Week 9 had plenty of intriguing results with ripple effects on this week’s NFL Power Rankings.

The theme of this season has been parity: no team got past 4-0 in terms of undefeated starts, and now after Week 9, no more one-loss teams remain either.

That’s because Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers upset the NFL-leading 7-1 Indianapolis Colts, handing Daniel Jones and company a 27-20 loss. The Colts still hold the number one spot in this week’s Power Rankings: the gap that Indianapolis had already created over the rest of the league was so wide, there was really just no other reasonable candidates to give the top spot to this week. The Colts lost a one-score game on the road to a solid team: let’s see what happens next week before making any drastic moves.

The Green Bay Packers, technically a one-loss team with a 5-1-1 record, also fell in Week 9, in a close 16-13 game to a surprising Carolina Panthers team. The Panthers are now 5-4, continuing to exceed my preseason expectations every week.

In a shake-up of AFC heavyweights, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills beat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at home to move to 6-2 with their second straight win, as well as establish a strong advantage over Kansas City for any potential playoff seeding purposes. At 5-4, the Chiefs would be on the outside looking in if the playoffs started today.

Otherwise in the Top 10, the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, and Denver Broncos all just keep on winning. With two losses being the new standard (some teams being 7-2 and some being 6-2, depending on if they have had their bye week yet, plus the 5-2-1 Packers) there are nine teams in the running for the league’s best record.

The Detroit Lions fall five spots after losing to J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings, giving Detroit a 5-3 record that is noticeably less dominant than last season.

The Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars both got wins in Week 9, but gained little traction with narrow wins over weak opponents.

Bubbling up from the bottom of the standings is the Baltimore Ravens, who are now 3-5 but most importantly have Lamar Jackson back on the field.

Read on for my 2025-26 NFL Post-Week 9 Power Rankings, and if you’d like to debate or discuss any rankings, join the conversation with Sakmann Sports on Twitter/X, on Facebook, or by commenting directly on this post!

2025 NFL Power Rankings: Preseason, Post-Week 1, Post-Week 2, Post-Week 3, Post-Week 4, Post-Week 5, Post-Week 6, Post-Week 7, Post-Week 8, Post-Week 9

Post-Week 9 Power Rankings

The Seattle Seahawks move up to the #3 spot with a dominant 38-14 Sunday Night Football win over the Washington Commanders and a 6-2 record in amidst a tough NFC West. (WTOP)
  1. Indianapolis Colts (7-2) [Last Week: 1]
  2. Philadelphia Eagles (6-2) [Last Week: 3]
  3. Seattle Seahawks (6-2) [Last Week: 5]
  4. Buffalo Bills (6-2) [Last Week: 7]
  5. Denver Broncos (7-2) [Last Week: 10]
  6. New England Patriots (7-2) [Last Week: 9]
  7. Detroit Lions (5-3) [Last Week: 2]
  8. Los Angeles Rams (6-2) [Last Week: 8]
  9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2) [Last Week: 6]
  10. Kansas City Chiefs (5-4) [Last Week: 4]
  11. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3) [Last Week: 14]
  12. Los Angeles Chargers (6-3) [Last Week: 12]
  13. Green Bay Packers (5-2-1) [Last Week: 11]
  14. San Francisco 49ers (6-3) [Last Week: 13]
  15. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-3) [Last Week: 15]
  16. Baltimore Ravens (3-5) [Last Week: 24]
  17. Chicago Bears (5-3) [Last Week: 19]
  18. Houston Texans (3-5) [Last Week: 18]
  19. Carolina Panthers (5-4) [Last Week: 20]
  20. Minnesota Vikings (4-4) [Last Week: 22]
  21. Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1) [Last Week: 16]
  22. Atlanta Falcons (3-5) [Last Week: 21]
  23. Arizona Cardinals (3-5) [Last Week: 23]
  24. Washington Commanders (3-6) [Last Week: 17]
  25. New York Giants (2-7) [Last Week: 25]
  26. Cincinnati Bengals (3-6) [Last Week: 26]
  27. Miami Dolphins (2-7) [Last Week: 27]
  28. Cleveland Browns (2-6) [Last Week: 28]
  29. Las Vegas Raiders (2-6) [Last Week: 30]
  30. New York Jets (1-7) [Last Week: 29]
  31. New Orleans Saints (1-8) [Last Week: 31]
  32. Tennessee Titans (1-8) [Last Week: 32]

Biggest Winners

The Baltimore Ravens rose eight spots after the return of Lamar Jackson. The Ravens dominated the Miami Dolphins 28-8 on Thursday Night Football, and are just two games behind in the AFC North with plenty of football left to play.

The Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, and Denver Broncos didn’t move up the most in terms of number of spots, but each team made a push further in to the Top 10, where movement is difficult. Bo Nix and the Broncos rose five spots to lead this bunch, after improving to 7-2 with an 18-15 win over the Houston Texans.

Biggest Losers

The Dallas Cowboys fell five spots following an uninspired loss to Jacoby Brissett and the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football. Also in the NFC East, the Washington Commanders fell seven spots: losing to the Seahawks on Sunday Night Football in a blowout, coupled with losing quarterback Jayden Daniels to injury yet again.

The Detroit Lions also fell five spots, already suffering their third loss of the season after losing just two games last season.

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