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.

1. Detroit Lions (6-1): 7.6
2. Baltimore Ravens (3-2): 6.2
3. Buffalo Bills (6-2): 6.2
4. Kansas City Chiefs (7-0): 6.1
5. Philadelphia Eagles (5-2): 4.0
6. San Francisco 49ers (4-4): 3.8
7. Green Bay Packers (6-2): 2.4
8. Washington Commanders (6-2): 2.2
9. Indianapolis Colts (4-4): 2.0
10. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2): 1.8
11. Minnesota Vikings (5-2): 1.8
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4): 1.8
13. Houston Texans (6-2): 1.8
14. Chicago Bears (4-3): 1.0
15. Atlanta Falcons (5-3): 0.6
16. New York Jets (2-6): 0.5
17. Cleveland Browns (2-6): 0.3
18. Los Angeles Rams (3-4): -0.0
19. Cincinnati Bengals (3-5): -0.0
20. Los Angeles Chargers (4-3): -0.1
21. Arizona Cardinals (4-4): -0.3
22. New Orleans Saints (2-6): -0.7
23. Dallas Cowboys (3-4): -1.0
24. Seattle Seahawks (4-4): -1.4
25. Miami Dolphins (2-5): -1.8
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6): -1.9
27. Denver Broncos (5-3): -2.5
28. Las Vegas Raiders (2-6): -4.5
29. New York Giants (2-6): -4.8
30. Tennesee Titans (1-6): -5.0
31. New England Patriots (2-6): -7.4
32. Carolina Panthers (1-7): -10.3

The records say there’s a reasonable gap between the Cowboys and Falcons. FPI says otherwise.