The curse of the Power Rankings strikes again.
There will be another new No. 1 in the NFL Power Rankings Week 8 because for a fifth consecutive week, the team atop last week's rankings immediately lost its next game.
The Detroit Lions were this week's victims, proceeded in death by the 49ers, Bills, Dolphins and Cowboys in reverse order. And in case the NFL wasn't already confusing enough, three of those four teams lost a second time in Week 7, with the top-four DVOA teams all losing the same week for the first time ever.
The 49ers were the latest presumed contender to fall, losing 22-17 in Minnesota on Monday night. San Francisco's defense could not get off the field on third down, allowing Kirk Cousins and rookie Jordan Addison to dominate a bewildered defense. On the other side of the ball, the Niners offense struggled without Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel.
Two weeks ago, the 49ers were undefeated and flying high. Now, Brock Purdy's guys have lost twice in a row and are looking for answers. Seems every week we are shuffling things in an entirely new order.
These are your Week 8 NFL Power Rankings.
(To skip directly to a specific team, click on the team's name in the table below!)
NFL Week 8 Power Rankings
| 1 | 17 | ||
| 2 | 18 | ||
| 3 | 19 | ||
| 4 | 20 | ||
| 5 | 21 | ||
| 6 | 22 | ||
| 7 | 23 | ||
| 8 | 24 | ||
| 9 | 25 | ||
| 10 | 26 | ||
| 11 | 27 | ||
| 12 | 28 | ||
| 13 | 29 | ||
| 14 | 30 | ||
| 15 | 31 | ||
| 16 | 32 |
TIER I — SHOULD REALLY BE UNDEFEATED
1. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week ranking: 2)
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense finally looked like themselves, carving up the middle of the field with 12 catches for 179 yards from Travis Kelce and a monster MVP-like line from Mahomes. He's the favorite for that award, and it's time to admit that the Chiefs are for the Lombardi Trophy — and might have been all along.
Kansas City is a heavy favorite to be the AFC's No. 1 seed at this point, especially with both Miami and Buffalo losing this weekend and with the defense continuing to thrive. That means a Mahomes MVP ticket (+275) and any Chiefs AFC (+220) or Super Bowl (+475) future has value.
It almost feels foolish not to add an AFC ticket at this point, since a 1-seed puts them one heavily favored win away from hosting that game and leaving plenty of hedging opportunities at worst.
Of course, first the Chiefs have to overcome the curse of the Power Rankings. Up next is the Denver Broncos, a division rival that Kansas City has beaten 16 straight times. What could possibly go wrong?
2. Baltimore Ravens (5)
The Ravens' dominant 38-6 win over the Lions might be the performance of the season in the NFL so far.
Lamar Jackson sliced up a Detroit defense that had ranked first in EPA per play over the previous four weeks, and the Lions chewed up yardage on long drives as Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken's unit finally peaked. The Ravens scored TDs on their first four drives, at that point up 323-13 in total yards.
Jackson played a nearly perfect game, and he is firmly in the MVP conversation now — though he often is this time of the year and needs to stay healthy. This is the game we were waiting for from Baltimore, when the Ravens finally put it all together.
Ravens futures have more value than any other team in the league right now. FTN projects Baltimore at 11.9 wins with a 66.7% chance at the division as Baltimore moves to No. 1 in DVOA after San Francisco's Monday night struggles. We can bet them at over 10.5 wins and +115 to win the division (DraftKings), an implied 46.5% that implies massive value. AFC (+600) and Super Bowl (+1600) tickets also show huge value at 14% and 6% implied vs. 25% and 13% per FTN — nearly double the value!
Normally, right after a huge win would not be a good time to invest in a team, but Cleveland and Pittsburgh's wins this weekend kept a tough division artificially close. Take advantage!
3. Philadelphia Eagles (8)
I put the Eagles in timeout for a week but they're back in the top tier after an impressive two-TD win over the Dolphins on Sunday night. And now they're in the driver's seat for the 1-seed after San Francisco's loss.
Philadelphia may not be playing the prettiest style of football, but the Eagles have hacked the NFL and it is working: the Eagles are breaking modern football by quite literally breaking modern football.
TIER II — CINDERELLA WATCH
4. Detroit Lions (1)
Sunday's game felt more about the Ravens than the Lions, though it was certainly domination. Jared Goff was bad again outdoors on the road, and his sense of timing was all off with five sacks and an interception. Detroit has survived impressively through a flurry of early injuries, but it felt like everything caught up to the Lions right as the Ravens fired on every cylinder.
Good teams are allowed to have bad days, even terrible ones. Detroit is still a massive favorite to win the NFC North and in a great position to contend for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars (10)
I'll be honest: I would have never, ever expected the Jaguars to go 4-0 this last stretch against Atlanta, Buffalo, Indianapolis and New Orleans. That's four tough opponents and a couple of brutal travel and schedule disadvantage spots, but Jacksonville just keeps on winning.
I'm still not totally positive I buy this team. Jacksonville was out-gained in another win, and the Jaguars continue to underwhelm on offense but play stout defense and allow the opponent to beat themselves. Credit Doug Pederson for giving his guys a shot and the Jags for executing when it matters most. Now, it's one more big test in Pittsburgh before a much-needed week off.
One possible concern: Jacksonville has benefited from 16 turnovers, most in the NFL. Will the record hold up when the turnovers regress? Trevor Lawrence could be an MVP value at +2500 if you believe.
6. Seattle Seahawks (13)
It was a third straight dominant defensive performance from the Seahawks, who are now only one-half game behind the NFC West-leading 49ers. Seattle made a ton of mistakes Sunday — 1-of-3 in the red zone, three turnovers including an interception at the 1-yard line, settling for a FG at the 1, too — and still won comfortably by double digits.
Geno Smith continues to struggle in key spots on late downs and in the red zone. Will those numbers ever regress, or is this a big problem for Seattle?
TIER III — OFFICIALLY ON FRAUD WATCH
7. San Francisco 49ers (3)
Remember when Brock Purdy had never lost a regular-season game and was a hot MVP pick? Purdy seemed thrown off by Brian Flores' Vikings defense all night and wasn't good enough late, while San Francisco's defense was shockingly bad in a second straight loss. Niners DC Steve Wilks kept bringing heat all night despite it never getting home, and the 49ers secondary got picked apart by Kirk Cousins on a Monday night.
And sure, San Francisco could've easily won if not for Jordan Addison literally stealing a touchdown from Charvarius Ward, three Niners turnovers, and a missed field goal. But this is two weeks in a row that the 49ers let mediocre opponents without their best player on offense hang around, and that stuff catches up with you. The truth is that the 49ers were missing their best offensive player, too: not Purdy, nor Christian McCaffrey, but left tackle Trent Williams. The 49ers averaged a ghastly -0.58 EPA per play on 14 early-down runs, leaving Purdy and the offense in bad scripts all night.
Now, the 49ers play the rested Bengals, then the Jaguars, Bucs, Seahawks (twice) and Eagles after the bye. The 49ers have fallen from 5-0 to 5-2 and could be on a path to 9-4 or even 8-5. If the division isn't on lock, they could tumble to the NFC's No. 5 or 6 seed. Life comes at you fast. Get well soon, Trent.
8. Dallas Cowboys (9)
The Cowboys got a week off and needed it with all their early injuries. The question now: Did Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer find any answers for this offense during the week off?
Dallas is 4-2 and plays only one team at .500 or better over the next five weeks. That's a game in Philly a week from now and if the Cowboys win that one, they can flip this entire narrative and claim pole position for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Dallas feels forgotten but is right in the heat of things.
I was on Dak Prescott to win MVP before the season. The numbers haven't been there yet, but he's still got sneaky value at +5000. Mahomes, Jackson and Hurts are a clear top three at this point, but it's wide open after that so why not Prescott? If things look good against the Rams this week, I may double down.
9. Miami Dolphins (4)
On the one hand, Dolphins fans shouldn't despair about the Eagles loss. Miami lost the battle but proved it belonged in the war. Mike McDaniel made savvy halftime adjustments and the Dolphins were driving on the road with a chance to tie against the defending NFC champs without three offensive linemen and their best defender, who's the guy who should've been covering A.J. Brown.
On the other hand, there are no participation trophies in the NFL and Miami is gonna have to beat a real opponent at some point for us to take them seriously. The last time the Dolphins beat a team with a winning record at the time? That would be Week 3 … of last season.
10. Buffalo Bills (7)
Feels like it's time to worry about the Bills.
And not the offense. The Bills only punted once. They had 13-, 12-, and 13-play drives that ended in a cumulative three points thanks to poor red-zone execution, a missed field goal and a turnover on downs. The Patriots have a talented defense, and 25 points should've been enough against New England. It happens.
It wasn't enough because the Bills defense is in serious trouble. The anemic Patriots, a team that hadn't topped 20 points all season, completely exploited Buffalo's defense, specifically attacking the team's glaring weaknesses that now include the guys who replaced LB Matt Milano, CB Tre'Davious White and both missing defensive tackles. And if the Patriots and their complete lack of weapons can exploit those holes, imagine what a real offense can do.
The Bills have given three wins away, two to the Jets and Patriots. They might still have four or five losses left on the schedule. Forget the No. 1 seed in the AFC because it looks like that ship has already sailed.
Buffalo might not even be a playoff lock. The Bills miss the postseason in about 1-in-3 scenarios at this point.
Fraud watch, indeed.
TIER IV — THE REAL AFC SLEEPERS
11. Cleveland Browns (6)
The Browns won a game and dropped five spots in the rankings because this quarterback thing is getting goofy in a hurry.
Deshaun Watson finally started, completed as many passes to the opponent as his own team, left hurt with a horrendous -1.18 EPA per play and -43 completion percentage over expected (CPOE), was cleared from protocol concussion, didn't come back into the game anyway for some reason while P.J. Walker completed less than half his passes and turned it over twice, and then he was announced as next week's starter immediately after the game.
What?!
The Browns just needed to find anything competent on offense to prop up a historically good defense, but they're failing to find answers on one end and suddenly asking questions on the other. Cleveland gave up 38 points to Gardner Minshew and the Colts, including a broken coverage 59-yard bomb, a broken-tackle 75-yard catch-and-run and nine Indianapolis plays of 17 yards or more. The Colts had 300 yards on nine plays!
The Colts!! They're not even an explosive offense, but they picked on Jim Schwartz's defense.
Myles Garrett was awesome, an absolute monster who had nine tackles, two sacks, a pass defended, tackle for loss, two QB hits, a blocked field goal, forced fumble and fumble recovery for a touchdown. He was personally responsible for 10 points and single-handedly won Cleveland the game, and he should be the clear Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner right now.
But Garrett can't play QB, and the Browns have two straight undeserved wins, no quarterback and already passed their bye week. It feels like this could go south in a hurry.
12. Houston Texans (14)
Texans Island got a week off and moved up two spots anyway. Charmed life.
Houston is finally getting healthy after all those cluster injuries on the line and in the secondary. This was a perfectly timed bye week. What did offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and C.J. Stroud learn in the week off to propel this team forward?
TIER V — WE BOTH KNOW YOU'RE WORSE THAN THIS
13. Cincinnati Bengals (11)
The Bengals badly needed the early bye too, and hopefully Joe Burrow can finally put that calf injury behind him. The underlying metrics remain more than skeptical about Cincinnati, though, so don't think this team is out of the woods just yet at 3-3.
One player who is not struggling is Ja'Marr Chase. Remember his slow start? He's averaging 10 catches per game over the last four weeks and has become a huge volume guy with Tee Higgins less than 100%. He's the NFL leader in receptions per game but is a bit off the radar because of the bye week. He has value at +1000 (FanDuel) to lead the league in receptions, especially with some of the other top options around the league banged up.
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (19)
The Steelers moved to 4-2, but I remain underwhelmed. The offense didn't feel like it found a ton of answers in the week off, other than just chucking it downfield outside the numbers to George Pickens, which is really the only thing that's worked all season.
Pittsburgh won with defense and special teams in an underdog role; what else is new? Rah rah, Mike Tomlin.
15. New York Jets (16)
Coming into the new season, a 3-3 Jets start would've been a quality outcome after the brutal opening six opponents. To do that even without Aaron Rodgers has to be considered a remarkable success.
The Jets have saved their season, for now, but the numbers suggest the defense is not as elite as it was last season. Did New York find anything during the bye week to improve its offense?
16. Atlanta Falcons (22)
The Desmond Ridder experience remains a wild one.
Ridder finally covered a first-half spread for the first time in his career (by a point!) despite a strip sack in field-goal range just before the break. He led a game-winning field goal drive but only made one key pass on the drive, and that drive was only necessary because Ridder also fumbled twice on the Bucs 1-yard-line, including once on a nonchalant stroll into the end zone that instead turned into a Tampa touchback.
After all that, Atlanta is 4-3 and sits alone atop the NFC South, with the key words there, of course, being "NFC South."
Ridder was actually good as a passer on early downs, when the defense was playing for Atlanta's usual run, but terrible late when forced to throw. Maybe Arthur Smith should take note.
TIER VI — WE BOTH KNOW YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS
17. Minnesota Vikings (26)
Holy season-saving win from the Vikings!
Kirk Cousins was flat-out awesome. He was absolutely cooking on third down all night as the Vikings went 8-of-13, sitting in the pocket and chewing up a tenacious 49ers defense. Minnesota's offensive line had an awesome night, and rookie Jordan Addison looks like a second star receiver on the roster after seven catches for 123 yards and two TDs.
Minnesota piled up 452 yards of offense on 6.8 yards per play. The Vikings now rate as above average on both offense and defense and at 3-4, this win changes the entire complexion of the season. Minnesota faces only one likely playoff team over the next five weeks before its bye: Packers, Falcons, Saints, Broncos and Bears. Could the Vikings suddenly emerge at 7-5 and right in the NFC mix?
18. Los Angeles Chargers (12)
It's no shame losing to the Chiefs, but the way the Chargers lost to Kansas City was pretty discouraging. The heart of the defense got mercilessly carved up all game, and Justin Herbert took five sacks and threw two interceptions.
This was supposed to be the one matchup Brandon Staley had figured out enough to give his team a chance. If he can't even do that, as the Chargers fall to 2-4, how much rope can Staley have left?
19. Los Angeles Rams (15)
The Rams continue to pass my eye test with flying colors, even if the wins aren't coming. Puka Nacua had maybe his best game yet as the Rams gave one away to the Steelers. Matthew Stafford threw what was effectively a pick-6 to T.J. Watt to open the second half and blow L.A.'s lead, and then the Rams led 17-10 in the fourth before allowing two long touchdown drives to a bad Steelers offense.
And even with all that, the Rams might have lost this game on special teams, an area the team has consistently overlooked. Brett Maher missed two field goals and an extra point. There's your seven points in a seven-point loss. Maher was cut Tuesday, but the damage is already done.
The Rams fall to 3-4 and have road trips to Dallas and Green Bay next. Eye test or not, they need answers fast.
TIER VII — THE DIVISION PATH REMAINS OPEN
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (18)
The Bucs are 3-3 and in the thick of things in a winnable NFC South, but Sunday was a huge missed opportunity.
Tampa Bay was thoroughly outplayed but had a chance to steal a win from the Falcons late and get to 4-2 with head-to-head wins over Atlanta and New Orleans. Instead, with six of the next eight Bucs games on the road, Sunday was probably the beginning of the end.
21. New Orleans Saints (17)
The Saints are another team that threw away their shot. A lifeless performance looked saved when the Saints stormed back Thursday night to tie the Jaguars late, but then Foster Moreau dropped an easy touchdown in the final seconds and New Orleans lost anyway. The Saints ran 31 more plays than Jacksonville, tallied more first downs and yards and even won the turnover battle, but lost anyway.
Derek Carr threw 55 times for just 5.5 yards per attempt with gross efficiency metrics of a 6.3 average depth of target (ADOT) and -7.4 CPOE. His accuracy has been poor — the one thing he's known for — and this offense still seems designed for the Drew Brees days of yore.
The Saints have the most talented team in the division, but the coaching staff is letting them down.
22. Indianapolis Colts (20)
Indianapolis's coaching staff, on the other hand, is giving the Colts life.
Shane Steichen was in his bag, dialing up plays of 17, 19, 20, 20, 24, 32, 34, 59, and 75 yards against a Browns defense that had previously throttled opposing offenses.
That's probably not going to mean much this year with Anthony Richardson out — Gardner Minshew lost three fumbles, ate four sacks, and threw another interception — but it's a great sign for the Colts future.
TIER VIII — NOT TOTALLY DEAD YET
23. Green Bay Packers (24)
The Packers were quietly one of the most disappointing teams of the week.
I was excited to see what answers Matt LaFleur and this young offense might find with a week to self-scout and a chance to get healthy before a matchup against the worst DVOA defense in the league. And what answers did they find? Yet another first-half turd, a late field goal away from another scoreless half. That is very discouraging at this point of the season.
Green Bay lucked into a late lead thanks to a goofy sidearm ricochet TD, but the defense immediately allowed an easy field goal drive to the corpse of Russell Wilson before a Jordan Love interception sealed the Packers' fate.
The Packers have two wins. One was a Week 1 blowout of the Bears, and in the other one, the team went scoreless for 49 minutes before scoring 18 points late to snipe the mighty Saints by a single point. Green Bay isn't dead, but it might not have ever been particularly alive.
24. Denver Broncos (28)
Speaking of zombies, Russell Wilson and the 2-5 Broncos!
Denver has quietly played competitive football four straight weeks after quitting midway through allowing 70 points to the Dolphins, but quietly competitive can only get you so far in the AFC.
25. Chicago Bears (29)
Ladies and gentlemen, Tyson Bagent!
Bagent became the 25th Bears starting QB in 20 seasons and might already rank top five on the list. He played a clean game in his debut, though his (not a typo) 2.0 ADOT was laughable in its simplicity.
Still, Chicago looked like a real NFL team despite playing without its starting QB and the entire RB room, and that's saying something. All the better that the team doesn't even necessarily have to worry about this ruining its draft pick since Chicago still owns the 0-6 Panthers' pick too!
26. Washington Commanders (21)
How is Sam Howell still standing? Howell ate six more sacks — sacks are a QB stat — against the Giants and now sits at 40 sacks through seven games. He's on pace for 97 sacks, which would absolutely shatter the all-time record set by David Carr with a meager 76 for the expansion Houston Texans in 2002.
Washington was 1-of-15 on third down. Against the Giants. The Commanders allowed a team that hadn't scored a touchdown in 13 quarters to score two in under seven minutes.
It's a good thing this franchise is immune to embarrassment at this point.
27. Tennessee Titans (25)
It sure looks like the Titans may be close to shutting it down. Tennessee traded star S Kevin Byard, and it looks like the team will play Malik Willis and rookie Will Levis at QB coming out of the bye.
What other Titans could find a new home soon? Derrick Henry could swing the AFC North with a trade to the Ravens or Browns. Ryan Tannehill could save the Falcons or Jets season. Who's next?
TIER IX — START SCOUTING FOR THE DRAFT
28. Las Vegas Raiders (23)
What's worse for the Raiders — giving up 30 points to a rookie debut QB from Division II Shepherd University, or only recording 235 yards themselves against that disaster of a Bears defense?
I vote for the latter. Twelve points against the Bears?! That's considered a crime in some countries.
Devastating loss for the Raiders — to me personally, since I absolutely could not wait to fade Las Vegas futures for a 4-3 start books would've had to pay respect to.
29. New England Patriots (31)
Well, that's certainly one way for Bill Belichick to get his 300th win, just after news leaked of a long, fat extension he signed in the offseason.
The Patriots averaged 6.6 yards per play and saw Mac Jones play his best game of the season at 0.34 EPA per play on an ugly 3.3 ADOT. In other words, this was less about the QB and more about a beatable defense. New England's win was not about New England at all. It was all about Buffalo.
30. New York Giants (30)
The Giants beat the Commanders 14-7 in perhaps the least interesting game of the season so far.
The good news? New York moves to 2-5, Washington drops to 3-4, and this result means we can effectively stop caring about both teams all at once. A perfect outcome.
31. Carolina Panthers (32)
The Panthers had a week off, so let's give them a week out of the cellar too. Thomas Brown will call plays for Carolina coming out of the bye, for the first time ever at any level. Let's see how that goes.
32. Arizona Cardinals (27)
Four straight double-digit losses since the Cowboys upset return Arizona to the bottom of the power rankings where they belong. All is right again in the world.
NFL Week 8 Power Rankings
- Kansas City Chiefs (Last week ranking: 2)
- Baltimore Ravens (5)
- Philadelphia Eagles (8)
- Detroit Lions (1)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (10)
- Seattle Seahawks (13)
- San Francisco 49ers (3)
- Dallas Cowboys (9)
- Miami Dolphins (4)
- Buffalo Bills (7)
- Cleveland Browns (6)
- Houston Texans (14)
- Cincinnati Bengals (11)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (19)
- New York Jets (16)
- Atlanta Falcons (22)
- Minnesota Vikings (26)
- Los Angeles Chargers (12)
- Los Angeles Rams (15)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (18)
- New Orleans Saints (17)
- Indianapolis Colts (20)
- Green Bay Packers (24)
- Denver Broncos (28)
- Chicago Bears (29)
- Washington Commanders (22)
- Tennessee Titans (25)
- Las Vegas Raiders (23)
- New England Patriots (31)
- New York Giants (30)
- Carolina Panthers (32)
- Arizona Cardinals (27)
