It's been three weeks since my last top-to-bottom rankings, which means it's time for a new one. While some teams have stayed consistent from the first six weeks to now, some have surged and others have taken turns for the worse. There has been a lot of movement from some of the teams since my last rankings due to signs of significant improvements or deteriorations. As before, I'll be ranking each team based on their overall performances, not based on their potential or how I think they will play going forward. Among other things, my rankings take into account opponent strengths, head-to-head matchups, flukes, and competitiveness throughout games for each team rather than a basis centered solely around win-loss records. 1. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-0) - UP 2 Week 9 Result: W, 24-19 at Cowboys Next Up: vs. Bengals 2. Kansas City Chiefs (8-1) - UP 3
Week 9 Result: W, 33-31 vs. Panthers Next Up: Bye 3. Baltimore Ravens (6-2) - UP 2 Week 9 Result: W, 24-10 at Colts Next Up: at Patriots 4. New Orleans Saints (6-2) - UP 12 Week 9 Result: W, 38-3 at Buccaneers Next Up: vs. 49ers 5. Buffalo Bills (7-2) - UP 5 Week 9 Result: W, 44-34 vs. Seahawks Next Up: at Cardinals 6. Seattle Seahawks (6-2) - DN 5 Week 9 Result: L, 34-44 at Bills Next Up: at Rams 7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3) - DN 1 Week 9 Result: L, 3-38 vs. Saints Next Up: at Panthers 8. Tennessee Titans (6-2) - DN 6 Week 9 Result: W, 24-17 vs. Bears Next Up: at Colts #1-8 Highlights: Pittsburgh is the unquestioned top team in the league up to this point due to their ability to always find a way to win behind a strong defense. However, after that, it's somewhat hard to rank the remaining seven or so teams in any kind of order. I went with the Chiefs in the two slot based really on the fact they've only suffered one loss, and I put the Ravens at three since they're only two losses are to the two teams ranked above them. Four through eight is kind of a tossup, as each team has had their ups and downs on the season. The Saints have been the hottest of those teams recently so I had to put them at the forefront of the other teams, but the order of the top eight or ten teams is liable to change significantly by the end of the season. 9. Green Bay Packers (6-2) - DN 2 Week 9 Result: W, 34-17 at 49ers Next Up: vs. Jaguars 10. Miami Dolphins (5-3) - UP 5 Week 9 Result: W, 34-31 at Cardinals Next Up: vs. Chargers 11. Arizona Cardinals (5-3) - UP 1 Week 9 Result: L, 34-31 vs. Dolphins Next Up: vs. Bills 12. Las Vegas Raiders (5-3) - DN 3 Week 9 Result: W, 31-26 at Chargers Next Up: vs. Broncos 13. Los Angeles Rams (5-3) - DN 2 Week 9 Result: Bye Next Up: vs. Seahawks 14. Indianapolis Colts (5-3) - No Change (NC) Week 9 Result: L, 10-24 vs. Ravens Next Up: at Titans 15. Chicago Bears (5-4) - DN 7 Week 9 Result: L, 17-24 at Titans Next Up: vs. Vikings 16. Cleveland Browns (5-3) - DN 3 Week 9 Result: Bye Next Up: vs. Texans #9-16 Highlights: In general, I would lump the Packers in with the four through eight group I mentioned in the previous section. After them, it was once again hard to place these teams in order. The #10-16 teams are perhaps the biggest mysteries in the league, as all of these squads have had extremely impressive performances as well as head-scratching defeats. For example, the Cardinals and Raiders have defeated the Seahawks and Chiefs respectively, but have still suffered three losses each. I favored the Dolphins over the remaining teams in this tier just because of how hot they've been in recent weeks. They've also already beaten two of the teams ranked just below them. I could see maybe one or two of the teams in this tier jumping up into the top tier by the end of the season, but it'll be difficult given how good those top tier teams are. 17. Philadelphia Eagles (3-4-1) - UP 7 Week 9 Result: Bye Next Up: at Giants 18. San Francisco 49ers (4-5) - DN 1 Week 9 Result: L, 17-34 vs. Packers Next Up: at Saints 19. Atlanta Falcons (3-6) - UP 8 Week 9 Result: W, 34-27 vs. Broncos Next Up: Bye 20. Denver Broncos (3-5) - UP 5 Week 9 Result: L, 27-34 at Falcons Next Up: at Raiders 21. Minnesota Vikings (3-5) - UP 7 Week 9 Result: W, 34-20 vs. Lions Next Up: at Bears 22. Los Angeles Chargers (2-6) - DN 3 Week 9 Result: L, 26-31 vs. Raiders Next Up: at Dolphins 23. New England Patriots (3-5) - DN 3 Week 9 Result: W, 30-27 at Jets Next Up: vs. Ravens 24. Detroit Lions (3-5) - DN 3 Week 9 Result: L, 20-34 at Vikings Next Up: vs. Washington #17-24 Highlights: I would describe the third tier of my rankings as teams that aren't bad, but aren't particularly good either. I would also throw in the 25th ranked Panthers into this tier. The most notable teams are the ones who have jumped several spots since the week 6 rankings: Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver, and Minnesota. If you would've asked my three weeks ago, I would've told you these teams were among the worst in the league. Whether it be from reversal of misfortunes, players returning from injuries, or some other reason, these four teams have gone from laughing stocks to respectable teams in the matter of weeks. Other than Philly, it's not very likely that any of these teams make the playoffs, but some of them could end up making late-season rallies that get them close enough to feel good about their chances next season. 25. Carolina Panthers (3-6) - DN 7 Week 9 Result: W, 31-33 at Chiefs Next Up: vs. Buccaneers 26. Cincinnati Bengals (2-5-1) - DN 3 Week 9 Result: Bye Next Up: at Steelers 27. Houston Texans (2-6) - DN 5 Week 9 Result: W, 27-25 at Jaguars Next Up: at Browns 28. New York Giants (2-7) - UP 2 Week 9 Result: W, 23-20 at Washington Next Up: vs. Eagles 29. Washington Football Team (2-6) - UP 2 Week 9 Result: L, 20-23 vs. Giants Next Up: at Lions 30. Dallas Cowboys (2-7) - DN 4 Week 9 Result: L, 19-24 vs. Steelers Next Up: Bye 31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7) - DN 2 Week 9 Result: L, 25-27 vs. Texans Next Up: at Packers 32. New York Jets (0-9) - NC Week 9 Result: L, 27-30 vs. Patriots Next Up: Bye #25-32 Highlights: I already mentioned that I would associate the Panthers more with the third tier than the fourth tier, and I would argue the same for the Bengals, who have been competitive in all of their games and even took down a top 10 team two weeks ago. But aside from them, tier four is filled with the worst of the worst in the NFL's 2020 season. These teams lack the players or the coaches to win games on a consistent basis, and some of these squads are already packing it in and looking forward to the offseason. What's funny is that there are three NFC East teams in this tier, but they all still have a shot at the playoffs due to the overall futility of their division. If it hasn't happened already, the teams in this tier will soon be more focused on getting a high draft pick than trying to win games.
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