Power rankings system devised and compiled weekly by Stemshul. “Expert” analysis by paradroid.

Welcome to Week 9! A team (Philadelphia) separates themselves from the pack at the top, a team (Detroit) bounces back from a disastrous Week 9, and a team (Kansas City) takes their turn on the WTF merry-go-round that has been the 2023 season. First up are the Eagles. What has separated them from the rest of the league has been consistent quality performances. Nothing truly exceptional, but even their only loss is improving in retrospect. The Jets slipped past Philly with a comeback win a couple weeks ago, but the fightin’ Salehs have clawed back above .500 with a 13-10 win against the Giants. Considering their tough schedule and that Rodgers injury, you have to give it to N.Y. No shame in losing to the Cowboys and Chiefs, especially with wins over the Bills and Eagles on your resume. I’m sure they’d love to have that game against New England back, but considering how the year started, you’ve got to like where you’re sitting if you’re a Jets fan. But let’s get back to the Eagles. Philly is eyeing another Super Bowl run and they have to be considered favorites to represent the NFC in the big game. However, if you take a gander at their upcoming schedule, you might see some trouble ahead. The Eagles are looking at Dallas, Kansas City, Buffalo, San Francisco, Dallas again, and Seattle in the next six weeks. Yikes! That’s gotta be the toughest six game stretch anybody is facing this year. If they can win at least four (including at least one against the Cowboys), they should be just fine. The end of the year is a Cardinal sandwich on Giant bread, which should be no trouble at all. Seven wins would give the Eagles a 14-3 record, which will almost certainly garner a #1 seed. Can’t wait to see how running the gauntlet goes, starting with the Cowboys on Sunday.

For the bizarre result of the week, K.C. shit the bed against the Broncos. Denver 24 – Kansas City 9 doesn’t make any sense, but the reason is clear. The turnover differential was +4 for Denver, but since when is Patrick Mahomes turnover prone? He was suffering from flu-like symptoms, so you’d like to think it’s an aberration. But Mahomes is throwing interceptions at an unprecedented rate (well, unprecedented for him). He’s on pace for 17 INTs, which would be his most ever in a season. And it’s not like he’s lighting up the scoreboards to balance it out. He’s on pace for 32 TDs, which would be his second least (in 2019, he only had 26, but that was in 14 games and he also only had five INTs that year). His pace for yards is for 4232, which sounds great, but would be the lowest per game average of his career. His passer rating is currently 95.8, another career low. To be fair, most quarterbacks would take those numbers in a heartbeat, but his track record makes this year look quite poor. As a result, the Chiefs are only 12th in scoring this year (23.4 PPG), and have actually been getting by on their defense (16.1 PPG, good for 2nd). The good news lies therein; despite the slow start, if the offense comes alive, the rest of the league had better look out.

Detroit bounced back against the Raiders on Monday night. Well, mostly. It was utter domination by the Lions pretty much everywhere. First downs? 29 to 12 for Detroit. Third down conversions? 43% to 11%. Total Plays? 81 to 45. Total yards? 486 to 157. Sacks? Six to one. Time of possession? 39:33 to 20:27. There’s more, but suffice to say it wasn’t even close. Except the score was 26-14. How, you ask? Well, the Lions did their best to make every big mistake possible. There were the two fumbles, one of which came at Las Vegas’ goal line. And the interception that was returned for a touchdown. Plus, Detroit was pretty wasteful in the red zone, going one for five (one TD, four FGs). Nevertheless, the game felt well in hand all day. Up next is a bye week, and then it’s the puzzling Chargers, who just can’t quite seem to put it together. After that, the schedule looks quite favorable, with a visit to Dallas the only really stern challenge ahead. The deadline addition of Donovan Peoples-Jones from Cleveland adds a bit of depth to the wide receiver room, although I’m not sure if he’s a real difference maker. Jameson Williams putting it all together remains the key to raising the team’s offensive ceiling, but a little depth never hurt anyone. Hopefully the week off will help the offensive line’s injury issues shrink a bit. I also hope Jared Goff and Williams spend a little extra time working on their timing. Regardless, the Lions first half of the season has been almost all I could have hoped for. I’m looking forward to the second half!