The Pats go soaring up the week 9 power rankings

The Pats go soaring up the week 9 power rankings

October 29th, 2014

Morgan Smith

Posted in Features, Main, News

Pats move way up in the power rankings.
(Photo By: Jared Wickerham)

The Patriots have jumped 5 spots in ESPN’s power rankings for week 9! The Pats have come in at number 3 on ESPN while their next opponent remains at number one, the Denver Broncos. The Bears dropped from 19 to 23 after they loss 51-23 to the Pats.

NFL.com’s power rankings moved the Pats all the way from number 10 to the number 3 and earned them the label of “power move of the week”! The Bears dropped to 24 overall, 3 spots down, while the Pats next opponent the Broncos remained at number one. To see the NFL.com’s full power rankings list just follow the link HERE.

RANK	TEAM / RECORD	TRENDING	COMMENTS
1	Broncos 6-1	— Last Week: 1	This should be fun. Peyton’s Broncos, fresh off a 35-point performance against the Chargers, head to Foxborough, where Brady’s Pats just dropped 51 points on the Bears. Tackling optional.
2	Cardinals 6-1	3 Last Week: 5	The Cardinals gained 193 yards after the catch Sunday, their most in a game this season and their second most in a game in Stats & Info’s dataset (since 2006).
3	Patriots 6-2	5 Last Week: 8	Tom Brady finished 20-for-20 Sunday targeting Brandon LaFell and Rob Gronkowski for a combined 273 yards and four touchdowns. October was very friendly to the Patriots (4-0).
4	Cowboys 6-2	2 Last Week: 2	DeMarco Murray gained an incredible 5.2 yards before contact on his average rush Monday night. Somehow, with Tony Romo injured in an overtime loss, Murray had a season-low 19 rushes.
5	Eagles 5-2	2 Last Week: 3	Sunday was a missed opportunity for the Eagles, the kind they should take advantage of now before a Week 13-15 stretch against the Cowboys, Seahawks and Cowboys again.
6	Lions 6-2	4 Last Week: 10	After starting 0-for-5 on throws at least 15 yards downfield in the first half, Matthew Stafford was 3-for-5 during the second-half comeback. All three completions were to Golden Tate.
7	Packers 5-3	1 Last Week: 6	Eddie Lacy had a career-high 182 yards from scrimmage Sunday night, including a career-high 123 receiving yards. The Packers got plenty of yards, just not enough points.
8	Chargers 5-3	1 Last Week: 7	Even with Peyton Manning’s productive game Thursday night, the Chargers still have allowed only one quarterback (Carson Palmer, 304) to throw for at least 300 yards in a game.
9	Colts 5-3	5 Last Week: 4	The Colts entered Sunday with the league’s best third-down defense (26 percent). Then the Steelers converted eight of 13 attempts in Sunday’s offensive explosion.
10	Seahawks 4-3	1 Last Week: 11	Russell Wilson went 4-of-4 for 53 yards and a touchdown on the Seahawks’ game-winning drive after completing 57.1 percent of his passes on the Seahawks’ first seven drives.
11	49ers 4-3	1 Last Week: 12	Go big or go home for Colin Kaepernick. His QBR in every game this year has either been below 50 (four) or above 80 (three).
12	Bengals 4-2-1	1 Last Week: 13	Cincinnati is in good shape moving forward. The Bengals get the Jaguars, Browns, Saints, Texans and Buccaneers from now to Week 13, a stretch that should produce a few wins.
13	Ravens 5-3	4 Last Week: 9	Joe Flacco was 0-for-2 targeting Torrey Smith Sunday, throwing interceptions on both attempts. Flacco has thrown five of his seven picks this year targeting Smith.
14	Steelers 5-3	1 Last Week: 15	Ben Roethlisberger finished 40-of-49 for 522 yards and six touchdowns Sunday. He’s the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 500 yards in a game twice.
15	Chiefs 4-3	1 Last Week: 14	Alex Smith is the first starting quarterback since Ryan Tannehill in Week 8 of 2012 to win a game without attempting multiple passes deeper than 10 yards downfield.
16	Bills 5-3	— Last Week: 16	The Jets blitzed Kyle Orton at the highest rate of Orton’s season Sunday, and Orton finished 6-of-8 for 184 yards and three touchdowns against at least five rushers.
17	Saints 3-4	5 Last Week: 22	Even at 3-4, the Saints are tied for first in the NFC South. New Orleans has won 11 straight at home, including 3-0 this year.
18	Dolphins 4-3	— Last Week: 18	Does anyone know what to expect from Ryan Tannehill at this point? He has as many games with a QBR above 90 (three) as below 30.
19	Browns 4-3	1 Last Week: 20	Brian Hoyer was blitzed at the second-highest rate of his season Sunday, and finished 9-of-12 for 101 yards and a touchdown when the Raiders sent at least five rushers.
20	Panthers 3-4-1	3 Last Week: 17	Cam Newton was 3-of-10 for 61 yards and an interception on straight dropback passes (no play-action fake), the fewest completions and lowest percentage in his career.
21	Texans 4-4	2 Last Week: 23	J.J. Watt had two sacks Sunday, his 10th game with multiple sacks in the past three seasons, most of any player in the league.
22	Giants 3-4	1 Last Week: 21	This is a brutal stretch for the Giants, facing the Colts, Seahawks, 49ers and Cowboys in the next four weeks. New York must beat good teams for a playoff berth.
23	Bears 3-5	4 Last Week: 19	The Bears allowed 38 points in Sunday’s first half, most in a first half in franchise history. Jay Cutler was 3-of-9 for 35 yards and an interception targeting Brandon Marshall.
24	Redskins 3-5	2 Last Week: 26	QB controversy! OK, probably not, but Colt McCoy was 6-of-7 for 136 yards targeting DeSean Jackson. McCoy’s 7-yard quarterback draw touchdown looked like a Robert Griffin III play call.
25	Vikings 3-5	2 Last Week: 27	Cordarrelle Patterson was targeted 10 times Sunday, the second-highest total in a game in his career. When Patterson has at least seven touches, Minnesota is 2-0-1.
26	Falcons 2-6	1 Last Week: 25	A fifth straight loss means problems for coach Mike Smith. Not sure what’s worse, the 2-6 record or the fact that the Falcons are only two games behind in the NFC South loss column.
27	Rams 2-5	3 Last Week: 24	Austin Davis entered Sunday ranked seventh in completion percentage on throws deeper than 10 yards downfield this season. Davis was a brutal 2-of-7 with an interception on those throws Sunday.
28	Titans 2-6	— Last Week: 28	Zach Mettenberger posted a 22.7 Total QBR in his first start. Mettenberger was 27-of-41 for 299 yards, two touchdowns, an interception and a free social media lesson from J.J. Watt.
29	Buccaneers 1-6	1 Last Week: 30	The Buccaneers have allowed an 81.2 Total QBR this season (31st in NFL). For context, Peyton Manning’s QBR in his record-setting 2013 was 82.9.
30	Jets 1-7	1 Last Week: 29	The quarterback situation is still a mess. Geno Smith and Michael Vick were a combined 1-for-9 for 11 yards and four interceptions on throws deeper than 10 yards downfield Sunday.
31	Jaguars 1-7	— Last Week: 31	Blake Bortles threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns Sunday. Bortles is the second quarterback since the start of last season to throw two pick-sixes in a game (Geno Smith).
32	Raiders 0-7	— Last Week: 32	The Raiders are 0-7 and have games coming up against the Seahawks, Broncos and Chargers in the next three weeks. Should Oakland trade or use the first overall pick?