Here’s a look at where each team stands in NESN.com’s NFL power rankings as we head into Week 8. (To see our Week 7 rankings, click here.)
1. New England Patriots (6-1; last week: 1): The Pats took care of business against the Ben Roethlisberger-less Steelers to remain atop the AFC.
2. Minnesota Vikings (5-1; 2): We’re still high on the Vikings, but they need to do something to fix that offensive line.
3. Dallas Cowboys (5-1; 4): Idle.
4. Seattle Seahawks (4-1-1; 3): Sunday night’s bizarre tie against Arizona surely felt a little better for Seattle, which allowed just six points despite playing defense for more than 46 minutes.
5. Denver Broncos (5-2; 8): Denver made life miserable for old friend Brock Osweiler to snap a two-game losing streak.
6. Atlanta Falcons (4-3; 5): The throwback jerseys the Falcons wore Sunday against the Chargers were beautiful. Their second half was equally as ugly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KPyrtLhj_M
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3; 6): Landry Jones didn’t play terribly Sunday, but Pittsburgh definitely misses Big Ben.
8. Philadelphia Eagles (4-2; 14): The marquee game in Week 8 will be Cowboys vs. Eagles, the latter of whom beat up on the previously undefeated Vikings to snap a two-game losing streak.
9. Green Bay Packers (4-2; 7): The Packers didn’t look overly impressive Thursday against the Bears, and using wide receivers as running backs isn’t a sustainable offensive strategy.
10. Kansas City Chiefs (4-2; 10): The AFC West is a coin flip right now.
11. Oakland Raiders (5-2; 11): Marquette King FTW.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUPctmAEq18
12. San Diego Chargers (3-4; 20): Hey, don’t sleep on the Chargers, who now have beaten the Broncos and Falcons in consecutive weeks. Had it not been for a few late-game implosions earlier this season, San Diego easily could be 6-1 right now.
13. Arizona Cardinals (3-3-1; 12): Poor Patrick Peterson.
14. Buffalo Bills (4-3; 9): Buffalo melted in the Miami heat and now faces a massively important rematch with New England this Sunday.
15. Detroit Lions (4-3; 18): Don’t look now, but the Lions are a game out of a wild-card spot in the NFC.
16. New York Giants (4-3; 17): The Giants picked off Case Keenum four times in a win over the Rams.
17. Washington Redskins (4-3; 13): Detroit ended Washington’s four-game win streak.
18. Cincinnati Bengals (4-3; 16): A.J. Green is not of this Earth, but the Bengals led the winless Browns by just one score early in the fourth quarter before pulling away for a 31-17 victory.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3; 19): The Bucs scored 34 of the final 37 points in a blowout win over the hapless Niners.
20. Miami Dolphins (3-4; 24): Jay. Ajayi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAwdHxQ3O2U
21. Carolina Panthers (1-5; 22): Idle.
22. Indianapolis Colts (3-4; 28): The Colts are not a good team, but Andrew Luck deserves recognition for the monster season he’s having, especially since it’s coming behind Indy’s miserable offensive line.
23. Houston Texans (4-3; 15): Osweiler averaged an abysmal 3.2 yards per attempt Monday night, and his Texans failed to find the end zone in a 27-9 loss to the Broncos.
24. Tennessee Titans (3-4; 21): There isn’t much separation in the dumpster fire that is the AFC South.
25. New Orleans Saints (2-4; 27): At least you can count on the Saints for some excitement. All but one of their games have been decided by six points or fewer.
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-4; 26): Blake Bortles stunk against the Raiders, and the Jags’ brief winning streak ended at two games. They haven’t won three in a row since 2013.
27. Baltimore Ravens (3-4; 23): They lost to the Jets. Enough said.
28. New York Jets (2-5; 29): Ryan Fitzpatrick is back!
29. Los Angeles Rams (3-4; 24): How in the world has this team won three games?
30. Chicago Bears (1-6; 30): The Bears reminded us all this Sunday that Matt Barkley still is in the league.
31. San Francisco 49ers (1-6; 31): Make that five straight games of 21 points or fewer for Chip Kelly’s squad.
32. Cleveland Browns (0-7; 32): The Browns’ leading rusher Sunday was a rookie quarterback named Kevin Hogan.
Thumbnail photo via Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports Images
