This NFL season has three givens, the first being that the New England Patriots are controlling the AFC, the second is that the Dolphins, Bengals, and Redskins are awful, and the third is that I will have a power ranking that will show the first two givens every week.
Here are the Week 8 Power Rankings:
1. The New England Patriots (7-0) (Last week: 1): The New England Patriots defense may have only faced young quarterbacks and bad teams, but they are still mostly NFL-caliber quarterbacks. This secondary is the best in the league, there is no logical argument that goes against it.
2. New Orleans Saints (5-1) (Last week: 2): The Saints do not have to rush Drew Brees back into the lineup. Teddy Bridgewater is capable of getting the Saints to the playoffs, however, I do not believe he will win them games in the postseason.
3. Green Bay Packers (6-1) (Last week: 3): Aaron Rodgers had the first perfect passer rating of his career. Rodgers, for the first time all year, had total control of the game. What we witnessed this past Sunday was what fans are used to seeing in Rodgers.
4. San Francisco 49ers (6-0) (Last week: 5): Weather can have a huge effect on games, as we all witnessed during their game against the Washington Redskins. However, the offense stalled way too much to deserve a higher ranking. What the 49ers have done to keep the offense going is add an All-Pro-caliber wide receiver in Emmanuel Sanders from the Denver Broncos.
5. Buffalo Bills (5-1) (Last week: 7): The Buffalo Bills have the most sound defense in the league. They may not be producing as many turnovers as New England or be leading the league in sacks, but they are ranked in the top five in passing and rushing defense.
6. Baltimore Ravens (5-2) (Last week: 9): The second highest-scoring offense is led by a sophomore quarterback who many General Managers and scouts believed should have been a wide receiver or a running back. Lamar Jackson is the real deal and he will lead this team to a deep playoff run.
7. Seattle Seahawks (5-2) (Last week: 4): Losing to the Baltimore Ravens will not create chaos in their locker room. Russell Wilson had an off night compared to what he has been producing regularly throughout the season, but this team will bounce back easily from this loss.
8. Houston Texans (4-3) (Last week: 6): A divisional game will always be tough for any team. The Houston Texans need to start opening up the running game to take the pressure off of quarterback Deshaun Watson. If they do not get even a little more out from Duke Johnson III or Carlos Hyde, then this team will start losing more games.
9. Minnesota Vikings (5-2) (Last week: 12): Kirk Cousins is answering the Vikings’ call for help, as he is playing like the quarterback that they paid him to be. Even when Cousins struggles, the team can rely on running back Dalvin Cook offensively.
10. Dallas Cowboys (4-3) (Last week: 13): Going from looking like a great team to losing three straight games, to beating a division rival. Inconsistency will be the downfall of this team, and if they keep this trend up going forward, head coach Jason Garrett will be on the hot seat.
11. Kansas City Chiefs (5-2) (Last week: 8): Patrick Mahomes will be out for the next three to six weeks with a right knee injury. Fortunately, even if the team loses half of those games, they would still have the chance to win their division.
12. Indianapolis Colts (4-2) (Last week: 16): The Colts are a very sound team. They are full of talented players throughout their lineup and have barely any holes in their team. If they stay healthy, the Colts will be a dark horse to win their division.
13. Carolina Panthers (4-2) (Last week: 11): The Carolina Panthers have announced that Kyle Allen will keep his starting job this week while Cam Newton continues to recover. Allen’s tremendous performances during his time as a starter allows a longer recovery time for Newton.
14. Chicago Bears (3-3) (Last week: 10): after awhile, a defense will grow tired of playing most of the game. Mitchell Trubisky is not the answer to the quarterback position. After this season, do not be surprised if someone like Teddy Bridgewater or Josh Rosen under center or if they trade up for a quarterback in the next draft to replace Trubisky.
15. Los Angeles Rams (4-3) (Last week: 14): It was a dominant win over the dysfunctional Atlanta Falcons. Todd Gurley had a rough game running the ball against one of the worst defenses, so there should be a little bit of a concern for the future of their run game.
16. Detroit Lions (2-3-1) (Last week: 15): Another tough loss for the Lions. Matt Patricia is surprisingly doing a great job with the team, keeping them competitive in every game. Coaching is definitely not to be blamed for their losses this season.
17. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4) (Last week: 20): Gardner Minshew II is a good young quarterback for a team that is stuck in mediocrity. Minshew can win games with average talent, so do they plan on keeping him as the starter and think of trading away Nick Foles in the offseason?
18. Cleveland Browns (2-4) (Last week: 19): A bye week to rework the offense and prep for the New England Patriots. Freddie Kitchens’ and Baker Mayfield’s performances this week will decide if the team will have a chance to bring things back this season.
19. Oakland Raiders (3-3) (Last week: 17): They allowed Aaron Rodgers to absolutely roast their secondary. The Raiders defense was awful to watch as they made mistake after mistake. The only bright spot from Sunday was running back Josh Jacobs.
20. Tennessee Titans (3-4) (Last week: 21): Forcing the Los Angeles Chargers to fumble on the one-yard line with a few seconds left is something to get the team morale hyped up. The Titans are keeping themselves within a distance of the playoffs with wins like these.
21. Philadelphia Eagles (3-4) (Last week: 18): Just like the Dallas Cowboys, this team is very inconsistent. Carson Wentz is not to be blamed here, but his receivers and running backs need to play better along with the defense as a whole.
22. Arizona Cardinals (3-3-1) (Last week: 23): What do the Cardinals, 49ers, and Bills all have in common? Most of their wins are against teams that are bad. Kyler Murray is showing that the Cardinals made the right choice to pick him over Josh Rosen.
23. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-4) (Last week: 25): A bye week for the Steelers has been the best thing to happen to them all season long.
24. Los Angeles Chargers (2-5) (Last week: 26): The Los Angeles Chargers only lose games if they down by under seven points or less. The amount of games that the Chargers have lost by seven or fewer points within the past five years is larger than the number of wins they have had this season and last year combined.
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-4) (Last week: 28): A quiet bye week for the Buccaneers, as it seems that Jameis Winston will still be their starting quarterback going forward.
26. The New York Giants (2-5) (Last week: 22): Daniel Jones is getting more acquainted with the NFL, as his play has started to stumble from his first three starts. Jones is still young and is looking great for the talent around him. The team should make some moves soon to fix the defense and create cap space.
27. Denver Broncos (2-5) (Last week: 27): The Broncos gave into the horrors of the NFL season. After taking a tough loss to their divisional rival in the Kansas City Chiefs they took the first step into a rebuild by trading away star receiver Emmanuel Sanders for draft picks and to free up cap space.
28. Atlanta Falcons (1-6) (Last week: 29): Matt Ryan suffered an ankle sprain late into the game against the Rams. It would be wise to sit the quarterback even if he is playable for their next game. They would not want to compromise their franchise quarterback for a lost season because of rushing him back.
29. The New York Jets (1-6) (Last week: 24): Like Sam Darnold, the Jets fans are also seeing ghosts.
30. Washington Redskins (1-6) (Last week: 30): They held the 49ers to nine points. That will be the highlight of their season.
31. Cincinnati Bengals (0-7) (Last week: 31): The only reason that this team is above the Miami Dolphins is because of the talent that they have on the roster. They have trade pieces that they will not let go of to help them rebuild for the future.
32. Miami Dolphins (0-7) (Last week: 32): Tank for the No. 1 pick, Tank for the No. 1 pick, Tank for the No. 1 pick.
