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

The Week 8 Thursday Night Football encounter between the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans had big AFC playoff implications. 

The Dolphins were desperate to pick up a win and keep pace in the AFC East, while the Texans wanted to do the same and gain some more distance on the rest of the AFC South. 

Only one could happen, of course, and it was Deshaun Watson of the Texans who tossed five touchdowns as the Dolphins collapsed in a 42-23 rout. It sent Miami to the realm of .500 and has the Texans surging at just the right point. 

In the aftermath of the entertaining Thursday game, which isn't something that applies every week by any means, let's take a look at the updated power rankings. 

2018 NFL Power Rankings

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

Washington Redskins

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

How long can this work? 

The entire crux of Washington's contending status right now on the offensive side of the ball is the performance of 33-year-old running back Adrian Peterson, who has 438 yards and three scores on a 4.3 yards-per-carry average over six games. 

Coincidentally, he's played in a maximum of six games in each of the past four seasons. 

Little else is working for the Redskins. New quarterback Alex Smith has just seven touchdowns and two interceptions, no wideouts are stepping up to serve as the No. 1 and star tight end Jordan Reed only has one touchdown catch. 

The Redskins have undergone an interesting turnaround: 

There isn't anything wrong with winning games while leaning on the defensive side of the ball over the short term. The problem is hoping it will carry a team throughout the course of a season and into the playoffs in an offensive-minded league. 

That's another way of writing Smith needs to up his play as the season wears on or the Redskins might fade. Peterson can't be the focal point of the offense all year because he's an injury risk and better defenses will neutralize him. 

The Redskins are 4-2 for now, but it will be interesting to see if they can adapt later in the season as all contending teams do. 

Philadelphia Eagles

Michael Perez/Associated Press

Chaotic might be the best word to describe the Philadelphia Eagles.  

The Eagles went 1-1 without Carson Wentz to start the season, which seemed good enough considering they would eventually get the former MVP contender back. 

Since Wentz returned they have gone 2-3. 

Wentz isn't playing terrible football by any means considering he's completing 70.8 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns against one interception. But it's not enough, not while losing two games by three points apiece and hardly scraping out a four-point win over a 2-5 Indianapolis team. 

Last time out, Wentz threw for 310 yards and two scores at home but still came up short against a contending Carolina Panthers team, 21-17. The Panthers drummed up 371 total yards against the Eagles defense in only 24 minutes and change of possession. 

And things are only getting worse for the defense: 

The NFC East is still rather open, but the Eagles have a brutal remaining schedule, including games against Jacksonville, New Orleans, Houston and the Los Angeles Rams, not to mention Dallas and Washington twice. 

Wentz seems on his way back to his usual self, but that may not be enough. 

Jacksonville Jaguars

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

Was that one of the quickest rises and falls we've ever seen? 

The Jacksonville Jaguars were in a conference title game a year ago and then started 2018 hot, going 2-0 and taking down the New England Patriots in the process. 

They have lost four of five since, benching a starting quarterback mid-game along the way. 

The three losses in a row were a complete undressing of what the Jaguars usually excel at, with a strong defense getting whipped by margins of 30-14, 40-7 and 20-7. Unexpected defensive struggles have only made the sour point of an ineffective offense more noticeable than ever. 

It all culminated in Blake Bortles getting benched after a disastrous outing against the Texans: 

The Jaguars will continue to stand by Bortles because they don't have a better option, but he's sitting on nine touchdowns and eight interceptions, and his running game remains dormant without Leonard Fournette. 

A defense suddenly coughing up 30 or more points in two out of three consecutive losses is a major red flag, especially while still needing to play Indianapolis twice, Houston once (20-7 loss already), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington the rest of the way. 

If the Jaguars defense can't get back on track, a bad streak will turn into one of the worst free falls of the season in a hurry.