NFL Power Rankings 2015: AFC, NFC Records, Division Standings and Week 8 Outlook

Time flies when you're having fun, and the NFL season is doing just that. The league is already preparing for Week 8 and, shortly after, the halfway point of its season. 

Five undefeated teams remain as a power struggle continues among the league's best teams. For some, though, they are building a healthy lead in their respective divisions, which can be seen below.

Division/Team	W	L	Divisional Record
AFC East
New England Patriots	6	0	2-0
New York Jets	4	2	1-1
Miami Dolphins	3	3	0-2
Buffalo Bills	3	4	1-1
AFC North	W	L	Div. Record
Cincinnati Bengals	6	0	1-0
Pittsburgh Steelers	4	3	0-1
Cleveland Browns	2	5	1-0
Baltimore Ravens	1	6	1-2
AFC South	W	L	Div. Record
Indianapolis COlts	3	4	3-0
Houston Texans	2	5	1-1
Jacksonville Jaguars	2	5	0-2
Tennessee Titans	1	5	0-1
AFC West	W	L	Div. Record
Denver Broncos	6	0	2-0
Oakland Raiders	3	3	1-1
Kansas City Chiefs	2	5	0-1
San Diego Chargers	2	5	0-1
NFC East	W	L	Div. Record
New York Giants	4	3	2-2
Washington Redskins	3	4	1-1
Philadelphia Eagles	3	4	1-2
Dallas Cowboys	2	4	2-1
NFC North	W	L	Div. Record
Green Bay Packers	6	0	1-0
Minnesota Vikings	4	2	2-0
Chicago Bears	2	4	0-2
Detroit Lions	1	6	1-2
NFC South	W	L	Div. Record
Carolina Panthers	6	0	2-0
Atlanta Falcons	6	1	0-1
New Orleans Saints	3	4	1-2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	4	1-1
NFC West	W	L	Div. Record
Arizona Cardinals	5	2	1-1
St. Louis Rams	3	3	2-0
Seattle Seahawks	3	4	1-1
San Francisco 49ers	2	5	0-2

Let's take a peek at my post-Week 7 power rankings and look ahead to Week 8. 

I came to these power rankings based on each team's current record, paired with their recent run of form. 

Rank	Team	Week 7 Result
1	New England Patriots	W 30-23 vs. New York Jets
2	Green Bay Packers	Bye Week
3	Cincinnati Bengals	Bye Week
4	Carolina Panthers	W 27-16 vs. Philadelphia
5	Arizona Cardinals	W 26-18 vs. Baltimore
6	Denver Broncos	Bye Week
7	New York Jets	L 30-23 vs. New England
8	Atlanta Falcons	W 10-7 vs. Tennessee
9	Minnesota Vikings	W 28-19 vs. Detroit
10	New York Giants	W 27-20 vs. Dallas
11	St. Louis Rams	W 24-6 vs. Cleveland
12	Oakland Raiders	W 37-29 vs. San Diego
13	Seattle Seahawks	W 20-3 vs. San Francisco
14	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 23-13 vs. Kansas City
15	Philadelphia Eagles	L 27-16 vs. Carolina
16	Miami Dolphins	W 44-26 vs. Houston
17	Washington Redskins	W 31-30 vs. Tampa Bay
18	New Orleans Saints	W 27-21 vs. Indianapolis
19	Buffalo Bills	L 34-31 vs. Jacksonville
20	Indianapolis Colts	L 27-21 vs. New Orleans
21	Dallas Cowboys	L 27-20 vs. New York Giants
22	San Diego Chargers	L 37-29 vs. Oakland
23	Cleveland Browns	L 24-6 vs. St. Louis
24	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 34-31 vs. Buffalo
25	Chicago Bears	Bye Week
26	San Francisco 49ers	L 20-3 vs. Seattle
27	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 31-30 vs. Washington
28	Kansas City Chiefs	W 23-13 vs. Pittsburgh
29	Baltimore Ravens	L 28-16 vs. Arizona
30	Tennessee Titans	L 10-7 vs. Atlanta
31	Houston Texans	L 44-26 vs. Miami
32	Detroit Lions	L 28-19 vs. Minnesota

Week 8 Outlook

I'm not entirely sold on the Atlanta Falcons and the Denver Broncos, two teams that are well embedded in my top 10. 

A narrow victory over the Tennessee Titans doesn't make me feel better. The Falcons get the benefit of being in the NFC South this week when they take on another bottom-dwelling team in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I thought the Titans would have provided a trap game for Atlanta. I can't say they'll be taken by surprise by Tampa Bay. They should win easily. 

If not, they'll drop in next week's power rankings. 

The Broncos, on the other hand, probably won't be as fortunate. They've been awarded an extremely easy schedule to start the season. Of their first six games, the Vikings are the only team over .500 they've beaten. 

In their other games, against the likes of the Browns, Ravens and Chiefs, Denver's wins haven't been too convincing. They've won only one of their games by double digits this year, and that was against the Lions. 

This week, they will run into a Green Bay Packers team that has looked extremely impressive this season. It's only the fourth time in NFL history that two teams will face each other with at least a 6-0 record, per ESPN's John Buccigross.

With a potent offense in Green Bay, Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders tells Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post that they need to get going early:

"

We gotta get out hot. I think it's a multitude of things between the coaches and players from a mindset to how aggressive we are going to be from a play-calling perspective. Maybe changing up the first 15 plays can change the outcome. And as players we have to have that mentality of, 'Let's go down and score.'

"

Sanders wants the hot start because the Packers have scored 66 first-quarter points compared to the Broncos' 12, per Renck.

I don't see Denver staying undefeated after Week 8, but it's hard to go against a quarterback like Peyton Manning. It should be a good game for sure, but some of Denver's weaknesses are going to be exploited.