NFL Top 10 Power Rankings through Week Eight

We are halfway through the NFL season and we are also in the third month now of the 2009 regular season.

At one time, there were five teams who were still undefeated. Now, only two remain, and they are pretty much the class of the NFL right now.

Up until last week, there were three win-less teams in the NFL. Now, there is only one who gets to be the bottom dweller.

With a shocking 17-10 win over the Lions, the Rams got their first win of the 2009 season and first year head coach Steve Spagnuolo got his first ever coaching win.

Also, with Vince Young starting his first game in the season, the Titans got back into the win column with a 30-13 victory over the Jaguars.

That just leaves the Buccaneers at 0-7. It doesn't look to get any better for Raheem Morris in his first year.

With the NFL season at the halfway point, lets look at who is on top of the NFL rankings.

10. New York Giants (6) (5-3, Lost 40-17 to the Philadelphia Eagles)

It may be time for Tom Coughlin to push the panic button.

After two straight losses, most felt the Giants would rebound against the Eagles. Oh boy, were a lot of people including myself wrong.

The Giants couldn't stop the pass combination of Donovan McNabb to DeSean Jackson, they couldn't stop the run with Brian Westbrook out of the game, and they just didn't do anything good in this game.

The Giants were in the game at 16-7 and just needed to stop the Eagles before halftime to get the ball back, but instead, let the Eagles score two straight touchdowns to go ahead 30-7 at halftime.

After three straight losses, many are wondering if defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan is the right guy for the job. But injuries to Aaron Ross, Kenny Phillips, Chris Canty, Michael Boley, and Jay Alford don't help matters.

The Giants come home to play the Chargers. San Diego doesn't play well on the East coast. The Giants desperately need a win to stay alive in the NFC playoff chase. A win will ease some tension for Big Blue. A loss can not happen.

9. Cincinnati Bengals (8) (5-2, Bye Week in Week 8)

The Bengals have remained one of the surprises in 2009 so far, being tied for first place in the AFC North with the Steelers.

What's also surprising is they are 3-0 on the road while only 2-2 at home.

The key to their season has been the health of Carson Palmer, which so far, has been very good. He's getting protection to throw the ball to Chad Ochocinco, who is playing with a purpose to go along with his ridiculous last name.

Cedric Benson's career has been rejuvenated after a disastrous tenure with the Bears. Benson is on a tear in Cincinnati and doesn't look to stop anytime soon.

The Bengals will have a rematch against the division rival Ravens—a team they've already defeated. Ochocinco promised a win. Ray Lewis promised to rip Chad's funny head off.

Good luck there.

8. Philadelphia Eagles (UR) (5-2, Won 40-17 over the New York Giants)

With Donovan McNabb playing healthy, they have looked much better and have been playing like a contender.

They threw the football all over the field on the Giants all game long. Andy Reid stuck to the Saints and Cardinals strategy of the past two weeks by throwing the football on the weak secondary.

Donovan McNabb went 17-for-23 for 240 yards and three touchdown passes. DeSean Jackson had three catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.

With Brian Westbrook out, LeSean McCoy ran the ball 11 times for 82 yards and a touchdown. Fullback Leonard Weaver ran the ball eight times for 75 yards and a touchdown.

By halftime, the Eagles had beaten the Giants into submission. This game didn't resemble the slobber-knocker type fight games of the past between these two.

Next week on Sunday Night Football, the Eagles re-new their rivalry with the Cowboys. The winner gets first place of the NFC East.

7. Dallas Cowboys (10) (5-2, Won 38-17 over the Seattle Seahawks)

Don't look now, but Tony Romo might be a legit NFL quarterback again and Wade Phillips might in fact save his job next year.

Tony Romo went 21-for-36 with 256 yards and three touchdowns in another good performance at home. Dallas is 3-1 in their new Cowboys Stadium and the fans are enjoying the wins there.

Miles Austin continues to be a solid target, catching five passes for 61 yards and a touchdown.

The running game for the Cowboys wasn't effective against Seattle, but they didn't need it. Next week, they might need it.

The Cowboys play against the Eagles in the same building where the Eagles ended Dallas season miserably in front of the world. Dallas was embarrassed and could be looking for revenge.

Cowboys-Eagles games are always intense and fun to watch, especially on Sunday Night Football.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (7) (5-2, Bye Week in Week Eight)

2009 started out rough for the Steelers at 1-2. But four consecutive wins later, the champions look like a solid contender all over again.

Ben Roethlisberger continues to play like an elite NFL quarterback, leading his team to impressive wins, like two weeks ago over the Vikings in a smash-mouth type game.

The defense got a jolt of fresh energy when safety Troy Polamalu returned from his Week 1 injury. His return to the secondary is a major reason why the Steelers defense is playing on a championship level once again.

A lot of credit should go to head coach Mike Tomlin. This team believes in him and he never let them panic once. If they continue to roll down the stretch, they may find themselves deep into the playoffs come January.

But another tough game comes for the champions on Monday Night Football with the Broncos. Denver just lost their first game and could be vulnerable to a second loss. Pittsburgh will look to bring the same pressure the Ravens did.

5. New England Patriots (5) (5-2, Bye Week in Week Eight)

Their loss to the Jets back in September seems so long ago, because now, the Patriots are back to being good, while the Jets are at 4-4 and look confused.

Tom Brady looks to be fully healed from his 2008 season-long knee injury and surgery, as he is delivering touchdown passes to Randy Moss and Wes Welker like Bill Belichick delivers handshakes. OK, maybe not.

Brady is the key to the Patriots success. Without him, they weren't as good, but with him in the offense, they can go very far and eventually, will have no problems wrapping up the AFC East title soon.

Another AFC East opponent stands in their way from last year in the Miami Dolphins, who won the division in 2008. I'm sure Belichick and Brady know this. If it isn't 75-0 by halftime, expect Belichick to continue to run the score up to show Tony Sparano that the AFC East is his and nobody else's.

Yeah, no handshakes will be needed here from Belichick. He wants blood.

4. Denver Broncos (3) (6-1, Lost 30-7 to the Baltimore Ravens)

After a magical 6-0 start, the first loss had to eventually come.

Denver was on the road to a hungry and desperate team trying to save their season, and in the end, the Ravens were too much to handle.

The Broncos kept it interesting early, only allowing two field goals and trailed 6-0 at halftime. Denver couldn't contain Baltimore after the first half, however.

On offense, Kyle Orton could barely get the ball down-field to anyone in the game. The running game was shut down, and the Ravens special teams out played Denver.

But, Denver is still in first place and still learning. This loss if anything was good for them.

However, the games don't get easier, as they will host the Steelers on Monday Night Football.

Two good defenses in a slug-fest. This will be a major test to see if Denver can rebound from a tough loss against a solid team.

3. Minnesota Vikings (4) (7-1, Won 38-26 over the Green Bay Packers)

So Brett Favre won again in Lambeau Field, that's nothing new. He won the game as part of the Vikings, that's pretty new.

Favre came into the house he built and tore the thing down, going 17-for-28 for 244 yards and throwing four touchdown passes against his former team.

There is nothing sweeter than beating your old team twice in the same season, especially after all the things they said about you in the last two years.

Percy Harvin has turned into a deep threat for Minnesota this year, as he caught five passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. The receiving core is deep for Minnesota, but Harvin does stand out.

In Week 9, the Vikings will have a bye week to rest up. With their win over the Packers, they have gotten closer to clinching the NFC North. I don't see the Bears being a factor to stop them.

2. New Orleans Saints (2) (7-0, Won 35-27 over the Atlanta Falcons)

This was an important game on Monday Night Football to determine who was going to have control of the NFC South.

With a dominating performance on offense again, the Saints held off their division rivals and took clear control of this division.

Drew Brees went 25-for-33 with 303 passing yards and two touchdowns. He did turn the ball over twice, one with an interception, but the turnovers didn't cost the Saints in the game.

Marques Colston is quietly becoming one of the better receivers in the NFL and on Monday, Colston had another fine game with six catches for 85 yards and a touchdown.

The Saints defense played very well, especially the secondary that intercepted three passes from Matt Ryan.

Next week, the Saints have another divisional game against the Panthers. Last year, this was a competitive game, but Brees and the offense might be too much for Carolina to handle.

1. Indianapolis Colts (1) (7-0, Won 18-14 over the San Francisco 49ers)

The Colts offense wasn't as good as it has been in recent weeks. But they still played well enough to win.

The Colts had one passing touchdown, and it wasn't thrown by Peyton Manning. Instead, it was running back Joseph Addai who threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne in the game.

When you're the best team in the NFL with the best offense and best quarterback, things like that will happen in your season. The 49ers made it interesting, but the Colts defense prevailed in this game.

Manning still managed to go 31-for-48 and 347 yards despite no touchdown passes. Wayne caught 12 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. Dallas Clark caught eight passes for 99 yards. Austin Collie caught six passes for 66 yards.

The Colts will play another tough team and a divisional rival in the Texans, who are on the rise. A win by the Colts would almost guarantee the division to them. A loss would make things interesting in the AFC South.

That does it for the Top 10 Power Rankings through the halfway point of the season.

There are nine weeks left in the season and while some of the good teams on here have broken from the pact and lead their divisions and some of the bad teams not on here are near the bottom of the NFL, the rest of the teams in the middle whose records are anywhere from 4-3 to 3-5 are still wide open and up for grabs. 12 teams in fact, have their record fall in that class and are fighting to find out their identity.

Hope everyone has a great week and gets ready for Week Nine of the 2009 season.