NFL Power Rankings Week Eight: Sink Or Swim?

Usually around this time in the NFL season we see a bunch of teams hoovering around the .500 mark. This season it almost seems like there are no middle of the pack teams, they’re either really good or a big jug of dumpster juice.

They are way too many teams near the bottom of the league right now. It’s a true case of the haves and have nots.

 

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-0)
The Steelers played a sloppy game on offense and still managed to come out with a victory. Pittsburgh remains the lone undefeated team in the league and they’re getting it done on both sides of the ball.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (6-1)
Kansas City has outscored their opponents 69-33 on their current two game win streak. The defense has forced five turnovers during that stretch.

3. Baltimore Ravens (5-1)
The Ravens have forced a turnover in every game they played this season. Their next game is against the undefeated Steelers.

4. Seattle Seahawks (5-1)
It took a trip to overtime to give Seattle it’s first loss of the season. They rank first in points scored but they allow a league worst 410.7 total yards per game.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2)
Tom Brady had somewhat of a resurgent game, showing dazzling passes and nifty completions on Sunday. With more help to come with the return of Antonio Brown to the NFL, the Buccaneers offense could hit another gear in the coming weeks.

6. Tennessee Titans (5-1)
The Titans first loss of the season came by a mere three points. They scored a total of 84 points in their two previous games.

7. Green Bay Packers (5-1)
Did you really think the Packers were going to lose a game after their week six laugher? They have a league low two turnovers on offense and they’ve scored 30 or more points in all of their wins.

8. Chicago Bears (5-2)
Well, at least the Bears’ defense scored on Monday night. Chicago has a hard time putting the ball in the end zone, especially on the ground. The team has two rushing touchdowns all season and one of those belongs to quarterback Nick Foles.

9. Buffalo Bills (5-2)
For a team that’s three games above .500, the Bills have the feeling of a team that should have a losing record. In fact, they’ve been outscored on the season by a total of 178-174.

10. Los Angeles Rams (5-2)
The Rams broke right back into the win column by playing great defense and forcing two turnovers. In their last two victories they’ve allowed a total of 87 rushing yards.

11.  Cleveland Browns (5-2)
The Browns are undefeated when they score 30 points or more. In their two losses they’ve failed to reach double digits in points.

12. Arizona Cardinals (5-2)
The Cardinals have won three games in a row, averaging 35.0 points per game during that stretch. They have forced seven total turnovers in those three games.

13. Indianapolis Colts (4-2)
The Colts average 26.1 points per game and they allow 19.1 points per game. They face the Detroit Lions coming off their bye week.

14. New Orleans Saints (4-2)
The Saints have pushed their win streak to three games and have outscored their opponents by a total of 12 points in that span. The next two opponents they face have a combined record of 10-4.

15. San Francisco 49ers (4-3)
The 49ers have won the last two games, outscoring opponents 57- 22. They have allowed only four rushing touchdowns all season.

16. Las Vegas Raiders (3-3)
Tampa Bay sure kicked the crap out of the Raiders on Sunday. Las Vegas has played only one game this season where they did not give up at least 30 points.

17. Carolina Panthers (3-4)
The Panthers have dropped two games in a row, getting outscored by a total of 50-40. They play Atlanta for the second time this season on Thursday night.

18. Miami Dolphins (3-3)
Coming off their bye week, Tua Tagovailoa will make his debut versus the Los Angeles Rams. The Dolphins allow 18.8 points per game and have only allowed seven passing touchdowns all season.

19. Detroit Lions (3-3)
The Lions snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat on Sunday. If they played in the NFC East, they’d be in first place. Well they don’t play in that division, but they do have two games versus Minnesota left on their schedule.

20. Los Angeles Chargers (2-4)
The Chargers grabbed their second victory of the season with a balanced attack on offense. The two teams they’ve defeated have a total of two wins on the season.

21. Philadelphia Eagles (2-4-1)
The Eagles are in first place in the NFC East, which means they still aren’t that great of a team.

22. Denver Broncos (2-4)
Denver’s two game winning streak was snapped on Sunday evening. Turning the ball over four times had a bit to do with that.

23. New England Patriots (2-4)
New England is averaging 19.1 points per game on offense and they have 14 turnovers. Their defense is allowing 23.8 points per game and have forced 12 turnovers.

24. Washington Football Team (2-5)
Washington played Dallas and had their most lopsided win of the season. They actually have the treat of playing Dallas again this season (lucky them).

25. Dallas Cowboys (2-5)
Poor Dallas is still in the hunt for the NFC East division title, which at this point seems like a participation trophy.

26. Cincinnati Bengals (1-5-1)
The Bengals have a hard time turning third downs into first downs, converting only 38.8% of the time. They’ve allowed an average of 31.6 points per game on their current three game losing streak.

27. Atlanta Falcons (1-6)
You would think getting rid of your head coach and general manager would change the course of your season. That didn’t happen for the Falcons, because they’re still finding ways to lose games in the closing minutes (seconds).

28. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6)
The Jaguars rank dead last in the NFL in rushing attempts, with only 150 carries on the season. They average a very good 4.5 yards per carry, which probably means they should run it more.

29. New York Giants (1-6)
Daniel Jones is the Giants’ leading rusher, averaging 42.3 rushing yards per game. In case you forgot, Jones is the Giants’ starting quarterback.

30. Minnesota Vikings (1-5)
The Vikings bye week couldn’t have come at a better time. Their next opponent is the Packers, which couldn’t have come at a worse time.

31. Houston Texans (1-6)
The executives in Houston seem like bad parents or at least negligent ones. Having Deshaun Watson for four seasons now and falling miserably short at giving him enough help on offense. In fact, they take away more of his assistance year after year.

32. New York Jets (0-7)
The Jets have the worst offense in the league (by far), averaging a miniscule 12.1 points per game. They rank dead last in points scored and total yards per game.