NFL Power Rankings Week 8: Bills and Eagles stay put, Benglas climbing as Seattle soars

This is a new age in the NFL. One in which we have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen on a week to week basis. It’s great entertainment and great for the league, but terrible for us in the Power Rankings business who have to try to put these teams in order from top to bottom every week. Just as you feel you get a sense of who a team is, they either come up with a stunning win, or a head scratching loss that makes you rethink everything.

1) Buffalo Bills 5-1, last week 1

No one was going to bump off the Bills from the top spot, especially considering the Eagles had a bye week as well. Josh Allen and the rest of the troops will get a well deserved rest and get ready for a Sunday Night showdown against Aaron Rodgers and a wounded Green Bay Packers team.

2) Philadelphia Eagles 6-0, last week 2

Philly goes in to and will come out of their bye week as the only undefeated team in the league. Strangely enough the Bills, who are the only ones who sit on top of them in the Power Rankings, had a bye week too. So Philly stays in second for the time being. Which one of those two teams will blink first?

3) Kansas City Chiefs 5-2, last week 3

The Chiefs went down 10-0 early against the Niners, but for good reason they didn’t panic. With Patrick Mahomes under center there is never reason to lose faith. Against one of the league’s best defenses, the Chiefs put up 44 points and Mahomes posted 423 yards and three touchdowns to erase the memory of a rare first quarter interception. KC was eager to get back in the win column after losing to Buffalo, and they took care of business on the road.

4) New York Giants 6-1, last week 4

The Giants proved once against they are a team of winners. The dog days are over in New York who have six wins in seven weeks. Sunday’s game against the Jags used to be a game the Giants would lose late in the game, but this team believes under Brian Daboll, and when you have that belief as a team winning games becomes second nature. I am still interested in what this team will look like after a loss, but if it’s up to Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley that won’t be happening any time soon.

5) Dallas Cowboys 5-2, last week 5

Dak is back and the Cowboys defense is meaner than ever. The first half wasn’t exactly a work of art on a day that the Dallas QB1 made his return from finger surgery. After a red zone fumble late in the first half the Cowboys went into half trailing 6-3, and visions of the flat Week 1 performance Dak led started to pop up in the minds of Dallas fans. The defense led the way, picking off Jared Goff twice and sacking him five times holding the second ranked offense in the league to just six points all game. The offense came to life in the second half, as Ezekiel Elliott had two one-yard TD rushes and Dak finished off the job with his lone TD pass with under two minutes to go. Dak is going to have the luxury of leaning on his defense until he gets back to full fitness, and when that happens… Watch out NFC!

6) Minnesota Vikings 5-1, last week 7

No one, and I repeat no one would have believed you if you said the Vikings were going to be 5-1 going into their bye week in Week 7. Sometimes byes are a good thing, but you wonder if this week off comes at the wrong time for a team that was rolling to start the season.

7) Cincinnati Bengals 4-3, last week 8

The Bengals got their fourth win in the last five games and they had it wrapped up after a quarter of work. Joe Burrow exploded for over 220 yards and two TDs in the first 15 minutes and five seconds of the game. Tyler Boyd and Ja’Marr Chase combined for 285 yards and three receiving touchdowns in a day where the Bengals offense finally looked like the unit we saw lead Cincy to the Super Bowl last year.

8) Baltimore Ravens 4-3, last week 9

Getting a division win in a gritty, smash mouth game in the AFC North is never easy to do. The Browns made the Ravens work for it until the very last minute, but that’s nothing new for John Harbaugh’s team. Five of their last six games have been decided by one possession. Seeing Gus Edwards score two TDs in his return to the field after suffering a knee injury almost two years ago is a big moral and physical lift for Baltimore’s offense. The Ravens will hope their running back will help them hold on to double digit leads in the second half, something they weren’t able to do in their three losses. They almost blew one again on Sunday against the Browns, but Cade York’s 60 yard field goal to tie the game was blocked by Baltimore.

9) Los Angeles Chargers 4-3, last week 6

With the injuries to Keenan Allen, and Justin Herbert over the first six weeks of the season, getting an appropriate barometer on this Chargers team hasn’t been the easiest thing. They had won three straight before Sunday’s loss to Seattle, but they beat the Texans, Browns and Broncos in these games. They got Allen back for the Seahawks game, but going down 17-0 in the first quarter put them behind the 8 ball immediately. Mike Williams going down with an ankle injury could keep this offense from gelling for even longer.

10) Miami Dolphins 4-3, last week 12

Tua came back to the Dolphins, and all is well again in South Beach. It wasn’t just a win on the field, but seeing Tua back under center for the Dolphins had to put a smile on even the most die hard Bills fans’ face. The opening drive of the night against the Steelers was a thing of beauty. Tagovailoa went 6/7 and punched in a TD when he found Robert Mostert for the only TD of the Dolphins night. Tua had 261 yard and a touchdown in his return. For anyone wondering if the two scary hits on Tua would have him nervous about coming back to play, the head first slide he had on Sunday night should tell you everything you need to know about how his mind and his body is after a spell on the sidelines.

11) Tennessee Titans 4-2, last week 16

The Titans came out of their bye week ready to lock horns with the Colts in a battle for the top spot in the AFC South. There was good news and there was bad news for the Titans in Sunday’s win against the Colts. The good news was Derrick Henry went for a season high 128 yards, but the bad news is the Titans offense didn’t get into the end zone once. They were the top red zone scoring team in the league going into the bye, but Tennessee went 0-2 on their two trips on Sunday. Luckily for the coach Mike Vrable, Andrew Adams had a 76 yard pick six that made the difference and pushed the Titans to their fourth straight win.

12) New York Jets 5-2, last week 15

The Jets did everything to lose the game against on Sunday. They went 3/14 on third down, they committed 11 penalties and had just 10 first downs all game. Fortunately for them, they were playing the Broncos. Breece Hall had 72 yards and a TD, but unfortunately they saw him go down with a torn ACL that will end the rookies season. That’s a big blow to this Jets offense, but this is a side that is no stranger to dealing with adversity.

13) Los Angeles Rams 3-3, last week 13

The Los Angeles Rams went into their bye week as one of three 3-win teams in the NFC West, and come out as one of three 3-win teams trailing the division leading Seahawks. Time will tell if the Rams have used this week off to mend some of their offensive problems that have plagued them over the first six weeks of the season.

14) Green Bay Packers 3-4, last week 11

Who is to blame for the debacle in Green Bay? The Packers have lost three straight, and have a losing record 7 weeks into the season. Aaron Rodgers had less than 100 yards passing going into the final quarter, but you can’t place all the blame on the four time NFL MVP. None of the Packers receivers look like they know how to get open, and when they do they don’t come up with catches. The Packers were 0-6 on third down and ran 25 less plays then the Commanders. There is still time for the Packers to right the ship, but things only are getting uglier as the season goes on in Green Bay.

15) Indianapolis Colts 3-3-1, last week 14

Things were starting to look up for the Colts coming into Week 7. Matt Ryan was coming off of his best game in an Indy jersey, and Jonathan Taylor returned to the backfield just in time for Sunday’s game which would determine who leads the AFC South. It took the Colts more than 40 minutes to score their first points, as Ryan threw two picks one of which was taken back for a TD. On Monday Ryan was benched for the rest of the season just seven games after the Colts went all in to bring Ryan to Indy. This looked to be a two horse race in the AFC South, but losing two to the Titans already and with the instability at the QB position, the Titans might run away with it.

16) Seattle Seahawks 4-3, last week 20

For the first time this season the Seattle Seahawks beat a good team. Their wins up until this week came against the Broncos, the Lions and the Cardinals, but a win against a Chargers team, on the road make you think that their 4-3 record might just be for real. Rookie Kenneth Walker III has been a revelation this year, and his career high 168 yards and two TDs were more than enough get the Seahawks soaring above .500 and at the top of the NFC West.

17) San Francisco 49ers 3-4, last week 10

The San Francisco defense has been ripped to shreds over the last two games, and again we are having the same old conversation with the Jimmy Garoppolo Niners. Are they a good team or not? If the defense plays like they have been the last two games then San Fran won’t have a shot. There offense is no where near good enough to carry them in high scoring games, and Jimmy G is best when he is able to dink and dunk while letting the run game wear down the opponent.

18) New England Patriots last week 18

It kind of feels like the Patriots are going to have to start from scratch after their Monday Night loss to the Bears. For as well as the Pats had played over the previous two weeks, Mac Jones’ return seemed to put a kink in the chain. Jones started, and played poorly, so poorly in fact there were boos around Gillette Stadium. Zappe came in and threw two quick touchdowns for an immediate remedy, but then the offense went flat in the second half as the Rookie had a fumble and two interceptions in the 33-14 to Chicago. Now Bill Belichcik will have to go back to the drawing board, and decide who he will have as his QB1 next week against the red hot Jets.

19) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-4, last week 17

There is trouble brewing in Tampa Bay. The 21-3 loss to the Panthers is enough of an eye sore for Brady and the Bucs, but when you take into account the off the field issues, and the offensive troubles that have plagued Tampa over the last two weeks it doesn’t paint a promising picture. Brady went to Robert Kraft’s party on Friday night and missed final game preps on Saturday. When you’re a good team that is winning those things don’t matter as much as when you’re a team in the midst of a mid season spiral. Brady might be the GOAT, but there are questions surrounding his dedication circling Raymond James Stadium after this weekend’s events.

20) Las Vegas Raiders 2-4, last week 21

The Raiders came out of their bye following the formula that got them their first win of the season against the Broncos at the beginning of the month. It was Josh Jacobs running all over the Houston Texans to push Las Vegas to their second win of the season. The fourth year running back had 143 yards and three TDs against Houston, and he is averaging 147 yards in the last three games with total of 6 touchdowns in that span. They have two wins in their last three, against the Broncos and the Texans, and have very winnable games over the next month, and we will see who this team really is after Thanksgiving.

21) Arizona Cardinals 3-4, last week 26

The Cardinals won their first game under their own roof in nearly 365 days when they took down the Saints in a shootout from State Farm Stadium. It wasn’t Kyler Murray who was led the Cards to the Week 7 win, instead it was the defense that came up with two late first half pick sixes to make the difference in the desert. Coach Klif Kingsbury loosened the noose a bit with the win but this team is far from a contender in the NFC, although they sit just a game back from the division leaders.

22) Atlanta Falcons 3-4, last week 22

We had to know it was way too early to go all in on the Falcons after they didn’t just beat the Niners, but they man handled them last week. This week the Falcons were reminded what they are, and what they are not. They are a fun team that will get the occasional win makes you double take the scoreboard, but they are also a team that is not ready to compete with a Bengals team that is finally starting to look like last years Super Bowl finalists. They were down 21-0 just after just 15 minutes, and the Bengals made light work of the the Falcons who gained just 214 yards all game.

23) Washington Commanders 3-4, last week 30

How many times does Taylor Heinicke need to prove himself before he is awarded the starting job in Washington for good? Let’s be realistic, beating this Packers team is not like beating the Packers of the last decade, a team who lost four straight games will take this win in any shape it comes. Heinckie kept his cool after throwing a pick six early in the second quarter. He came back on the next possession and led an 83 yard TD drive to start a spell of 20 unanswered points. With Heinicke back at QB and Ron Rivera’s defense coming around, the Commanders could be on the verge of making some magic happen but is it too late in a stacked NFC East?

24) Cleveland Browns 2-5, last week 19

Cleveland goes as it’s running game goes, and on Sunday against the Ravens the ground game never took off. Nick Chubb had 91 yards, but Kareem Hunt was held to just four yards on five carries. Deshaun Watson’s return is still about a month away, in the meantime Cleveland have to figure out a way to stay in the playoff picture for when Watson is ready to make his debut.

25) Jacksonville Jaguars 2-5, last week 24

The Jaguars went for the Giants throat on 4th and 1 from the New York 20 early in the fourth quarter looking to go up two scores with just over 10 minutes to go in the game. This tells you two things, Doug Pederson believes in his offense to win games on big plays like the 4th and 1. It also tells you he is not quite as confident in his defense’s ability to hold a seven point lead late in the game. Lawrence was stuffed and the Jags risk didn’t pay off, but you have to credit Pederson who was trying to snap his teams three game losing streak. Even after risking it all they still had a chance to win the game in the final second, but Christian Kirk was stopped a yard shy of the goal line after Lawrence hit him on a 16 yard strike as the clock ran out.

27) Chicago Bears 3-4, last week 28

The Bears came out and had perhaps a season defining game under the spot lights in New England. They were on a three game losing streak and playing a hot team on the road in primetime. Justin Fields looked as good as he has since he was drafted by the Bears last year. He commanded the offense, made smart decisions, used his feet when he needed to and totaled 229 total yards of offense, while the run game went for 243 and the defense turned the Pats over four times in the blow out win. The Bears still have a lot to improve upon, but Monday night’s win could be something to build on.

27) Pittsburgh Steelers 2-5, last week 25

Give credit to the Steelers for going to Miami and competing with the Dolphins on an emotional night in South Florida. Giving ups 13 first quarter points didn’t exactly fall into Mike Tomlin’s game plan, but the defense held firm the rest of the way. Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh offense are going to go through plenty of growing pains this season, but he and George Pickens are developing quite a relationship early in their Steelers tenure.

28) New Orleans Saints 2-5, last week 27

Andy Dalton did exactly what Dennis Allen was trying to prevent by keeping Jameis Winston on the sideline in Thursday night’s loss the Seahawks. The Red Rifle was meant to control the offense and not play hero ball while letting the ground game impose themselves. Dalton gave up three first half interceptions, including two that got taken to the house in a second quarter. If that’s how the offense is going to look, they might as well put Jameis in under center. They are paying him a lot more.

29) Carolina Panthers 2-5, last week 32

All season the Panthers have been used as other team’s punching bags. Kicking Carolina when they are down, as the Panthers looked like they worst team in the league for the first month and a half. On Sunday it was P.J. Walker and the Panthers who beat up the Bucs in their most vulnerable moment of the season. New coach. Best player traded away. Time to throw in the towel? Nope. The fans may have given up on them (Bank of America Stadium was half empty) but Steve Wilks’ side showed pride for the first time all season against their division rivals.

30) Denver Broncos 2-5, last week 23

Different quarterback, same result for the Broncos. Russell Wilson missed the the Jets game with a hamstring injury, but the offense looked almost identically bad. Brett Rypien started at quarterback, the Broncos outgunned the Jets by almost 60 yards and had 18 more plays. They couldn’t take advantage of 11 penalties as Brandon McManus missed left four points on the board with a missed PAT and a missed 56 yard FG. When the offense isn’t clicking, everything else has to be perfect and the Broncos are far from perfect.

31) Detroit Lions 1-5, last week 29

What has happened to the Lions once top ranked offense? Through the first four games of the season they were averaging 35.7 ppg. In their last two games they have a grand total of six points. Granted, they were going up against Micah Parsons and the ferocious Dallas D, but something is seriously wrong with the Lions. Even if Detroit wasn’t winning, they at least used to be a fun team to watch. The good news is Detroit return to Ford Field next week where they are averaging 38.6 ppg.

32) Houston Texans 1-4-1, last week 31

For the first time this season the Texans were blown out on Sunday against the Raiders. They led the Raiders 20-17 at the end of the third quarter, but gave up 21 straight points as the game unraveled in the final minutes. Davis Mills had 302 yards and two TDs , but threw the interception that closed the door on the Texans chances. The second years QB continues to make his case to be the quarterback of the future, but will have to start winning games for the Texans before the franchise goes looking for other options in the offseason.