NFL Power Rankings, Week 8: Lions reclaim top spot, while Colts vault up to No. 2; Chiefs lurking

Detroit’s undermanned secondary stepped up in a massive way in Monday’s statement victory over Tampa Bay. The home team entered the night alarmingly shorthanded in the defensive backfield, and then Rock Ya-Sin had to miss some snaps with cramps. The Lions knew Baker Mayfield would keep coming, but they kept answering the bell. Despite dominating play in the first half, Detroit only led 14-3 at the break, having left a ton of points on the field with two turnovers, a turnover on downs and a missed field goal. Jared Goff’s pick before halftime helped gift the Buccaneers points, but the Lions' offense responded with a touchdown on its first drive of the third quarter and the defense played incredibly well all night, especially considering the circumstances. The Lions might have taken the Chiefs’ best punch in Week 6, but they took out their frustrations on a good Bucs team that they might see again in January.

I admit I am out of excuses for not putting Indianapolis higher. The loss to the Rams and a close shave against the Cardinals had me slightly pumping the brakes, but there's no doubt the Colts have a top-three offense right now. It's humming at exceptional levels -- zero turnovers, zero offensive penalties and only three negative-yardage plays at the Chargers. That and another 38 points will do, thank you very much. Any serious MVP list probably needs Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor on it right now. Taylor was on another heater Sunday and is now up to 10 rushing TDs, re-approaching his 2021 level of dominance these days, while Jones appears in total command. And a hat tip to Indy's defense, which set a first-half tone and made a big stop late after bending a little. The Colts are still for real.

If the Chiefs' record were a hair better, I'd have considered them for a top-two spot after the 31-0 beatdown of the rival Raiders. This was peak-Chiefs dominance, and even though the blowout win came over a scuffling Las Vegas squad, that's exactly what you want to see from a team that fielded a lineup of Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice together for the first time. The result was an extremely balanced attack; even the run game showed some signs of vitality. Defensively, it was a masterpiece. The schedule stiffens considerably, and the big showdown in Buffalo is only a couple Sundays away, but the Chiefs are suddenly peaking, and Patrick Mahomes is again an MVP favorite.

The Seahawks gave Seattle something to smile about after the Mariners lost Game 7, but it wasn't as easy as it initially appeared to be. The 'Hawks were dominant early, but they mishandled the final two minutes of the first half, gave up a defensive score in the third quarter on a Sam Darnold strip-sack and turned the ball over two more times in the fourth quarter. The defense looked championship-quality, but the offense and special teams made too many mistakes for my taste. A dominant win might have compelled me to bump the Seahawks up to No. 2, but I wasn’t impressed with how they played with a lead. You’re not going to win too many more games this season turning the ball over four times and committing 12 penalties.

The Packers won the fourth quarter at Arizona, and they did it by winning a few key fourth downs. The defense stepped up late with a fourth-down stuff of Jacoby Brissett, and Micah Parsons also took over with two of his three sacks and several key pressures in the final period. On offense, Jordan Love delivered a big fourth-down completion to Tucker Kraft -- after Matt LaFleur originally had sent out the field-goal unit. Those were the high notes. But it was another harder-than-expected game against a seemingly lesser opponent, a disappointing trend for a team that gave off real Super Bowl vibes during the first two weeks of the season. The Packers are good, but they still must prove to me that they're definitively Tier 1 good.

This was the kind of offensive game we really hadn't seen from the Eagles this season. Jalen Hurts was dealing against the Vikings, especially with downfield shots, and getting the ball to his best playmakers. A.J. Brown had two TDs and the dagger catch to end it, while DeVonta Smith had more than half the Eagles' net yardage. Things still aren't churning up front in the ground game behind a remixed offensive line, but when the aerial attack hums like this, the run's not as critical. Defensively, the Eagles had a few slip-ups and didn't defend the perimeter of the field well enough, but they forced two INTs of Carson Wentz (including a Jalyx Hunt pick-six) and held Minnesota to 1-for-6 in the red zone. Job well done.

The Rams had several empty drives in London without Puka Nacua (ankle), including four three-and-outs and four straight punts in the third quarter. But when they moved the ball at all against the Jaguars, they scored. Entering the game, the Rams were just 13-for-26 in the red zone, but they notched touchdowns all four times they broke the Jacksonville 20-yard line -- plus once just outside of it, on a pretty scoring strike to rookie TE Terrance Ferguson that pretty much knocked the Jags out. Matthew Stafford is dealing now, up to 17 TDs against only two picks. Davante Adams played the role of surrogate WR1 in Nacua's absence and scored three times. Combine that with a dominant defensive front that harassed Trevor Lawrence most of the game, and you have Sean McVay's biggest blowout in nearly four years.

You can never count the Buccaneers out of a game, as they’ve proven, but losing Mike Evans in his return from a hamstring injury was a tough midgame blow in the loss at Detroit. Baker Mayfield rallied the troops, but three turnovers on downs in the fourth quarter did them in. The defense did a lot of good things against the Lions, but Jahmyr Gibbs gutted the unit a few times, and it was too big a hill to climb. Evans is now sidelined for at least a couple months due to a broken clavicle, while Haason Reddick (knee/ankle) was carted off the field in the fourth quarter on Monday night, giving Tampa Bay big-picture concerns. Furthermore, I can’t ignore the fact that this team has been outscored on the season. All of that explains the notable drop here. As I’ve said all along, these Bucs will be judged by what they do in December and January. I think they’ll still be swinging then, but it’s getting a little worrisome.

This is admittedly an overcorrection after ranking the Bills way too high last week. Yes, folks, I heard you, and I’m not going to blame the bleariness from a Monday doubleheader for not dropping Buffalo further last Tuesday. I had slightly baked in the idea that the Bills would be getting some much-needed defensive reinforcements, and maybe they sniff around for some trade help -- but right now, that's all speculative. What we know: Josh Allen isn't playing at an MVP level, and other offensive pieces aren't doing their part, either. For all the crying about a need for defensive help, I could make just as good a case Buffalo could use another receiver. Right now, the wideouts are neither winning enough one-on-one battles nor making enough game-changing plays. That's a big worry for a team that's trying to fight its way back into first place with a few tough games ahead.

I am always a little flummoxed when dealing with teams that do something similar to what Denver did on Sunday: sleepwalk for three quarters, dominate the final 15 minutes and still almost come up short. But the Broncos didn't, rattling off 33 fourth-quarter points and stunning the Giants. Bo Nix threw for 174 of his 279 yards and ran for two scores in the fourth alone. So I can't help but tip my hat at the team's astounding grit. That said, seeing the defense follow up one of the most dominant performances of the 2025 NFL season in London with a mostly poor showing against the Giants in Denver was utterly shocking. Justin Strnad's INT saved the Broncos, but much of the afternoon was a massive struggle. 

Mike Vrabel's return to Nashville was a successful business trip, resulting in a lopsided win. It wasn't easy at first, as yet another young QB diced up the Patriots' secondary in the early going, but New England eventually got to Cam Ward and held him scoreless for the game's final 30-plus minutes. Drake Maye was matching Ward throw for throw, then blew past the rookie with another sterling performance. The only thing I didn't like was a few of the hits Maye took. Otherwise, the second-year sensation's precision while throwing and scrambling -- as well as a better showing from the ground attack -- made it a good game on that side. Four of the next six contests are at home before the Week 14 bye, and the Patriots are looking like a new operation entirely. The endorphins are flowing in New England. 

The Niners are 5-2, but with a barely positive point differential (plus-7) and a slew of injured players, so I don't truly know how they're doing it, other than to say that the coaching has been excellent and the depth options have stepped up tremendously well. The first defensive test after Fred Warner's season-ending injury went swimmingly, with San Francisco holding the Falcons in check nearly all night in an inspired showing. Of course, it wouldn't be a 49ers game unless someone was hit with a malady, in this case starting CB Renardo Green, who went down with a toe injury, further weakening a group that was already without Upton Stout. And it seems like they might have to go without Brock Purdy again for a tough test at Houston in Week 8. But Christian McCaffrey showed Sunday night that he still can carry a team, so the Niners figure to maintain their competitiveness during this challenging stretch. 

It wasn't stunning that the Steelers had some issues with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, two of the best receivers in the NFL. That said, the reason they went out and got Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay in the offseason, to go along with Joey Porter Jr., was to combat these types of weapons. Failing to do that and allowing a dormant Bengals run game to awaken is just wholly unacceptable. Aaron Rodgers and the offense did some positive things, as you might expect against Cincinnati, but the overall effort wasn't prolific enough. The Steelers are a good team, reflected by their record, and they're in the AFC North driver's seat, but defensive showings and losses like this last one keep me from buying stock wholesale.

That’s now 15 takeaways in the past four games for the Bears and, perhaps not coincidently, four straight wins to completely turn the season around. Another pleasant development has been the emergence of the run game. D'Andre Swift kept it rolling against the Saints, and rookie Kyle Monangai had his best effort to date. The next packet of games (at Ravens, at Bengals, vs. Giants) looked a bit easier a few weeks ago, but these are still ones you can envision Chicago winning. Caleb Williams didn’t have a banner showing Sunday, and the snapping from Drew Dalman was a problem, but the Bears are playing well enough now to come up a little short in one or two facets and still win.

Liam Coen went up against his former master and came up short -- way short. This isn't meant to be a personal shot at Coen, but his team looked unprepared against Sean McVay's Rams in London, and things just haven't looked right since the dramatic victory over the Chiefs, which suddenly feels like it occurred ages ago. Travis Hunter had his breakout game, which is nice, but Jacksonville seems to have a Brian Thomas Jr. problem. Really, the overall product was replete with self-inflicted errors. Now the Jaguars have the bye to diagnose what has gone wrong and how to fix things ahead of a stretch with four of five games on the road. There are some winnable ones, but given the way the Jags have looked over the last two weeks, nothing's guaranteed.

That's two straight losses after the big win in L.A., and the Commanders suddenly find themselves in tough shape physically. They were already down their top three receivers heading into the loss to Dallas, and Jayden Daniels exited the game early in the third quarter with a hamstring injury. Up next are matchups against the Chiefs, Seahawks and Lions, followed by a game in Madrid, so it's clear that this is a dangerous time for Washington. The defense hasn't given us any reason to believe it will suddenly start making big plays; when it's not getting sacks, this unit is struggling. The Commanders have forced just three turnovers all season and have suffered from major coverage lapses and poor tackling.

Things have gone south since the Bolts' 3-0 start to the season, with injuries playing a big role, but I'd be lying if I told you I expected things to fall apart. The defense has allowed 27 or more points in each of the past three games, and Justin Herbert has six interceptions in his past five games, including two on Sunday against Indianapolis. We know now this is a dangerous Colts unit, but the Chargers were humbled in the first half before rallying and making it a closer score. They're struggling to run the ball consistently, and even the pass game has had some major missteps. The schedule might allow for the Chargers to regain their momentum a bit, and their 3-0 mark in the AFC West still holds up well, but it's hard not to be worried about what the product has looked like lately.

I'm not going to kill the Falcons for this loss, but it sure was disappointing coming off the high-flying show against the Bills. Apples and kumquats, no doubt. But Michael Penix Jr. got beaten up, and the Falcons couldn't match the 49ers' four-quarter intensity. Atlanta left too many points on the field with a brutal final two minutes of the first half and a turnover on downs in field-goal range while down three in the fourth quarter. It made me think: Are the Falcons good enough to win a road playoff game? I'm still making my mind up about this team, tough defense and all, but if you can keep a lid on Bijan Robinson, you have a darned good chance to beat Atlanta.

Bryce Young's high ankle sprain and a close win over the Jets don't have me in the sunniest mood right now, even with Carolina's three straight wins pushing the team's record to 4-3. It's likely going to be Andy Dalton against the Bills this Sunday, and that might not be an awful thing if you remember the spark he gave the Panthers in his first start a year ago. They also have a pretty good run game they can lean on, with Chuba Hubbard back in the lineup, although Rico Dowdle has kind of stolen the show -- and the lead role -- for now. Defensively, the Panthers had their best effort against the Jets since they shut out the Falcons in Week 3, but Buffalo will present a tougher test.

Brian Schottenheimer's offense has been rolling lately, and it received a boost with the return of CeeDee Lamb. It might be time to ask whether this unit is good enough to actually drag the Cowboys into the playoffs, with the defense still remaining a question, even after turning in a far better effort in Sunday's beatdown of the Commanders. Dak Prescott is playing lights out, and he has his full complement of weapons at his disposal again. Dallas faces the Eagles, Chiefs and Lions in Weeks 12-14, but the 'Boys will have chances to rack up some wins prior to that. Stay with these guys for a bit; it just might pay off.

Coming out of a bye that gave them extra time to prepare for the Seahawks, the Texans looked sloppy and unfocused early on. They settled down and made it a one-score game by halftime, but C.J. Stroud’s pick on the second snap of the third quarter was a killer. A couple drives later, Houston was stuffed on two Woody Marks handoffs on third and fourth downs -- the first of three turnovers on downs in the second half. Stroud wasn’t great Monday, and the protection struggled, but you don’t trust your QB to throw it once there? Nick Caley's play-calling begged a few questions after this one. Houston’s defense is still formidable -- Will Anderson Jr.'s strip-sack touchdown gave the road team true life in the third quarter -- but defending the deep ball posed problems. Not a crushing loss, but a frustrating-as-heck one -- maybe an indication of the Texans’ ceiling and a reminder of the record they still must overcome.

Carson Wentz wasn’t able to vanquish his former team, throwing two interceptions, including a pick-six, against the Eagles. The Vikings moved the ball readily almost all game but trailed throughout because of a poor red-zone showing (1-for-6) and their minus-two turnover ratio. In short, this wasn’t the kind of performance that should give Kevin O’Connell any sort of hesitation to go back to J.J. McCarthy; a move that we’ve expected all along feels certain now. The Vikings have ping-ponged back and forth this season, and now a gauntlet of tough opponents awaits. We’ll see if McCarthy and Minnesota’s defense are up to the challenge, but this is a delicate time for this franchise now.

It was a much-needed rest week for the Ravens, and for us, a chance to recalibrate their scenario. It’s still not pretty, thanks to their own bad turn of events, but there’s at least a ray of hope with Lamar Jackson’s expected return. They’re 1-0 in the AFC North, and Pittsburgh’s loss to the Bengals has loosened the Steelers' stranglehold on the division just a little. The Ravens still have two cracks left against Pittsburgh, and though an improved Bears team and three straight road games are upcoming, the schedule doesn’t really stiffen until December. They’ll still be up against it defensively, even with reinforcements coming (including Roquan Smith vs. his former team), but maybe the unit can build off an encouraging showing against the Rams in Week 6.

The whole arc of the season has completely changed. After Thursday’s stunner over the Steelers, the Bengals can get to the bye over .500 by winning the next two at home. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but that outlook is a heck of a lot rosier than I could have ever imagined, even a few weeks ago. Let’s not gloss over their defensive issues, which remain a headache. But they seemed to discover a run game last week, and the offense has some real mojo heading into a game against the winless Jets. I promise not to overrate them as best I can, but tell me opponents don’t view the Bengals as a total wild card with Joe Flacco balling right now.

Every Cardinals game has effectively come down to the final play. When they were 2-0, that was OK. But after losing five straight games by a combined 13 points, Arizona really could use this break on the bye. That’s not to suggest the Cardinals' own mistakes haven’t played heavily into those outcomes. They did a lot of good things against the Packers, and Jacoby Brissett was following suit, but he lost a fumble and was stuffed on a fourth-down run, turning the game toward Green Bay. If you look at the schedule, there are not many favorable games remaining. And though Kyler Murray will be the starter upon return, Brissett has gotten more out of the offense in his two games at the helm. It's a delicate time for this competitive -- but star-crossed -- team.

The Giants were still up 18 points with just over five minutes left, regained the lead they’d blown with 37 seconds left in the game and ... still found a way to lose. These are the kinds of games that can absolutely crater a season, even one that had turned in a more positive direction of late. That’s now two road losses where the Giants had ample chances to win but coughed them away. Jaxson Dart was absolutely terrific until the late-game interception, but he still managed to atone for his mistake and deliver the go-ahead scoring drive. There’s just no way I was going to bury him for a pretty heroic showing against a top-shelf defense. The Giants' defense, especially a shorthanded secondary, simply ran out of gas.

The Browns clobbered a reeling Dolphins club by 25 points, sending Tua Tagovailoa to the bench and smashing the team’s streak of 11 straight games with 17 points or fewer, scoring 31. All good things, if you ask me. I wasn’t going to zoom them up the board nine spots or anything crazy, because the game might have been a little closer than the score indicated, but strong performances -- even against dysfunctional teams -- deserve to be rewarded. Zero turnovers on offense and dominant stretches on defense were the bottom lines. There are kernels of real encouragement brewing for the Browns, and none are bigger than RB Quinshon Judkins right now. He has the look and feel of an offensive centerpiece who’s headlining a strong rookie class in Cleveland.

This was the first game this season where I think you can say Spencer Rattler truly didn’t play well. His four turnovers directly led to a Bears win, and after six losses in seven outings, the window for considering a QB change seems a little more ajar than before. Rattler really did a lot of good things prior to Chicago, but at some point -- with the season slipping away -- the Saints will likely want to see what Tyler Shough is capable of. If the season ended today, they'd have a top-three pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, which is typically quarterback country. The Saints have featured several other rookies this season, but we have yet to see much of Shough. Rattler’s margin for error for keeping Shough off the field has shrunk.

You don’t just bury this game tape. You first burn it with fire, and then douse it with sulfuric acid. The Raiders ran 30 offensive plays and allowed 31 points. Defensively, they let the Chiefs do pretty much what they wanted, even if the score wasn’t outrageously bad. It could have been much worse. Whatever good vibes still wafted around the team Sunday morning were blown away pretty quickly. There was only so much to hope for from the offense with Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers out -- and with Geno Smith mired in a season-long slump -- but the Raiders not leaning on Ashton Jeanty was so bizarre. He touched it only seven times -- and just once in the game’s first 20 minutes. I don’t get any of it. Oh, and Maxx Crosby and Adam Butler got hurt.

The ship has taken on water and is listing, with Tua Tagovailoa and Mike McDaniel seemingly on opposite sides of the boat. If there was hope that the offense perhaps could bail out this situation, that feels virtually gone now. The fate of the franchise feels like it’s tilting ahead of a tough stretch of games, including a showcase game in Madrid in Week 11. What shape the Dolphins will be in by then -- or who’ll be manning the biggest spots in the organization -- is anyone’s guess. The trade deadline also syncs up with this team in flux, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see a few pieces offloaded in the coming weeks.

Mike McCoy's first outing as interim coach started well, then ended similarly to most Titans games this season. It was nice to see Cam Ward find a little early rhythm, but he struggled after halftime and arguably hasn't played a great game yet. He's now been sacked 30 times for 237 yards -- both marks the worst by far among starting QBs this season. There's not a lot of daylight ahead on the horizon, either, even with only four road games left. There are several more tough matchups remaining and no obvious-win situations until maybe at Cleveland in Week 14. The Titans have to stick with Ward and live through the growing pains, but things are not feeling terribly optimistic for the remainder of the season.

The Jets could be in line to draft their next quarterback in Round 1 if things line up properly. Things haven't gone well for Justin Fields, who was benched at halftime of another depressing loss Sunday. Though Aaron Glenn had been solidly in Fields' corner, he likely felt like he had no choice but to make a change for Tyrod Taylor. The Jets haven't scored a touchdown over the past two weeks and have only seven offensive TDs going back to Week 2. Everyone knew this was going to be a major rebuild, and yet it still feels so far from coming to any sort of fruition. If the Jets can't overcome the suddenly surging Bengals on Sunday, they'll head into their Week 9 bye at 0-8, with several tough games remaining on their schedule.