NFL Power Rankings Week 8: 2018-19 Conference Standings and Super Bowl Odds

The NFL's Week 7 schedule turned out to be a ho-hum affair. 

In other words, the Week 8 power rankings don't offer too much in the way of changes. The usual contenders like New England, Carolina, New Orleans, both Los Angeles teams and Kansas City cruised to victories. Pretenders like Cincinnati and Miami were exposed. 

For those with a strong finger on the long-term pulse of the league, it was a routine affair—meaning oddsmakers out of Las Vegas had a simple time as well. Still, there are some interesting shifts in lines and rankings, so let's take a look at both before zooming in on some of the most interesting long-term developments as of late. 

2018 NFL Power Rankings and Super Bowl Odds

Rank	Team (SB odds)
1	Los Angeles Rams (3-1)
2	New England Patriots (6-1)
3	Kansas City Chiefs (7-1)
4	New Orleans Saints (8-1)
5	Los Angeles Chargers (18-1)
6	Washington Redskins (40-1)
7	Carolina Panthers (33-1)
8	Cincinnati Bengals (33-1)
9	Minnesota Vikings (12-1)
10	Houston Texans (33-1)
11	Philadelphia Eagles (16-1)
12	Baltimore Ravens (18-1)
13	Pittsburgh Steelers (18-1)
14	Chicago Bears (25-1)
15	Green Bay Packers (22-1)
16	Dallas Cowboys (33-1)
17	Tennessee Titans (80-1)
18	Detroit Lions (66-1)
19	Miami Dolphins (80-1)
20	Jacksonville Jaguars (22-1)
21	Denver Broncos (80-1)
22	Seattle Seahawks (66-1)
23	Atlanta Falcons (50-1)
24	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (125-1)
25	Cleveland Browns (125-1)
26	Oakland Raiders (300-1)
27	Arizona Cardinals (500-1)
28	New York Jets (100-1)
29	Indianapolis Colts (200-1)
30	San Francisco 49ers (300-1)
31	New York Giants (200-1)
32	Buffalo Bills (250-1)

Odds courtesy of OddsShark. 

Conference Standings

AFC 

• Chiefs 6-1
• Patriots 5-2
• Steelers 3-2-1
• Texans 4-3
• Chargers 5-2
• Bengals 4-3
• Ravens 4-3
• Dolphins 4-3
• Jets 3-4
• Titans 3-4
• Jaguars 3-4
• Broncos 3-4
• Browns 2-4-1
• Colts 2-5 
• Bills 2-5 
• Raiders 1-5 

NFC 

• Rams 7-0 
• Saints 5-1 
• Redskins 4-2 
• Vikings 4-2-1
• Panthers 4-2 
• Packers 3-2-1
• Buccaneers 3-3 
• Seahawks 3-3 
• Lions 3-3 
• Bears 3-3 
• Eagles 3-4 
• Cowboys 3-4 
• Falcons 2-4 
• Giants 1-5 
• Cardinals 1-6 
• 49ers 1-6 

Buy All the Stock: Los Angeles Chargers (18-1)

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Would-be bettors should be tripping over each other to buy as many shares of the Los Angeles Chargers as possible. 

As usual, elite play from Philip Rivers continues to go unnoticed. He's completing 69.1 percent of his passes this season with 2,008 yards and 17 touchdowns against just three interceptions. 

In Week 7, going to Wembley Stadium in London wasn't any problem against a game Tennessee Titans team, as Rivers cruised to 306 yards with a pair of scores while his running game could only average 2.9 yards per carry without Melvin Gordon. 

The combination of Rivers' arm and scheming players open deep continues to torch the opposition: 

For those counting, the Chargers have now rattled off four consecutive wins, with the only two losses being understandable hiccups against Kansas City and the Los Angeles Rams. 

Keep in mind this is a Chargers defense still waiting for the return of Joey Bosa, so the unit hasn't even been at full strength all season. With half of the AFC West a non-factor, a defense with the needle pointing up should mean big things going forward if the Rivers-led offense can avoid injuries and keep innovating on a weekly basis. 

It's not too big of a risk, especially at this payout. 

Forget About It: Cincinnati Bengals (33-1)

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

The Cincinnati Bengals are who most thought they were. 

It seemed the Bengals turned a corner this year, starting 4-1, seizing the AFC North lead and even winning on prime time by taking down Baltimore. 

They're now 4-3 coming out of a 45-10 beatdown at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs. 

The Bengals had two chances to prove any remaining doubters wrong. Instead, they got bullied by Pittsburgh in Week 6, 28-21, before getting flexed into primetime and getting shellacked by the Chiefs, continuing a trend: 

Coaching remains a problem in Cincinnati, as does the offense. Andy Dalton only has 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions this year and A.J. Green was the only player who could make any headway against a bad Chiefs defense, catching seven passes for 117 yards—the next best mark on the team was three catches for 30 yards. 

And it might get worse before it gets better. The Bengals aren't a guarantee against Tampa Bay in Week 8, they then have a bye and can't be trusted against New Orleans and Baltimore, not to mention remaining dates with the Chargers and Steelers. 

An uninspiring team with erratic offense and no defense, the Bengals have gone from a worthwhile look to a pretender in a matter of days and it's hard to justify believing in a turnaround. 

Buy All the Stock Part 2: New Orleans Saints (8-1)

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Don't look now, but Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints are starting to pull away from the NFC South. 

Now 5-1, the Saints have overcome strong defenses (Cleveland), survived shootouts (Atlanta), taken down would-be contenders (Washington) and even traveled well (Baltimore). 

The latest was the win over the Baltimore Ravens, a 24-23 affair in which Brees firmly carried the team on his back with a 22-of-30 effort for 212 yards and a pair of scores. 

Facing Brees is a fool's errand at this point, as he's completing 77.3 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns and no interceptions. If defenses sit back he's picking them apart and if they bring the blitz he's...also picking them apart:

Brees still has a potent running game flanking him thanks to the Alvin Kamara-Mark Ingram combo and the defense has done well to let up 23 or more points just twice, both against familiar divisional opponents. 

But that NFC South has two teams as non-factors and the Saints don't meet the Carolina Panthers until two encounters over the last three weeks. By then, an up-and-down Panthers team could be having some problems too. 

The outlook is great for the Saints so long as Brees is the man lining up under center and there is still a little wiggle room here for a good payout...for now.