NFL Power Rankings Week 8: Minnesota Vikings and Cellar Dwellers That Will Rise

While there are certainly teams that won't deviate much from the position they are in now as the NFL season progresses, there is still plenty of time to move up or down the pecking order. While things may look dire for many teams, a turnaround is still possible.

Things will have to change soon, though, before the season gets away from them. Here are three cellar dwellers that will move up the rankings with wins in Week 8.

Kansas City Chiefs

At 3-3 the Kansas City Chiefs may not exactly seem like a basement team, but they are essentially still trying to fully recover from a nightmarish start to the season. The Chiefs opened the season with blow-out losses against the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions, but they have bounced back nicely since.

The Chiefs have been plagued with injuries this year, but they have shown great resiliency. It would have been easy to lay down and die after dropping the season's first three contests, but the Chiefs have put up a great fight, and are now in contention in the AFC West.

Kansas City is just one game behind the San Diego Chargers, and will host them on Monday night. While San Diego is favored, the Chiefs have tons of momentum right now and pressure seems to be mounting for the Chargers. If the Chiefs play like they did defensively against Oakland last weekend, then a win is imminent.

Seattle Seahawks

The 2-4 Seattle Seahawks may not be one of the NFL's most impressive teams, and they probably won't repeat as NFC West Champions, but they have the capability of stealing a game every now and then, especially when playing at home.

Seattle will host the 4-2 Cincinnati Bengals who have surprised many this season with their hot start. The Bengals certainly weren't expected to be contenders after losing a number of key players like quarterback Carson Palmer and wide receivers Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens, but they have played stout defense and outworked their opponents.

The Bengals will be favored on the road this weekend, but the game won't be as easy as it seems on paper. Seattle doesn't have many horses on offense, but the defense has performed admirably and should do well against a Cincinnati offense that will be without starting running back Cedric Benson. I like the Seahawks to pull off an upset in a slug fest.

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings may only be 1-6, but they could just as easily have a winning record. The Vikings blew tons of halftime leads in the season's first month and haven't really been able to rebound. A narrow six-point loss to the undefeated Green Bay Packers last week may have been just what the doctor ordered, though.

Rookie quarterback Christian Ponder looked very solid and poised in his first career start, and he figures to give the Vikes the best chance to win moving forward. While he'll need to play well against the rapidly-improving Carolina Panthers, he won't be the game's key figure.

Some may think that such a distinction would go to Carolina's rookie phenom Cam Newton, but I think the game's most vital player will be Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. Seeing as the Panthers have one of the league's poorest run defenses, the Vikings will be in excellent shape if Peterson runs with a purpose as usual.

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