The 2024 NFL season has reached what used to be the halfway point, as Week 9 has arrived. Eight games into the year, the Dallas Cowboys (3-4) have a -1.0 Football Power Index (FPI) rating from ESPN, which ranks 23rd in the league.
The Atlanta Falcons (5-3), who will host Dallas on Sunday, are ranked 15th with a 0.6 FPI rating.
FPI is “a prediction system for the NFL. Each team’s FPI rating is composed of a predicted offensive, defensive and special teams efficiency, as measured by expected points added per play, and that rating is the basis for FPI’s game-level and season-level projections,” according to ESPN.com. FPI “represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 10,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule.”
Here’s a look at the ratings heading into the weekend action.
- Detroit Lions (6-1): 7.6
- Baltimore Ravens (3-2): 6.2
- Buffalo Bills (6-2): 6.2
- Kansas City Chiefs (7-0): 6.1
- Philadelphia Eagles (5-2): 4.0
- San Francisco 49ers (4-4): 3.8
- Green Bay Packers (6-2): 2.4
- Washington Commanders (6-2): 2.2
- Indianapolis Colts (4-4): 2.0
- Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2): 1.8
- Minnesota Vikings (5-2): 1.8
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4): 1.8
- Houston Texans (6-2): 1.8
- Chicago Bears (4-3): 1.0
- Atlanta Falcons (5-3): 0.6
- New York Jets (2-6): 0.5
- Cleveland Browns (2-6): 0.3
- Los Angeles Rams (3-4): -0.0
- Cincinnati Bengals (3-5): -0.0
- Los Angeles Chargers (4-3): -0.1
- Arizona Cardinals (4-4): -0.3
- New Orleans Saints (2-6): -0.7
- Dallas Cowboys (3-4): -1.0
- Seattle Seahawks (4-4): -1.4
- Miami Dolphins (2-5): -1.8
- Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6): -1.9
- Denver Broncos (5-3): -2.5
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-6): -4.5
- New York Giants (2-6): -4.8
- Tennesee Titans (1-6): -5.0
- New England Patriots (2-6): -7.4
- Carolina Panthers (1-7): -10.3
The records say there’s a reasonable gap between the Cowboys and Falcons. FPI says otherwise.