NFL Week 8 power rankings: Lions, Packers, Seahawks rise as Vikings, Texans, 49ers drop

The New England Patriots are the worst team in the NFL and there isn’t a close second. In a matchup of the two teams at the bottom of our NFL power rankings, the Jaguars won comfortably. It says a lot about the Patriots’ league-worst receiving corps that this offense couldn’t get anything going against the worst defense in football. At least Drake Maye is a bright spot, but he’s in an awful situation that will take years to rebuild.

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Well, at least the Deshaun Watson era might be over for the Cleveland Browns. It’s not like this offense got better when Dorian Thompson-Robinson came in, he’s just as bad as he was a year ago. Still, he at least represents a semblance of hope and now Cleveland can devote itself to an even more run-heavy attack with DTR and Nick Chubb. With that said, the Browns are clearly one of the worst NFL teams this season and it would be smart to keep selling ahead of the NFL trade deadline.

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The mistake the Tennessee Titans made this season wasn’t just putting all their eggs in the Will Levis basket, it was failing to plan adequately for what would happen if he failed. Levis (shoulder) opened the door for Mason Rudolph to start in Week 7 and Rudolph met every expectation any franchise ever had for him. After falling to 1-5, with this team likely now focused on draft position, it makes sense for Tennessee to start shopping DeAndre Hopkins, Harold Landry and Arden Key around the league.

Congrats to the Jacksonville Jaguars for winning a game they had no business losing. As bad as the Jaguars are this season, Trevor Lawrence at least has go-to offensive weapons (Brian Thomas Jr. and Evan Engram) along with a solid supporting cast (Christian Kirk and Tank Bigsby). We’re not going to give much credit to the Jaguars defense for this one, given the opponent. As for Doug Pederson, his days are still numbered.

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Andy Dalton played like Bryce Young on Sunday and that’s not even the Carolina Panthers’ biggest problem. All you need to know is that Marcus Mariota came off the bench and threw a pair of touchdown passes, also rushing for over 40 yards with a QB rating above 120. That’s how bad the Panthers defense is this season. On the bright side for Carolina, more performances like this one from Dalton will improve the Panthers’ odds at landing the No. 1 pick.

When can we start talking about head coach Antonio Pierce being on the hot seat? The Las Vegas Raiders made an awful decision signing Gardner Minshew this offseason, that’s not hindsight either. This continued to be one of the most penalized teams in the NFL, the hiring of offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has been a disaster and it sure seems like morale in Las Vegas is getting worse. Pierce is setting up to be the next example of why you don’t keep the interim coach.

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This game feels reminiscent of what happened in 2022 when Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson didn’t want to pay A.J. Brown, traded him then watched Brown torch his former team for 2 touchdowns and 119 yards (ESPN). New York Giants GM Joe Schoen didn’t even get anything for Saquon Barkley, he just let him leave despite the owner’s objection. While Schoen might not be fired as quickly as Robinson was, like the former Titans GM, Schoen’s body of work makes a compelling case for being fired.

Rock, meet bottom. There are only rumors about the New Orleans Saints defense giving up on Dennis Allen, but the effort level shown in the last two games gives that some legitimacy. Meanwhile, an injury-depleted Saints offensive line has sunk this offense like a rock. It’s probably time to have the difficult conversation about the Saints’ future, which won’t be comfortable considering the organization kicked the salary-cap clusterbomb down the road until…now.

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We haven’t given up on the Los Angeles Rams. While Cooper Kupp didn’t return in Week 7, he’ll be back on the field very soon and Puka Nacua isn’t far behind him. Add two All-Pro offensive weapons to this Rams passing attack and you’ll be amazed at how quickly Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay look great again. For now, the Rams have their second win of the season.

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The Miami Dolphins are moving up in our NFL Week 8 power rankings after Sunday’s loss for one reason, the imminent return of Tua Tagovailoa. Say whatever you want about his performances in January, he excels in the regular season and he has clearly masked issues on the offensive line that were even worse than everyone realized. Taogvailoa’s return makes this an above-average offense again and with the way this Dolphins defense has played, there’s hope for a second-half turnaround. Although, the 2-4 hole is tough to dig out of.

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The Indianapolis Colts are simply a better football team with Joe Flacco under center. While Anthony Richardson recorded the win on Sunday, Week 7 marked the third time this season he’s posted a sub-60 QB rating with a completion rate of 50 percent or worse. Indianapolis only survived this 16-10 win because the Dolphins were forced to turn to third-string QB Tim Boyle, who probably shouldn’t even still be in the NFL. The 4-3 record feels fluky and there are a lot of losses (at Houston Texans, at Minnesota Vikings, vs Buffalo Bills, at New York Jets and vs Detroit Lions ahead.

We had high hopes for this Arizona Cardinals offense in 2024. Marvin Harrison Jr. is a bonafide No. 1 receiver and with Trey McBride at tight end, there are no excuses for the Cardinals ranking 17th in scoring and 24th in passing (187 yards per game). If Murray and Harrison Jr. can’t take advantage of a banged-up Los Angeles Chargers secondary on Monday Night Football, we’ll put the nails in this team’s proverbial coffin.

We’ll start with the good news for the Dallas Cowboys. Both Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland should return following this Week 7 bye. That’s an All-Pro edge rusher and a high-end playmaker opposite of Trevon Diggs to bolster this Cowboys defense. Dallas still can’t stop the run and it can’t effectively run the ball. Oh, it also lacks any reliable offensive weapons outside of CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson. This is Jerry Jones’ masterpiece, mediocrity with attention.

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Even a 31-year-old Davante Adams is a difference-maker for this New York Jets offense. For one thing, it allows Garrett Wilson to line up against No. 2 cornerbacks and that’s a matchup he can feast on regularly. Granted, he won’t get a ton of targets because Aaron Rodgers is going to overwhelm is best friend with looks, especially when blitzed or on third downs. The Jets aren’t back by any means, but a win on Sunday Night Football would be a huge step forward.

Much like the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Cincinnati Bengals won a game they simply couldn’t lose. It didn’t look great early, with the Bengals offense getting shut out in the first half, but Joe Burrow connected with Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase for third-quarter touchdowns to put this game away. What matters to Cincinnati is improving to 3-4, but this team needs a signature win to restore confidence that this is a bonafide contender.

Revenge never tasted better for Sean Payton. In his return to New Orleans, Payton didn’t even need rookie quarterback Bo Nix to do much. That’s the thing about this Denver Broncos team, the defense does the heavy lifting and just asks for an effective ground game and for Nix to protect the football. Are the Broncos a good team? No, probably not. However, in a wide-open 2024 season, we wouldn’t rule out 9 wins for Denver.

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After seven games, it feels fair to say we’re just not going to see the version of Kirk Cousins that helped execute an outstanding offense with the Minnesota Vikings. Cousins threw 2 interceptions on Sunday and was sacked 3 times, wasting an outstanding game from Bijan Robinson (143 scrimmage yards). With the loss, Atlanta is now 2-3 at home this season (4-3 on the year) and this team should be underdogs in a must-win divisional game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Updated after Sunday Night Football

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The Seattle Seahawks run defense (155 yards, 1 TD and 4.8 ypc average) remains a problem and the joy of the Week 7 win was lessened by the DK Metcalf injury (knee). On the bright side, Kenneth Walker had a big game and Geno Smith was even better. From 3-0 to 3-3 and now back ti a winning record, the Seahawks are staying afloat. Although, that Week 8 matchup against the Buffalo Bills doesn’t look very favorable.

It’s time to be very concerned and not just because of the Brandon Aiyuk injury in Week 7 (carted off the field). Brock Purdy (3 interceptions) was awful against the blitz and with the San Francisco 49ers unable to get anything going on the ground, this offense had nothing going for it outside of George Kittle. The 49ers already have four losses and there’s a strong case to be made that at least three more (at Buccaneers, at Packers, at Bills, vs Lions) are coming. The Super Bowl window might’ve closed.

Have the Chicago Bears benefitted from playing a weak schedule? Sure. Caleb Williams and Co. have beaten three of the worst NFL teams (Titans, Panthers and Jaguars) this season. The reason people are so impressed by this team is that Chicago pairs an elite defense right as Williams starts settling in as a franchise quarterback. There will be more growing pains for the rookie and Chicago will likely encounter issues again when facing top pass rushes, but the Bears are a legitimate playoff contender and this is just the start.

The Jayden Daniels injury hung a dark cloud over FedEx Field on Sunday afternoon. Fortunately for the Washington Commanders, their Week 7 opponent is a lifeless team that is in a race for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Commanders showed they could overcome an early gut punch and they handled their business at home. As long as Daniels is healthy, this is a good football team. However, that defense will always prevent it from being great.

We said it after last week’s win, the Los Angeles Chargers are perfectly built to exploit the Arizona Cardinals’ weaknesses. Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman want opponents to go down from 1,000 papercuts, winning the battle in the trenches and controlling the clock with a strong ground game. The Chargers have a massive advantage in that regard and it should be enough for a Monday Night Football win and a 4-2 record.

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There aren’t a ton of teams well-equipped to exploit the Baltimore Ravens’ weakness. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in that company. On Monday Night Football, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans provide a pair of No. 1 receivers who can have great success against a Ravens secondary that struggles against top wideouts. Plus, Baker Mayfield is playing really well right now. We’re not predicting a win for the Bucs, but it’s a great matchup and should prove to be one of the best games from Week 7.

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We’ve kept the Philadelphia Eagles around the top 10 of our NFL power rankings for one simple reason, talent. Even after Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox retired, the Eagles have a lot of experience in their locker room to help on both sides of the ball. Plus, Vic Fangio and Kellen Moore are superior play-callers to what they had a year ago. The Eagles probably can’t beat the elite tier of the best NFL teams, but there’s more than enough talent to win 9-10 games and overcome Nick Sirianni.

The one thing we wanted to see the Buffalo Bills do entering Week 7 was add a go-to receiver to support Josh Allen. Sunday showed why. Amari Cooper’s very presence helps this Bills offense finally have success against man coverage and it pushes the likes of Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and Dalton Schultz into roles they are more suited for. That’s truly all Buffalo needed. Now, we consider the Bills a Super Bowl contender.

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Considering the Houston Texans defense played in Week 7 without a majority of its secondary, allowing 3 touchdowns and a 95.5 quarterback rating to Jordan Love makes sense. What wasn’t expected was Houston’s problems in the passing game. C.J. Stroud’s yards per attempt average (4.1) basically matched his number of sacks taken (four). Houston clearly needs Nico Collins back far more than we realized, but he’s out for two more games. Still, Houston is good enough to beat the Colts (Week 8) and Jets (Week 9) before its bye week and that would still put it at 7-2.

There’s really no reason to drastically overreact to that loss. Yes, Sam Darnold showed some of the flaws that everyone knew were always there. Meanwhile, the strengths of this Vikings defense (blitzing and winning in the trenches) didn’t work against Jared Goff and the best offensive line in the NFL. Week 7 showed the Lions are the better football team in the NFC North, but we still believe this division is home to three of the best teams in football this year.

It feels like the Kansas City Chiefs are almost winning in spite of Patrick Mahomes at various points of the game. Mahomes threw a pair of interceptions on Sunday, but the game-winning play was his 33-yard dance down the sideline to set up the put-away score. We have no doubt the Chiefs can be the best team in the NFL when healthy, especially considering how great this defense is playing. For now, without a trade for a wide receiver or until Isiah Pacheco returns, we’ll be lower on Kansas City than the consensus NFL power rankings. At least, for the regular season, the playoffs are their moment.

What a difference it makes to have a competent kicker. Green Bay Packers fans will eventually realize that Brandon McManus can’t be trusted from distance, but he does come through from inside 50 yards. We also have to give kudos to Josh Jacobs (86 scrimmage yards, 1 TD) and this Packers defense, which held C.J. Stroud to 55 net passing yards on Sunday. After moving to 5-2, Green Bay has proven it’s one of the best NFL teams this season.

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What makes the Baltimore Ravens so dangerous is the fact they haven’t fixed their issues defensively yet. As for the Ravens offense, it says a lot about a team when it is outgaining its opponents by 146.3 rushing yards per game (ESPN). Zay Flowers has taken the next step in his second year and Derrick Hnery’s very presence opens up more downfield for Lamar Jackson. Really, Baltimore’s only issue right now is its secondary and it will be put to the test on Monday Night Football against Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

The Detroit Lions are the best team in the NFL. The Aidan Hutchinson injury will still have long-term effects on this defense, but Detroit just went on the road and beat the No. 1 team in our NFL power rankings. We could highlight the elite Lions offensive line and play-caller Ben Johnson proving once again why he’s a difference-maker, but Jared Goff is the standout here. He’s a legitimate MVP candidate right now and regardless of circumstances, he’s playing at an elite level right now.

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