NFL power rankings entering Week 8 of the 2023 season (previous rank in parentheses):
1. Chiefs (3): Look who’s back on top after winning a league-high six in a row. A victory next Sunday would run K.C.’s unbeaten streak against Denver to 17 games (13-0 with QB Patrick Mahomes), which would be tied for the second-longest run of dominance by one team over another in league history. Sidebar: Harrison Butker is an unsung weapon here, converting all 15 of his FG tries in 2023 and all 19 PATs. No one else has attempted more kicks this season without a miss.
2. Eagles (4): Look who’s almost on top … yet still staring up at Kansas City. Going back to the 2022 season, Philadelphia is 41-for-44 (93.2%) when using the “Brotherly Shove” while needing 1 yard to convert a first down. “Every first down, it’s first-and-9,” HC Nick Sirianni said Sunday night after Philly went 4-for-4 on the “Tush Push” against Miami. Sidebar: If WR A.J. Brown can reach 125 receiving yards yet again in Week 8, against Washington’s 29th-ranked defense, he’ll set a league record by doing it in six consecutive outings.
3. 49ers (1): Won’t ding them too hard for losing two in a row on the road – and without WR Deebo Samuel and LT Trent Williams for a good chunk of those setbacks. Still, QB Brock Purdy has looked decidedly human with three turnovers the past two weeks, his first two regular-season defeats, including his first multi-interception game in the NFL on Monday night.
4. Ravens (10): Good news – QB Lamar Jackson is now 16-1 all-time against NFC teams. Better news – Baltimore has four more interconference games left during the regular season. And apparently the smart money is on Baltimore if Jackson ever reaches the Super Bowl.
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5. Jaguars (7): They won four games over a 19-day period. If they can notch their fourth win away from Jacksonville in the past five weeks, the Jags will be 6-2 for just the second time in their 29-season history.
6. Lions (2): That resounding thud you heard was the end of a 15-game streak of scoring at least 20 points and a 17-game run of at least double-digit points.
7. Cowboys (8): One interesting dichotomy of this vexing squad? While Dallas ranks near the bottom of the league in touchdowns converted in the red zone (39.1%), it’s top five when it comes to executing on third down (47.7%).
8. Bills (5): They’re 23-5 at Highmark Stadium in the regular season since the start of the 2020 season, the best home mark in the NFL over that stretch. Spending three of the next four in Orchard Park seems like fortuitous timing for a reeling herd.
9. Dolphins (6): Maybe Sunday night’s loss is a wake-up call. Yet aside from next month’s game in Germany against the Chiefs, Miami should mostly revert to feasting on FCS-level competition – in front of Hard Knocks’ cameras – until Christmas Eve.
10. Steelers (9): “They don’t blink,” HC Mike Tomlin said of Sunday’s win against the Rams. “They cut their eyelids off, and they go at it. Like I told them, it’s not a compliment. It’s required. I’m just acknowledging it.” Eat your heart out, Dan Campbell.
11. Browns (11): Somehow, they have the league’s second-fewest passing yards but the second-most interceptions thrown. Good thing that defense is so dominant.
12. Bengals (12): If they emerge from their bye and manage to beat San Francisco, seemingly resurgent Cincinnati will finish 4-0 against the NFC West.
13. Rams (13): Brett Maher missed an extra point and two field goals, though both were beyond 50 yards, in Sunday’s seven-point loss to Pittsburgh. Rather than wait to see if this spiraled into a similar situation as what Maher experienced in the 2022 postseason with Dallas, LA cut him Tuesday.
14. Seahawks (14): No DK Metcalf? No problem. Seattle’s remedy for being without its top receiver for the first time in his career was simple – get the ball into the hands of rookie WRs Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jake Bobo, whose TDs were more than enough to topple Arizona.
15. Jets (15): After a brutal stretch to open the season – and going 3-3 might have been considered sufficient even had injured QB Aaron Rodgers played – the NYJ came out of the bye to face a trio of sub-.500 outfits, starting with a “road” game against the Giants.
16. Falcons (24): Their first road win of 2023 matches their total from last season. Probably going to need to triple that – at least – to remain perched atop the NFC South.
17. Texans (16): As if he hadn’t made enough of an early season statement, QB C.J. Stroud now gets a shot at Carolina, the team that passed him over with the No. 1 pick of the 2023 draft.
18. Buccaneers (17): They’re about to play four of their next five (and six of eight) on the road … which might be a good thing given the Bucs are 1-3 in Tampa this season.
19. Vikings (22): QB Kirk Cousins’ third career Monday night win (in 13 attempts) – plus S Camryn Bynum’s heroics (2 INTs) and an airtight offensive line – bring an unexpected victory that suddenly has Minnesota a half-game out of a wild-card spot after a 1-4 start.
20. Saints (18): Derek Carr can air out his teammates all he wants, but it’s worth noting his TD pass rate (2.4%), yards per pass attempt (6.3) and QB rating (82.8) are all at their lowest levels since his rookie season in 2014.
21. Chargers (19): How is it possible that a team with OLBs Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa hunting opposing quarterbacks ranks last defending the pass?
22. Colts (26): Reasons for optimism after hanging 38 points on Cleveland’s top-ranked defense with RB Jonathan Taylor posting 120 yards from scrimmage – his first time over the century mark since December 4.
23. Raiders (20): Why give another start to promising rookie QB Aidan O’Connell when you could let Brian Hoyer run his personal losing streak to 13 games?
24. Patriots (31): The only AFC East team to win in Week 7, New England’s 29 points nearly matched its 35-point output from the previous four games combined.
25. Broncos (28): About time Kareem Jackson was taken off the field, the 35-year-old safety finally suspended (two games) after multiple ejections and four fines this season for his ongoing pattern of dangerous and illegal hits.
26. Packers (21): They’ve been outscored 46-6 in the first half during their three-game slide, holes not even finally healthy RB Aaron Jones can be expected to lift a team out of.
27. Giants (27): Why are they having more trouble scoring points than any other team? Six starting offensive line combinations in seven games pretty much sums it up.
28. Bears (29): WR DJ Moore’s 636 receiving yards are nearly 100 clear of what any Chicago player produced in 2022. All of 2022.
29. Titans (25): Has the teardown begun? Offloading All-Pro S Kevin Byard for little more than a song seems fairly indicative a transition is afoot.
30. Commanders (23): They were 1-for-15 on third down in Sunday’s loss to the Giants, dropping their NFC-worst conversion rate to 29.4%. Can you blame Pro Bowl DT Jonathan Allen for his 100% expletive rate?
31. Cardinals (30): Now riding a four-game losing streak – all of the defeats by double digits – Kyler Watch is officially on as Arizona’s season starts circling the drain.
32. Panthers (32): The next three quarterbacks they were supposed to face were Houston’s C.J. Stroud, Indy’s Anthony Richardson and Chicago’s Justin Fields. Now it might be Stroud, Gardner Minshew II and Tyson Bagent. Carolina’s first win(s) might be just around the corner.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter @ByNateDavis.
