Arizona Sports NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Cardinals hit bye on a high
Oct 30, 2018, 7:33 AM
(AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
(AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
Week 8 in the NFL went pretty much according to plan, and as such, the top four teams in this week’s Arizona Sports Power Rankings stayed the same.
The Los Angeles Rams became the first team to start 8-0 since 2015 as they held on to beat Green Bay 29-27 in a thriller at the Coliseum. Since the AFL merger, L.A. is the 24th team to start with eight consecutive wins. Of the previous 23, all of them made the playoffs, 13 of them earned a Super Bowl spot and eight of them hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.
New Orleans was impressive in a different way in beating Minnesota, and the Saints hold on to No. 2, followed by New England, Kansas City and the Carolina Panthers, who crashed into the top five for the first time all year.
The Arizona Cardinals, thanks to their win over San Francisco and the utter ineptitude at the bottom of the league, reached a season-high mark of 28th in this week’s rankings.
Arizona Sports NFL Power Rankings – Week 9
| Rank | Team | Record | Result | Movement | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  |
Los Angeles Rams | 8-0 | beat Green Bay 29-27 | (–) | A ‘thank you’ note to Ty Montgomery is in order. |
| 2. |  |
New Orleans Saints | 6-1 | beat Minnesota 30-20 | (–) | Beat Vikings handily without putting up huge offensive numbers. |
| 3. |  |
New England Patriots | 6-2 | beat Buffalo 25-6 | (–) | Two special teams TDs last week and a defensive TD this week (first since 2015). |
| 4. |  |
Kansas City Chiefs | 7-1 | beat Denver 30-23 | (–) | Four more touchdowns for Patrick Mahomes…and yes, that’s the same comment as last week. |
| 5. |  |
Carolina Panthers | 5-2 | beat Baltimore 36-21 | (▲5) | Panthers have quietly won four of last five. |
| 6. |  |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 4-2-1 | beat Cleveland 33-18 | (▲2) | James Conner continues to produce for Pittsburgh. |
| 7. |  |
Los Angeles Chargers | 5-2 | Bye week | (–) | Out of the bye, they get an improving Seattle team on the road. |
| 8. |  |
Washington Redskins | 5-2 | beat NY Giants 20-13 | (▲3) | I guess Adrian Peterson isn’t quite done. |
| 9. |  |
Cincinnati Bengals | 5-3 | beat Tampa Bay 37-34 | (▲3) | Withstood a furious Fitzmagic comeback for another win. |
| 10. |  |
Minnesota Vikings | 4-3-1 | lost to New Orleans | (▼5) | Is Kirk Cousins regret starting to sink in? |
| 11. |  |
Chicago Bears | 4-3 | beat NY Jets 24-10 | (▲2) | Trubisky has 13 TD passes and 232 rushing yards over his last four games. |
| 12. |  |
Green Bay Packers | 3-3-1 | lost to LA Rams 29-27 | (▼3) | Despite a home game in Southern California, the Pack couldn’t get over the hump. |
| 13. |  |
Houston Texans | 5-3 | beat Miami 42-23 | (▲1) | Deshaun Watson looks just fine. |
| 14. |  |
Seattle Seahawks | 4-3 | beat Detroit 28-14 | (▲1) | Good road win; better TD celebration. |
| 15. |  |
Baltimore Ravens | 4-4 | lost to Carolina 36-21 | (▼9) | Ravens have lost three of their last four and have a date with Pittsburgh looming before the bye. |
| 16. |  |
Philadelphia Eagles | 4-4 | beat Jacksonville 24-18 | (–) | Carson Wentz has at least two TD passes in his last five games. |
| 17. |  |
Miami Dolphins | 4-4 | lost to Houston 42-23 | (–) | After a hot start, the Dolphins have lost four of five. |
| 18. |  |
Detroit Lions | 3-4 | lost to Seattle 28-14 | (▲1) | This is a hard team to figure out from week-to-week. |
| 19. |  |
Atlanta Falcons | 3-4 | Bye week | (▲1) | Fresh off the bye with an important road game in Washington. |
| 20. |  |
Dallas Cowboys | 3-4 | Bye week | (▲1) | How much will Amari Cooper help the passing game? |
| 21. |  |
Indianapolis Colts | 3-5 | beat Oakland 42-28 | (▲5) | Colts averaging 34.2 points and 436.4 yards over their last five games. |
| 22. |  |
Jacksonville Jaguars | 3-5 | lost to Philadelphia 24-18 | (▼4) | The freefall continues. |
| 23. |  |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3-4 | lost to Cincinnati 37-34 | (▼1) | This has got to be the end for Winston, doesn’t it? |
| 24. |  |
New York Jets | 3-5 | lost to Chicago 24-10 | (▼1) | Jets couldn’t get anything going against Mack-less Bears defense. |
| 25. |  |
Denver Broncos | 3-5 | lost to Kansas City 30-23 | (▼1) | Notice how Von Miller didn’t say anything about kicking butts this week… |
| 26. |  |
Tennessee Titans | 3-4 | Bye week | (▼1) | Lost three straight heading into bye…Monday night in Dallas looms. |
| 27. |  |
Cleveland Browns | 2-5-1 | lost to Pittsburgh 33-18 | (–) | Head coach Gregg Williams…that’s a phrase that makes me cringe. |
| 28. |  |
Arizona Cardinals | 2-6 | beat San Francisco 18-15 | (▲4) | A nice fourth-quarter comeback by Josh Rosen has some optimistic. |
| 29. |  |
New York Giants | 1-7 | lost to Washington 20-13 | (▼1) | Will Eli be benched? Will Eli be traded? |
| 30. |  |
Buffalo Bills | 2-6 | lost to New England 25-6 | (▼1) | Stuck with Patriots longer than they should have. |
| 31. |  |
Oakland Raiders | 1-6 | lost to Indianapolis 42-28 | (–) | Carr threw three picks and didn’t cry, so that’s a plus, right? |
| 32. |  |
San Francisco 49ers | 1-7 | lost to Arizona 18-15 | (▼2) | Proved they can lose games without a rash of turnovers. |
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