Official r/NFL Week 8 Power Rankings

Welcome to the week 8 Official r/NFL Power Rankings! With the trade deadline an hour away, there are many rumors but not much can top the Rams going full Mike Ditka to give Aaron Donald a new best friend in Von Miller. With week 8 also debuting the true potential of the coveted New York quarterback factory, how far will the Jets jump as a result? How badly will an AJ Green brainfart cost Arizona? Discuss! 30/32 reporting

#		Team	Δ	Record	Comment
1.		Rams	+2	7-1	There’s not much to say after a complete shellacking of an awful team, so here’s a fun stat from the game. The bigger story from LA is the acquisition of Von Miller, who will be the best edge rusher to ever play next to Aaron Donald. Playing alongside AD has unlocked the best in pass rushers—just see numbers from Dante Fowler, Clay Matthews, and Leonard Floyd—so despite being out of his prime, Miller has frightening potential. Suffice to say, the Rams are all in this year.
2.		Packers	+4	7-1	I still can't believe we won that game
3.		Cardinals	-2	7-1	Ouch. That one stings a little. Anytime Aaron Rodgers walks into State Farm Stadium, you better mark your calendar, as it’s guaranteed to be an amazing game. Unusually though, the Cardinals were on the losing side of an exciting finish. There are many positives to take away from this game, such as goal line defense and ability to continue fighting through adversity. Absolute kudos to the Packers, who seemed to take the Vikings game-plan of quick passes to the numbers and inside zone runs, and executed it perfectly to overpower a lacking rush defense. The Red Sea needs to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and appreciate that we are still 7-1 with the pressure of being perfect fading away. Enjoy the ride amigos.
4.		Buccaneers	-2	6-2	So far, this power ranker is 8-0 in his Bucs season predictions. The Saints loss wasn't a terrible surprise, as Dennis Allen seems to have an Eli Manning-esque grasp on Tom Brady's psyche. Penalties be damned, the Buccaneers managed to surrender a whopping six 1st down's on fouls, which prompted Bruce Arians to call the game an "embarrassing display of football." The bye week ahead gives the Buccaneers an opportunity to reset physically and mentally. It comes at an ideal time after a tough loss to a division rival.
5.		Bills	-1	5-2	After a slow first half, the Bills remembered they were playing the Dolphins and kicked it into high gear. With a last minute rushing TD, Josh Allen has tied the (likely to be broken by Lamar Jackson) record for rushing TDs by a QB in his first 50 starts. Now it's onto Jacksonville to play another bottom feeder, and hopefully snap the Manningcast curse.
6.		Cowboys	-1	6-1	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHvZ93QrZnY
7.		Ravens	+2	5-2	In a stunning moment of NFL parity, the Bengals lost to the Jets, putting the Ravens back on top of the AFC North. The Browns lost to the Steelers, making it an even firmer grasp on the North. However, these Ravens really cannot be relied on to win in any given week no matter what the quality of their opponent or the flaws of their opponent. However, during Harbaugh's tenure, the Ravens are 49-39 (.557) before the bye week and 80-40 (.667) after.
8.		Titans	--	6-2	The Titans were able to finish the 2021 sweep of the Colts and take a commanding lead in the AFC South in week 8. With the news of Derrick Henry being out for an extended period the roster building of Jon Robinson will be tested. The Titans will have to preserve their AFC South lead in the coming weeks, but with the most difficult division games behind them as wins, getting a home playoff game is still on the table, hopefully with Henry back for a playoff run.
9.		Raiders	+2	5-2	A pretty solid bye week for the Raiders, as they now sit alone in 1st place in the AFCW and are only half a game behind the Titans for the #1 seed in the AFC. The Raiders now look to capitalize off the Giants short week after they nearly beat the Chiefs.
10.		Bengals	-3	5-3	Some people will say that the Bengals didn't deserve to win on Sunday against the Jets. It's true that Mike White and Michael Carter both played outstanding football for the Jets and Jets fans should be excited about the win and their offense's potential moving forward. But despite getting outplayed for much of the day, the Bengals should have received the ball back with 1:40 to go, down by three points. Instead, the referees, who already can't tell the difference between a catch and an incompletion, botched a big call on 3rd down by incorrectly applying the helmet-to-helmet rule on the Bengals defender Mike Hilton. So did the Bengals deserve to win on Sunday? Probably not. But did they did deserve to have a final game-tying or potentially game-winning drive? Yes they did.
11.		Saints	+2	5-2	A Trevor Siemian-led team is in the top 10 of the power rankings, a truly auspicious day. The injury to Jameis Winston might have felt like a death blow, if it weren't for the fact the Saints have made it work without their starting QB in the last two seasons. Plus Jameis didn't seem too concerned.
12.		Chargers	-2	4-3	The first offensive drive looked extremely promising, as the Chargers moved methodically down the field and capped the drive with a physical touchdown run. With the exception of a 75 yard scamper from Justin Jackson, the rest of the game looked like a struggle for everyone in blue and gold. Herbert was off the mark, the Pats defense tightened up and their offense found enough ways to move the ball. The comeback attempt fell short, and the Chargers will attempt to get back on track in Philly.
13.		Patriots	+4	4-4	Mac Jones had to stay up past his bedtime (830pm eastern) for this one but it was worth it. The Pats went cross country and beat their first team with a winning record. The Defense really rose to the occasion, not letting the chargers weapons get going, notching two interceptions, and three sacks.
14.		Browns	-2	4-4	While the Browns defense held the Steelers to 15 the offense sputtered. Even at 4-4 the Browns are, as is tradition, dead last in the AFC North. They will face division rival Bengals next week.
15.		Chiefs	-1	4-4	Ever seen a win that really feels like a loss? Yeah... Aaron Rodgers is going to mentally and emotionally abuse Daniel Sorensen next week.
16.		Steelers	+2	4-3	A very chippy game. It really feels like the Steelers-Bengals animosity is starting to shift over to the Steelers-Browns. As it should be. The officiating was very strange as well. If Boswell has a concussion, then what is the rule protecting the passer for? Or is that only if the passer is designated the QB? The game was just simply too chippy and there was too much going on in man coverage and not enough PI calls. Overall, a game with the mutual history between the teams and such importance in the playoff race ought to have been officiated better.
17.		Colts	-1	3-5	"You know how Jonathon Taylor is one of the best running backs in the league? How about we just don't use him." - Frank Reich, probably
18.		49ers	+1	3-4	The offense performed much better against the Bears, although it is obviously missing a second reliable pass catcher behind deebo. Kittle should take that spot when he returns from the IR this week against Arizona. If the defense can get some of their players back as well, the team should be moving in the right direction in the second half of the season.
19.		Vikings	-4	3-4	We’ve got no cornerbacks, we’ve got no offensive line, Danielle Hunter’s HEAD IS FALLING OFF.
20.		Seahawks	--	3-5	Nothing says "get right" quite like playing the Jaguars. Geno Smith got his first win as a starter for the Seahawks, starting the game completing 14 of 14 passes and finishing with a stat line of 20/24 for 195 yards and 3 total touchdowns. Tyler Lockett had a day, catching 12 balls for 142 yards and DK Metcalf did what he does best over former teammate Shaquil Griffin for his first of 2 scores on the day. On the defensive side, Bobby Wagner and Jamal Adams were all over the field. The secondary didn't allow a wide receiver to go over 40 yards and Quandre Diggs secured his third interception of the season. With Russell Wilson's return on the horizon, the Seahawks enter their bye week at the perfect time.
21.		Panthers	+2	4-4	The_Darnold's concussion test: - NFL Concussion Guy: "Do you remember the list?" - Sam: "Person, woman, man, camera, TV" - NFL Concussion Guy: "It's person, woman, man, camera, and we got a win over the Falcons on TV, but close enough."
22.		Broncos	-1	4-4	The Broncos got their first win since September, but it hardly matters. The brightest star they have had in a generations, their greatest draft pick this side of Floyd Little — gone. No more strip sack, no more two (maybe three) pumps. No more 58.
23.		Bears	-1	3-5	Without Matt Nagy on the sideline, the Bears turned in their absolute worst performance of the year - which is the ideal result if you like arguing about whose fault shitty football is on the internet. For Bears fans, the already faint hopes of a wild card are quickly disappearing. But that's okay -- because then everyone can finally admit that the only thing that matters this season is the development of Justin Fields. The worst case scenario would be another middling season with just enough shown to justify the status quo. Lose out!
24.		Eagles	+2	3-5	It took a game against one of the worst teams in professional football, but the Eagles looked like a complete unit. Nick Sirianni leaned on the rushing attack and it paid dividends, especially with Jalen Hurts who finally wasn't asked to throw 600 times per game. Whether the $57 million dollar defensive line can produce similar results against competitive teams, time will tell.
25.		Falcons	-1	3-4	Credit to Arthur Smith and Dean Peas, an imperfect game from a coaching staff still squeezing more out of their roster than any Falcons coach not named Mike Smith. A loss to fellow bottom dweller Panthers cemented that this team will be sitting at the kids table for at least a year until the roster is developed. In the meantime, bright spots like Pitts and Terrell will have to suffice. Take as much time as you need Calvin.
26.		Washington FT	+1	2-6	WFT has scored 10 points, 13 points and 10 points again in the last three weeks. The Heinicke experiment is over along with another pitiful season. And the hilarity ensues with their newly signed kicker who had 3 blocked FG's in Denver on Sunday. It's hard to imagine this team winning another game right now.****
27.		Giants	--	2-6	If watching the Giants has taught me one thing this year, it’s that losing by 30 is a much easier pill to swallow than losing by 3.
28.		Jets	+4	2-5	Overlooked amongst all the excitement of the win was rookie running back Michael Carter who had 9 receptions with 95 yards and 77 rushing yards on 15 attempts with a touchdown. Perhaps Mike White will give Carter a nod during his Hall of Fame induction speech.
29.		Dolphins	-1	1-7	Perfectville: est. 1972. 49 seasons later, population: 1. Thank you Rasul Douglas.
30.		Texans	+1	1-7	Existence is pain.
31.		Lions	-3	0-8	As soon as headlines starting slating the Lions to win this one convincingly, all fans in Detroit knew what to expect. The offense did a much better job of forcing the ball to Hockenson on slants and quick routes, but the only other piece on the offense (Swift) could not get going. A huge problem that needs to be corrected throughout the bye is Goff's targeting. With only 32% of his passing targets beyond the first down marker, and AGAIN throwing the ball away on a 4th down conversion effort, something needs to change. The team and MCDC are incredibly willing to take chances, but Goff's conservative play style is killing whatever offense they could have. The score was 44-6, and I still consider Goff as the major issue moving forward.
32.		Jaguars	-3	1-6	The Jaguars seemed to have left it all on the field... in London. Whatever came back from the other side of the pond was barely reminiscent of what a professional football team should look like. The losing skid may have stopped, but it seems the beatings will continue as scheduled. Next up to bat, Buffalo.