NFL Week 8 Power Rankings: Buccaneers, Cardinals Rise; Patriots Fall

The NFL’s Week 7 slate brought a number of crazy conclusions, two previously unbeaten teams being handed their first loss and a few surprising blowouts.

Each of said verdicts went into how we put together our NFL Week 8 Power Rankings, with some teams — Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals — rising and others — New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys — falling.

Here’s our Week 8 rankings:

1. Kansas City Chiefs (6-1, last week: 1)
Le’Veon Bell averaged six-plus yards per carry in his Kansas City debut, and Patrick Mahomes had an easy day at the office while still earning a dominant 43-16 win over the Denver Broncos.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-0, 3) 
The Steelers defense held the Tennessee Titans at bay throughout the first half before doing enough down the stretch to pull out a win in the Week 7 battle of the unbeatens.

3. Baltimore Ravens (5-1, 4)
The Ravens enter an AFC North clash with the Steelers fresh off a bye week. Baltimore’s status in the top-five may depend on if it can hand Pittsburgh its first loss.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2, 6) 
Quarterback Tom Brady and the Buccaneers are putting it together, earning a dominant win over the Las Vegas Raiders one week after beating the Green Bay Packers. Oh, and now they’ve added receiver Antonio Brown, too.

5. Seattle Seahawks (5-1, 2)
The Seahawks’ defensive woes finally proved fatal in a NFC West loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Seattle, which remains first in the division, will look to fix said defensive troubles during the bye week.

6. Green Bay Packers (5-1, 7) 
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers bounced back after a loss to the Buccaneers with a 15-point win over the Houston Texans and did so without star running back Aaron Jones.

7. Tennessee Titans (5-1, 5) 
The Titans dropped their first game of the season to the Steelers, 27-24, but in doing so proved they’re among the best in the league.

8. New Orleans Saints (4-2, 9)
The Saints earned a win over the Carolina Panthers without two of their top receivers, but it sounds like Michael Thomas might miss at least one more week with yet another injury.

9. Buffalo Bills (5-2, 8)
The Bills snapped their two game losing streak with a win. But that victory came against the winless Jets by just eight points.

10. Los Angeles Rams (5-2, 11)
The Rams kept pace in the difficult NFC West with a one-sided verdict over the Chicago Bears on “Monday Night Football.” That Aaron Donald-led defense is not joke.

11. Arizona Cardinals (5-2, 15)
The Cardinals put the league on notice with an impressive win over the Seahawks on “Sunday Night Football.” It’s their second stirring NFC West win with another coming over the 49ers.

12. San Francisco 49ers (4-3, 13)
The 49ers took it to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, showcasing no matter how many injuries they’re dealt, they have the depth to overcome it.

13. Indianapolis Colts (4-2, 12)
Indianapolis will look return from its bye week with a win over the Detroit Lions.

14. Chicago Bears (5-2, 10)
Chicago put together a stinker on “Monday Night Football” and suggested maybe its record doesn’t tell the full story.

15. Cleveland Browns (5-2, 14)
The Browns earned a three-point win over the Cincinnati Bengals but lost Odell Beckham Jr. for the season in the process.

16. Las Vegas Raiders (3-3, 16)
The Raiders were blown out by the Buccaneers but will have the opportunity to bounce back with winnable games against the Browns and Los Angeles Chargers in the next two weeks.

17. Carolina Panthers (3-4, 18)
The Panthers gave the Saints all they could handle and should benefit from the return of Christian McCaffrey. Whether the running back returns during “Thursday Night Football,” though, is unknown.

18. Miami Dolphins (3-3, 19) 
The Dolphins will turn the reins over to rookie Tua Tagovailoa for his first start against the Rams after Miami’s bye week.

19. Los Angeles Chargers (2-4, 20)
Justin Herbert looks like a franchise quarterback for the Chargers, earning his first win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Los Angeles has another winnable game at Denver this week.

20. New England Patriots (2-4, 15)
The Patriots are reeling as New England fell in an embarrassing Week 7 loss to the 49ers. It’s the third consecutive defeat, the first time New England has done so since 2002.

21. Detroit Lions (3-3, 25) 
The Lions have earned consecutive wins to keep head coach Matt Patricia employed. We’ll see how that continues against the Colts this week.

22. Philadelphia Eagles (2-4-1, 23)
The Eagles took over first place in the woeful NFC East with a win over the Giants and Dallas’ loss to Washington.

23. Denver Broncos (2-4, 22) 
The Broncos got pantsed by the Chiefs, and the offense may have just been dealt another hit with the injury to running back Phillip Lindsay.

24. Cincinnati Bengals (1-5-1, 24)
The Bengals fell 37-34 to the Browns and now have the Titans coming to town after a loss.

25. Washington Football Team (2-5, 31)
Washington now is in a tie for second place in the NFC East with Dallas, after crushing the Cowboys in a Week 7 contest.

26. Minnesota Vikings (1-5, 27)
The Vikings return off their Week 7 bye and are thrown into the fire with the Packers this Sunday.

27. Dallas Cowboys (2-5, 21)
The Cowboys could be on their way to becoming the second-to-worst team in the NFL after getting trounced by Washington, their second blowout loss in as many games.

28. Houston Texans (1-6, 28)
The Texans defense is among the worst in the league in points and yards in large part because they’re brutal against the run.

29. Atlanta Falcons (1-6, 26)
The Falcons can’t get out of their own way. They’ve now lost a third game, most recently to the Lions, in which they held a fourth-quarter lead.

30. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6, 29)
The Jaguars have lost six straight, the most recent to the previously 1-5 Chargers by 10 points. Head coach Jack Del Rio’s seat is getting warmer by the minute.

31. New York Giants (1-6, 30)
The Giants led by double digits in the fourth quarter against the Eagles, but Daniel Jones and New York to got tripped up in being dealt the loss.

32. New York Jets (0-7, 32)
The Jets remain as the league’s lone team without a win, despite the fact their most recent loss came by one possession to the Bills.