NFL Power Rankings, Week 8: Chiefs back at No. 1, but Ravens and Lions hot on Kansas City's heels

Did you realize Patrick Mahomes has fewer TD passes (six) than the Panthers this season, or that he’s tied for the league lead in interceptions (eight)? One reason why you might have been unaware: The Chiefs are 6-0 and apparently have mastered the art of winning ugly, which is almost always the hallmark of a great team. (The Patriots had this script down cold in the later stages of their dynastic run.) Mahomes’ two picks against the 49ers on Sunday were probably not entirely his fault, and he had ample support with a fruitful and diverse run game — seven players ran with the ball — and a defense that keeps on choking out its opponents each week. The three interceptions of Brock Purdy all happened inside the Kansas City 34-yard line, with the final one in the end zone. Plenty of people doubted the Chiefs’ ability to hoist another Lombardi Trophy when they were winning games this way a year ago, but I doubt many of those folks feel similarly now.

In a prime-time showdown at The Pirate Ship, the Ravens played the hits. Lamar Jackson was terrific, Marlon Humphrey had his first two-pick game, Derrick Henry came on late to close it out, and, as it turns out, Mark Andrews‘ demise was greatly exaggerated. Baltimore’s defense showed some signs of trouble prior to Mike Evans leaving the game, but the Ravens clamped down hard with interceptions on back-to-back Buccaneer drives. We say it all the time, but NFC teams that don’t regularly face Jackson always look shell-shocked at some point by the electric signal-caller. For a moment in the second half, I considered whether Baltimore should rise all the way to No. 1. But the late-game defensive breakdowns, plus the early miscues, held me back enough.

After staking the Vikings to a 10-0 lead, committing five penalties in an ugly first quarter, the Lions ripped off 21 unanswered points in the second quarter. Things also got dicey late, as the 11-point lead evaporated and the Lions fumbled twice (with one run back for a touchdown) in the final six minutes of the game. But when Detroit absolutely had to have it, Jared Goff delivered some clutch throws on the game-winning field-goal drive, and the Lions got out of Minnesota with a gutsy two-point win. The stats say the Lions sacked Sam Darnold four times, and that’s true, but there were times when the Vikings’ offense was heating up where you looked around for Aidan Hutchinson, waiting for him to make a game-saving play. Those aren’t coming anytime soon. If Hutch returns this season, it’ll be for the Super Bowl, and even that’s no guarantee, so the Lions might want to consider adding more pass rushers. But they have the requisite fearlessness and explosiveness befitting a championship-level team, and that can’t at all be dismissed.

It has to be a little concerning to the Vikings that the Lions moved the ball with ease through the middle part of the game, especially against a defense that had been borderline elite this season, but in no way, shape or form should Sunday’s 31-29 loss be discrediting of Minnesota. Kevin O’Connell’s team lost its first game in the final seconds to a highly motivated, highly talented division rival. This group never had realistic designs on 17-0; things are not much different today than they were Sunday morning. Aaron Jones gutted through injury to give this team an offensive boost. The Vikings dealt some blows and took a few more, but they never wavered. Sam Darnold rebounded from his worst outing this season before the Week 6 bye to have arguably his best on Sunday, even with an interception. Three of the next four are on the road, but all four are eminently winnable, so I expect this team to continue stacking successes, even after the first setback.

Amari Cooper woke up after halftime in his Bills debut and clearly added a dimension to the offense that hadn’t been there. That was a highly encouraging development, and it theoretically should get better with time. The veteran’s presence in the lineup also appeared to give rookie Keon Coleman a little boost in his best showing to date, with four catches for 125 yards. The entire offense was incredibly sleepy early in the game, which has been an issue before, so it can’t be blamed on getting Cooper up to speed. Buffalo got going eventually, and the defense also rallied after a shaky start that saw the home team fall into a 10-0 hole against lowly Tennessee. The end product: A 34-10 win. You’d like to see the Bills give a more complete 60 minutes week in and week out against seemingly lesser foes, but that’s not really how they’re built. They’re sort of the boxer who needs to take a few shots before the match really starts. That worked against the Titans and Cardinals, but it didn’t work against Houston and Baltimore. Translation: The Bills need to get this out of their system before the playoffs.

Sunday’s 24-22 triumph over Houston marked Green Bay’s third straight win and fifth in six games, but this one carried a little extra weight because it was the first W against a quality opponent currently over .500. The Packers lost in Brazil to the Eagles (now 4-2) and were nipped by the Vikings (5-1), so being able to navigate a tight, back-and-forth game against a strong Texans team (5-2 after the defeat at Lambeau) was an important box to check. Green Bay’s defense got after C.J. Stroud, holding him to a career-low 86 passing yards. Jordan Love was hot and cold in the first half but delivered some stellar throws in the win. Josh Jacobs contributed in a big way. And perhaps most pleasingly, fresh signee Brandon McManus stepped up and made a game-winning field goal that eased a lot of the kicking angst that has built up over the past few seasons. In a year where no contender appears close to unbeatable, the Packers are absolutely capable of making a long run.

The rib injury to Jayden Daniels was the only thing to mar Sunday’s thrashing of the Panthers, but if the Commanders have to play without Daniels for any length of time, Marcus Mariota’s performance in Daniels’ place was reassuring. After starting the game 0-for-3, Mariota hit 15 of his next 16 pass attempts, including 11 straight at one point. Washington scored on six straight drives with Mariota at QB; that’s impressive even against Carolina and even with a few red-zone opportunities missed. The Commanders’ defense did its part with another promising performance, picking off Andy Dalton twice, including one run back for a score, while holding Carolina to seven garbage-time points. If Daniels can’t go against the Bears this Sunday, Mariota’s challenge will be much steeper, but the Commanders are showing they’re no one-trick ponies.

The loss at Green Bay wasn’t a massive setback in and of itself, but it might have exposed a major concern for a team that harbors Super Bowl dreams. If the Texans can’t protect C.J. Stroud better than they did Sunday, those dreams will go up in smoke. The Packers flummoxed Houston with pressure both real and feigned, keeping Stroud and the offensive line off balance a lot of the game. That has been a season-long storyline (some weeks more than others), and it just wasn’t good enough against the Packers — even with an excellent chance to walk off of Lambeau Field with a win. There was only so much that could be asked of a shorthanded defense missing five starters. The Texans picked off Jordan Love twice in the first half and forced three straight second-half punts but couldn’t close out the game late.

Leave it to Mike Tomlin to make a move few could fully embrace at the time … only to have it look brilliant retrospectively. Russell Wilson certainly heard it early, when he was 2-for-8 passing for 19 yards, and the Steelers were scuttling on offense. Fans sounded angry. But there was never a whiff of a Justin Fields cameo, whether as a change of pace or any other type of appearance. The Steelers are moving forward with Wilson, and what he did in a dominant showing over the final three quarters Sunday night was his closing argument after the shaky start. It didn’t hurt that Pittsburgh also received two interceptions from rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. and a strong special teams game, but the Steelers looked explosive and dangerous for the first time all season. If Wilson plays this well most weeks, they’ll win a lot of games.

It was another slow start offensively, but Saquon Barkley wasn’t about to be a no-show in his return to New York on Sunday. He took over for an offense that was otherwise limited and inflicted some damage against his former team. The Eagles’ pass rush also took batting practice on Daniel Jones and Drew Lock, racking up eight sacks and holding them to a net 43 passing yards. The Giants’ long gain on the day was 14 yards; Barkley alone had three runs longer than that. And for good measure, Jalen Hurts salvaged a tough afternoon with arguably his best throw of the season on his 41-yard TD connection with A.J. Brown. There were blocking issues early, as Jordan Mailata missed the game, Mekhi Becton left early with an injury and Cam Jurgens had his hands full with Dexter Lawrence, but the Eagles found a way to work through them.

After three straight wins, the Bears headed into the bye in decent shape, and they might have caught a break going into what was supposed to be an exciting showdown between the Nos. 1 and 2 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. Commanders QB Jayden Daniels suffered a rib injury that puts his status in question against the Bears in Week 8, and though missing out on a Daniels-Caleb Williams head-to-head battle would stink, Marcus Mariota played well after Daniels was hurt Sunday. This is a homecoming game of sorts for Williams, who grew up in the D.C. area, and he entered the bye on a three-game heater, having completed 74 percent of his passes for 687 pass yards, seven TDs and only one pick in that span, while also scrambling for 102 yards and taking just seven sacks (after suffering 13 in the first three games). Can a strong Bears defense and a red-hot Williams keep the momentum going? It’ll be a good test, with or without Daniels on the Commanders side.

The passing game still looks wonky at times, and it’s not always gorgeous in the other facets, but the Broncos are winning with Bo Nix at quarterback. They’re 4-3 with the Panthers at home up next, and though the schedule stiffens immediately after that, there’s something very interesting brewing in Denver. Nix can make plays with his legs. We’ve now seen him break out of passing slumps in games, too. The Broncos’ defense is legit. The run game is effective. All three losses have been by one score. The 1-2 home record is an eyesore, but Denver’s now 3-1 on the road. Sean Payton has built a tough-minded, unorthodox contender in his second year with the team. Now that the win over the Saints is in the rearview mirror, the Broncos can start figuring out how to make a playoff push.

Tampa Bay was cruising early against Baltimore, seemingly taking a 14-0 lead near the end of a dominant first quarter on Monday night. But a would-be touchdown was called back by a holding penalty, and the Ravens pretty much flipped the game on its head after that point. Mike Evans dropping a touchdown pass while suffering a hamstring injury was a bad omen. Baker Mayfield looked a little frazzled after that, throwing two picks (and Trey Palmer prevented a third). After a slow first quarter, the Ravens went to work on the Bucs’ defense, scoring on six straight possessions. Tampa showed some late life in forcing a fumble and recovering an on-side kick, but then a devastating injury to Chris Godwin cast an even darker pall on a tough loss. Along with the 26-7 no-show vs. Denver back in Week 3, that’s now two double-digit defeats to AFC teams at home. And given the depleted status of the receiving corps, the trajectory of this team suddenly looks quite different.

The Seahawks had lost three straight coming into Sunday and had seemingly lost some of their offensive mojo, but they regained it with a statement performance at Atlanta, also taking care of business on defense and special teams. Seeing the Geno Smith–DK Metcalf connection reemerge as a force was a huge development, and the defense making several big plays against a high-scoring Falcons team was unexpectedly welcome. The Seattle secondary was still missing multiple regular contributors, yet it picked off Kirk Cousins twice and allowed one pass longer than 19 yards on 35 pass attempts. With the 49ers losing, the Seahawks were able to take over first place in the NFC West. They’re still in decent shape despite their recent lull, although Metcalf is now week-to-week with an MCL sprain, per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.

Even after giving up a 31-yard TD pass in the final seconds of the first half, the Falcons were very much in the game against the Seahawks — until Kirk Cousins was stripped late in the third quarter, with the fumble run back 36 yards for a touchdown. The Falcons were their own worst enemies for most of Sunday, missing a field-goal try, committing nine penalties (two that kept scoring drives alive for Seattle) and finishing minus-3 in the turnover department. Cousins was not sharp; he was responsible for all three turnovers and missed some open receivers, which spoiled a good day running the football for Atlanta. This was also the weakest we’ve seen the Falcons defensively this season, forcing zero turnovers and allowing six plays of 20-plus yards after giving up only 11 such plays in the first six games. This was a hard fall after three straight wins, and the Falcons now curiously are 2-3 in Atlanta, with three of the next four games on the road.

The difference right now between the Chiefs and 49ers was made clear on Sunday. The Chiefs can survive a poor-production game from their quarterback against a quality foe; the 49ers seemingly cannot. Not having Deebo Samuel due to illness and losing Brandon Aiyuk to a season-ending knee injury were two big blows, along with all the other injuries piling up, but no matter who is or isn’t out there, the Niners can’t have too many more three-pick games from Brock Purdy and expect to win. They were deficient in all three phases of the game, even with a respectable defensive performance against the Chiefs for much of the day. This game ultimately won’t decide their season, as frustrating as losing again to the Chiefs must be, but the 49ers dipped below .500 and face a win-or-else game against Dallas before the bye mercifully comes.

This one is going to sting. Jim Harbaugh was irate with a pair of late officiating decisions — a non-call while his offense had the ball and an unnecessary roughness on his defense — but the Chargers really lost Monday’s game at Arizona by failing to finish drives. Los Angeles bled off more than eight minutes on its final march, but ultimately had to settle for Cameron Dicker’s fifth field goal of the night to go up, 15-14. On the Cardinals’ ensuing drive, the 15-yard flag on Cam Hart hurt, but giving up a 33-yard catch-and-run to James Conner on the very next play was what truly allowed Arizona to score the final three points and nab a 17-15 win. Justin Herbert passed for a season-high 349 yards and made some pretty throws — some caught, some not — when he wasn’t under heavy pressure. L.A.’s lack of offensive weaponry right now is glaring, especially with the run game stalling out. The Chargers crossed midfield seven times, but ran just one play inside Arizona’s 10-yard line. The schedule lightens in the coming weeks, but this loss is going to stick in Harbaugh’s craw for a while.

The Colts might be determined to play an entire season of one-score games. They’ve won four of five to get over .500 for the first time this season, yet the excitement is very much bridled because of who they’ve beaten (especially the quarterbacks) and how those games have unfolded. Anthony Richardson made his return to the lineup and started the game 1-for-7 passing, also coughing up the ball in a goal-to-go situation. He had a 22-yard run and a 33-yard throw to Michael Pittman Jr., but the big-play element just wasn’t there for the Colts most of the game. Richardson at least got something going with his legs, and Shane Steichen might have to put his QB in harm’s way more often to get this offense juiced up a bit. The defense settled down and made some game-changing plays in the second half, but a better team than the Dolphins could have stolen this game.

As the Cowboys prepare to travel west to face the desperate 49ers — a team that thoroughly demolished Dallas with both teams close to full strength a year ago — it’s fair to ask what they can hang their hats on right now. The run game has been atrocious. The defense underachieved even before a rash of injuries gutted the depth chart, and the unit remains a lesser group until proven otherwise. A once-strong offensive line has been scuttling amid some personnel shuffling. Even Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, two of the surer things on the roster, haven’t reached anything close to peak performance, plagued by missed connections and a lack of cohesion. The Cowboys are catching the 49ers at a good time, with all of San Francisco’s injuries and back-to-back home losses. Not to mention, Dallas is somehow 3-0 on the road. But the ‘Boys must pick themselves up after their worst showing in a few years before the bye and find a way to give their best performance of this season.

If the Bengals were going to drag their way out of a 1-4 start to their season, the defense (and, to a lesser extent, the special teams) needed to improve by leaps and bounds. That’s just what happened over the past two contests — which, funny enough, have marked the two least-impressive offensive performances of the season, keeping Cincinnati’s streak of not playing a complete game in all three phases alive. But another win’s another win, and the Bengals showed some toughness Sunday, earning their first division victory of the season, and in a city where they hadn’t triumphed since 2017. The Browns outgained the Bengals by more than 100 yards despite having to play three quarterbacks, and they could have beaten Cincinnati had they not committed 10 penalties, missed two kicks (on a field-goal try and extra-point attempt) and allowed a 100-yard TD return by Charlie Jones to open the game.

The Birds are back! Arizona gritted out a much-needed home victory over the Chargers after a wild series of plays early in the game had a surprisingly profound impact on the final outcome. Kyler Murray was picked on the opening drive off a tipped pass, but James Conner, that wily old badger, forced a fumble on the Chargers’ ensuing return, keeping the ball with the Cardinals. Then Arizona CB Starling Thomas V made the play of the game, knocking the ball loose from Jalen Reagor as the Bolts receiver approached the end zone, producing a touchback the other way. Both offenses largely stalled until Murray turned the corner on Chargers LB Junior Colson for a brilliant 44-yard TD scamper in the fourth quarter. Murray had some tough moments, but he delivered there and on the game-winning field-goal drive. But it doesn’t happen without a big game from Conner, who delivered some blows on Los Angeles’ defense while racking up 152 total yards on 21 touches.

The Jets are 2-5 and have fired their head coach, changed play-callers and pulled off a trade that reads like a desperate bid to inject some star power on offense — and yet, Sunday night’s struggles looked quite similar to the issues we saw in a Week 1 loss to the 49ers. My colleague Nick Shook referred to the opener as a “measuring stick” game, and I wholeheartedly agreed then, as I do now. It’s just that in that game, on Sunday night and in the other three losses against quality teams, the Jets have not had nearly enough stick. Davante Adams‘ most memorable play in his Jets debut was tackling Beanie Bishop Jr. after an INT. Garrett Wilson let a beautiful ball bounce off his chest and get picked; he also had two second-half false starts. The Jets’ defense, once a top-10 unit, is a shell of itself. The run game is nonexistent. Even if they somehow win three of the next four, the Jets will remain under .500 heading into their Week 12 bye. Haason Reddick apparently has decided to join the party, but the Jets are running out of Aaron Rodgers buddies to bring in to help fix this situation.

It was crucial for the Rams’ defense to turn in the kind of performance it had against the Raiders, forcing three interceptions and a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. All of Los Angeles’ points were set up by those turnovers; the Rams’ longest drive was 54 yards, and that ended in a missed field-goal try. Joshua Karty also missed an extra-point attempt, because apparently the Rams can’t go a game or two without some special-teams drama. It basically kept the door open for the Raiders to steal this one; thankfully for the Rams, Antonio Pierce is a big field-goal guy. Matthew Stafford didn’t pass the 100-yard mark until the fourth quarter and forced a bad interception that easily could have been a pick-six. Stafford will get help from the return of Cooper Kupp (possibly Thursday against the Vikings) and Puka Nacua (eventually), but he needs to play a little cleaner, too.

Things seem to be turning sour fast in New Orleans after five straight losses, with the team being trucked by its former coach last week. Now Dennis Allen is in a fight for this season. There’s no doubt that injuries have decimated the roster, contributing to the huge fall after the rousing 2-0 start. Allen has to find a way to coax a little life out of this club, however it happens. It’s just that with a leaky offensive line, few reliable offensive playmakers and bad run fits and tackling on defense, the chore appears incredibly tough. Derek Carr is still trying to work his way back from an oblique injury; in the meantime, Allen will continue to cast his lot with Spencer Rattler, even after Jake Haener produced a solid relief showing against the Broncos. No matter who’s at QB, it’s hard to see New Orleans truly bouncing back.

There is hope that Tua Tagovailoa — who’s been out since suffering a scary concussion in Week 2 — could play this week against the Cardinals. It’s good timing, considering Tyler Huntley left Sunday’s loss to the Colts with an injury to his throwing shoulder. Tua’s return theoretically could give the 2-4 Dolphins a chance to climb back into the race after losing three of four games in his absence. They’re only a couple games out of a wild-card spot, early as it is, so no one should close that door. Will Tagovailoa face any rust? And can he get the Dolphins’ best playmakers back into the game plan? Tyreek Hill wasn’t targeted for the first half on Sunday and caught his only pass with less than two minutes left. Jaylen Waddle wasn’t targeted until the fourth quarter, also catching one short pass. That’s pretty much inexcusable, no matter who’s at quarterback.

The sting of Saquon Barkley‘s monster game against New York resonates days later because it spoke volumes about several elements of this Giants franchise. Barkley exposed a defense that couldn’t tackle him, and Big Blue’s run game did nada. That double whammy could not have gone over well with team brass, including owner John Mara, who badly wanted Barkley back this offseason. Even without a turnover Sunday, the Giants endured their most trying offensive performance of the year, punting 11 times and traveling more than 21 yards on one possession all game, with Daniel Jones being pulled early in the fourth quarter of the loss to Philly. It feels like the strides Jones made following the tough Week 1 outing have been undone by two poor showings. The Giants now have one TD and three field goals in their past 29 possessions, dating back to the third quarter against Seattle in Week 5. They’re sitting at 2-5 and have the Steelers and Commanders, who are a combined 10-4 this season, up next.

The Jaguars made big plays in all three phases on Sunday against the Patriots and climbed out of an early 10-0 hole, controlling most of the game thereafter. There were some particularly Jaguarian elements to this one, such as the defense allowing a rookie QB to make some plays against it and Jacksonville failing on a fourth-and-goal play late that somehow kept things within New England’s reach. But the Jags finished it off with a big performance from Tank Bigsby, who has been mostly terrific this season and deserves a significant role even when Travis Etienne returns from a hamstring injury. Jacksonville is 2-5 and faces a whale of an upcoming schedule, but it was a positive development that the team responded to criticism after a tough week when Andre Cisco said he saw players quit against the Bears. There are at least signs of life again.

The Raiders are now backed into a corner by Aidan O’Connell‘s fractured thumb, which sent him to injured reserve. Gardner Minshew was back under center against the Rams on Sunday, and he struggled badly with turnovers, coughing up three picks and a fumble that was run back for a score. That was pretty much the game right there. Minshew made a few plays and is capable of magic here and there, but he’ll need to reignite some confidence after that tough showing. Davante Adams is gone, and there’s only one Brock Bowers on the roster. He’s absolutely terrific, and Alexander Mattison and Tre Tucker are nice pieces. There are just way too many holes on this offense to have Minshew operating fast and loose with ball security. Antonio Pierce also played the game extremely conservatively, settling for three second-half field goals inside the red zone; after the two-minute warning, he allowed too much clock to bleed before using his timeouts. With the Chiefs and the suddenly-cooking Bengals up next before a Week 10 bye, the Raiders are in need of some kind of spark.

The Titans were up 10-0 and in a groove early, and things were looking good in Buffalo. Mason Rudolph was playing like the pro’s-pro backup, and the defense was flying around. But after a strong first 20 minutes, the game turned noticeably worse. Rudolph caved under heavy pressure, and Calvin Ridley and DeAndre Hopkins combined for four catches (on 10 targets) for 40 yards. An already-leaky offensive line lost new starting right tackle Jaelyn Duncan early and had trouble giving Rudolph any time to get comfortable. The Bills scored on all five of their second-half drives, turning a 10-7 deficit into a 24-point win. It was sort of a microcosm of the Titans’ season so far. They’ve outscored their opponents in first and second quarters, and they’ve been outscored in the third and fourth. The fact that they’ve given up 57 combined points in the final 15 minutes of games while putting up 12 illustrates their lack of depth.

Deshaun Watson’s season-ending Achilles injury put an abrupt end to the burgeoning question of how the Browns would handle the highly paid quarterback’s continued struggles. Their current options at the position: Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who was ineffective in relief of Watson in Sunday’s loss to the Bengals (two INTs) and left late with a finger injury, and Jameis Winston. The Browns scored their only second-half touchdown with Winston leading the charge, so he might be the more natural fit this Sunday against the Ravens, who dissected DTR with three interceptions in his first NFL start against them last season. Nick Chubb was back, and he scored a feel-good touchdown in the first half to give the fans something to cheer about. But unless Chubb is suddenly ready for a 25-carry game, this offense is running out of answers, especially after trading Amari Cooper last week.

Even after a second fairly encouraging performance from Drake Maye, we’re at the low point thus far of the Jerod Mayo coaching experience. Anytime a coach invokes the word “soft” with his team, it’s seldom a good thing. This season was always going to demand a certain amount of patience, and the Week 1 upset win over the Bengals bought Mayo some credibility — or, perhaps, inspired a false sense of what the Patriots might be able to accomplish while rebuilding. One of the few perceived strengths of this team — the defense — was undressed for most of Sunday’s loss to Jacksonville, save for a late fourth-down stop that provided a brief, faint moment of hope. New England was bodied on both sides of the line, couldn’t run the ball, tackled poorly and was shoddy on special teams — that’s basically the opposite of the formula the Pats would need to replicate that season-opening stunner again this year. 

The Panthers were down 37-0 with more than a full quarter remaining in their loss to Washington, and out came Andy Dalton for more work. The fact that Dalton led Carolina to a useless touchdown drive was immaterial; what his presence at that point of the game suggested to me was that decision-makers do not have an exceptionally high level of interest in seeing Bryce Young get another true shot. Because that was the perfect opportunity to start up Young’s redemption tour, and he didn’t get on the field until there were fewer than five minutes remaining. Dave Canales’ Monday endorsement of Dalton as his QB1 only solidified my sense of the situation. The Panthers are headed for another cringey final record if things don’t change fast. They were whipped by 33 points going against a team that lost its starting QB in the first quarter. They’ve been outscored in the first halves of games this season, 154-62. I get wanting to see Jonathon Brooks and all that, but geez, there’s just not a lot left to get excited about here.