NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Falcons among most disappointing teams in first half of 2019 NFL season

As we hit the midpoint of the NFL season, the Top 10 and Bottom 5 are settling into their spots. There was movement within those groups, but no new team entered the Top 10 of Bottom 5 on our NFL Power Rankings this week.

There's no question which group the Atlanta Falcons are a part of midway through 2019.

The Falcons dropped one spot behind the Washington Redskins for No. 30 on our list this week. The only teams ranked lower were the winless Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins. Like those teams, the Falcons will be fighting for draft positioning the rest of 2019 rather than a playoff spot.

The only team perhaps more disappointing than the Falcons this season is the Cleveland Browns, who lost to New England on Sunday and dropped to 2-5 this year. The Browns also fell on our list, five spots to No. 23. That was the biggest fall any team made on our power rankings ahead of Week 9.

Although two of these three won in Week 8, the Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Chargers are three other very disappointing squads. All three teams were considered or ranked in the Top 10 going into the season but possess, at best, a .500 record after Week 8. Among them, only the Eagles remain in the top half at No. 14.

The Bears have really dropped off, having lost three in a row, to No. 16. The Chargers just beat the Bears by a point but remain much lower than preseason expectations at No. 22 on our power rankings.

Next week, the Eagles will host the Bears while the Chargers will move forward without offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, who the team fired on Monday.

Here's our full NFL power rankings:

1. New England Patriots (8-0)
2. New Orleans Saints (7-1)
3. San Francisco 49ers (7-0)
4. Green Bay Packers (7-1)
5. Minnesota Vikings (6-2)
6. Seattle Seahawks (6-2)
7. Indianapolis Colts (5-2)
8. Baltimore Ravens (5-2)
9. Houston Texans (5-2)
10. Kansas City Chiefs (5-3)
11. Dallas Cowboys (4-3)
12. Los Angeles Rams (5-3)
13. Detroit Lions (3-3-1)
14. Philadelphia Eagles (4-4)
15. Buffalo Bills (5-2)
16. Chicago Bears (3-4)
17. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-4)
18. Carolina Panthers (4-3)
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4)
20. Oakland Raiders (3-4)
21. Tennessee Titans (4-4)
22. Los Angeles Chargers (3-5)
23. Cleveland Browns (2-5)
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5)
25. Arizona Cardinals (3-4-1)
26. Denver Broncos (2-6)
27. New York Giants (2-6)
28. New York Jets (1-6)
29. Washington Redskins (1-7)
30. Atlanta Falcons (1-7)
31. Cincinnati Bengals (0-8)
32. Miami Dolphins (0-8)