NFL Power Rankings Week 8: Reaction and Standings After Thursday Night Football

When it comes to early movement in the power rankings to start Week 8, a Thursday Night Football showdown between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans didn't register much of a splash.

At least in Week 7, the Green Bay Packers dismantling the Chicago Bears announced Aaron Rodgers wasn't totally missing in action or ready to give the NFC North up to the Minnesota Vikings.

Thursday, though, there simply wasn't much to learn as the Titans took care of business at home, 36-22. Marcus Mariota cruised with a pair of passing touchdowns, DeMarco Murray added a score of his own and Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles inflated his stats to make them look much better than he really played, tossing three scores.

Alas, here's a look at the standings going into what seems like an eventful weekend slate:

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

The good news is plenty of things can change in the power rankings on a week-to-week basis when quality opponents get together. 

Such a theme in mind, here are two teams looking significant movement in the eye based on the rest of the Week 8 schedule.

Buffalo Bills

It's time for the Buffalo Bills to prove if they're legit.

The Bills sit on a 4-3 record in the AFC East behind the New England Patriots, a team they beat 16-0 back in Week 4. One problem—the game didn't have a guy by the name of Tom Brady playing.

Such a reality of that win paints a dire picture around the Bills considering the other wins came against iffy Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers teams, as well as a grossly underperforming Arizona Cardinals team.

ESPN.com's Mike Rodak captured the thought of Bills head coach Rex Ryan on the rematch with New England in Week 8.

"We're going to measure ourselves against the two best now. We're going to find out all about us. After a game like this, where we clearly never played or coached as good as we need to, the ultimate test is right in front of us," Ryan said.

Ryan's offense has undergone an uptick in recent weeks. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor has nine touchdowns to just two interceptions. He's a dual-threat presence the Patriots could struggle with, as they did in the first game while Taylor tossed a score and completed 69.2 percent of his passes.

It remains to be seen if running back LeSean McCoy can give it a go in the rematch, but either way, the contest will come down to Buffalo's defense against Brady. Shutter the guy with eight touchdowns and no interceptions over three games, and the Bills fly up the rankings for good.

If not, things even out.

San Diego Chargers

Call Week 8 the one featuring plenty of critical rematches.

The San Diego Chargers took down the Denver Broncos in Week 6, 21-13, yet sit last in the AFC West and without most believing in the team. Philip Rivers and the team can thank starting the season losing four of five with the only win against Jacksonville for that.

San Diego has evened out, though. After the win against the Broncos, the defense held Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons to one touchdown and an interception in a 33-30 overtime road upset.

There, Melvin Gordon carried the Chargers with 68 yards and two touchdowns. That production, paired with strong run defense, is how the Chargers will bank on completing a sweep of the Broncos.

Jake Marsing of 5280 Sports Network explained why the Chargers give the Broncos so many problems:

This works in tandem with the fact the Broncos just lost starting back C.J. Anderson to a knee injury, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

As such, San Diego seems like it has a good chance to get back to .500 and throw the AFC West into even more sheer chaos. But if the team stutters despite Denver's issues and San Diego's own hot streak, Rivers and the Chargers can kiss the playoff outlook and stature in the power rankings goodbye.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus. 

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.