2023 NFL Power Rankings: Week 8
The NFL is officially at the point in the season where nothing makes sense anymore. One thing is clear though: the Eagles belong in a tier of their own. They’re loaded. It’s going to take them stumbling for someone to knock them off, which I don’t know if that happens.
The 49ers stay at #2 in my eyes, but fall a tier after back to back losses. QB is going to hold them back in the playoffs, but this roster is still absolutely loaded. The Chiefs continue to roll, and arguably should be ranked higher. But they’re clearly the best team in the AFC as both the Dolphins and Bills lost this week. Miami’s loss was understandable, but it’s now the second time they’ve played a quality team this year where they were blown out. Buffalo’s loss made no sense. They’re now 4–3, so this ranking may be high. The problem is the rest of this tier is also flawed. The Lions were brought back to life as they were demolished by the Ravens, who finally looked legit. The Jaguars look awesome, but they still had those early-season blips. And the Cowboys have certainly flashed, but had their two awful performances as well.
The Browns defense did not have a repeat performance this week, but at least they won the game. Their QB situation has been bizarre. Tough bye week for the Bengals as the other 3 teams in their division all won. The Seahawks got back on track with a nice, easy win. Bye week for the Jets where they saw the Bills and Dolphins both lose. Nice win by the Steelers over the Rams. The Chargers are close to leaving this tier in what is becoming another very disappointing season. The Falcons had a nice, road win over the Buccaneers to leap them in the standings. The Commanders and Saints both lost, and also might not belong in this tier. But again, there’s so few good teams in the league. Shocking victory by the Vikings has them jumping into this tier. After a disastrous start to their season, they’re one win away from getting back to .500 and being relevant.
Bye week for the Texans so no real movement there. I’ve officially realized I may have been wrong about the Packers. They stink. It was a nice fight by the Colts, which is to be expected with Gardner Minshew — inconsistent, sometimes fun, sometimes disastrous, QB play.
The Titans may have already waved the white flag. The Raiders blew their chance at having meaningful December games. The Patriots, Giants, Broncos and Bears all won, hence us being at the point in the season where football doesn’t make sense anymore. And I think it’s clear that the Cardinals and Panthers are the bottom two teams this season.
