NFL Power Rankings: Week 8
16 – Dallas Cowboys (3-3-1) (PR: Unranked)
LW – Win over Washington Commanders 44-22
Losing CeeDee Lamb for a couple of weeks might have been a blessing in disguise. That time off allowed Dak to build a solid relationship with George Pickens. Now that Lamb is back, there are 2 WR1s on the Cowboys. Let’s be real, Lamb is the unquestioned WR1 but now defenses have to worry about Pickens too. Dak is going to have a field day moving forward. Cowboys are all offense and no defense but welcome back to the top 16!
15 – Los Angeles Chargers (4-3) (PR: 14)
LW – Loss to Indianapolis Colts 24-38
It feels like the Khalil Mack injury spelled the beginning of the end for the Chargers. After starting out 3-0, they’ve gone 1-3 (Because math). The defense used to be something that was feared but now they have trouble stopping anything. The run game that was so good the week prior, vanished. Justin Herbert was their leading rusher. Speaking of Herbert, he threw for 420 yards (good) but also had 2 picks (bad). The QB that was once known for never throwing an INT has now thrown 4 over the last 5 games.
14 – Chicago Bears (4-2) (PR: Unranked)
LW – Win over New Orleans Saints 26-14
4 straight wins for the Bears! Caleb Williams has taken a small step forward but has been helped tremendously by his defense and run game. D’Andre Swift figures to be a fringe RB1 for fantasy. Kyle Monangai (Check out my Waiver Wires) has been a welcome surprise. The defense leads the league in takeaways. All of this takes a lot of pressure off of Williams and allows him to progress at his own pace.
13 – Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) (PR: 9)
LW – Loss to Cincinnati Bengals 31-33
There’s a reason why Mike Tomlin didn’t want the Browns to trade Joe Flacco to the Bengals. Flacco has been around the block a couple million times and has seen a lot of defensive schemes. The Steelers have had the same defensive scheme for years and refuse to make changes. That defense got torched by Ja’Marr Chase and allowed big runs to Chase Brown. Has Father Time finally caught up to the Steelers’ defensive dominance?
12 – New England Patriots (5-2) (PR: 13)
LW – Win over Tennessee Titans 31-13
Back-to-back weeks of near perfect games by Drake Maye! This week, he only had 2 incompletions. To be fair, he didn’t have to do too much since the Titans are horrendous, but he still made plays when he was asked. From last year’s stacked QB draft, Maye looks like the best and most polished thus far.
11 - Denver Broncos (5-2) (PR: 11)
LW – Win over New York Giants 33-32
Comeback win of the season anyone? The Broncos really put it on in the 4th quarter scoring 33 points to win it. Bo Nix had 174 yards passing, 2 passing TDs, 26 yards rushing and 2 rushing TDs in the 4th quarter alone. Resilience should be this team’s motto. Or maybe down but not out. Either way, battling back in a quarter after being down 32 points is amazing.
10 - Green Bay Packers (4-1-1) (PR: 7)
LW – Win over Arizona Cardinals 27-23
Could I have been more wrong on how great the Packers’ defense was? After the first two weeks I gushed about how they could be one of the best defenses this year but the game against an Arizona Cardinals team who have Jacoby Brissett at starting QB along with a 4-game losing streak showed their flaws. If it wasn’t for Micah Parsons’ 3 sacks, this game might have been a loss. A great defense can’t be letting a guy like Brissett throw for 279 yards.
9 – Seattle Seahawks (5-2) (PR: 8)
LW – Win over Houston Texans 27-19
If I am being really honest, the Seahawks should be 8 but I’m riding so high on the 49ers win that I can’t do that. But let’s talks the good and the bad with the Seahawks. The Good – the defense finally showed up (albeit against a makeshift Texans O-Line) and had 3 sacks, an INT and 12 passes defended. JSN is still a full on superstar with yet another 100+ yard receiving game. He also helped me win $390 bucks. Do I hate the Seahawks a tad less? Maybeeee. The Bad – Sam Darnold looked rattled. He had a strip sack at the goal line and had a pick in the 4th quarter. Looked very Jet’s Darnold-like and very not Vikings Darnold-like.
8 - San Francisco 49ers (5-2) (PR: 12)
LW – Win over Atlanta Falcons 20-10
What a godsend it is to have George Kittle back. His return directly correlated with the success of CMC and the 9ers run game. Mac Jones didn’t have to do very much when CMC can account for 201 total yards and 2 TDs. The defense looked rejuvenated too. Maybe I was wrong last week when I said that the 9ers defense is really, really bad.
7 – Kansas City Chiefs (4-3) (PR: 10)
LW – Win against Las Vegas Raiders 31-0
Okayyyy so I hope we all enjoyed the Chiefs mini downfall while it lasted because it looks like the Chiefs we are all know and hate are back. After getting their WR1 back in Rashee Rice, they look like the league’s best offense. Rice was the key, the missing screw that made the engine go vroom. Everyone on the offensive side of the ball will be better from this point on. Great for Chiefs fans. Scary for the rest of the league. Their defense looked just as scary as the offense. They held the Raiders to under 100 yards (95 to be exact) of total offense.
6 – Buffalo Bills (4-2) (PR: 4)
LW – BYE
The BYE could not have come at a better time for the Bills. Coming off 2 straight losses, a little rest and reset never is just what the Doctor ordered. They have a nice lil warm up for the rest of the season with a “get right” game against the Carolina Panthers coming up. If they win that, great that’s what we all expected. If they lose, raise the alarm – Bills fans are at DEFCON 1.
5 – Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) (PR: 6)
LW – Win over Minnesota Vikings 26-22
Last week I complained about how the Eagles’ offense was boring and putrid. This week they shut me up as their Quarterback/Fullback threw for 326 yards. Basically all of that production went to 2 guys (DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown) but hey, it’s a solid step in the right direction. What is concerning, however, is that Saquon is still a complete nonfactor. The Eagles rode him to victory last year and this year, he’s a ghost (cue the Justin Bieber song).
4 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2) (PR: 1)
LW – Loss to Detroit Lions 9-24
Uh-oh, the cracks are starting to show for the Bucs. Baker Mayfield was wildly inconsistent with his throws – missing high or behind a lot of the time. There were times against the 49ers where he missed a wide open WRs but I just chalked it up to a one game jitters but two games in a row is very concerning. That on top of losing Mike Evans for the season is just devastating. (RIP to the Mike Evans 1000+ receiving yards streak)
3 – Los Angeles Rams (5-2) (PR: 5)
LW – Win over Jacksonville Jaguars 35-7
I told you to hammer the overs for Davante Adams! He ended up with 3 TDs on the day. Another very important point that came through was the fact that the Rams can indeed be successful without Puka Nacua. Matt Stafford is a helluva QB and is going down as a surefire HOFer. Embarrassment of riches on the offensive side of the ball. Maybe Tyler will go back to being a Rams fan now.
2 – Indianapolis Colts (6-1) (PR: 3)
LW – Win over Los Angeles Chargers 38-24
The league’s first and only 6-win team! They are an absolute wagon on offense. They lead the league scoring 32.4 ppg. As I mentioned in earlier power rankings, they can score in so many different ways. In some weeks, Daniel Jones puts the team on his back and throws 3 TDs. In others, Tyler Warren lines up in the backfield and runs it in. This week it was Jonathan Taylor running it in 3 times. Through the first 7 weeks of the NFL season, the Colts feel like the most consistent team there is. Is anyone else surprised? I know Matt is.
1 – Detroit Lions (5-2) (PR: 2)
LW – Win over Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-9
Amon-Ra St. Brown was angry after his drop in the game two weeks ago. He put in the work at practice, and the results came tenfold. The guy had a GAME. 6 receptions on 10 targets for 86 yards and a TD. You know who had an even bigger game? Jahmyr Gibbs. 218 total yards (including a 78-yard run) and 3 TDs. I feel so bad for anyone who had to play these two together in fantasy. The defense looked polished too. 4 sacks and 1 INT. Unfortunately, Lu’s favorite player, Aiden Hutchensen did not have a sack this week (first time in the last 3 weeks) but he did have a fumble recovery and that might be even better.