2026 NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Vikings Loss Resets NFC Debate

The 2026 NFL power rankings Week 9 discussion has taken on a sharper edge after the Minnesota Vikings, the league’s last undefeated team, lost in Week 8. FOX Sports framed its latest rankings around whether the Bears are now the team to beat in the NFC, while also spotlighting major storylines around the Chargers and Jets.

The rankings arrive with different pressure on each team. Minnesota’s first loss changes the top-of-conference conversation, the Chargers remain winless at 0-7, and the Jets are balancing strong offensive production with another defeat.

Minnesota’s record no longer settles the argument

The Vikings entered Week 8 as the NFL’s last unbeaten team, but that distinction is gone. The rankings note that Minnesota may have owned the league’s best record, but it was clearly never viewed as the NFL’s best team.

That creates a more complicated Week 9 picture. Minnesota remains in the power rankings for now, but the loss removes the simplest case for keeping the Vikings above the rest of the NFC discussion.

The Bears are central to that shift because the FOX Sports headline asks whether Chicago is now the team to beat in the NFC. No specific ranking number is included in the supplied material, but the framing puts Chicago directly into the conversation created by Minnesota’s first defeat.

Chargers’ problems go beyond being 0-7

The Chargers are presented as one of the clearest trouble spots in the Week 9 rankings. They are listed at 0-7, and the article says they looked worse after their bye week than they had before it.

The offensive numbers underline the concern. The Chargers have gone 27 straight drives without scoring a touchdown, a drought that sits alongside an 11-game losing streak including playoffs dating back to last season.

The rankings also include DraftKings Super Bowl odds of +100000, tied for 29th, in multiple places in the excerpted material. That figure matches the bleak tone around a team still searching for its first win.

There are two schedule references attached to the Chargers in the rankings material. One says their next game is a Nov. 22 home game against the Jets. Another lists their next game as against the Texans on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET.

Jets show production but not payoff

The Jets’ section carries a different type of frustration. They scored points on their first six possessions Sunday, marking the first time they had done that in 18 years, but still lost.

Geno Smith threw for 290 yards, while Braelon Allen ran for 147. The Jets also led by two scores late in the third quarter before the game got away from them.

The rankings point to the team’s young talent despite the loss to the Raiders. Adonai Mitchell caught seven passes for a career-high 142 yards and a touchdown, and Allen’s 147 rushing yards were also a career high.

Those individual performances give the Jets a productive offensive baseline, but the result keeps the focus on missed opportunity. Their next game is listed as at the Chiefs on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

What Week 9 is really testing

The Week 9 rankings are shaped less by one result than by what each result means. Minnesota must respond without the protection of an unbeaten record, Chicago is part of a renewed NFC debate, and the Chargers need to break both a touchdown drought and a losing streak.

For the Jets, the test is whether a day filled with early points and career-best performances can translate into a win. For the rankings, the next stretch will show which Week 8 reactions hold up as the second half of the NFL season approaches.