NFL Power Rankings, Week 9: Chargers, Texans and Ravens on the rise; Steelers, Falcons scuffling - NFL.com

It was a semi-chalky Week 8, at least as far as the heavyweights were concerned.

The Colts kept rolling, supporting last week's elevation up the charts. The Chiefs, Packers and Eagles all won by double digits. The Buccaneers and Bills both atoned for losses by rampaging on the road.

But the farther down you go to the middle class, things get murkier. The 49ers and Steelers suffered tough defeats. The Bears missed a golden opportunity to win their fifth straight in a matchup with the Lamar Jackson-less Ravens. And what in tarnation happened in Atlanta and Cincinnati?

There was no seismic Power Rankings activity this week, but the Chargers, Texans and Ravens all made notable jumps, and teams such as the Broncos and Patriots would have, had there not been a bottleneck, with everyone ahead of them either winning or on bye in Week 8.

I suspect I'll eventually catch up on the Pats, who are your AFC East leaders and owners of the third-best point differential in the NFL, behind only the Colts and Chiefs. New England's schedule is very friendly, too, with their nine remaining opponents currently owning a .362 win percentage.

It's a different league this season, and I am still adjusting.

NOTE: Up/down arrows below reflect movement from the Week 8 Power Rankings.

It will be interesting to see how active, if at all, the Lions will be before the No. 4 trade deadline. They have a 5-2 mark with losses against two very good teams (Green Bay and Kansas City) and the fourth-best point differential in the league at +64. There are probably more needs on defense, but they've played more well than not on that side of the ball, and the reserve DBs stood quite tall in the Week 7 win over the Buccaneers, which makes GM Brad Holmes' approach to this next week so fascinating. Does he trust what's in house? Is there enough depth? The NFC North hasn't entirely boiled down to a two-horse race, but it's shaping up that way at the moment between Detroit and Green Bay. It won't be shocking to see the Lions try to make a move, but even without one, they're in very good shape heading into the back half of the season.

Sunday's divisional bout versus Tennessee was relatively competitive during the first half of play, but the Colts turned on their afterburners following the break and won their fifth game of the season by 14-plus points. Daniel Jones didn't look that great early, but he finished with 272 yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-29 passing, turning in his sixth turnover-free game in eight outings. That's how you know it's a gilded season. Jonathan Taylor once again was a monster with three scores, and he's now on pace for 26 TDs and 2,244 yards from scrimmage. The Colts' defense will be more challenged -- possibly in the next two games before the bye (at Pittsburgh, vs. Atlanta in Berlin) -- but by and large, that unit is getting the job done.

After a funky start, with two Patrick Mahomes interceptions (one off Travis Kelce's hands), the Chiefs began to flex on the Commanders. Mahomes hit three different players with TD passes on Kansas City's first three possessions of the second half, finally putting Washington away. Mahomes took a few hits, but he and the Chiefs' offense look to be in pretty great shape prior to this Sunday's huge showdown in Buffalo, assuming Isiah Pacheco's injury isn't too serious. You can almost throw out the befores and afters when the Bills and Chiefs meet, but for what it's worth, the Kansas City defense has hit a new tier since the Jaguars loss in Week 5, allowing 24 points total to the Lions, Raiders and Commanders. Washington moved the ball early, but K.C. got the key stops it needed.