Power Rankings (Week 8)
13 min readOct 28, 2020
- Steelers: There’s one remaining undefeated team; the Pittsburgh Steelers. I think everyone assumed Big Ben returning this year would make this team competitive. I don’t know if anyone thought they’d be this good. Offensively, every week it’s a different WR that takes over. Defensively, they simply play with so much speed. They made a very good Titans team look very bad for most of the game. They get the Ravens this week in another battle of top AFC teams that could strengthen their case for being the top team in the league.
- Chiefs: The slip up from two weeks ago against the Raiders was just that, a slip up. This team is primed and ready to compete late into January and maybe into February as they attempt to defend their Super Bowl. Adding Le’Veon Bell is going to pay dividends as they use him more and more week after week, and he becomes more comfortable in that offense. This defense has given up 20 or fewer points in 6 of 7 games this season. Good luck holding Mahomes and company under 20 points.
- Packers: Much like what I said above, the Packers slipped up against a very good Buccaneers team two weeks ago. But they responded in a big way this week with a dominating road win without their star running back Aaron Jones. Aaron Rodgers is playing the best football we’ve seen from him in years. I have the Packers ranked this high because not only are they 5–1, but of their 5 wins, only 1 of them was a one score game. They’re dominating teams.
- Buccaneers: Continuing with a team that has been dominating teams… How about these Buccaneers? Since their Week 5 loss to the Bears where they looked very bad, they played an elite Packers team and a good Raiders team. How did they do? Oh, just outscored them 83–30. I thought Tom Brady was old. I thought it would take time for this offense to mesh. I thought this was still the Saints division and they would be lucky to get a Wild Card spot. I was wrong about this team (that hurts even just to type). This offense is as deep of a unit as I’ve ever seen, especially with Gronk seeming to round into form now and Antonio Brown on the way. This defense is opportunistic and simply very good. This Buccaneers team seems ready to make some noise in the NFC.
- Titans: It was a disappointing performance for most of the game by this Titans team against the Steelers this week. Had they won, they may very well have been atop this rankings list. But they didn’t. They’re still very good though. With Derrick Henry pounding defenses and Ryan Tannehill playing some elite football, particularly off of play action, this team is poised for a deep playoff run. I am a little concerned with this defense that has allowed 27 or more points in 4 of their 6 games this season. Vrabel will get that straightened out though.
- Seahawks: Here’s another team that very well could have been atop this rankings list with a better performance this week. Russell Wilson is still playing incredible football and the frontrunner for MVP in my mind, so I’m not letting his 3 interception game affect my opinion of him too much. What is causing my hesitation to put them higher is quite simple: this defense is not playing good football. They need to fix that, not only if they want to make a deep playoff run, but if they want maintain control of the NFC West, which is hands down the best division in the league.
- Ravens: Coming off their bye, the Ravens immediately get their chance to prove that they are an elite team deserving of a higher ranking when they face the Steelers this Sunday. A win there would silence those who say that this team dominates bad teams, but can’t hang with the big boys. I am currently one of those people. It’s hard to argue against. But they got an extra week of preparation and rest ahead of their home battle vs. their biggest division rival. They have no excuses. If they lose, I think it’s safe to say this team is not going to be making a deep run into January.
- Bills: Here’s a team that is a little hard to figure out. After the first 4 weeks of this season, they looked like they were as good as anyone. Offensively Josh Allen had this group playing at an elite level. Defensively they weren’t sharp, but I think everyone thought they would figure it out. Then they put up a complete stinker against the Titans, didn’t look all that competitive against the Chiefs, and nearly got beat by the Jets in a game where they didn’t score a single touchdown. I think this team is still one of the AFC’s top 5 teams, but I also think they’re a step down from being elite.
- Cardinals: What a thriller on Sunday Night. This team made the seemingly perfect Russell Wilson look human. Kyler Murray looks awesome. Sure, they had back to back not so great losses to the Lions and Panthers earlier in the year. But this team responded to those losses by beating two terrible teams 30–10 and 38–10, and then beating an elite Seahawks team in overtime on national TV. That’s impressive heading into their bye week.
- Rams: The Rams have looked very good this year, minus a disappointing performance in primetime two weeks ago to a desperate 49ers team. They bounced back in primetime this week to grab a dominating victory over the Bears. This was the Rams first victory this season over a team that doesn’t play in the NFC East. We’ll be able to get a better read on this team when they play more of their division games, but for now, there’s no reason to think they’re not going to be a playoff contender. Their offense has looked decent. Their defense has stifled every team they have faced other than week 3 against the Bills. This is a good football team.
- Saints: What is going on with Michael Thomas? Injuries, punching a teammate in the face, and rumors of unhappiness have now led to intensifying trade rumors, when just last season this guy looked like he was in the perfect situation as he was breaking the single season receptions record. Regardless, they have not looked like the same, dominant team this year that most expected. They did get a nice division win this past weekend to extend their winning streak to 3 games, but it’s tough to feel confident in this team going deep into the postseason, if they even get there. That being said, typically they are one of the Super Bowl frontrunners at this point in the season, only to disappoint in January, so maybe they’re just trying something new this year.
- Colts: The last we saw the Colts, they were scrambling to squeak out a victory against the Bengals after falling behind by 3 touchdowns. Coming off of their bye, they get another test against a team that likes to get off to great starts only to blow double digit leads in the Lions. It’ll be a good test for them as they try to get closer to the Titans in the AFC South. The Colts have a playoff caliber defense for sure. Their offense leaves a little bit to be desired with Philip Rivers’ sloppy play to start this season.
- Browns: I know it was against the Bengals, but give Baker Mayfield and this Browns team credit for that impressive victory on Sunday. It was a road, division game where your top WR went down before making a single catch. Like a lot of people probably thought, I was waiting for Baker to implode. But he didn’t. They trailed entering the 4th quarter; he drove them down to give them the lead. They gave up the lead; he got it right back. They gave the lead back again with just over a minute left; he finishes the game with an incredible drive and pass to win it with 11 seconds left. If you’re going to beat up on Baker and the Browns when they’re down, you have to give them credit when they’re up. I don’t know if this is a playoff team, especially with the injury to OBJ. But I do think they are good enough to be playing meaningful football late into December at the very least.
- 49ers: Here’s a team that I just can’t figure out. I fully expected a regression this season from a team that I believe overperformed last year. Then they were slammed with all of those injuries early in the season, and I thought for sure they were done. After putting up two absolute duds against the Eagles and the Dolphins, I was as confident as could be that their season was over. Then they play like a desperate football team and beat the Rams on Sunday Night two weeks ago and follow that up by embarrassing Cam Newton and the Patriots in Foxborough. I still think that unfortunately for the 49ers, they play in the best division in football, so they are likely a longshot from making the playoffs. But with 3 Wild Card teams now in each conference, they definitely still have a shot.
- Bears: I said before Monday Night that this was potentially the worst 5–1 team in the history of the NFL. Hyperbolic? Maybe. But this is not a good football team. I have them ranked here out of respect for their record, but if the Bears were a stock, I’d be unloading all of my shares. Their offense is atrocious. Sure, they have a solid defense. It’s not as dominant as it was two years ago, but it’s a solid unit. However, really take a look at the good fortune that they have had this year from a defensive perspective: Week 1 they faced the Lions without Kenny Golladay. Week 2 they faced the Giants who lost Saquon Barkley early in the game. Week 3 they faced the Falcons without Julio Jones. Week 5 they faced the Buccaneers without Chris Godwin. Week 6 they faced the Panthers without CMC. Up next for the Bears are matchups vs. the Saints and at the Titans. They could be looking at 5–4 real quick.
- Raiders: The Raiders went into their bye week coming off of one of the biggest wins in recent memory for this team when they beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead in Week 5. They come out of their bye week with a very poor showing at home to the Buccaneers. I’m going to give this team the benefit of the doubt on that one. They dealt with a lot during the week with Covid-related problems, the game got moved out of primetime, and they had injuries to some key guys. I still like this team. Derek Carr has been playing good football. I think they’re going to be in the Wild Card hunt the entire season.
- Lions: What a thriller the Lions were in on Sunday. Anyone who knows anything about the Lions knows that those are the games and those are the situations where if there’s anything that could go wrong, any obscure rules, or any crazy plays that could happen, they’re going to typically be at the detriment of the Lions. You don’t have to look that far for an example: back in 2017 against the same Atlanta Falcons team, the Lions lost the game after they had a game winning TD from the 1-yard line overturned by replay, which caused a runoff of the game clock to end the game without them getting another snap. This time, they were on the right end of a mistake by the Falcons, and Matthew Stafford proved once again how there’s only a short list of guys who you’d want ahead of him leading your team down the field in the most dire of situations. This team is now back to .500 and have an incredibly soft schedule over the next six weeks. Don’t look now, but the Lions have a chance at being relevant.
- Panthers: Teddy Bridgewater had this team looking really good through five weeks, even with the loss of CMC. But following two losses, they now sit at 3–4 and look like many expected them to look before the season. They have a home division game this week on Thursday Night against the Falcons. It feels like a must-win if they want any chance of being in the playoff hunt. After that, they face the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs and then the soaring Buccaneers. Sheesh. They’re not a pushover, but I don’t expect this team to be playing meaningful football come December.
- Dolphins: Tua Time! As exciting as it is for the Dolphins, their fans, and Tua himself, I do genuinely want to take a second to acknowledge Ryan Fitzpatrick not only just for the job that he did with this team this season, but for his incredibly respectable career. This seems like a decision that was made at the beginning of the season regardless of how the first 6 weeks went. Fitzmagic led this team, who were playing some great football, to being only 1 game back in the loss column of the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills. It’ll be interesting to see how Tua fares against Aaron Donald and company this week.
- Chargers: What an exciting team. The Justin Herbert-led Chargers seem to be in or be winning every game, only to find ways to lose them in the end. They didn’t do that this week. Herbert was awesome against a bad Jaguars team and they got the victory. I don’t see this team going anywhere this year. But their future is certainly bright, and they are not a team anyone can truly feel confident going up against right now.
- Eagles: Here’s the first of the NFC East teams to make the list. If you’re an Eagles fan, it almost feels like you made a deal with the devil when you won the Super Bowl just three seasons ago. Since then, you’ve had injuries upon injuries upon injuries. The only good thing is that 6–9–1 realistically will likely win this division, with 5–10–1 giving you a shot. And just like that, you’d be hosting a playoff game. Good lord…
- Broncos: I really thought that this team was going to carry some momentum from their solid performance two weeks ago on the road against the Patriots into their home matchup vs. the Chiefs. That did not happen. They were dominated. This is a young team that hopefully uses the rest of this year to really figure out what they have in Drew Lock.
- Patriots: This is the Cam Newton and the Patriots team that I expected to see this season. I was fooled through three weeks. I had to say I was wrong to some friends who believed in Cam and this team. But now I’m here to say, I WAS RIGHT. This is not a good football team. After a very uninspiring loss at home to a bad Broncos team, they got completely and utterly embarrassed, again at home, to a banged up 49ers team. This team is so far behind the other AFC Wild Card contenders in terms of sheer talent on both sides of the ball that I don’t think it’s wise for them to be buyers near the deadline. The era of the Patriots playing football into January is finally over.
- Vikings: After looking good and competitive against the Seahawks back in Week 5, the Vikings put up an absolute dud to the Falcons in Week 6 and entered their bye riding a 2-game losing streak. This looks like a lost season for this team. This is not the same defense that it’s been over the years. The offense is inconsistent. It’ll be interesting to see if they become sellers at the deadline.
- Bengals: Joe Burrow is as exciting a young QB as there is in this league. He is doing some incredible things this year on a team that otherwise is not very good. The Bengals have a bright future because of him alone.
- Football Team: After beating the Cowboys, Ron Rivera has this team a half game back of the division lead. Possibly more importantly, they have two division wins. This team has a shot at hosting a playoff game, and that’s great news for whatever Wild Card team would be facing them in the first round.
- Falcons: Get ready for another hyperbolic statement: This Falcons team is the best 1–6 football team in the history of the NFL. But they’re still 1–6. I’m not sure if anyone feels confident going into the game against this team, but you certainly never feel like you’re out of it at any point either. This team just continuously finds unique ways of losing.
- Texans: A lot of people were giving this team the benefit of the doubt after starting the season 0–3 against 3 of the best teams in football. I think it’s safe to say that’s over with. This team has a very good QB, but that’s about it. They certainly have had a tough schedule, but if you want to be considered good, you have to beat good teams; at least one time.
- Cowboys: This team is done. A lot of people thought this team would rally after the devastating injury to Dak. That has not been the case. Sure, they will still be mathematically alive likely for the entire season in that pitiful division that they play in. But they are not a good football team. There’s no other way to put it.
- Jaguars: I love a good mustache as much as the next guy, especially since I can’t grow one. But Minshew Mania seems to be over with. There was a lot of optimism around this team after upsetting the Colts in Week 1 and battling the Titans in Week 2 to the very end. But they’ve now lost 6 straight with the last 5 losses all coming by 8 or more points.
- Giants: The Giants have one thing to be able to hang their hat on this year: they’re the better of the two teams that call Metlife Stadium home. It’s crazy to think that had this team not blown that 11 point lead with 6 minutes left to the Eagles this past week, that this team would have been tied for first place in their division. Much like what I’ve said about the other 3 teams in the NFC East, they will potentially be playing meaningful football the entire season. But that doesn’t mean they’re good.
- Jets: I’m going to take this opportunity to say something positive about this Jets team, since I don’t know how often that will happen. The Jets held a lead against a very good Buffalo Bills team for almost three quarters this past Sunday. They did not allow a single touchdown. Well done Jets.
