NFL Power Rankings Odds and Predictions Week 8: Top Spot Steelers

NFL Week 8 Power Rankings

1. Pittsburgh (6-0): Sports Interaction oddsmakers don’t agree with me as the Steelers aren’t even favoured to win the AFC North – Baltimore is, and the two teams play in Maryland on Sunday. We think the Ravens win that.

2. Kansas City (6-1): Week 7 set up to be a potential trap game for the Chiefs, but not so much as they routed the Broncos on their home field. Kansas City remains the +375 Super Bowl favourite.

3. Baltimore (5-1): The Ravens got better last week and didn’t even play – they traded a couple of draft picks to Minnesota for former Pro Bowl defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. This remains my pick to win the Super Bowl.

4. Tampa Bay (5-2): Did some people around the NFL actually say that Tom Brady was washed up? He might win another MVP Award and soon will have Antonio Brown to throw to as well.

5. Seattle (5-1): Marvelous offensive team, but that defence is a major issue as the Seahawks blew two 10-point leads in falling from the ranks of the unbeatens on Sunday vs. Arizona.

6. Tennessee (5-1): Sometimes you can tell how good a team is in a loss. The Titans were dominated for the first half Sunday vs. Pittsburgh but still nearly tied it at the end. That’s a great sign.

7. Green Bay (5-1): That horrible outing vs. Tampa Bay two weeks ago clearly was a fluke for Aaron Rodgers, who had four more TD passes this past Sunday.

8. New Orleans (4-2): There has been some talk that the Saints are so unhappy with All-Pro receiver Michael Thomas that they will listen to trade talks. I’m not buying that. He’s too good.

9. Arizona (5-2): Kyler Murray led a stellar comeback on Sunday night and was better than MVP candidate Russell Wilson in the upset of Seattle. However, the Cards have lost top running back Kenyan Drake for a few weeks due to injury.

10. Buffalo (5-2): Buffalo will win the AFC East but still has a negative point differential. The Bills’ offence has been held to 18 points or fewer in three straight games.

11. LA Rams (5-2): The Los Angeles defence dominated Monday night in an easy win over the Bears, but Jared Goff simply isn’t a Super Bowl-calibre quarterback.

12. Cleveland (5-2): Big blow for the Browns as former Pro Bowl receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was lost for the season in Sunday’s terrific comeback win over Cincinnati.

13. Indianapolis (4-2): The Colts come out of their bye 3-0 at home and 1-2 on the road. They better get home-field advantage in the playoffs.

14. Chicago (5-2): The Bears’ offence was laughable in Monday night’s loss and things are so bad that many Chicago backers want Mitch Trubisky back under centre.

15. San Francisco (4-3): The Niners can’t seem to make it through a game without suffering some sort of major injury. They could be without 3-4 running backs this Sunday in Seattle.

16. Las Vegas (3-3): In Sunday’s lopsided loss to Tampa Bay, Raiders QB Derek Carr (2,272) surpassed Tony Romo (2,262) for the second-most completions by a player in his first 100 career starts in NFL history. Only Detroit’s Matthew Stafford (2,410) had more.

17. Miami (3-3): Very exciting week in south Florida as it’s Tua Time! Rookie Tua Tagovailoa will make his first NFL start Sunday vs. the Rams. The Dolphins have been looking for a face of the franchise since Dan Marino retired.

18. LA Chargers (2-4): Stellar young quarterback Justin Herbert has joined Deshaun Watson (four consecutive games in 2017) as the only rookie QBs in NFL history with at least three touchdown passes in three consecutive games.

19. Carolina (3-4): Will the Panthers get back All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey for Thursday’s game vs. Atlanta? That might be wishful thinking, but he should return no later than Week 9.

20. Philadelphia (2-4-1): The Eagles may go down as the worst division champion in NFL history. They had no right winning last Thursday’s game at the Giants.

21. New England (2-4): All of a sudden, that signing of QB Cam Newton doesn’t look so great for the Pats, who are on their first three-game skid in 18 years.

22. Detroit (3-3): Matt Patricia has taken his name off the coaching hot seat with back-to-back victories. It took a minor miracle to win Sunday in Atlanta – but those used to be the types of games the Lions were on the losing end of.

23. Cincinnati (1-5-1): The Bengals are going to be good in a year or two because Joe Burrow is legit. In Sunday’s shootout loss to Cleveland, he became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history with at least 400 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in a game.

24. Washington (2-5): Washington ended a five-game skid with Sunday’s dominant win over Dallas and now faces a very easy schedule for a month. This team might actually win the NFC East despite an atrocious offence.

25. Denver (2-4): The Broncos were hoping that second-year QB Drew Lock was the answer they’ve been looking for since Peyton Manning retired. Alas, Lock might not be it.

26. Dallas (2-5): Absolutely baffling how a team this talented can be this bad. Now the Cowboys might have to use third-string rookie QB Ben DiNucci, a seventh-round pick, this Sunday in Philadelphia with Andy Dalton dealing with a concussion.

27. Atlanta (1-6): Only the Falcons could manage to lose how they did Sunday vs. Detroit. That alone might end any chances interim coach Raheem Morris had of getting the full-time gig.

28. Minnesota (1-5): The Vikings appeared to wave the white flag on the 2020 season during their Week 7 bye when they traded excellent young defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to Baltimore.

29. Houston (1-6): Expect the Texans, who have no first- or second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, to start selling off pieces ahead of the November 3 Trade Deadline.

30: NY Giants (1-6): New York also will be a seller ahead of the deadline – don’t be shocked if tight end Evan Engram is a goner. He basically lost last Thursday’s game vs. Philly with a dropped pass.

31. Jacksonville (1-6): The Jaguars have now joined the 1968 Broncos and 1984 Vikings as the only teams in NFL history to allow 30-plus points in six consecutive games in a single season.

32. NY Jets (0-7): The Jets played well for a half in Week 7 before losing 18-10 to Buffalo. I’d say the Jets will be sellers ahead of the Trade Deadline, but they don’t have much anyone wants.

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