Starting week nine with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Tennessee Titans, the NFL season so far has had many surprises and ups and downs this year. The Cincinnati Bengals once again started the year slow and are picking up steam while teams like the San Francisco 49ers came out hot and are now going into the bye week on a three-game losing streak. Other teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions came back this season with a point to prove and are continuing their hot streak from last year. 

Since it is only the halfway point of the season, many things can change throughout the back end of the year. But so far, this is how the NFL teams should be ranked.

1. Philadelphia Eagles (7-1): The Eagles have the most complete roster in the NFL, especially now with the addition of safety Kevin Byard. The team has the best offensive line in the NFL, and the duo of Quarterback Jalen Hurts and Wide Receiver A.J. Brown has been record-breaking so far. 
2. Baltimore Ravens(6-2): After the blowout win against one of the top teams in the Detroit Lions, it is hard not to have them listed high– but the next week the Ravens struggled against a scrappy Arizona Cardinals team. They have one of the most explosive offenses with Quarterback Lamar Jackson and veteran Tight End Mark Andrews, as well as other star players on offense. The defense has a shut-down corner in Marlon Humphrey and a top-linebacker in Roquan Smith. With so much talent all around, they will win games.  
3. Kansas City Chiefs (6-2): They had a bad loss to a divisional opponent in week eight, but their star Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was playing with the flu. At the end of the day, it is Kansas City; they have the best quarterback, tight end and head coach in the NFL, along with an underrated defense. You can never truly count out this team because throughout the years they have shown up and shown out.
4. Detroit Lions(6-2): The Lions got a must-win game at home against a lesser Las Vegas team. After the bad loss to the Ravens, they needed this win to build back up their confidence. Rookie Running Back Jaymir Gibbs is showing his worth as the 12th overall pick with nearly 200 scrimmage yards, and their stellar defense played well once again by holding Las Vegas to only 14 points.  
5. Miami Dolphins(6-2): Far and away the most explosive offense in the league, it feels like whenever one of the Dolphins touches the ball, it has the chance to go for a touchdown. Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill is on pace to break the single-season receiving record and should be in the conversation for Most Valuable Player. Defensively, the Dolphins got their All-Pro cornerback back from injury, making his presence felt in his first game back by getting an interception. The team still has starters who are hurt, so once they get back, this team will only get better.
6. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2): The Jaguars have had a pretty easy schedule so far, with their most notable win being over the Buffalo Bills. They are beating the teams they are supposed to beat, so there is no knock on them for that, but it will be interesting to see them play the San Francisco 49ers on Nov. 12. 
7. San Francisco 49ers (5-3): For the first five weeks of the season, it looked like no team could come close to beating San Francisco, but in the last three weeks they have crumbled. Their first loss came in Cleveland due to a game-winning field goal being missed; the second was in Minnesota with their quarterback Brock Purdy throwing multiple interceptions. In the third, their usually near-perfect defense got exposed at home against Cincinnati. This team is so well-coached and has so much talent. Now with the addition of Pass Rusher Chase Young, you have to trust they will bounce back.
8. Dallas Cowboys (5-2): Six out of their seven games have been decided by two possessions or more, which means when they play good, they play really good– but when they play bad, it is really bad. At the end of the day, The Cowboys have arguably the best defense in the league and a top-10 offense, so there is no way they cannot win games and make a playoff push.
9. Seattle Seahawks (5-2): Seattle is getting into its rhythm now, winning five out of their last six games. The Seahawks have tightened up their defense, but have turned it over more on offense, with some of those being a little unlucky. Seattle did make a splash play before the trade deadline by getting Defensive Lineman Leonard Willimas, which will be a big help for them.
10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-3): Same story as last year, the team is starting off very sloppy, losing games they should win, then going on a winning streak. Quarterback Joe Burrow is looking healthy again and getting that win on the road in San Francisco proves that the Bengals are back.
11. Buffalo Bills (5-3): The Bills have some bad losses to their name and are barely beating bad teams. On paper, they have a very good roster, although they suffered some crucial injuries. You hope this team starts to build some consistency and look like the team they should be.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3): After another ugly win against the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night, people have to realize this is who the Steelers are. They were able to pull out this win without one of their best players, Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick; most, if not all, of their wins have been credited to the Steelers’ defense. If it can get its offense in rhythm with how good its defense is, the team could make a sneaky playoff run.
13. New York Jets (4-3): If this Jets team gets good consistent quarterback play, it has the talent on both sides of the ball that is more than enough to win a lot of games. The Jets’ run game is looking better each game and their defense is shut down for the most part; they are just one piece away at the quarterback position. Maybe Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will come back from injury sooner than expected and change everything.
14. Cleveland Browns (4-3): The Browns losing Running Back Nick Chubb early in this season was the worst situation for them. Since then, the offense has been struggling while the defense plays at an amazing level. The struggles of Quarterback Deshaun Watson have not helped, and the massive contract the team gave him may haunt it for years to come.
15. New Orleans Saints (4-4): Running Back Alvin Karama has been special since he came back from his suspension and has no signs of slowing down. Quarterback Derek Carr had a good game against Indianapolis, and it looks like everything is starting to click in New Orleans.
16. Houston Texans (3-4): Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud is looking like the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year and one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. On offense and defense, the team has a lot of good young players, so expect a lot of growing pains throughout the rest of the season. 
17. Los Angeles Chargers (3-4): A much-needed win over the Chicago Bears will hopefully get momentum swinging in the right direction. The defense has been struggling for the most part this year; holding the Bears to nine points will be a confidence booster for the Chargers.
18. Minnesota Vikings (4-4): Once the Vikings start to look good, disaster strikes and their Quarterback Kirk Cousins tears his Achilles. The team did trade for Quarterback Josh Dobbs to help replace Cousins for the remainder of the season. 
19. Atlanta Falcons (4-4): The Falcons have been all over the place this year. They have no true identity on offense or defense, but they play in a pretty weak division, so they have a real shot to make it into the playoff picture.
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4): What looked like a promising season, starting 3-1, quickly took a turn for the worse by now being 3-4. In pretty much all of their games, the Buccaneers are competitive, so the ability to win is right there. The main issue is their lack of run games.
21. Los Angeles Rams (3-5): Having Running Back Kyren Williams go on the injured reverse after week six, you can see how much he meant to that offense. Now with Quarterback Matthew Stafford’s thumb injury, the Rams’ offense might be in even more trouble.
22. Indianapolis Colts (3-5): The running back duo Indianapolis has of Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss is something special. You just wish their rookie Quarterback Anthony Richardson did not go down with a season-ending shoulder injury. The Colts could string together a couple of wins because their next couple of games are not the hardest.
23. Denver Broncos (3-5): An impressive win over a top-tier Chiefs team makes you think where was this Denver team all year? Unfortunately, it will be very hard for this team to turn it around this year because of its hard upcoming schedule– but never say never.
24. Tennessee Titans (3-5): Last week, Will Levis put up four touchdowns and won his first career start. This time on a short week against a top defense on the road in Pittsburgh, he struggled a little more, but it is evident he is the guy moving forward in Tennessee.
25. Las Vegas Raiders (3-5): For the most part, the Raiders did not have any positives against the Lions. The passing game was not good, the run defense was not any good and the players were getting frustrated. Next week they will have a change of scenery at the coaching position because Josh McDaniels was fired and replaced with Antonio Pierce.
26. Washington Commanders (3-5): A close loss to a division rival sees Washington at 3-5 with little chance of any playoff hopes because of the division the team is in. The Commanders traded two star defensive players, Chase Young and Montez Sweat, which means they are chalking up this season.
27. Green Bay Packers (2-5): Quarterback Jordan Love is being put in the hot seat even though it is his first year starting. The injuries the Packers have sustained have definitely not helped anyone’s situation. The direction this Packers team chooses to go in the future is unpredictable.
28. Chicago Bears (2-6): The Bears have many holes throughout their whole roster and have dealt with injuries on top of that. The Bear’s offensive and defensive lines have been weaknesses, but they look to improve on the defensive at least by getting Montez Sweat.
29. New York Giants (2-6): The Giants had to put in their third-string quarterback this week and still should have won this week. Running Back Saquon Barkley was pretty much their whole offense by getting 39 touches. A missed field goal gave life to the Jets, who ended up winning in overtime.
30. New England Patriots (2-6): Just when you think New England might be onto something by beating the Bills in the week prior, they go back to their old selves. The Patriots have pretty much no offense or defense and have no playoff hopes.
31. Carolina Panthers (1-7): The Panthers picked up their first win of the year over the Texans. Rookie Quarterback Bryce Young looks to be improving, which is exactly what you want to see if you are a Panthers fan. All you can hope for is more improvements even if they are small ones.

32. Arizona Cardinals(1-7): Quarterback Kyler Murray is set to come back soon from his ACL injury any week, which will give some juice to the struggling Cardinals. Arizona is sitting at 1-7, so there is not much chance of anything happening for them in the post-season. All they can do now is keep developing their young talent.