Week 8 Power Rankings

The Power Rankings are back after a week off, and changes are in the midst. The Broncos bounce back a bit; the Giants move up huge; the top 3 remain unchanged, as do most of the bottom feeders.

1. Indianapolis Colts (6-0) | PREVIOUS: 1

The Colts haven’t lost a game since December, yet no one is talking about them. The Patriots have as breezy a schedule as one could have, while the Colts are dominating the best division in football. Indy’s defense is improved; their offense has barely lost a step despite huge injuries and a certain left tackle retiring… they’re the best team in the NFL, hands down.

2. New England Patriots (7-0) | PREVIOUS: 2

Is there a more polarizing team in the NFL? If you live in the Northeast, or work for ESPN, you probably love them. Everyone else – you probably hate them. I’m jumping on the bandwagon for the latter – something about the Pats is just oozing with dirtiness this year. From Spygate to running up the score (seriously, two minute drill up 35-7 as the second quarter winds down? Going for it on 4th and 1 up big in the 4th?), I would love to see these guys in January.

3. Dallas Cowboys (6-1) | PREVIOUS: 5

Dropoff from 2 to 3 is huge, but no one else really belongs up here. The Cowboys have beaten every quarterback not named Tom Brady, and beat #4 handily in Week 1.

4. New York Giants (5-2) | PREVIOUS: 14

The Giants’ win streak is almost as impressive as how they’re doing it – a ferocious defense led by to-date MVP Osi Umenyiora, and Eli Manning‘s best season so far.

5. Tennessee Titans (4-2) | PREVIOUS: 9

The Titans defense are keeping them in games – far and away the most underrated defensive unit in the league. Even with Vince Young out, the Titans dominated the Texans for three quarters.

6. Green Bay Packers (5-1) | PREVIOUS: 6

The Packers lost a crucial division game a few weeks ago, but they bounced back and eeked out a win against a good Redskins team before the bye. They’ll head into Denver where the Broncos, hopefully invigorated, will hope to pressure Favre all game long.

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) | PREVIOUS: 3

The Steelers may have out-thought themselves. Were they anticipating Champ Bailey being out, or did they just decide they were better than the Broncos and could beat them any way they wanted? Luckily for Denver, we don’t face another star back (or running game) until Kansas City in November.

8. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2) | PREVIOUS: 4

They got handled last night, but everyone knows they would have put up a better fight with David Garrard behind center. Their one scoring drive came when they finally decided to run up the middle repeatedly… curious, eh Jack Del Rio?

9. San Diego Chargers (3-3) | PREVIOUS: 13

The Chargers are dealing with a wildfire situation, and are practicing in Arizona and may even play this week’s game there. Thoughts and prayers go out to all the families in SoCal for their safety and, maybe, a little luck with regards to their homes. I live in Northern AZ, where a wildfire threatened my home last year. Had to pack up all of my belongings, my pets, all of my important paperwork and documents in case the fire kept spreading. Three days of nervous hell, going to work 30 minutes away… I was lucky (and blessed to have such hardworking firefighters in the area). It pales in comparison to the half million who have had to evacuate their homes, so my thoughts and prayers (and everyone here at BroncoTalk) go out to them.

10. Washington Redskins (4-2) | PREVIOUS: 8

The NFC East is stacked, too, the second division to find 3 teams in the Top 10 (the other being the AFC South). The Redskins defense is solid, their quarterback has improved huge, and they’re beating good teams at home.

11. Carolina Panthers (4-2) | PREVIOUS: 21
12. Detroit Lions (4-2) | PREVIOUS: 18
13. Baltimore Ravens (4-3) | PREVIOUS: 7
14. Seattle Seahawks (4-3) | PREVIOUS: 10
15. Kansas City Chiefs (4-3) | PREVIOUS: 23
16. Denver Broncos (3-3) | PREVIOUS: 25
17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3) | PREVIOUS: 16
18. Cleveland Browns (3-3) | PREVIOUS: 20
19. Arizona Cardinals (3-4) | PREVIOUS: 11
20. Chicago Bears (3-4) | PREVIOUS: 15
21. Houston Texans (3-4) | PREVIOUS: 17
22. Philadelphia Eagles (2-4) | PREVIOUS: 24
23. Cincinnati Bengals (2-4) | PREVIOUS: 26
24. Buffalo Bills (2-4) | PREVIOUS: 22
25. Oakland Raiders (2-4) | PREVIOUS: 19
26. New Orleans Saints (2-4) | PREVIOUS: 30
27. San Francisco 49ers (2-4) | PREVIOUS: 12
28. Minnesota Vikings (2-4) | PREVIOUS: 29
29. Atlanta Falcons (1-6) | PREVIOUS: 27
30. New York Jets (1-6) | PREVIOUS: 28
31. Miami Dolphins (0-7) | PREVIOUS: 31
32. St. Louis Rams (0-7) | PREVIOUS: 32

Notes on 11-32: The Broncos move up big after beating a solid team. Didn’t have time to double check all the records, let me know if any of them are wrong.