NFL Power Rankings after Week 8: Lions at top after BYE, Colts second, KC third as top three stays the same

1) Detroit Lions (5-2), last week 1

BYE

2) Indianapolis Colts (7-1), last week 2

J-Taylor is back to being the best RB in the league and the Colts still look like the top team in the NFL heading to the halfway point of the season. Can they keep this up for the second half of the season? That’s one of the stories of the final 10 weeks.

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

It took 30 minutes, but the Chiefs finally turned on the the thrusters in the second half and ended up smoking the Commanders. The defense held strong while the offense sorted themselves out. The D will be fine doing that knowing that teams can’t keep this offense down forever.

4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2), last week 4

After their loss to the Lions, Tampa Bay needed date with the New Orleans Saints. It was a defensive masterpiece but Baker Mayfield has had a couple down weeks in the passing game, and the question is: is this team slowing down and are the injury problems finally catching up to this Bucs side?

5) Philadelphia Eagles (6-2), last week 5

The Eagles avenged their loss to the Giants in a bittersweet way. Saquon Barkley finally ignited for a 100+ yard game, his first of the season, but it came at a price. He left the game early with a groin injury and now Philly fans wait and pray.

6) Buffalo Bills (5-2), last week 6

Buffalo after a BYE following two straight losses, and playing the Panthers? Lock.

7) Seattle Seahawks (5-2), last week 7

BYE

8) Los Angeles Rams (5-2), last week 8

BYE

9) New England Patriots (6-2), last week 10

Ladies and gentlemen the hottest team in the league resides in Foxborough. Their win over the Bills is the only one that gives this streak legitimacy but it’s still five in a row no matter how you chalk it up. They will be put to the test over the next couple weeks.

10) Green Bay Packers (5-1-1), last week 11

Green Bay went into Pittsburgh and let Aaron Rodgers know they have moved on from their ex and are flourishing with their newer, younger QB.

11) Denver Broncos (6-2), last week 12

Denver’s D shut down the top rated offense in the league and made it look easy as Bo Nix ripped the Cowboys to shreds at Mile High. How many more games do they need to win to crack the top 10? At least one.

12) San Francisco 49ers (5-3), last week 9

We came into Week 8 thinking the Niners were a much better team than the Texans, but Houston dominated from start to finish and the odds makers saw it coming. Maybe there is something in the shadows that should make this Niners team nervous as the season goes on.

13) Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3), last week 13

The Steelers had a chance to show they were ready to play with the big boys, but the defense again got exposed allowing more the 20 straight completions and the gave up 21 points in the fourth quarter as they fell to the Packers.

14) Los Angeles Chargers (5-3), last week 19

That’s more like it for the Chargers, who looked like the team we thought they were going to be at the beginning of the season. Just goes to show what injuries can do to a team. Just hope they can stay healthy for the rest of the way.

15) Jacksonville Jaguars (4-3), last week 15

BYE

16) Dallas Cowboys (3-4-1), last week 17

The battle of great offense against great defense was dominated by Denver and their defense. Dallas are a fun team to watch against bad teams, but they’ll never beat good teams without a D.

17) Minnesota Vikings (3-4), last week 18

Not sure what the Vikings were protecting or hiding J.J. McCarthy from over the last couple weeks, but he’s about to find out after Carson Wentz was ruled out for the season following the blowout loss to the Chargers.

18) Chicago Bears (4-3), last week 14

Just when it seemed like the Bears had some momentum they trip over their own feet. They have some winnable games coming up, lets see how the rebound.

19) Washington Commanders (3-5), last week 21

The Commanders looked like the better team for one half from KC, but didn’t take advantage of their opportunities and paid the price in the second half.

20) Houston Texans (3-4), last week 23

The odds makers knew something was up in Houston when the Texans played the Niners. It didn’t make sense, and I hope you didn’t get duped like I did.

21) Cincinnati Bengals (3-5), last week 22

Flacco did his job, but that defense that was so suspect coming into the season showed us that QB issues aren’t the only thing to worry about in Cincy.

22) Atlanta Falcons (3-4), last week 16

Two straight losses and 20 points total scored over the last two weeks. You beat the Bills, but lose to the Dolphins? That’s not what real contenders do.

23) Baltimore Ravens (2-5), last week 26

Keep your head above water Baltimore. Just hang on until Lamar comes back. This win restores a little hope, but only as long as their QB comes back under center ASAP.

24) Carolina Panthers (4-4), last week 20

Welcome back to reality. Let’s not be fooled by a couple of wins against bad teams doesn’t mean that it’s a new day in Charlotte and they found that out against the Bills on Sunday.

25) New York Giants (2-6), last week 24

Skatteboo goes down with a serious leg injury and the Giants fans put their head in their hands knowing this wild ride over the last month was too good to be true. Gutted for Skatteboo, gutted for Dart, gutted for New York who finally had something to believe in.

26) Cleveland Browns (2-6), last week 25

The Browns ran into a buzzsaw that is Drake Maye and the Pats and last weeks blowout win over Miami seems like ages ago.

27) Arizona Cardinals 27

BYE

28) Las Vegas Raiders (2-5), last week 28

BYE

29) Miami Dolphins (2-6), last week 30

There were some jobs saved in Miami on Sunday in Atlanta. I don’t know how much leeway that win will give the coach and QB, but at least they have a reason to smile and a reason not to have to listen to Tua’s bizarre interviews after the game.

30) New Orleans Saints (1-7), last week 29

The Saints finally made a change at QB, but the Tyler Shough show didn’t make the slightest of difference for a Saints team that packs no punt on the offensive end.

31) New York Jets (1-7), last week 32

I couldn’t be happier for Justin Fields who handled getting slammed by his owner with a type of class that makes you want to root for the guy. Well deserved win for him and Aaron Glenn who is another one of those guys you just want to root for.

32) Tennessee Titans (1-7), last week 31

It’s going from bad to worse for Tennessee and their rookie QB. There was some excitement coming into this year, but that hope has turned to despair and now not even Titans fans want to watch their team play.

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