NFL Power Rankings 2016: Week 8 Edition

The seventh week of the 2016 NFL schedule is over. Now it’s time to see how all 32 teams stack up. Let’s dive right in to this week’s edition of NFL Power Rankings. For reference purposes, here’s a link to last week’s order.

WEEK 8 NFL POWER RANKINGS

1 – New England Patriots 6-1 (Last Week: 2) – The only game the Patriots lost this year was when injured rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett was starting. Otherwise, they’ve been great.

2 – Denver Broncos 5-2 (LW: 7) – The Broncos got back on track after losing their last two games. The reigning Super Bowl 50 champions still have a very strong defense.

3 – Seattle Seahawks 4-1-1 (LW: 4) – Seattle’s tie in Arizona was more favorable for them since they held on to their NFC West lead and they’ll face the Cardinals again in Seattle later this season. The Seahawks are tied for allowing the fewest amount of points scored this year.

4 – Minnesota Vikings 5-1 (LW: 1) – The only team to enter Week 7 without a loss is undefeated no more. While it’s clear Minnesota’s defense is very legit, there are serious questions about their offensive line. If the Vikings can’t protect Sam Bradford, things could get ugly fast.

5 – Atlanta Falcons 4-3 (LW: 3) – The Falcons got hosed last week by a bad non-call and they lost an overtime game this week. Atlanta is still averaging a league-leading 32.7 points per game, which makes them quite formidable. The next closest team is 3.3 points below them.

6 – Dallas Cowboys 5-1 (LW: 6) – Bye week. The Cowboys have a big game this week on Sunday Night Football against the Eagles. Can Dallas hold on to their first place spot in the NFC East?

7 – Kansas City Chiefs 4-2 (LW: 9) – Andy Reid’s Chiefs have rebounded well since getting blown out by the Steelers in Week 4.

8 – Philadelphia Eagles 4-2 (LW: 13) – Jim Schwartz’s defense stepped up huge on Sunday. The Eagles got a ton of pressure on Bradford. Philadelphia’s defensive effort made up for a poor outing from rookie quarterback Carson Wentz. Speaking of Wentz, the rookie quarterback has a big challenge coming up this week as he goes up against Dak Prescott and the Cowboys. The Eagles’ win over the Vikings was a nice way to end their two-game losing streak, but now the Birds need to take care of business in the division.

9 – Oakland Raiders 5-2 (LW: 12) – The Raiders only own the 14th best point differential despite already having five wins. They’re good, but not they’re not great yet.

10 – Buffalo Bills 4-3 (LW: 5) – Just when it looked like the Bills might be really good, they dropped a game they probably should have won. Buffalo blew a 17-6 lead to snap their four-game win streak.

11 – Arizona Cardinals 3-3-1 (LW: 10) – A tie is obviously better than a loss, but the Cardinals really could have used a win over the Seahawks at home. Still, Bruce Arians has his team playing better than they were when they got off to a 1-3 start.

12 – Green Bay Packers 4-2 (LW: 14) – Aaron Rodgers showed he can still put up good numbers against bad teams.

13 – Detroit Lions 4-3 (LW: 16) – Jim Caldwell seems like the master of being on the hot seat only to rally his team and turn things around before inevitably landing back on the hot seat again. Matthew Stafford is playing very well. Detroit needs him to stay hot because their defense can’t carry them. The Lions are allowing a league-worst average passer rating of 117.7.

14 – San Diego Chargers 3-4 (LW: 19) – The Bolts are not dead. Mike McCoy’s team has seriously rallied in the past two weeks with legitimate wins over the Broncos and the Falcons. San Diego owns the 10th best point differential in the league despite having a losing record.

15 – Pittsburgh Steelers 4-3 (LW: 8) – The Steelers just aren’t the same team with Landry Jones at quarterback instead of Ben Roethlisberger. Pittsburgh better hope he can get healthy soon or they’ll continue to fall.

16 – Washington Redskins 4-3 (LW: 11) – Washington’s four-game win streak came to an end by losing in Detroit. Washington now ranks third in the NFC East standings.

17 – New York Giants 4-3 (LW: 17) – New York needed some big defensive plays to beat the Rams in London. The Giants can’t really count on their offense to score. New York ranks 27th in the league with 17.1 offensive points per game. The G-Men are still last in the division despite their winning record.

18 – Cincinnati Bengals 3-4 (LW: 21) – After losing to the Cowboys and the Patriots, the Bengals had an opportunity for an easy victory over the only winless team remaining in the NFL.

19 – Houston Texans 4-3 (LW: 15) – Brock Osweiler averaged 3.2 yards per attempt in his return to Denver. The Texans’ decision to give him a huge contract continues to look terrible.

20 – Miami Dolphins 3-4 (LW: 27) – Suddenly the Dolphins have won two games in a row, much in part to Jay Ajayi. He joins O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell, and Ricky Williams as the only running backs in NFL history to rush for 200-plus yards in back-to-back games. How about that?

21 – Baltimore Ravens 3-4 (LW: 18) – After starting out 3-0, the Ravens are now 0-4 in their last four games. This marks the longest losing streak of John Harbaugh’s head coaching career.

22 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-3 (LW: 24) – The Bucs, who were coming off their bye, beat up on a bad 49ers team. Tampa Bay isn’t any good but they’re not downright dreadful.

23 – Los Angeles Rams 3-4 (LW: 20) – Case Keenum threw a fade pass right to a wide open defender. It almost looked like an arm punt. When are the Rams finally going to give Jared Goff a chance to show what he can do?

24 – Indianapolis Colts  3-4 (LW: 26) – The Colts are now second in the dreadful AFC South thanks to their win over the Titans. This division should probably be abolished.

25 – New York Jets 2-5 (LW: 28) – Geno Smith didn’t last very long before he suffered a season-ending injury. Ryan Fitzpatrick played well in relief of Smith. Then he called out the Jets for not believing in him. It probably won’t be long before Fitzpatrick gets benched again.

26 – New Orleans Saints 2-4 (LW: 22) – Just another week where Drew Brees plays well but the Saints’ defense can’t help him out.

27 – Tennessee Titans 3-4 (LW: 23) – There’s nothing interesting to say about the Titans.

28 – Jacksonville Jaguars 2-4 (LW: 25) – Dead last in the worst division in the league.

29 – Carolina Panthers 1-5 (LW: 29) – Bye week. Carolina’s next game is a rematch of last season’s NFC Championship Game. The Panthers face a must-win situation against the Cardinals.

30 – Chicago Bears 1-6 (LW: 30) – Brian Hoyer’s season is over after being placed on the injured reserve list and now Jay Cutler is suddenly healthy again. Can Cutler look better than Hoyer now that he’s back? If not, that would be pretty depressing for Chicago.

31 – Cleveland Browns 0-7 (LW: 31) – The Browns are down to fifth-round rookie Kevin Hogan at quarterback. Cleveland has been ravaged by injuries at the quarterback position.

32 – San Francisco 49ers 1-6 (LW: 32) –  Will Chip Kelly last longer than one season in San Fran? The 49ers have allowed the most points in the NFL and they own the league’s second worst point differential.