Week 9 is officially a wrap following the Carolina Panthers overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts. The Panthers seemed to have the game well in hand before an epic collapse forced overtime. The Panthers barely won, but they remain among the ranks of the unbeaten. We are left with seven unbeaten wins between the Panthers, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals.
For San Francisco 49ers fans, it was a slightly crazier day than just a random overtime game. We learned about injuries to Reggie Bush and Mike Davis, and the team signed Shaun Draughn. Craziness! Oh wait, there was also Vernon Davis getting traded and the team benching Colin Kaepernick for Blaine Gabbert. Just slightly important news.
I decided to drop the 49ers to the bottom of the power rankings. Prior to yesterday's news, my preliminary rankings ranked them No. 29 ahead of the Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans. I still would lean that way, but consider this a punitive measure for a team about to roll out Blaine Gabbert and some combination of Kendall Gaskins and Shaun Draughn. Is this real life? It does not help that they have the worst point differential in the league.
The biggest climbers in my rankings are the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders pulled off a big home win handling the New York Jets, and showing they are a really solid team all of a sudden. The balance of power in the Bay Area has quickly shifted. The Chiefs on the other hand have won two in a row against awful teams (the horrible Lions and the Roethlisberger-less Steelers). They are only a game and a half back of the AFC wildcard, but these two wins are likely leaving some Chiefs fans thinking this team is better than it really is.
On to the power rankings!
| Rank | Team | LW |
| 1 | New England Patriots (7-0) | 1 |
| 2 | Cincinnati Bengals (7-0) | 3 |
| 3 | Denver Broncos (7-0) | 5 |
| 4 | Carolina Panthers (7-0) | 4 |
| 5 | Green Bay Packers (6-1) | 2 |
| 6 | Arizona Cardinals (6-2) | 7 |
| 7 | Minnesota Vikings (5-2) | 9 |
| 8 | Oakland Raiders (4-3) | 14 |
| 9 | St. Louis Rams (4-3) | 10 |
| 10 | New York Jets (4-3) | 6 |
| 11 | Seattle Seahawks (4-4) | 13 |
| 12 | Atlanta Falcons (6-2) | 8 |
| 13 | Pittsburgh Steelers (4-4) | 12 |
| 14 | New York Giants (4-4) | 11 |
| 15 | Philadelphia Eagles (3-4) | 15 |
| 16 | New Orleans Saints (4-4) | 18 |
| 17 | Buffalo Bills (3-4) | 17 |
| 18 | Miami Dolphins (3-4) | 16 |
| 19 | Indianapolis Colts (3-5) | 19 |
| 20 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4) | 24 |
| 21 | Dallas Cowboys (2-5) | 20 |
| 22 | Washington (3-4) | 21 |
| 23 | Chicago Bears (2-5) | 22 |
| 24 | Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5) | 23 |
| 25 | Kansas City Chiefs (3-5) | 31 |
| 26 | Houston Texans (3-5) | 28 |
| 27 | Baltimore Ravens (2-6) | 30 |
| 28 | San Diego Chargers (2-6) | 25 |
| 29 | Cleveland Browns (2-6) | 27 |
| 30 | Detroit Lions (1-7) | 29 |
| 31 | Tennessee Titans (1-6) | 32 |
| 32 | San Francisco 49ers (2-6) | 26 |