Week 9 NFL Power Rankings Still Leary After Bengals Win

Oct 26, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) celebrates scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

 After three straight unimpressive weeks by the Cincinnati Bengals, they made headway in most of this week’s power rankings. After a couple weeks off, sorry about that, we take a look at where the Bengals stand after a big division season sweep of the Baltimore Ravens.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com: #10
Mr. Prisco’s power rankings was one of the only one’s that saw the Bengals take a jump after winning. It also has the Bengals ranked above the Ravens something that FoxSports.com failed to do after the Bengal swept the season series.

"By sweeping the season series against the Ravens, they now lead the division. Getting A.J. Green back will be huge."

FOXSports.com: #16
They not only have the Bengals rated the lowest they have been since week one, they have yet to change the ranking after a solid week eight win against the Ravens and kept the Ravens just outside the top ten. Here was their summary for this weeks ranking:

"A.J. Green believes he will play this week — and the offense desperately needs him back. The Bengals defense deserves credit for holding the Ravens from scoring seven points on their final possession."

Just to point out one more thing, they only credit the defense for one stop, not the 2 picks or only 6 points in the first half. Plus they mention only the offense in a negative way, not 27 points scored.

NFL.com’s Elliot Harrison: #14
Elliot dropped the Ravens a spot below the Bengals but ignored the fact the Bengals lead the AFC North by bouncing the Steelers in front of the Bengals, leaving the Bengals unchanged this week in his ranking. What he had to say about the run game is alarmingly correct for the Bengals team:

"Nice division win for the Bengals, who are keeping pace in the AFC North. The defense showed up. The running game? Still sluggish. Supposed to be the strength of the club, Cincinnati’s ground attack is middling. Leaning on my Cincy faithfuls here: Is it Giovani Bernard trying to bounce outside too much, rookie-ness from Jeremy Hill or the offensive line? ( @HarrisonNFL)"

ESPN.com: #12
ESPN.com did increase the Bengals ranking by one spot, just to put them ahead of the Ravens. The comments that followed that ranking were promising, but their only slight increase in the ranking of the Bengals calls into questions their faith in this Bengals team to get the job done:

"Cincinnati is in good shape moving forward. The Bengals get the Jaguars, Browns, Saints, Texans and Buccaneers from now to Week 13, a stretch that should produce a few wins."

With FOX Sports being the joke of this week ranking and Pete Prisco of CBS Sports keeping the Bengals above average in his ranking, the Bengals seem to have an average at #13. That is the perfect spot for where they should be after bouncing back from 3 lackluster performances and getting back to the winning side of the NFL.