After nine weeks, there is only one undefeated team and one winless team left as well. Week 9 was a weird one with the Chargers easily handling the Packers, the Dolphins notching their first win and Brandon Allen leading the Broncos over the Browns. Here is where the NFL stands going into the second half of the season.
1. San Francisco 49ers (+1)
Well hello, San Francisco. They are now the lone undefeated team after Baltimore upset New England on Sunday Night Football. Just months removed from having the number two overall pick, no one could have predicted the 49ers to be 9-0, but here we are.
2. New England Patriots (-1)
After a soft schedule to open, the Patriots finally lost. That will be the narrative for the rest of the week but this Patriots still only has one loss and is easily one of the three best teams in the NFL, if not top two.
3. New Orleans Saints (+0)
The one-loss Saints enjoyed their bye week before hosting the one win Falcons as they look to improve to 8-1.
4. Baltimore Ravens (+2)
Lamar Jackson is special. He showed once again what he is capable of and led the charge to take down the undefeated Patriots. The Ravens have now won four straight and are on a roll. They head to Cincy next week to take on the winless Bengals as they look to make it five straight wins.
5. Seattle Seahawks (+2)
What a game! Seattle came away with the win in overtime over the Buccaneers to improve to 7-2. Russell Wilson continued his MVP campaign throwing for 378 yards and five touchdowns. Wilson has been special all season and was special once again in week 9. The biggest game of the year for Seattle is this next week as they head to Santa Clara for a matchup with the division leaders in the 49ers.
6. Green Bay Packers (-2)
Aaron Rodgers and the usually potent Packers offense were far from it out west. Against a struggling Chargers squad, the Packers couldn’t get anything going and suffered only their second loss of the season. In a matchup that most fans chalked up as a win was anything but.
7. Houston Texans (+2)
Deshaun Watson continues to be absolutely spectacular as he led his team to another win but this time in London. The Texans completely hammered the Jaguars before their bye week. They now sit at 6-3 and have cemented themselves as one of the best teams in the AFC.
8. Kansas City Chiefs (+2)
Kansas City is alive and well. Matt Moore played well once again and came through for the Chiefs who improved to 6-3 with the win over the Vikings. Pat Mahomes should be back this week and lead the late-season charge for the Chiefs as they look forward to the playoffs.
9. Minnesota Vikings (-4)
Big-game Kirk Cousins showed up. Or rather, he did not show up, which is typical of Cousins when put in a big spot. If Cousins can somehow figure out how to play well in big spots, the Vikings are certainly a sleeper team to make a playoff run.
10. Buffalo Bills (+0)
Right next to the 49ers, the Bills are one of the biggest surprises of the season. Whether or not you want to place their success on their schedule, the fact of the matter is that the Buffalo Bills are 6-2 for the first time since 1993.
11. Dallas Cowboys (+1)
The Cowboys ultimately pulled away in a sloppy, chippy Monday night game to get to 5-3 and stay just barely ahead of the Eagles in the division. Dallas has an incredibly tough remaining stretch with the Redskins being the lone team they play that has less than three wins.
12. Los Angeles Rams (+1)
The Rams were off this week before heading to Pittsburgh. Los Angeles will need to shake off their slow start to stay in the playoff hunt in the talented NFC.
13. Philadelphia Eagles (+2)
The Eagles got the win and their defense looked really good. That might have been a product of playing Mitch Trubisky but, nonetheless, Philadelphia improved to 5-4 and are still right there with the Cowboys for the top spot in the division.
14. Indianapolis Colts (-6)
Uh oh. Jacoby Brissett went down on Sunday against the Steelers and Brian Hoyer was brought in, but the Colts ultimately fell at the hands of Adam Vinatieri’s missed field goal. Early indications for Brissett was an MCL strain which is positive but his status for this week against the Dolphins is uncertain.
15. Oakland Raiders (+2)
The Raiders and Derek Carr might actually be good. Carr found Hunter Renfrow in the endzone late while the defense got the game-ending stop on fourth down cementing a win over the Lions to improve to 4-4. The four wins include wins over the Bears, Lions, and Colts which is saying something. Their next three are against the Chargers, Bengals and Jets which could spell a 7-4 start for Oakland.
16. Carolina Panthers (+3)
Kyle Allen bounced back nicely from the worst game of his career against the 49ers. Carolina is now 5-1 with Allen as the starter and are in the thick of the playoff hunt. The Panthers might be one of the least talked about teams outside of the Cam Newton situation.
17. Detroit Lions (-3)
The Lions have now dropped four of their last five games after starting 2-0-1. Detroit could also easily have one of the best records in the NFL if they were had more success late in games, but three of their four losses have come by one score. Detroit has a chance to turn it around this week as they visit the struggling Bears.
18. Pittsburgh Steelers (+2)
Pittsburgh is finding ways to win football games. They needed a missed Vinatieri field goal but Mason Rudolph and the Steelers got it done. They are still very much in it at 4-4 which no one could have predicted.
19. Arizona Cardinals (-1)
Kyler Murray and the Cardinals gave the undefeated 49ers all they could handle. The comeback fell short as they lost by three to the only undefeated team left. Arizona didn’t come away with the win but they’ve found something in first overall pick Kyler Murray.
20. Jacksonville Jaguars (-4)
Minshew mania came down this past week. In London, he threw for zero scores and turned it over a combined four times- two interceptions and lost two fumbles. The Jaguars go into their bye week 4-5 and still with a shot at the division and the playoffs.
21. Los Angeles Chargers (+4)
In another installment of anything that can happen in the NFL, the Chargers completely dismantled the one-loss Packers who were on a tear. Melvin Gordon had his best game since coming back while the Melvin on the other side of the ball, Ingram, wreaked havoc with Joey Bosa in his return. The Chargers have now won consecutive games with a chance to make it three straight on Thursday night football against the surging Raiders.
22. Denver Broncos (+4)
Hello, Brandon Allen. The former Arkansas Razorback improbably led the Broncos to the win over the Browns to improve to 3-6. Denver now gets into a tough stretch with Minnesota and Buffalo coming up for the first-time starter.
23. Chicago Bears (-2)
Talk about having a disappointing season. A year after finishing 12-4 and winning the NFC North, the Bears are now 3-5 and last in the NFC North at their halfway point. The end of their year is extremely tough, making the playoffs seemingly out of the question now.
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+0)
Tampa Bay may only have two wins but they don’t play like they only have two wins. They have been a scrappy bunch and took Seattle to overtime nearly stealing one on the road. The Buccaneers have lost their last four with three of them coming by one score.
25. Cleveland Browns (-3)
These are the same old Browns. After bringing in Odell Beckham Jr. to pair with Jarvis Landry and Baker Mayfield, the Browns are 2-6 and are filled with dysfunction. They reached an all-time low after losing to the Brandon Allen-led Broncos who was making his first start in the NFL.
26. Tennessee Titans (-3)
Ryan Tannehill had the worst game of his three starts and the Titans defense could not stop Christian McCaffrey one bit which ultimately resulted in the 30-20 loss. Sitting at 4-5, the Titans seem destined for another mediocre 7-9 season.
27. New York Giants (+0)
Well that was an interesting Monday night game. The Giants had a chance until the end but their subpar defense let them down late. They have an “away” game this week against the crosstown rival Jets in what will be a day of woeful football.
28. Atlanta Falcons (+1)
The one-win Falcons were off this week before starting a string of five straight games in the division. The stretch of five games begins with a matchup against the Saints. Five of the Falcons last eight games are against the Panthers, 49ers, and Saints. Those three teams have a combined four losses. Not ideal for a struggling team like Atlanta.
29. Washington Redskins (+1)
Dwayne Haskins was thrown into the fire in his first start. His first start was against a Buffalo defense and secondary. Haskins didn’t play too bad but the Redskins ultimately fell to a superior team. Washington should use the rest of the season to develop Haskins.
30. Miami Dolphins (+2)
Winless no more! Brian Flores picked up his first win leading the Dolphins in ugly fashion. They took advantage of Jets miscues and ran into a team that is in the middle of a terrible stretch, but they got the monkey off their back and no longer have a donut in the win column.
31. New York Jets (-3)
The Jets have hit rock bottom. Sam Darnold continued his rough stretch and the Jets suffered the most embarrassing loss for any team in recent memory. They gave the Dolphins their first win and showed little signs of life. The chants of “Fire Gase” are as loud as ever and New York now joins the growing list of teams looking forward to the draft in April.
32. Cincinnati Bengals (-1)
The 49ers are the last undefeated team in the NFL and now the Bengals are the last winless in the league to match. The Bengals enjoyed their bye week before hosting the red hot Ravens in week 10.