NFL Week 8 power rankings: Unbeaten Steelers take over as the new No. 1

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-0) | Last week’s rank: 3

The Steelers looked fantastic in the first half Sunday in Nashville and then just held off the previously unbeaten Titans in the second half. Pittsburgh is the NFL’s only remaining undefeated team and is worthy of the No. 1 spot. The Steelers have emerged as the primary threat to the Chiefs, ahead of the Ravens and Titans, in the AFC.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (6-1) | Last week’s rank: 2

Le’Veon Bell was a contributor in his Chiefs debut in Sunday’s lopsided triumph at snowy Denver. The rich get richer. Or in this case, the richest get richest-er.

3. Baltimore Ravens (5-1) | Last week’s rank: 5

The Ravens return from their bye for Sunday’s showdown with the Steelers in Baltimore. The juggling of the NFL schedule worked in the Ravens’ favor for this game, with them given an extra week to rest and prepare while the Steelers are coming off a tough win at Tennessee.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2) | Last week’s rank: 7

Coach Bruce Arians told Peter King of the Antonio Brown deal: “I know everybody wants to say Tom Brady lobbied us to get this done. Tom Brady lobbied me back in, gosh, June, July, August. I said no. It didn’t fit then. Now, we’re in the hunt.” So Brady eventually did get his way on Brown after Arians reconsidered his rejection. Quibbling over the phrasing and timeline doesn’t change that.

5. Green Bay Packers (5-1) | Last week’s rank: 8

Aaron Rodgers rebounded from the shaky outing in Tampa with a four-TD, no-interception gem in Sunday’s win at Houston. Did anyone expect anything different? WR Davante Adams had a huge game, and the Packers won easily even without RB Aaron Jones and left tackle David Bakhtiari.

6. Arizona Cardinals (5-2) | Last week’s rank: 11

The Cardinals absolutely are for real. Coach Kliff Kingsbury’s offense works in the NFL and second-year QB Kyler Murray is a star. Things are rugged in the NFC West, but Arizona is a factor.

7. Seattle Seahawks (5-1) | Last week’s rank: 1

The defense simply isn’t getting it done, and QB Russell Wilson ran out of miracles in the late stages of the OT loss to the Cardinals. Still, WR Tyler Lockett’s performance was remarkable, and the enduring memory of the game will be DK Metcalf’s pursuit and tackle of the Cardinals’ Budda Baker on his 90-yard interception return. It was an all-time-great NFL chase-down.

8. Tennessee Titans (5-1) | Last week’s rank: 4

The Titans simply took too long to get things moving Sunday against the Steelers and ran out of time. This team remains capable of beating anyone in the NFL.

9. Indianapolis Colts (4-2) | Last week’s rank: 10

The Colts return from their bye to play Sunday at Detroit. They’d better beat the Lions because the November schedule toughens considerably: home vs. the Ravens, at Tennessee, home vs. the Packers, home vs. the Titans.

10. San Francisco 49ers (4-3) | Last week’s rank: 12

Jimmy Garoppolo went back to Foxborough and beat the Patriots. That had to be satisfying on a personal level, even if it is a currently diminished version of the Patriots.

11. Los Angeles Rams (5-2) | Last week’s rank: 13

The defense was really good Monday night against Nick Foles and the Bears, and punter Johnny Hekker was fantastic with five punts dropped inside the 20-yard line. It’s odd to ask about a Sean McVay-coached team: Is the offense good enough?

12. New Orleans Saints (4-2) | Last week’s rank: 14

From the ankle injury to the disciplinary matter to the hamstring injury, the Saints just can’t seem to get WR Michael Thomas back on the field. Without him, they’re simply not an upper-tier team in the NFC.

13. Buffalo Bills (5-2) | Last week’s rank: 15

The Bills managed to win Sunday in the Meadowlands but the manner in which they did it, with six FGs, is about as unsatisfying as it gets. Failing to get even a single TD against the Jets is a sign that the recent regression is ongoing.

14. Cleveland Browns (5-2) | Last week’s rank: 16

The season-ending torn ACL suffered by WR Odell Beckham Jr. deprives the NFL of one its star players. But how much it really hurts the Cleveland offense remains to be seen. QB Baker Mayfield actually seemed to be better without Beckham on the field. Perhaps Mayfield was no longer occupied with forcing throws to Beckham to get him his desired number of opportunities.

15. Chicago Bears (5-2) | Last week’s rank: 6

The only Bears touchdown in Monday night’s loss to the Rams in L.A. was scored by the defense. Coach Matt Nagy has already made a QB switch from Mitchell Trubisky to Nick Foles. There’s probably no going back now. It’s going to be tough for Nagy to fix this offense.

16. Las Vegas Raiders (3-3) | Last week’s rank: 9

The Raiders have no justification to be upset that Sunday’s game wasn’t pushed back a day or two. Their offensive linemen came out of isolation and played. And if the Raiders indeed violated coronavirus protocols, as the NFL seems to suspect, the situation was of the team’s own doing.

17. Detroit Lions (3-3) | Last week’s rank: 21

The Lions benefited from the Falcons’ clock-management gaffe and got back to .500 with the improbable victory in Atlanta. Who knows, maybe the Lions’ luck is turning around.

18. Los Angeles Chargers (2-4) | Last week’s rank: 25

Justin Herbert continues to impress, and he finally got a victory as an NFL starting QB. Facing the Jaguars didn’t exactly hurt.

19. Philadelphia Eagles (2-4-1) | Last week’s rank: 26

The finest team in all the NFC East? If that’s not condemning with faint praise, what is? If only the Eagles could get their best players healthy, they might be a legitimate team. But that has been elusive and it’s a pretty big “if” at this point.

20. Miami Dolphins (3-3) | Last week’s rank: 19

The Tua Tagovailoa era begins Sunday against the Rams. The QB switch from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Tagovailoa cannot be evaluated on one game, one month or even one season. This is about letting Tagovailoa play, learn and make his mistakes, with an eye toward what the Dolphins hope will be a decade or more of ultimate success.

21. Carolina Panthers (3-4) | Last week’s rank: 20

The three-game winning streak has been followed by consecutive losses to the Bears and Saints. That’s okay. If the Panthers can hang around the NFC wild-card race and remain in the running to be .500 or above, that’s more than anyone should have expected from them this season.

22. Denver Broncos (2-4) | Last week’s rank: 17

The Broncos actually kept Patrick Mahomes mostly in check in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs. But allowing a touchdown on an interception return and a touchdown on a kickoff return in the same quarter is not exactly a formula for beating a defending Super Bowl champion. QB Drew Lock needs to be better.

23. New England Patriots (2-4) | Last week’s rank: 18

It’s impossible to say whether Tom Brady or Bill Belichick was more responsible for the Patriots’ success during their dynastic run together. But it certainly can be said that Brady is faring better in Tampa without Belichick right now than Belichick is doing in New England without Brady.

24. Washington Football Team (2-5) | Last week’s rank: 30

LB Jon Bostic won’t be suspended by the NFL for his hit Sunday on Cowboys QB Andy Dalton. That doesn’t change the fact that it was an egregious illegal hit worthy of the ejection that Bostic received and exactly the type of play that the league is trying to get out of the sport.

25. Dallas Cowboys (2-5) | Last week’s rank: 22

Rookie Ben DiNucci could be the starter at QB after the concussion suffered by Andy Dalton, who was filling in for Dak Prescott. It just keeps getting worse. How much is on Mike McCarthy? So much for that talk about him updating his coaching methods during his time away.

26. Atlanta Falcons (1-6) | Last week’s rank: 23

Todd Gurley accidentally scored a TD when he knew that he should have fallen short of the goal line to allow the Falcons to run down the clock and kick a winning FG. These Falcons can’t do anything right, even when they score a touchdown.

27. Cincinnati Bengals (1-5-1) | Last week’s rank: 28

The Bengals, with Joe Burrow, are no longer absolutely dreadful. They’re just an ordinarily bad NFL team. That’s progress. You take what you can get, right?

28. Minnesota Vikings (1-5) | Last week’s rank: 29

The Vikings return from their bye to try to salvage their season, beginning Sunday at Green Bay. It’s difficult to like their chances.

29. New York Giants (1-6) | Last week’s rank: 24

Daniel Jones stumbled and fell on his own during his 80-yard run in Thursday night’s loss at Philadelphia. He could face a fine if it’s determined that he violated coronavirus protocols with his night out Friday in Manhattan with Saquon Barkley. It wasn’t a great two days for the Giants’ young QB.

30. Houston Texans (1-6) | Last week’s rank: 27

There’s no turning around this season now, even with the gifts and competitive will of QB Deshaun Watson. The terrible roster-construction decisions by former coach and GM Bill O’Brien simply became too much to overcome.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6) | Last week’s rank: 31

The opening night of the NFL draft can’t arrive soon enough for the reeling Jaguars. In the meantime, sitting down QB Gardner Minshew would accomplish nothing. It’s not as if Mike Glennon is going to step in and turn this around.

32. New York Jets (0-7) | Last week’s rank: 32

The Jets will play the remainder of their season. NFL rules pretty much require it. But there’s no other good reason.

Source:WP