Image: Torsten Bolten
NFL MVP Chase standings through Week 9
Daniel Jones had been alone at the top since Week 2. Still on top, but not alone.
Pre-Season Prediction Update
Week 9 was the mid-point of the NFL season. I'm checking in on how the standings compare to my preseason predictions. It's imperfect because some teams have played nine games and others only eight, but now's a good time as any.
NFC EAST: I had the Commanders second (and a playoff team) and the Cowboys third. The Cowboys are second, half a game ahead of the Commanders.
NFC NORTH: I had the Vikings third and the Bears fourth, but they're switched. The Bears have an identical record (5-3) as the second-place Lions. The Vikings are one game behind them.
NFC SOUTH: I had the Falcons second and the Panthers third. They're switched, with the Panthers two games ahead.
NFC WEST: I had the Seahawks and the Rams second; they have identical records, and the Rams are listed first by the NFL.
NFC PLAYOFFS: I had the Eagles, Packers, Buccaneers, and Seahawks as division champs with the Commanders, Rams, and Lions as wildcards. The Lions and Bears are tied for the seventh spot. If the playoffs began today, the 49ers would be in instead of the Commanders.
AFC EAST: I was correct about the Jets in last place, at least. I had it Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, but it's Patriots, Bills, Dolphins.
AFC NORTH: Correct about the Browns in last place. I had it Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, but it's Steelers, Ravens, Bengals.
AFC SOUTH: Correct about the Jaguars in second and the Titans last. I have the Texans first and the Colts third, but they're switched.
AFC WEST: Correct about the Chargers in second and the Raiders last. I had the Chiefs first and the Broncos third. They're switched.
AFC PLAYOFFS: I had the Bills, Ravens, Texans, and Chiefs as division champs with the Dolphins, Chargers, and Broncos as the Wildcards. Currently in first place, however, are the Patriots, Steelers, Colts, and Broncos, with the Bills, Jaguars, and Chargers as wildcards. So only three of my predicted playoff teams —the Bills, Chargers, and Broncos —are on course.
Overall, my most significant misses are the Dolphins and the Commanders. Aside from them, where I've been off, I've not been far off, and teams that are behind right now have time to recover and make the playoffs.
College Football Rankings
Tonight (November 4, 2025), the College Football Playoff Selection Committee will release its first Top 25 rankings. As only 12 teams will be selected on December 7, releasing rankings right now is barely as useful as the AP and Coaches polls. It may send a message to some teams that all they need to do is keep winning, and they're in. But this is the month where even the best teams start losing, so there's not much point to it.
Nevertheless, if the playoffs are based on merit (they're not, but if they are), the Committee would release this. Each team’s Playoff Chase Points reflect the number of wins by opponents the team has beaten, with a deduction depending on the number of losses by the teams it lost to and the margin of defeat. (In this system, most teams would have a negative number.) Where there is a tie in Playoff Chase Points, teams are ranked by fewer games, then by the lower margin(s) of defeat.
Ohio State (8-0) 41 (equal number of points as Indiana with one less game)
Indiana (9-0) 41
Texas A&M (8-0) 34
Brigham Young (8-0) 31
Alabama (7-1) 28
Ole Miss (8-1) 28
North Texas (8-1) 28
Georgia (7-1) 26
Virginia (8-1) 26
Georgia Tech (8-1) 26
Louisville (8-1) 25
Texas Tech (8-1) 25
Oklahoma (7-2) 25
Oregon (7-1) 22
Memphis (8-1) 22
Utah (7-2) 21
Michigan (7-2) 21
Texas (7-2) 19
Notre Dame (6-2) 18
USC (6-2) 18
Washington (7-2) 18
South Florida (7-2) 17
James Madison (7-1) 16
Navy (7-1) 16
Miami, FL (6-2) 16
Eliminated From Playoffs
I started eliminating teams after Week 1, confident they wouldn't be any good (example: North Carolina). All but 20 teams will be eliminated by Conference Championship Weekend.
Air Force, Akron, Arkansas, Arkansas St, Arizona, Army, Appalachian St, Auburn, Ball St, Baylor, Boise State, Boston College, Bowling Green, Buffalo, California, Central Michigan, Charlotte, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Colorado, Colorado State, Duke, East Carolina, Eastern Mich, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Florida St, Georgia Southern, Georgia St, Illinois, Iowa St, Kansas, Kansas St, Kennesaw St, Kent St, Kentucky, Liberty, Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, LSU, Marshall, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan State, Middle Tenn, Minnesota, Mississippi St, Missouri St, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico St, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Oklahoma St, Old Dominion, Ohio, Oregon St, Purdue, Rutgers, Sam Houston, San Jose St, SMU, South Alabama, South Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, UCF, UCLA, UTEP, UTSA, Virginia Tech, Washington State, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Wisconsin
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Contact James Leroy Wilson for writing, editing, research, and other work at jamesleroywilson-at-gmail.com. Visit JL Cells for my non-sports writing.
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