NFL Power Rankings - Week 9

We no longer have any winless teams, as St. Louis gained their first win against Detroit and Tampa Bay won the battle of the Bays!  We still have two unbeaten teams, though, so it still gets interesting.

This week's ranking [Last week's position]
1.  New Orleans Saints (8-0) [1] : They reached the top of ESPN's Power Rankings this week, too!
2.  Indianapolis Colts (8-0) [2]
3.  New England Patriots (6-2) [3]
4.  Minnesota Vikings (7-1) [5] : Philly's loss is Minnesota's gain
5.  Dallas Cowboys (6-2) [6] : Their win over Philly gives them the lead in the NFC East
6.  Philadelphia Eagles (5-3) [4] : They may have lost a close one to Dallas, but this team is still one of the strongest around
7.  Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) [8] : Big Ben is having his best year as a professional
8.  Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) [10] : Unbeaten in division play
9.  Atlanta Falcons (5-3) [13]
10. Denver Broncos (6-2) [9] : Two losses in a row.  Could they be catching the Giants' disease?
11. Arizona Cardinals (5-3) [18] : Big win over the Bears
12. Baltimore Ravens (4-4) [11] : This doesn't look like the Ravens we expected after their hot start
13. Green Bay Packers (4-4) [7] : Big drop after allowing Tampa more points than they've scored in the previous year and a half
14. New York Jets (4-4) [14]
15. San Diego Chargers (5-3) [16]
16. Houston Texans (5-4) [12] : They played Indy close, but couldn't close it out
17. New York Giants (5-4) [15] : After four losses in a row, the Giants get a break -- a bye week
18. San Francisco 49ers (3-5) [19]
19. Chicago Bears (4-4) [17] : The defensive reprieve was obviously good for only one week, as they collapsed against Arizona
20. Seattle Seahawks (3-5) [22] : A rare win for the Seahawks, it came against hapless Detroit
21. Miami Dolphins (3-5) [20]
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4) [25] : They barely beat KC?  That shows why their power rating is so low, despite an even record
23. Carolina Panthers (3-5) [21]
24. Buffalo Bills (3-5) [23]
25. Tennessee Titans (2-6) [24] : A win over San Francisco gets them going in the right direction
26. Oakland Raiders (2-6) [26]
27. Washington Redskins (2-6) [27]
28. Kansas City Chiefs (1-7) [28]
29. Tampa Bay Bucs (1-7) [32] : It must be nice to get that first win
30. Cleveland Browns (2-6) [30]
31. Detroit Lions (1-7) [29] : Two consecutive losses to worse teams drops them back down
32. St Louis Rams (1-7) [31] : With Tampa's win, the Rams return where they've been most of the season -- the cellar

Biggest gainer:  Arizona Cardinals - they crushed Chicago with one of their most impressive offensive performances of the season
Biggest Sack:  Green Bay Packers - they stumbled against former rival Tampa Bay

Divisional rankings:
1.  AFC North [1]
2.  NFC East [2]
3.  AFC East [3] : Not as closely ranked as last week, but still competitive
4.  NFC South [6]
5.  AFC South [5]
6.  NFC North [4] : the Bears, Pack, and Lions all fell this week
7.  AFC West [7]
8.  NFC West [8]