NFL Power Rankings Week 8: Which Teams Are on the Rise?

With most of the Week 7 NFL games done and in the books, my power rankings are nearly finished.

There are a number of teams that are lingering around the same spot as weeks prior, but a few made big strides in the rankings in this edition.

Obviously Green Bay and New England are dominating the top while Miami, Indianapolis and St. Louis are duking it out in the ‘Suck for Luck’ battle for last place, but a number of teams in the middle are working their way up as a playoff picture begins to take shape.

Let’s take a look at these clubs. 

New Orleans Saints

The Saints had a great confidence-boosting victory against the lowly Indianapolis Colts.

While obviously this isn’t a big win by any means, the fact that they scored so many points and looked absolutely unstoppable at times was exactly what they needed.

A week prior to that, they fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and didn’t seem to be clicking offensively or on the defensive side of the ball.

This game was just an all-around solid effort and shows the Saints are still the team to beat in the NFC South.

Houston Texans

The Texans lost their grip on the AFC South to the Tennessee Titans prior to their matchup yesterday but regained a firm hold on it.

They were in the midst of a two-game slide and were able to pull themselves out and get a huge win behind Arian Foster’s absolute beast-mode performance.

Foster had 25 rushes for 115 yards and two touchdowns and 5 receptions for 119 yards and a score as well.

Those numbers prove he still belongs in the upper echelon of RBs and his team can be considered elite still, even without Andre Johnson.

New York Jets

While Quentin Jammer wants to give this win to the referees, the bottom line is that the Jets beat the San Diego Chargers behind solid halftime adjustments and baiting a terrible performance from Philip Rivers.

The Jets know that they need to change their mentality from winning the Super Bowl to just getting into the playoffs first and this was a good way to prove they are buying into that.

With the Patriots dominating the AFC East and the Bills emerging as a legitimate contender, the Jets are going to need a bunch of solid wins like this to have a shot at a third-straight AFC Championship game.

Chicago Bears

Don’t count Chicago out of the NFC playoff race just yet.

While the Lions have emerged as a legitimate threat for the wildcard and worthy NFC North opponent, they are in the midst of a two-game losing streak.

After a big win against Tampa Bay in London, Chicago has now won two straight and is just a game behind Detroit and currently projects as a sixth-seed in the NFC.

This isn’t too bad for a team that nearly everyone had written off earlier in the season.

Complete Week 8 Power Rankings

 Week 8 Power Rankings

Rank	Team	Record
1	Green Bay Packers	7-0
2	New England Patriots	5-1
3	Baltimore Ravens	4-1
4	San Francisco 49ers	5-1
5	New Orleans Saints	5-2
6	Pittsburgh Steelers	5-2
7	Buffalo Bills	4-2
8	New York Giants	4-2
9	Detroit Lions	5-2
10	Houston Texans	4-3
11	Atlanta Falcons	4-3
12	San Diego Chargers	4-2
13	Cincinnati Bengals	4-2
14	New York Jets	4-3
15	Chicago Bears	4-3
16	Carolina Panthers	2-5
17	Dallas Cowboys	3-3
18	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	4-3
19	Washington Redskins	3-3
20	Kansas City Chiefs	3-3
21	Philadelphia Eagles	2-4
22	Tennessee Titans	3-3
23	Oakland Raiders	4-3
24	Cleveland Browns	3-3
25	Seattle Seahawks	2-4
26	Denver Broncos	2-4
27	Jacksonville Jaguars	1-5
28	Arizona Cardinals	1-5
29	Minnesota Vikings	1-6
30	Indianapolis Colts	0-7
31	St. Louis Rams	0-6
32	Miami Dolphins	0-6