The NFL is now through eight weeks, and there were upsets, standard outcomes, and a whole lot to consider when evaluating the league as a whole. The week started with the Green Bay Packers taking down the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night, and ended with two powerhouse NFC teams, the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks, clashing in Monday Night Football. 

In our power rankings heading into Week 9, there will be changes for different reasons. Results will cause the most shift, but injuries to key players will make a difference as well. Some of the teams at the bottom are further buried after losing again, while the top five from last week had four teams playing against each other. 

Here's a look at our Week 9 power rankings, separated by true contenders, teams that are just hanging on to playoff hopes, and teams that are already mostly looking towards their 2027 NFL Draft stock. 

The Contenders 

1. Buffalo Bills (Last Week: 1)

2. Chicago Bears (Last Week: 4)

4. Denver Broncos (Last Week: 8)

5. Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 9)

7. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week: 6)

8. Detroit Lions (Last Week: 11)

9. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week: 7)

10. New England Patriots (Last Week: 12)

11. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week: 13)

12. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week: 5)

13. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 16)

The entire NFC North would make it to the postseason if the season ended today. The team that currently leads the division, the Minnesota Vikings, is the one that everyone has the least amount of confidence in out of the four. With a huge win over the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, the Chicago Bears made a huge statement. As for the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, they each have chances to get ahead of both the Bears and Vikings, but it will be tough to climb over both.

Although the Seahawks are still a really formidable team one year removed from a Super Bowl victory, they don't look the same on offense. The Bears exposed a lot of issues that they have, which is causing them to tumble in the rankings. Right now, the San Francisco 49ers are the class of the NFC West. We'll see how long it takes the Los Angeles Rams to get back in the mix, if ever.

With the way things are trending for the once mighty AFC North, the Cincinnati Bengals have a chance to take this division and run with it. Once the playoffs begin, assuming the Bengals make it, the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, and Jacksonville Jaguars will certainly make the AFC a gauntlet.

Teams To Watch

14. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: 15)

15. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 17)

16. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week: 21)

17. Cleveland Browns (Last Week: 14)

18. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week: 3)

19. Carolina Panthers (Last Week: 18)

20. New York Giants (Last Week: 20)

Someone has to win the NFC South and East, and someone has to claim the final wild-card spot in the NFC. All of these teams believe that they have a chance to make the postseason, but most of them will not. Before long, they'll all be down a category.

Lamar Jackson is done for the season, which is why the Baltimore Ravens have dropped so far. They don't even have their backup, Tyler Huntley, who will also miss the rest of the season, so things are looking bleak for them. Tyson Bagent or Jacoby Brissett won't fix them. As mentioned before, the entire AFC North outside of the Bengals feels very "mid."

More To Prove

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 29)

22. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week: 22)

23. Washington Commanders (Last Week: 28)

24. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: 19)

25. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week: 23)

26. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: 24)

27. New York Jets (Last Week: 25)

28. Houston Texans (Last Week: 26)

29. New Orleans Saints (Last Week: 27)

30. Tennessee Titans (Last Week: 30)

31. Miami Dolphins (Last Week: 31)

32. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week: 32)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and every team from the NFC East have a chance to come out of this tier because of the fact that the division is lousy. Outside of that, these teams are all looking to climb back into things, but will likely be doing more scouting of potential draft picks than playoff opponents.

The bottom four teams are the worst of the worst. Will any of them help bolster the top teams before next week's trade deadline? The Los Angeles Chargers, who have yet to win a single game, still refuse to acknowledge being a seller. We'll see if that is the truth before long. For most of the teams in this tier, the deadline can't come fast enough.