The NFL's lone unbeaten team continues to lead our power rankings, of course. Beyond that, though, they keep jockeying for spots. The Giants lost some ground by finally falling in Week 9, while Houston, Green Bay and Chicago continued to climb. Here's how we view all 32 through nine weeks.
1. Atlanta Falcons (8-0, 1st last week): Halfway to an unbeaten season, and they've been picking up steam out of the bye week. If they can win in New Orleans, I don't think they'll lose until at least Week 15.
2. San Francisco 49ers (6-2, 3rd last week): Niners-Bears in two weeks. Winner will be the favorite to land the other first-round bye in the NFC.
3. Houston Texans (7-1, 3th last week): Watch out, J.J. Watt. Charles Tillman could be making a run at that defensive player of the year award the media handed you a month ago.
4. Green Bay Packers (6-3, 5th last week): In Detroit and Chicago the next two weeks. Red hot but that won't be easy.
5. Chicago Bears (7-1, 6th last week): The AFC North race is going to be tight until Week 17.
6. New York Giants (6-3, 2nd last week): Still not quite right on offense and now they're having issues in the front seven. Bit of a small mess for a 6-3 team.
7. Baltimore Ravens (5-2, 7th last week): If they can win beat Oakland and San Diego the next two weeks, they'll be in a great spot for a first-round bye before dealing with the Steelers twice in three weeks.
8. New England Patriots (5-3, 8th last week): The league's most effective offense should dismantle the Bills with two weeks to prepare.
9. Denver Broncos (5-3, 9th last week): Peyton Manning leading what has become the best passing attack in football. Remember when we wondered if he'd ever play again?
10. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3, 10th last week): That defense is back, baby.
11. Seattle Seahawks (5-4, 11th last week): Russell Wilson carved up a very good Minnesota defense in Week 9.
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4, 13th last week): The difference Doug Martin makes. No NFL offense is averaging more yards per play then the Bucs.
13. Detroit Lions (4-4, 14th last week): They've quietly won three out of four and are back in the NFC wild-card race. A win this week and they're in the last playoff spot.
14. Indianapolis Colts (5-3, 22nd last week): Suddenly it looks as though those two Indy-Houston matchups in the final three weeks could have something to them.
15. Miami Dolphins (4-4, 12th last week): Crushing loss in Indianapolis for a team that was rolling. Was it a hiccup or a sign they're not legit?
16. Oakland Raiders (3-5, 15th last week): In Carson Palmer's defense, the guy's getting no help from what's supposed to be a solid running game.
17. Carolina Panthers (2-6, 29th last week): This defense has risen from the dead. Think it's going to be a good second half for Carolina.
18. New York Jets (3-5, 18th last week): Hope they enjoyed the bye because now they have to travel out west. This is a six- or seven-win team.
19. Minnesota Vikings (5-4, 19th last week): And now Adrian Peterson is having arguably the best season of his career. This is getting ridiculous. Too bad everyone else on offense sucks right now.
20. Cincinnati Bengals (3-5, 24th last week): Running into the Giants at a bad time. They'll be 3-6 even though they're so much better than that.
21. St. Louis Rams (3-5, 21st last week): Schedule's too much of a bitch for these guys to compete in the deep NFC this season.
22. Cleveland Browns (2-7, 26th last week): They've interchanged wins and losses five weeks in a row headed into the bye. In Cleveland, that's called progress.
23. Dallas Cowboys (3-5, 17th last week): Not having Sean Lee really caught up to that run defense in the second half in Atlanta.
24. Arizona Cardinals (4-5, 20th last week): How 'bout this: Pro Football Focus' cumulative rating for the Cards' offense places them 32nd in the NFL.
25. Philadelphia Eagles (3-5, 16th last week): Michael Vick and Andy Reid have eight games left, max.
26. Washington Redskins (3-6, 23rd last week): Everyone's figuring out how to slow Robert Griffin III down. And wow, does the NFC East ever suck right now.
27. San Diego Chargers (4-4, 27th last week): Good recovery against Kansas City but can they establish some consistency in Tampa? I don't see it.
28. New Orleans Saints (3-5, 28th last week): The Eagles were just what the doctor ordered for that defense.
29. Tennessee Titans (3-6, 25th last week): This defense might break some records. In a bad way.
30. Buffalo Bills (3-5, 30th last week): Look at the schedule. They'll be 3-8.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7, 31st last week): They've scored more than 15 points just once since Week 3. Now they're running into the Colts at a bad time.
32. Kansas City Chiefs (1-7, 32nd last week): It's hard to believe, but the offense is actually getting worse.
