (emphasis on "fair" amount, for sure).
But what do we really know until the playoffs come around? And even then, performance in the playoffs is what we all focus on. That is the nature of professional sports.
As far as the picks go, I got waylaid in the late afternoon window by a couple of good teams who lost to significantly worse ones. Denver and Atlanta were not quite ready to play; they did well enough to avoid blowouts, but that's about as charitable as I'll get.
Here are the Rankings for Week 9:
1.) New England (8-0) [no change]
The defending champions have shown little in the way of weakness in going 8-0. Brady has thrown 22 TD's and a mere 2 INT's. One problem that may crop up is the absence of Dion Lewis. He was reported to have suffered a non-contact injury in Washington. Given how New England runs things, the replacement will be simultaneously unexpected and logical. And maybe they'll just keep throwing the ball regardless of time, place, or score. If anyone has a chance to go 16-0, it'd be the Pats. I won't be betting on it, but at the same time I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen again.
Next opponent: at NY Giants (11/15)
2.) Carolina (8-0) [+1]
Eventually, their habit of not closing out teams will come back to bite them in the arse. That's more or less a guarantee. But at the moment the Panthers are one of the best teams in the league and have two huge wins to prove it. There isn't really a big matchup I can point to later in the season like with Cincinnati, so it's possible we'll just see Carolina chug along until one of their division rivals knocks them off. Even though they look beatable at times, no one has actually done it. That says something, I'm just not sure what, exactly.
Next opponent: at Tennessee (11/15)
3.) Cincinnati (8-0) [+1]
After Thursday's demolition of the Browns, Cincinnati is one of three remaining unbeaten teams. And while their position here is based on what they've done and not what they will do, I think it's no secret that my esteem of them is questionable at best. Compared to the two teams above them, the Bengals are clearly running in 3rd. Unfortunately, there won't be a matchup in the regular season with either Carolina or New England. So the next best thing will be a late-season game in Denver to see how far they've truly come. For now, they're near the top of the heap.
Next opponent: vs. Houston (11/16)
4.) Denver (7-1) [-2]
It's never a good day when an unbeaten team loses their luster. On Sunday it finally happened to Denver, weeks after most observers thought it would. Outside of an impressive toss to Emmanuel Sanders, Peyton Manning was ineffective and the running game once again did very little. Also, the vaunted and hyped-up defense utterly failed to show up. When a wounded duck like Indy comes along, the defense has the responsibility to crush the life out of them. Denver failed to do so and lost rather spectacularly.
Next opponent: vs. Kansas City (11/15)
5.) Minnesota (6-2) [+3]
It's rather surprising to see how far Minnesota has come over the past seven or eight weeks. They went from being an also-ran against the truly horrendous 49ers to what looks like a bonafide contender. Now, in this case, when I say contender I mean merely for the division. And it may take better QB play for that, even. So far, Bridgewater has been less than impressive and will have to get over the dirty hit leveled on him by a Rams player on Sunday. They always have Peterson to lean on in the running game, but passing is what will determine if Minnesota is for real or not.
Next opponent: at Oakland (11/15)
6.) Arizona (6-2) [no change]
Good time for a bye week, I suppose.
Next opponent: at Seattle (11/15)
7.) Green Bay (6-2) [-2]
For the second week in a row, the Packers lost to an undefeated team. No fault in that, really, but it does involve a bit of a drop because they could reasonably have been expected to win. Also, they don't drop too far because there really aren't that many good teams in the league at this point. One saving grace from the game is that Rodgers didn't look completely incompetent. While it is true that the comeback was staged long after the game had ended, it was damn near close enough to be successful such that it didn't look completely fruitless. It's the kind of performance we would expect from Rodgers, rather than the game against Denver last week.
Next opponent: vs. Detroit (11/15)
8.) NY Jets (5-3) [-]
It probably shouldn't take a close game to beat Jacksonville. Is there a possibility that it was a "trap" game? Possibly, though a Thursday night showdown with Buffalo isn't something I'd be terribly concerned about.
Next opponent: vs. Buffalo (11/12)
9.) Atlanta (6-3) [-2]
While it's true that Matt Ryan has been sub-optimal lately (especially where turnovers are concerned), coaching is now rearing its head as blameworthy rather than praiseworthy. Going for the field goal while that close to the end zone should never happen and the blatant conservatism involved ought to be eradicated from the league. Alas, it never will be and we'll have to put up with stupidity like this forevermore.
Next opponent: vs. Indianapolis (11/22)
10.) Pittsburgh (5-4) [-]
Probably another short stay due to Roethlisberger getting injured again. It's really unfortunate that so much of this season has tilted on the relative health of a few QB's.
Next opponent: vs. Cleveland (11/15)
That's all for this week. See you next week.
