NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Grades for every team at midway point

The Raiders have inched their way into the top ten at the halfway point of the NFL season in our latest edition of Power Rankings, plus we hand out midseason grades to each team.

A twist on this week's Power Rankings in honor of the NFL hitting its regular-season midpoint. The actual rankings themselves are the same as ever, based on how teams are currently performing, but we're adding in a midseason grading scale.

How that works, rather unscientifically: Each team's first-half performance was measured against its expectations for the season. The resulting grade reflects how each team has played on a scale of how we thought they would do in 2015. So, you'll notice that the grades fluctuate on the way down the list—merely being top five does not guarantee an A; sitting near the bottom does not bring an automatic F (though it doesn't help).

Hope that helps. Here we go:

1. New England Patriots

PREVIOUS: 1

RECORD: 7-0

2. Cincinnati Bengals

PREVIOUS: 3

RECORD: 7-0

3. Denver Broncos

PREVIOUS: 5

RECORD: 7-0

4. Carolina Panthers

PREVIOUS: 4

RECORD: 7-0

5. Green Bay Packers

PREVIOUS: 2

RECORD: 6-1

6. Minnesota Vikings

PREVIOUS: 6

RECORD: 5-2

7. St. Louis Rams

PREVIOUS: 10

RECORD: 4-3

8. Arizona Cardinals

PREVIOUS: 8

RECORD: 6-2

9. Seattle Seahawks

PREVIOUS: 11

RECORD: 4-4

10. Oakland Raiders

PREVIOUS: 15

RECORD: 4-3

11. New York Jets

PREVIOUS: 7

RECORD: 4-3

12. Atlanta Falcons

PREVIOUS: 9

RECORD: 6-2

13. New Orleans Saints

PREVIOUS: 18

RECORD: 4-4

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14. Pittsburgh Steelers

PREVIOUS: 12

RECORD: 4-4

15. New York Giants

PREVIOUS: 14

RECORD: 4-4

16. Washington Redskins

PREVIOUS: 16

RECORD: 3-4

17. Philadelphia Eagles

PREVIOUS: 17

RECORD: 3-4

18. Miami Dolphins

PREVIOUS: 13

RECORD: 3-4

19. Kansas City Chiefs

PREVIOUS: 26

RECORD: 3-5

20. Indianapolis Colts

PREVIOUS: 19

RECORD: 3-5

21. Buffalo Bills

PREVIOUS: 21

RECORD: 3-4

22. Baltimore Ravens

PREVIOUS: 27

RECORD: 2-6

23. Dallas Cowboys

PREVIOUS: 22

RECORD: 2-5

24. Cleveland Browns

PREVIOUS: 20

RECORD: 2-6

25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

PREVIOUS: 28

RECORD: 3-4

26. Chicago Bears

PREVIOUS: 24

RECORD: 2-5

27. Houston Texans

PREVIOUS: 29

RECORD: 3-5

28. San Diego Chargers

PREVIOUS: 23

RECORD: 2-6

29. Jacksonville Jaguars

PREVIOUS: 30

RECORD: 2-5

30. San Francisco 49ers

PREVIOUS: 25

RECORD: 2-6

31. Tennessee Titans

PREVIOUS: 31

RECORD: 1-6

32. Detroit Lions

PREVIOUS: 32

RECORD: 1-7