2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings

Atlanta Falcons: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#21)

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Last week: 20 (-1)

Record: 2-5

Tony Gonzalez changed his mind about his openness to a trade this week and, while one didn’t happen because the Falcons management is not ready to give up on the season, it’s a sign that perhaps internally the team no longer believes they can be a playoff team. They certainly didn’t look like one in Arizona and they have arguably one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Their opponent’s rate of moving the chains is at 79%, 3rd worst in the NFL, as they have forced 27 punts, 6 turnovers, and 2 failures on 4th down all season in 7 games.

Week 8 Studs

RT Jeremy Trueblood

DT Jonathan Babineaux

CB Asante Samuel

Week 8 Duds

QB Matt Ryan

LT Lamar Holmes

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Miami Dolphins: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#22)

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Last week: 19 (-3)

Record: 3-4

The Patriots, by no means, played a good football game this week, but they still were able to beat the Dolphins, who lost by 10 and look nothing like the team that was supposed to compete for the division after a 3-0 start. They still might not even be as good as their 3-4 record would suggest, as they allow opponents to move the chains at a 71% rate, as opposed to 76% for their defense, a differential that is 27th in the NFL. I don’t know if they’ll finish quite as bad as the 2011 Bills or the 2012 Cardinals, who both collapsed after strong starts, but they could be close.

Week 8 Studs

C Mike Pouncey

Week 8 Duds

RT Jonathan Martin

DT Paul Soliai

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Philadelphia Eagles: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#23)

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Last week: 22 (-1)

Record: 3-5

The Eagles split the season series with the Giants and they really aren’t much better than them, if they are at all. They are 4 spots higher than them in these Power Rankings and even that might be too high. The Eagles do have 3 wins, but they were against teams who have a combined 4-18 record and the 2-6 Giants, one of the teams they beat, got revenge last week in what was the Eagles’ 10th straight home loss. The Eagles are within range of the record for most consecutive home losses (14), set by the 2008-2010 Rams and the 1988-1989 Cowboys.

Week 8 Studs

LG Evan Mathis

RE Fletcher Cox

Week 8 Duds

QB Michael Vick

QB Matt Barkley

RT Lane Johnson

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Washington Redskins: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#24)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings, Commanders, Uncategorized

Last week: 25 (+1)

Record: 2-5

The Redskins looked on their way to an upset in Denver, leading 21-7 in the 3rd quarter, before the Broncos scored 38 unanswered points to end the game, both with their defense and their offense as everything fell apart for the Redskins. There’s no shame in getting blown out in Denver this season though, especially with the Broncos going into their bye, and it was impressive that they led by two touchdowns in the 2nd half. Their defense picked off Manning 3 times, the same amount he was picked off in the first 7 games combined, though it’s definitely a concern that Robert Griffin still didn’t look right and that the Redskins’ weak offensive line gave him such little time and allowed him to take so many hits.

Week 8 Studs

RT Tyler Polumbus

Week 8 Duds

QB Robert Griffin

LG Kory Lichtensteiger

TE Logan Paulsen

MLB Perry Riley

SS Jose Gumps

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Cleveland Browns: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#25)

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Last week: 26 (+1)

Record: 3-5

Jason Campbell did his best Brian Hoyer impression this week, utilizing his two downfield weapons in Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron and relying on a solid defense in a near upset of the Chiefs in Kansas City. Campbell completed 23 of 40 for 299 yards and 2 touchdowns and arguably outplayed Alex Smith. He’s a definite upgrade over Brandon Weeden and not just in the sense that anyone would be an upgrade over Brandon Weeden. He’ll have them an opportunity to play spoiler in the second half of the season.

Week 8 Studs

DT Phil Taylor

SS TJ Ward

Week 8 Duds

TE Gary Barnidge

MLB Craig Robertson

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Buffalo Bills: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#26)

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Last week: 24 (-2)

Record: 3-5

There’s no shame in getting blown in New Orleans, where the Saints have won and covered in their last 13 instances under Sean Payton. The Bills haven’t been the same team on the road this season as they have been at home, where they’ve beaten a pair of top-15 teams on these Power Rankings (Carolina, Baltimore) and almost beat another pair of top-10 teams (New England, Cincinnati). However, they return there this week to face a Kansas City team that isn’t as good as their record and might just hand them their first loss.

Week 8 Studs

RE Kyle Williams

DT Marcell Dareus

CB Nickell Robey

Week 8 Duds

QB Thad Lewis

ROLB Jerry Hughes

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New York Giants: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#27)

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Last week: 27 (+0)

Record: 2-6

The Giants are only 2 games back in the NFC East after winning two in a row. Considering their tendency to rip off multiple wins in a row over the past 10 years in the Manning/Coughlin era, they should not be taken lightly by the rest of the division. Their turnover margin has gone from -16 in the first 6 games to +4 over the past 2 weeks. Of course, they’ve had much easier competition as both Philadelphia and Minnesota are bottom-10 teams in these Power Rankings, but their turnover margin was bound to improve eventually. That’s just how turnover margins generally work. They still have 3 divisional games left, along with a home game against the Raiders, and could be a threat to make the playoffs if they can pull a couple of upsets along with those.

Week 8 Studs

LE Justin Tuck

DT Linval Joseph

CB Prince Amukamara

FS Will Hill

Week 8 Duds

RG David Diehl

LG Kevin Boothe

RE Mathias Kiwanuka

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St. Louis Rams: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#28)

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Last week: 28 (+0)

Record: 3-4

Kellen Clemens was essentially as you’d expect him against one of the league’s premier defenses, as he completed 15 of 31 for 158 yards and 2 interceptions in leading the Rams to 9 total points. The Rams’ defense kept them competitive against an elite team in a 14-9 loss, which might give Rams fans some hope for the rest of the season, but I question if that is something that will continue going forward considering how their defense has played this season. If it doesn’t continue, they’re going to have a very hard time winning more than 2 or 3 games the rest of the way considering how limited Clemens and this offense is. Even worse, talented right guard Harvey Dahl is out indefinitely with an MCL injury.

Week 8 Studs

RE Robert Quinn

LT Jake Long

Week 8 Duds

DT Kendall Langford

C Scott Wells

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Oakland Raiders: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#29)

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Last week: 30 (+1)

Record: 3-4

Aside from his NFL record 93-yard quarterback run, Terrelle Pryor struggled against the Steelers, who are one of the best defenses he’s faced this season, completing 10 of 19 for 92 yards and 2 interceptions. We know he can run, but his struggles in his last two games against the Chiefs’ and the Steelers’ defenses have to be concerning for the Raiders going forward. He’s still being evaluated as a franchise quarterback and I think the Raiders have other things to focus on other than the quarterback position this off-season so I think they should bring him back for his contract year in 2014, but his long-term future remains cloudy.

Week 8 Studs

LT Khalif Barnes

RE Lamarr Houston

ROLB Sio Moore

CB Mike Jenkins

Week 8 Duds

RB Darren McFadden

LG Lucas Nix

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Minnesota Vikings: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#30)

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Last week: 29 (-1)

Record: 1-6

At this point, it’s pretty clear than Christian Ponder, Matt Cassel, and Josh Freeman are all pretty lame ducks. The Vikings can keep rotating them all they want and they may in a quarterback situation that has become very reminiscent of the 2010 49ers’ quarterback situation. Freeman will probably get another chance once his concussion is healed he learns the playbook and considering he has the best arm and they are playing him 3 million for roughly half a season, that makes sense. I just don’t think it’ll end up being a promising endeavor. The Vikings will almost definitely be looking at quarterbacks with what should be a top-5 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Week 8 Studs

RB Adrian Peterson

Week 8 Duds

LG Charlie Johnson

RG Brandon Fusco

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