Week 8 Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers (7-0) (Last week: 1)-  Minnesota made gave Green Bay their closest game since New Orleans in Week 1, but just like that game, they came out with the W. The Pack look like they could be on their way to, dare I say it, an unbeaten season.

2.  New England Patriots (5-1) (LW: 2)- The Pats had a bye week to rest up for Pittsburgh this upcoming week, but perhaps the biggest winner of the New England area was TE Rob Gronkowski who was seen out gallivanting with adult film star Bibi Jones.  I guess this really is just Gronk's world, and we're all just living in it.

3.  New Orleans Saints (5-2) (LW: 6)-  Normally I wouldn't condone a team getting jumped while on a bye, but with the way New Orleans played on Sunday night, I don't think there was anyone who could have beaten them, let alone the Colts.  We'll have to see how this offensive juggernaut continues on from here.

4. San Francisco 49ers (5-1) (LW: 5)-  Despite being jumped by New Orleans while on a bye, the Niners still move up a spot with the loss of San Diego.  While in the NFC West, a 13-3 season or something of the sort is nowhere near out of the equation.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) (LW: 8)-   After a worrisome start, Pittsburgh keeps reeling off wins, as a tough matchup with New England looms this week.  This will be a true test.

6. Baltimore Ravens (4-2) (LW: 3)-  Loss on the road to a bad Jacksonville team surely didn't look good as the offense struggled mightily, but I tend to think it was more of an aberration than a true sign of Baltimore's standing within the league.  They need to get it together offensively though.

7.  Detroit Lions (5-2) (LW: 7)-  Another loss for Detroit is slightly troubling, as they travel to Tebow Land to take on the Broncos.  Ndamukong Suh, though, is quickly getting a reputation for being a dirty player.

8.  New York Giants (4-2) (LW: 10)-  Climbing due to the blunders of the tail end of the Top 10.  Might as well give them a nice ranking for now as it is sure to drop soon with their brutal schedule.

9. Buffalo Bills (4-2) (LW: 11)- Bye week came at a good time after suffering their second loss of the season at the hands of the Giants.  They get a banged-up Washington team at home this week to get back on track.

10. San Diego Chargers (4-2) (LW: 4)- They gave the game away against the Jets as Rivers looked terrible in crunch time.  They travel to Arrowhead on Monday night to take on the Chiefs, where Brandon Flowers lurks.

11. Atlanta Falcons (4-3) (LW: 19)- Here comes Atlanta.  A big win on the road against Detroit keeps the Falcons within striking distance of the NFC South lead.  The bye should allow Matt Ryan enough time to heal to stay in the race.

12. New York Jets (4-3) (LW: 16)-  Big win in San Diego was huge for the sputtering Jets and their confidence.  They get a bye this week to gear up for a showdown with Buffalo.

13. Houston Texans (4-3) (LW: 15)- A very convincing win at Tennessee catapulted Houston into first place as last year's Arian Foster came back out to play.  They get Jacksonville at home this week.

14. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) (LW: 14)- I can't believe how a team with a rookie quarterback is still sitting pretty at number 14.  Guess that's what happens when you have a good record amongst a ton of mediocrity.

15. Dallas Cowboys (3-3) (LW:17)- Rookie RB DeMarco Murray broke out in a big way with 253 yards on the ground against lowly St. Louis.  He will have a good chance to replicate that performance, or at least come close, against Philadelphia's meager run defense.

16.  Chicago Bears (4-3) (LW: 18)- The Bears were able to hold on against the Bucs in London as the O-line is slowly getting it together, affirming Mike Martz's statement that he'd get the unit in gear.  The bye will give them extra time to recover from any jet-lag back to the States.

17.  Oakland Raiders (4-3) (LW: 9)- Shutout loss to Kansas City may have shown that there will be some rust to brush off for Carson Palmer and an accompanying transition period.

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3) (LW: 12)- After riding high off a win against New Orleans, they fell back down to Earth with a loss to the Bears.  The Bucs need to find some consistency if they want to stay in the hunt for the NFC South, because in Week 9 they have to travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints yet again after the bye.

19.  Tennessee Titans (3-3) (LW: 13)- The Titans are the newest Jekyll and Hyde team of the NFL.  After beating Baltimore earlier this year, Houston trounced them at home in a 41-7 laugher.  They'll have to be ready for Cincinnati this week.

20. Kansas City Chiefs (3-3) (LW: 22): Kansas City was very convincing in their rout of Oakland on Sunday as they intercepted Oakland QBs 6 times, 3 off both Kyle Boller and Carson Palmer.  Brandon Flowers is an emerging star in this league.

21. Philadelphia Eagles (2-4) (LW: 20)-  Big matchup looms with Dallas after the bye week as the Eagles look to chip away at their NFC East deficit.  They better be ready for DeMarco Murray.

22.  Washington Redskins (3-3) (LW: 21)-  The 'Skins keep falling apart.  After their QB woes, they've now lost their leading rusher Tim Hightower for the season to a torn ACL.  If their division wasn't so weak this season they may be falling out for good.

23. Cleveland Browns (3-3) (LW: 24)- After winning a horrendous game against Seattle, Cleveland is somehow sitting at an even 3-3.  It certainly isn't pretty but there's no denying their record.

24.  Carolina Panthers (2-5) (LW: 26)- Cam Newton is well on his way to setting the single-season rushing TD record for QBs as he picked up his 7th in only 7 games, equaling Vince Young's rookie record.

25.  Denver Broncos (2-4) (LW: 25)-  Well say what you want about Tim Tebow's horrendous first 3.5 quarters, he got it done when it mattered and delivered the W after being down 15 with just under 3 minutes to go.  The kid just wins.

26.  Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5) (LW: 29)- Who knew that Jacksonville would steal a win from Baltimore on Monday Night Football.  Give credit to the Jags' D for keeping Baltimore off the board for almost the entire game.

27. Seattle Seahawks (2-4) (LW: 23)- They should probably be given 2 losses for losing such a bad game to a below average team like they did.  Maybe they should starting looking toward the draft for an actual QB, maybe USC QB Matt Barkley.

28.  Minnesota Vikings (1-6) (LW: 27)- Christian Ponder made it interesting against Green Bay in his first career start and did a lot of things to give Viking fans hope for the future.  Unfortunately, for now it seems like there may be some temporary growing pains.

29.  Arizona Cardinals (1-5) (LW: 28)-  The disappointing season continues for Ken Whisenhunt's group as they stumble again against Pittsburgh to fall to 1-5.  A trip to Baltimore this week probably won't help matters.

30.  Miami Dolphins (0-6) (LW: 30)- They were so close.  But they let Tim Tebow do his thing and let the Broncos recover a key onside kick to set up the game tying drive before faltering in OT.  They travel to the Meadowlands for what should be another tough game against the G-Men.

31.  St. Louis Rams (0-6) (LW: 31)- The Rams still continue to lose. Things are only going to get worse this week against a New Orleans team fresh off a 62-7 win over a 0-6 team.  Good thing the Rams' record is.... oh.

32. Indianapolis Colts (0-7) (LW: 32)-  Colts' C Jeff Saturday claimed after Sunday night's embarrassment against the Saints that his team was outcoached.  OK, while that may have been true, you really think that was the difference? 55 points worth? Nothing is going right for the Colts and the end is nowhere in sight. 

-TA