Copyright phillyvoice
It's often said you don't really know who the best NFL teams are until Thanksgiving – and by then, the league is about three-fourths through its season. October wrapped up with the Colts holding the NFL's best record, but some key early November clashes will go a long way in determining who really is the league's top dog by the time we carve up turkey. It starts with Bills vs. Chiefs on Sunday. The Eagles, looking back to 2024 form after toppling the Vikings and Giants, will battle the Packers and Lions in respective weeks. The Colts have a Nov. 23 date with the Chiefs in Kansas City. The Buccaneers open their November schedule against the upstart Patriots, and the Rams have back-to-back mid-November battles against the Seahawks and Bucs. These clashes, and others, will help decide the balance of power as we head into Thanksgiving and beyond. Remember, our rankings are based on overall team performance. We will never buy into the theory that Team A must be ranked higher than Team B just because A beat B at some point in the season or because Team A has a better record than Team B. Any given Sunday... Without further ado, our Week 8 power rankings: 1. Indianapolis Colts (7-1): Got 5th win of 10+ points in trouncing of Titans with Steelers up next.Last week: 1 2. Detroit Lions (5-2): Come out of bye vs. Vikings, with Commanders on deck. Should be 7-2 headed into Week 11 vs. Eagles.Last week: 2 3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2): No letdown despite major injuries in 20-point win over Saints, get much-needed bye week for health.Last week: 3 4. Green Bay Packers (5-1-1): Holy Jordan Love! Completed 20 straight passes vs. Steelers in 10-point win. Pack can win Super Bowl if he plays like that.Last week: 4 5. Los Angeles Rams (5-2): Come out of bye with layup vs. Saints before gauntlet of 49ers, Seahawks, Buccaneers.Last week: 5 6. Seattle Seahawks (5-2): Won two straight going into bye with struggling Commanders followed by struggling Cardinals on deck. 7-2 very realistic.Last week: 6 7. Denver Broncos (6-2): Statement made in 20-point win over Cowboys. Could be AFC's second-best team.Last week: 7 8. Philadelphia Eagles (6-2): Looked more like defending champs in 2-game win streak. Big tests after bye vs. Packers, then Lions.Last week: 8 9. Buffalo Bills (5-2): Trounced Panthers coming out of bye to snap 2-game losing streak and look like real Bills again.Last week: 9 10. Kansas City Chiefs (5-3): Beatdown of Commanders gives them 3 straight wins with showdown vs. Bills on deck. Win vs. Bills would send them way up the rankings.Last week: 10 11. New England Patriots (6-2): Drubbing of Browns ties Pats with Broncos for NFL's longest win streak (5), with reeling Falcons up next.Last week: 12 12. Los Angeles Chargers (6-2): Getting healthy and making their move, with 2 wins in last 3 games and hapless Titans this week.Last week: 13 13: San Francisco 49ers (5-3): Injuries finally caught up in loss to Texans. Need QB Brock Purdy to get back, along with WRs Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk.Last week: 11 14: Jacksonville Jaguars (4-3): Went into bye on 2-game losing streak, get layup vs. Raiders to start rebound.Last week: 14 15. Chicago Bears (4-3): Took step back in loss to Ravens, who didn't even have QB Lamar Jackson. Must get right vs. bad Bengals team. Last week: 15 16. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3): Very inconsistent team that somehow leads a tight, mediocre AFC North.Last week: 16 17. Baltimore Ravens (2-5): Finally got a win, and now will get QB Lamar Jackson back. Ravens can start their ascent.Last week: 23 18: Houston Texans (3-4): Undefeated when they crack 20-point barrier. Problem is, they've only done it three times.Last week: 19 19. Carolina Panthers (4-4): Missed QB Bryce Young more than anticipated as backup Andy Dalton disappointed vs. Bills.Last week: 17 20. Minnesota Vikings (3-4): Sunk under .500 with two straight losses, need QB J.J. McCarthy's return to keep ship from sinking. Last week: 18 21. Dallas Cowboys (3-4-1): How bad is this defense? Cowboys have scored NFL's 2nd-most points but still have -4 point differential.Last week: 20 22. Washington Commanders (3-5): Fading after 3 straight losses. Should get QB Jayden Daniels back, but have Seahawks followed by Lions. Season could be slipping away.Last week: 21 23. Atlanta Falcons (3-4): Easily NFL's most puzzling team. Two straight losses with Patriots, Colts up next. Yikes. Last week: 22 24. Cincinnati Bengals (3-5): Blew 15-point 4Q lead to previously winless Jets. Wow, same old Bengals.Last week: 24 25. Arizona Cardinals (2-5): Entered bye on 5-game losing skid. Can they rescue season vs. Cowboys? Last week: 25 26. New York Giants (2-6): Loss of RB Cam Skattebo for season dampens some enthusiasm for this team. Let's see if QB Jaxson Dart can rally them.Last week: 26 27. Cleveland Browns (2-6): What has the QB change to Dillon Gabriel done for this team? Doesn't look like much.Last week: 27 28. New Orleans Saints (1-7): Welcome to the Tyler Shough era. HC Kellen Moore gets to see what his second-round QB's got.Last week: 28 29. Las Vegas Raiders (2-5): Hopefully did some offensive soul-searching during bye. Raiders aren't good but shouldn't be this bad. Last week: 29 30. Miami Dolphins (2-6): Big win vs. Falcons helps take some heat off QB Tua Tagovailoa (4 TDs), HC Mike McDaniel for one week at least.Last week: 31 31. New York Jets (1-7): Finally got on board with first win as they enter the bye. Still need to figure out defense. Last week: 32 32. Tennessee Titans (1-7): Might not win for another 4-5 weeks.Last week: 30 SIGN UP HERE to receive PhillyVoice's Sports newsletters. Follow Geoff on Twitter/X: @geoffpmosher
