NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Post-‘Thursday Night Football’ Standings, Review

November 6, 2015   ·   Andrew Gould   ·   Jump to comments

This late into the NFL season, the league's laggards can't avoid the writing on the wall. When results don't arrive, the preseason's cautious optimism gets replaced by grim reality.
Nobody is officially eliminated from playoff contention, but several squads need a rapid turnaround to avoid an eventual demise. With eight or nine games remaining, these cellar-dwelling teams hold a minuscule margin of error down the stretch.
Kicking off Week 9 with a victory over the Cleveland Browns, the Cincinnati Bengals widened their AFC North lead while pushing their division foes a step closer to another losing campaign. While several top teams look to follow Cincinnati's lead, many more will fight to avoid the same fate suffered by Cleveland.
Let's examine the current league pecking order before breaking down three organizations on life support. 
 
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions haven't earned consecutive playoff appearances since 1994-95. At 1-7, they'd lik...

Read Complete Article at Bleacher Report - NFL
Article is property of BleacherReport.com