NFL Computerized Power Ranks: Week 9

I really wanted to get the power ranks out this week before the Thursday game, but for I think the 4th or 5th time this season, I had the ranks completely calculated by Tuesday night and then didn't get around to actually writing the post until later in the week. Oh well, I guess I need to start leaving work earlier on Tuesday or something....

In typical 2010 NFL season fashion, once it seems that we have established a top team in the league they get trounced by a bad team. Last week's new #1, New England, got a beating of a lifetime by the Browns, who before their bye, blew out the Saints. What's up with the Browns? Is Peyton Hillis really that unstoppable?!?! Despite this, Cleveland is still only 3-5 but climbed up to #18 this week. The Patriots fell all the way to #8 for their loss. Taking their place was the Steelers, who jumped up 5 spots all the way to #1. The Falcons, who got a huge win on Thursday night (not included in this calculation) moved up 3 spots to #2. Can they capture the #1 spot this week? The Steelers have a tough matchup with former #1 New England. The Giants, who had a rough start, have been crushing teams lately and are the new #3. The Titans hung on to #4 despite losing to San Diego, and the Jets fell 3 spots to #5 for barely winning in Detroit. Last week's #3, the Colts, fell to #10 for losing to the Eagles.

Not much movement on the bottom side of things. The 0-8 Bills are still last. The Cowboys and Panthers switched places after the Cowboys got blown out by the Packers. The idle Broncos stayed at #29, and the Cardinals horrible collapse against the Vikings actually moved them up 1 spot, which allowed the Bengals to take their place in the bottom 5.

The biggest gainer this week was Green Bay, who jumped 6 spots for getting Wade Phillips fired in Dallas, and 4 teams jumped 5 spots: Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cleveland, and San Diego. The biggest losers were the Patriots and Colts, who each fell 7 spots for losing to mediocre teams and losing first place in their divisions.

NFC
First Round Byes: #2 Falcons, #3 Giants
#11 Saints @ #6 Packers
#9 Eagles @ #17 Rams
Top 5 Out: #14 Buccaneers, #15 Bears, #16 Redskins, #20 Lions, #24 Seahawks

AFC
First Round Byes: #1 Steelers, #4 Titans
#8 Patriots @ #5 Jets
#7 Ravens @ #12 Raiders
Top 5 Out: #10 Colts, #13 Chiefs, #18 Browns, #19 Chargers, #21 Dolphins

Here are the full ranks:
1. Steelers - 73.84 - +5
2. Falcons - 71.34 - +3
3. Giants - 70.75 - +4
4. Titans - 70.71 - Even
5. Jets - 69.83 - -3
6. Packers - 69.76 - +6
7. Ravens - 66.89 - +1
8. Patriots - 66.81 - -7
9. Eagles - 65.57 - +4
10. Colts - 65.54 - -7
11. Saints - 62.62 - +3
12. Raiders - 60.80 - -1
13. Chiefs - 60.33 - -4
14. Buccaneers - 54.04 - -4
15. Bears - 53.31 - +5
16. Redskins - 52.32 - -1
17. Rams - 48.45 - Even
18. Browns - 48.05 - +5
19. Chargers - 47.94 - +5
20. Lions - 45.69 - +1
21. Dolphins - 43.75 - -2
22. Texans - 42.76 - -6
23. Jaguars - 42.72 - -1
24. Seahawks - 41.82 - -6
25. Vikings - 41.14 - +2
26. 49ers - 34.44 - -1
27. Cardinals - 32.94 - +1
28. Bengals - 32.65 - -2
29. Broncos - 25.23 - Even
30. Panthers - 23.11 - +1
31. Cowboys - 19.91 - -1
32. Bills - 15.65 - Even