Week 9 of the 2015 NFL season is officially a wrap following quite the Monday Night Football affair. The San Diego Chargers and Chicago Bears did battle with draft positioning on the line. The Chargers took a 16-7 lead, but their offense went in the tank for much of the second half. The Bears somehow "stormed back" against an awful Chargers defense to secure the win. Exciting times in the Windy City.
The San Francisco 49ers managed to finally get back in the win column, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 17-16. The win improved the 49ers to 3-6, and will move them up ever so slightly in my power rankings. The 49ers get a bye week before heading up to face the Seattle Seahawks, which should give us a significantly better idea of what Blaine Gabbert and this team are all about.
I dropped the 49ers to No. 32 last week, but am prepared to give them a slight bump this week. The Detroit Lions get No. 32 even with a bye this week just to pay tribute to them blowing up their front office. I would not be surprised to see Matt Stafford out the door after this season, and a sizable rebuild effort put into place.
You could make arguments for a variety of teams in that No. 31 spot. The 49ers could get the honor just because they still have Blaine Gabbert at quarterback. The Browns remain a mess even with Johnny Manziel doing some decent things this past week on Thursday Night Football. The San Diego Chargers could deserve it as well with their ugly performances. In the end, I went with the Browns at 31, the Chargers at 30, the Jaguars at 29, and the 49ers at 28. I figure the 49ers stand a decent chance of beating all those teams. I considered the Titans behind the 49ers as well, but they get a rookie QB bounce.
We are down to three unbeaten teams across the league. The New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, and Carolina Panthers all rolled to victory on Sunday. The previously unbeaten Denver Broncos lost on the road to the Indianapolis Colts. After the unbeaten teams, the Broncos, Packers, Vikings and Jets are all intriguing teams with less than four losses. The Atlanta Falcons only have three losses, but with their loss to the 49ers, they don't deserve to be with the rest of them. They're just not good.
On to the power rankings!
| Rank | Team | LW |
| 1 | New England Patriots (8-0) | 1 |
| 2 | Cincinnati Bengals (8-0) | 2 |
| 3 | Carolina Panthers (8-0) | 4 |
| 4 | Arizona Cardinals (6-2) | 6 |
| 5 | Denver Broncos (7-1) | 3 |
| 6 | Green Bay Packers (6-2) | 5 |
| 7 | Minnesota Vikings (6-2) | 7 |
| 8 | New York Jets (5-3) | 10 |
| 9 | New York Giants (5-4) | 14 |
| 10 | Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4) | 13 |
| 11 | Oakland Raiders (4-4) | 8 |
| 12 | St. Louis Rams (4-4) | 9 |
| 13 | Seattle Seahawks (4-4) | 11 |
| 14 | Indianapolis Colts (4-5) | 19 |
| 15 | Philadelphia Eagles (4-4) | 15 |
| 16 | Buffalo Bills (4-4) | 17 |
| 17 | Atlanta Falcons (6-3) | 12 |
| 18 | New Orleans Saints (4-5) | 16 |
| 19 | Miami Dolphins (3-5) | 18 |
| 20 | Chicago Bears (3-5) | 23 |
| 21 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5) | 20 |
| 22 | Washington (3-5) | 22 |
| 23 | Dallas Cowboys (2-6) | 21 |
| 24 | Kansas City Chiefs (3-5) | 25 |
| 25 | Houston Texans (3-5) | 26 |
| 26 | Baltimore Ravens (2-6) | 27 |
| 27 | Tennessee Titans (2-6) | 31 |
| 28 | San Francisco 49ers (3-6) | 32 |
| 29 | Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6) | 24 |
| 30 | San Diego Chargers (2-7) | 28 |
| 31 | Cleveland Browns (2-7) | 29 |
| 32 | Detroit Lions (1-7) | 30 |