NFL power rankings Week 9: Where do Bears, Seahawks settle after Monday night clash?

NFL power rankings Week 9: Where do Bears, Seahawks settle after Monday night clash?

Key points

• Cincinnati Bengals (17): A 5-2 start is their best since 2021, one that led them to Super Bowl 56.
• Kansas City Chiefs (6): Of QB Patrick Mahomes' 321 passing yards on Sunday at Denver, 72% went to his running backs and tight ends.
• Pittsburgh Steelers (16): The AFC North leaders have a league-high 26 sacks, yet rank 26th in the league with a 32.6% pressure rate.
• Las Vegas Raiders (14): RB Ashton Jeanty has rushed for fewer than 50 yards in more than half of his 25 NFL starts.
• New York Giants (22): So a team that allowed RB Saquon Barkley to leave in free agency is in hot pursuit of Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor?

NFL power rankings Week 9: Where do Bears, Seahawks settle after Monday night clash? Nate Davis USA TODAY. Lamar Jackson injury, Cowboys collapse headline NFL Week 8.

USA TODAY's Madison Tenenbaum breaks down NFL Week 8: Lamar Jackson's injury, Cowboys' collapse, Vikings' loss and Joe Burrow's OT win.

NFL power rankings entering Week 9 of the 2026 season (previous rank in parentheses).

1. San Francisco 49ers (1): They come out of the bye week with needed rest for their battered stars, eyeing a schedule that only requires them to play on the road once in November, all while welcoming DT DeForest Buckner back into the building.

2. Chicago Bears (2): QB Caleb Williams and newly acquired DT Jeffery Simmons certainly sowed fresh hope in front of a national audience on Monday night that Chicago might obtain its first NFL title in four decades after Da new-look Bears knocked off the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks. In Seattle. In prime time. Quite a statement win.

3. Denver Broncos (3): If they don't have your respect yet, then how regarding this nugget – they've won five consecutive home games against former league MVPs. This 6-2 squad has additionally survived the most brutal stretch of its schedule and is set up to coast to another AFC West crown if it can take care of business.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars (7): As their AFC South brethren break up their rosters, the Jags should be on autopilot to a second straight division title. Doesn't mean they don't have problems after losing two defensive starters, S Eric Murray and DT DaVon Hamilton, for the season Sunday.

5. New England Patriots (8): They've only scored more than 30 points once this season as they navigate their offensive injuries. But the Pats can still play mean defense, giving up more than 30 points only once this season.

6. Buffalo Bills (9): They've only failed to score more than 30 points twice this season as rookie HC Joe Brady and QB Josh Allen continue dialing up the hits. But the Bills defense still needs to catch up, giving up at least 30 points four times.

7. Detroit Lions (11): Does there need to be concern regarding RB Jahmyr Gibbs' usage at some point? He's on pace for 464 touches. It would be the second-highest total in NFL history. (James Wilder had 492 in 1984.).

8. Minnesota Vikings (5): Live by the blitzing broadsword, die by the blitzing broadsword. Nevertheless, the bigger question surrounding the Vikes as their 10-game winning streak comes to an end might be whether they have the right guy at quarterback.

9. Seattle Seahawks (4): It's far from time to panic. Let's offer LG Quenton Nelson and RBs Jadarian Rate and Zach Charbonnet some time to jell in a reconfigured offense – especially now that schedule seems poised to let up.

10. Kansas City Chiefs (6): Of QB Patrick Mahomes' 321 passing yards on Sunday at Denver, 72% went to his running backs and tight ends. Here's hoping K.C. Can find him a difference-making wideout ahead of the Nov. 10 trade deadline.

11. Green Bay Packers (12): If their season wasn't already belatedly taking off, it's regarding to gain some serious altitude with defensive game wrecker Micah Parsons set to rejoin practice this week.

13. Pittsburgh Steelers (16): The AFC North leaders have a league-high 26 sacks, yet rank 26th in the league with a 32.6% pressure rate. Go figure.

14. Cincinnati Bengals (17): A 5-2 start is their best since 2021, one that led them to Super Bowl 56. But Sunday's 43-36 overtime defeat of the Titans sure evoked troubling memories of the post-2021 Bengals.

15. Las Vegas Raiders (14): RB Ashton Jeanty has rushed for fewer than 50 yards in more than half of his 25 NFL starts. Not great.

16. Cleveland Browns (15): DE Jared Verse obtained taken down Sunday, but he's still searching for his first sack eight games into his Browns career.

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (18): With two INTs for 20 yards, LB Alex Anzalone was the Bucs' leading receiver Sunday – which is perfectly fine for a team that's rushed for more than 1, 000 yards over its past five outings.

18. Atlanta Falcons (10): QB Michael Penix Jr. And Co. Looked every bit a dome team during Sunday's loss in a Tampa monsoon. Certainly an incentive to nail down the home playoff game an NFC South title would confer.

19. New Orleans Saints (20): Six NFL rushers league-wide eclipsed 140 yards Sunday. The Saints only have one player who's gained more than 140 yards on the ground. This season – RB Kendre Miller's 159 barely eclipsing that figure.

20. New York Giants (22): So a team that allowed RB Saquon Barkley to leave in free agency is in hot pursuit of Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor? Weird.

21. Washington Commanders (25): Despite their multitudinous mistakes this season, no team has turned the ball over fewer times (3) – which is exactly why the Commanders (still) have a legit shot to win the NFC East.

22. Carolina Panthers (19): What to do when the offense is averaging 16 points and 262 yards during a discouraging two-game tailspin? Fire the defensive coordinator. Naturally.

23. Arizona Cardinals (26): "If you guys have ever seen 'Napoleon Dynamite, ' I've always known (Gardner Minshew) could throw a pigskin a quarter mile, " DL L.J. Collier remarked after Sunday's upset of the Cowboys. "Minshew Magic is real." Nothing further to add here regarding the Cards' new QB1.

24. Baltimore Ravens (21): Can deploying the wishbone Thursday night against Jacksonville really be a worse option than potentially having to start former UFL "star" Austin Reed, who's never taken a regular-season snap in the NFL, at quarterback?

25. Dallas Cowboys (23): They had been 69-0 at home when nursing a lead of at least 14 points in the fourth quarter. But that was before Sunday.

26. Houston Texans (24): As generally bad as this 2-5 outfit has been, their schedule still particularly much portends a world where Houston winds up 10-7.

28. New York Jets (28): If the season concluded today – it doesn't – they'd have three top-10 draft picks in 2027 and a seemingly solid WR3 in Adonai Mitchell as the dust continues to settle from last year's trade deadline fireworks.

29. Tennessee Titans (30): They came out swinging without Simmons, a 31st-ranked defense getting major contributions from the likes of S Amani Hooker (3 INTs of Joe Burrow on Sunday) and DE Jacob Martin (3 sacks of Joe Burrow on Sunday). Throw in QB Cam Ward producing his 300-yard passing game, and maybe there is hope that this team can create strides – even as it resets.

30. Philadelphia Eagles (29): You can bet a team on a six-game slide will look much better Sunday against the division-leading Giants. If only since Philly will be in its Kelly Green throwbacks.

31. Indianapolis Colts (31): They'll host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in a battle of two organizations that resent the New York Jets.

32. Los Angeles Chargers (32): Only one team this season has lost coming out of its bye week. We'll offer you one guess.

All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY's 4th and Monday newsletter. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

In short, NFL power rankings Week 9: Where do Bears, Seahawks settle after Monday is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.