NFL Power Rankings Week 8: Updated Standings, Predictions Before 'MNF'

Don't look now, but the halfway point on the NFL regular season is fast approaching. Week 7 wraps things up Monday night with a mismatch between the 1-5 Baltimore Ravens and 4-2 Arizona Cardinals.

Given the trajectory of these two teams, we have a pretty good idea of how this will go. Baltimore's struggling offense will be swarmed by Arizona's ball-hawk secondary, while Carson Palmer will continue his late-career renaissance against a shaky Ravens secondary. A win for the Cardinals would bring them to 5-2 and allow them to keep their 1.5-game lead in the NFC West.

That on-paper certainty allows us to take an early look at the power rankings before Week 7 even closes its doors. With that in mind, here's a look at the league rankings along with an in-depth view at a few teams making noise. 

NFL Week 8 Power Rankings 

Rank	Team	W-L
1	New England Patriots	6-0
2	Green Bay Packers	6-0
3	Cincinnati Bengals	6-0
4	Denver Broncos	6-0
5	Carolina Panthers	6-0
6	Arizona Cardinals	4-2
7	Atlanta Falcons	6-1
8	Pittsburgh Steelers	4-3
9	Seattle Seahawks	3-4
10	New York Jets	4-2
11	New York Giants	4-3
12	Minnesota Vikings	4-2
13	Miami Dolphins	3-3
14	St. Louis Rams	3-3
15	New Orleans Saints	3-4
16	Philadelphia Eagles	3-4
17	Indianapolis Colts	3-4
18	Oakland Raiders	3-3
19	Buffalo Bills	3-4
20	San Diego Chargers	2-5
21	Washington	3-4
22	Dallas Cowboys	2-4
23	Kansas City Chiefs	2-5
24	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2-4
25	Baltimore Ravens	1-5
26	Cleveland Browns	2-5
27	Chicago Bears	2-4
28	Jacksonville Jaguars	2-5
29	Detroit Lions	1-6
30	Houston Texans	2-5
31	San Francisco 49ers	2-5
32	Tennessee Titans	1-5

Rising: Seattle Seahawks (3-4)

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

The Seahawks have beaten the Bears, Lions and 49ers this season. None of those teams rank higher than 27 on our list. They've lost to the Rams, Packers, Bengals and Panthers. Three of those teams are undefeated. One of them is St. Louis.

So is Seattle a mediocre team that beats up on the bottom rung of the league and loses to the elite, or has it been a victim of bad luck?

The answer, as it always is in these cases, is "a little bit of both." The Seahawks are 1-3 in one-possession games and have already lost twice in overtime. Close contests are subject to high variance from year to year or even within the same season, but it's safe to say a team that's been consistently competitive in a trio of contests against remaining unbeatens is deserving of respect.

These Seahawks are not much different from their back-to-back NFC champion predecessors. The schemes on both sides of the ball are similar, and most of the high-profile talent has been retained.

Execution, however, has not been the same—particularly on defense.

Opposing quarterbacks have posted a quarterback rating of 88.8 against Seattle so far, an eight-point increase over 2014 and a leap of more than 25 points from 2013. Cornerback Richard Sherman has seen a noticeable slip in coverage, and head coach Pete Carroll has not been able to reload the position after the defection of Byron Maxwell, Brandon Browner and others.

Still, the panic was always a bit overblown. The Seahawks still have the NFL's best stable of defensive talent, Russell Wilson's putting up his typical numbers and Jimmy Graham is beginning to break out after a slow start.

Falling: Buffalo Bills (3-4)

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

There are only so many injuries a team can withstand. The Bills traveled to London with their starting quarterback (Tyrod Taylor), both of their top receivers (Sammy Watkins and Percy Harvin) and right tackle Seantrel Henderson all injured. LeSean McCoy, battling his way back from injuries himself, was essentially left on an island with the second-team offense.

You can probably guess how things went. Backup quarterback EJ Manuel threw a pick-six and had a fumble returned for a touchdown in Sunday's 34-31 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville raced out to a 27-3 lead on the back of Manuel's mistakes before the Bills nearly pulled off a shocking comeback with a 28-point run of their own.

"I'll be honest with you, I don't know if I've ever been on a team that needs a bye worse than we do," Bills coach Rex Ryan said, per Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports. "We've got to get some guys back. And not just average football players, some good ones…and then have a go at it. Nine games."

On paper, the Bills have a roster that should be competing for a playoff spot. Taylor, in his first year as an NFL starter, has flashed sorely needed dynamism at quarterback. The bye should help him get over the knee injury that's kept him out of the lineup for the last two weeks, and hopefully, he'll continue making plays with his feet. Watkins should be back after the bye, too, but Harvin is another story entirely.

Harvin is contemplating his NFL future after again going down with a longstanding hip injury.

"Well no, I think right now this is a personal thing right now," Ryan said, per Will Brinson of CBS Sports. "That's where it is."

Buffalo is one game behind Pittsburgh for what would be the AFC's final wild-card spot if the season ended today. If everyone's back and firing on all cylinders in Week 9, we could all forget about the injury-riddled first half come December. But losing to Jacksonville is dispiriting. 

Others of Note

Top: New England Patriots (6-0)

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

The Patriots should get embroiled in a scandal every offseason. In 2007, they returned from Spygate with a renewed vigor and turned in the first 16-0 regular season in NFL history. Eight years later, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them match that number.

Truth be told, New England played dreadfully for three quarters in Sunday's win over the Jets. Tom Brady was barely over 200 yards as he approached 40 passing attempts, the running back position disappeared in a Leftovers tragedy and Ryan Fitzpatrick was finding a ton of holes underneath. 

It took all of one quarter before the Patriots had built a 10-point lead and held on despite allowing the Jets to recover a late onside kick. Brady carved up the New York secondary for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth period, as the Patriots won a game where their future Hall of Fame quarterback was also their leading rusher.

"It definitely wasn't our best performance. But in the end, we were able to make the plays we needed to make," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, per the Boston Herald.

So, to recap: The Patriots' worst performance of 2015 saw them defeat a 4-1 football team by a touchdown. With four winnable games (Miami, Washington, the New York Giants and Buffalo) upcoming, don't be surprised if New England is 10-0 heading into its Week 12 showdown with Denver.

Bottom: Tennessee Titans (1-5)

James Kenney/Associated Press

Talent. Coaching. Injuries. Where do we start when discussing what's wrong with the Titans? They hung around Sunday against Atlanta but couldn't find any offensive rhythm without Marcus Mariota. Zach Mettenberger needed 35 attempts to hit 187 yards and threw two interceptions, while the running game compiled only 77 yards.

Looking on the bright side, Tennessee is closer to competence than it was a year ago. Three of its five losses have come by one possession, and Mariota has completed over 60 percent of his passes in four of his five starts.

The pieces to a solid future are here. Mariota will be better once he gets in a system that allows him to move outside the pocket rather than be stationary, and the Titans' young defense was impressive in keeping Matt Ryan and Co. in check.

We're probably just another year and a coaching change away from Tennessee competing to dethrone Indy in the AFC South. 

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.