Guregian: NFL Power Rankings Week 8

When the dust settled and smoke cleared, only one team remained unbeaten in the NFL after Week 7.

That would be the 6-0 Steelers.

The Men of Steel managed to stay perfect, holding off the previously unbeaten Titans. Stephen Gostkowski missed a potential game-tying field goal in the closing seconds to seal the deal.

The Seahawks, meanwhile, also surrendered their unbeaten status. The up-and-coming Cardinals came back to beat Seattle in overtime, handing Pete Carroll’s team its first setback.

The Chiefs have a loss, but they are still the best of the lot. They smoked the Broncos in the snow at Mile High.

The Bucs, meanwhile, continue to climb up the ladder. They’re on a roll behind Tom Brady.

The Patriots? They’re rolling in the wrong direction, suffering their third straight loss. The last time the Pats lost three in a row was 18 years ago.

Cam Newton was pulled from the game after throwing his third interception, but is still expected to start Sunday against the Bills in Buffalo.

So the Patriots keep tumbling. They aren’t alone.

Here’s our NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 8.

1. Chiefs (6-1): Pretty scary when Patrick Mahomes doesn’t have to pull any rabbits out of a hat, and the Chiefs just blow out teams because they’re that good collectively.

2. Steelers (6-0): Late-game meltdown against the Titans notwithstanding, the Steelers looked like world-beaters in the first half, scoring on their first four possessions. They’re the last unbeaten standing.

3. Ravens (5-1): All they did during their bye week was add a dynamic playmaker for their defense, trading for pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue. As it is, they already had one of the best defenses in the league. It’s called piling on.

4. Seahawks (5-1): Russell Wilson can’t always be perfect and win all the knock-down, drag-out, high-scoring affairs. For once, he was out-dueled by another quarterback. Kyler Murray one-upped him.

5. Buccaneers (5-2): Tom Brady an MVP candidate? That’s the buzz after the Bucs and their 43-year-old quarterback won their second straight, outscoring the Packers and Raiders 83-30 in the process.

6. Packers (5-1): The Packers vowed to make someone pay for getting blown out by the Bucs last week. That someone was the Texans, who were the perfect sacrificial lambs.

7. Titans (5-1): Stephen Gostkowski’s roller coaster ride continues. Hero one minute, goat the next. He was the latter against the Steelers, pushing a potential 45-yard game-tying field goal right with seconds to go.

8. Bills (5-2): For a half, the Jets gave them a scare. But then the Bills defense woke up, locked in, and made the Jets offense disappear. Poof!

9. Rams (5-2): They’ve now won 30 straight games after having a halftime lead. Between their swarming defense, and the awesomeness of punter Johnny Hekker, the Bears became victim No. 30.

10. Saints (4-2): They were without top wideouts Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. But Drew Brees still had Alvin Kamara at his disposal and that was enough to take down the Panthers.

11. Cardinals (5-2): The Cards are now 2-0 in the division after upsetting the Seahawks. It was a huge reaffirming win for Murray & Co. and could be significant in a playoff tiebreaker.

12. 49ers (4-3): Jimmy Garoppolo returned to his old stomping grounds, and stomped all over his former team. The Super Bowl runners-up can still be a dominant team even with a boatload of starters on IR.

13. Colts (4-2): They sat back and enjoyed a productive bye week after watching everyone in the AFC South lose, most notably the division-leading Titans. They Colts crept closer to the top just by sitting idle.

14. Browns (5-2): Baker Mayfield threw an interception on his first throw for the second straight game. Five touchdown passes later, Mayfield atoned, and then some.

15. Bears (5-2): Not a good sign when the defense outscores the offense. But that was the case Monday night, as Nick Foles got swallowed alive by the Rams.

16. Raiders (3-3): The Raiders knew going in they had to get pressure on Tom Brady to have a chance. But knowing and doing are two different things, as they let Brady comfortably sit in the pocket all day. No surprise he picked them apart.

17. Chargers (2-4): Justin Herbert joined Hall of Famer Dan Marino as the only QB in the Super Bowl era with an 85-plus passer rating in each of his first five NFL starts. Yes, he’s been that good.

18. Patriots (2-4): Patriot quarterbacks? Three touchdown passes, eleven interceptions. Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady? Eighteen TD passes, four picks. Sometimes stats do tell the story.

19. Dolphins (3-3): Time will tell if making Tua Tagovailoa the starter was a great move or an ill-conceived one. Whether Brian Flores made the call, or someone above him, it’s a gamble benching Ryan Fitzpatrick.

20. Panthers (3-4): Allowing an opponent to convert on 12-of-14 third down attempts isn’t going to lead to many wins. It wasn’t a recipe for success against the Saints.

21. Eagles (2-4-1): Right now, the magic number of wins needed to own a piece of the NFC East lead is two. Pathetic.

22. Lions (3-3): Guess Matthew Stafford’s days as a comeback artist aren’t over. Driving the Lions 75 yards in 64 seconds, hitting T.J. Hockenson with the game-winner at the buzzer brought back memories.

23. Broncos (2-4): After the Chiefs blew them out by 27 points, Broncos tackle Garrett Boles actually claimed the two teams were “neck and neck.” What game was he watching?

24. Vikings (1-5): They unloaded defensive star Yannick Ngakoue. Watch for more as they not-so-subtly get in the Tank for Trevor sweepstakes.

25. Cowboys (2-5): They didn’t seem to care about getting manhandled by Washington. Or having their quarterback take a vicious cheap shot. Jerry Jones must love watching an uncompetitive team.

26. Texans (1-6): Big-time upset if they’re not sellers before the deadline. Might as well have some draft assets lined up for a new head coach.

27. Bengals (1-5-1): The best thing about Sunday’s Bengals/Browns classic was the duel between Joe Burrow and Baker Mayfield. It was an epic battle with promises of more to come.

28. Washington (2-5): The Football Team hadn’t had a rushing performance of 60-plus yards all season. No surprise they’d find their groove against the woeful Cowboys.

29. Falcons (1-6): Todd Gurley forgot to fall down. Having him score with just over a minute left gave the Lions another chance. The Falcons could have killed the clock and kicked the game-winner if Gurley just dropped.

30. Giants (1-6): With the end zone just ahead, and no one in sight, quarterback Daniel Jones tripped over his own feet and face-planted at the tail-end of an 80-yard run. Hard to make this stuff up.

31. Jaguars (1-6): They’ve allowed 30-plus points in six straight losses. Not the kind of streak you’re looking for. But Doug Marrone’s job is supposedly safe for now.

32. Jets (0-7): Maybe it was good for Adam Gase to let someone else call the offensive plays to try and jumpstart the offense. But gaining just four yards on 16 plays in the second half? Seriously?

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/34zoBEe