1. New England Patriots (6-0; Last Week- No. 1)
Tom Brady led the Patriots in rushing for the first time in his career on Sunday (four carries, 15 yards), and New England still found a way to beat a very good Jets team.
Thursday night vs the Dolphins is a sneaky game in terms of searching for the first potential Patriots loss, given how much better Miami looks under new head coach Dan Campbell, and with Thursday Night Football frequently bringing out the worst in teams. But the Patriots are on a mission right now, and no one should be expecting that first loss to come anytime soon.
2. Green Bay Packers (6-0; Last Week- No. 2)
Most of the talk in regards to the Packers is of course about Aaron Rodgers and their offense, but did you know they also lead the NFL in fewest points per game allowed at 16.8?
The main storyline from the national media heading into Sunday night will be about Rodgers vs the Broncos’ defense, but truthfully it should be every bit as much about the Broncos’ mess of an offense being able to put up points vs the Packers’ defense.
3. Cincinnati Bengals (6-0; Last Week- No. 3)
The Bengals come off their Bye at 6-0 and feeling great, but they have a huge game this week against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, and possibly with Ben Roethlisberger returning.
The Steelers figure to be very dangerous as the year goes on, so the Bengals really want to get a win this week and lengthen that AFC North lead over Pittsburgh to 3.5 games.
4. Carolina Panthers (6-0; Last Week- No. 4)
No team is maxing out their talent level better than the Panthers right now. That they have scored at least 20 points in every game, and at least 27 points in all of the last four games, is incredible given the receivers Cam Newton has to work with.
The November 8th game against the Packers is going to be a fun one, and perhaps an NFC Championship preview? That may seem like a weird thought, but here we are headed into Week 8 and the Panthers are 6-0, with six games still to come against teams that are currently under .500. Cam and that defense are going to give them a chance weekly no matter the opponent anyway.
5. Denver Broncos (6-0; Last Week- No. 5)
This week will tell us a lot about the Broncos. Even with how great the defense is, that alone probably won’t cut it vs Aaron Rodgers and the Packers (or vs Tom Brady and the Patriots down the road).
Will the offense be able to get on track? Who knows.
Peyton Manning looks every bit of 39 years old, with a QB rating (72.5) currently ranked 31st of 32 qualified passers (only ahead of Ryan Mallett, so basically last). And the run game ranks only ahead of the Lions and Texans for yards per carry (3.6).
Perhaps these things get much better, but so far there isn’t any evidence to believe that will be the case.
6. Arizona Cardinals (5-2; Last Week- No. 8)
The Cardinals lead the NFL in points scored (229) and point differential (+96). Yes, all of the undefeated teams have played one less game than Arizona, but those are still impressive numbers from Bruce Arians’ team. The offense only ranks behind the Patriots in points per game too (32.7).
7. New York Jets (4-2; Last Week- No. 6)
It was a loss, but that was an impressive effort by the Jets in New England. They need to stay focused this week and bring the same effort for what will be a very tough game in Oakland.
8. Atlanta Falcons (6-1; Last Week- No. 9)
That was an ugly 10-7 win over the Zach Mettenberger-led Titans. While 6-1 is 6-1, the Falcons have looked very average over the last few weeks.
9. Minnesota Vikings (4-2; Last Week- No. 10)
Stefon Diggs is emerging as Teddy Bridgewater’s go-to receiver. The rookie fifth-rounder out of Maryland has 19 catches (on 28 targets) for 324 yards over the last three games.
10. Seattle Seahawks (3-4; Last Week- No. 13)
It was against a bad 49ers team, but the Seahawks looked like the Seahawks we expect to see.
They now get a break by facing the Cowboys without Tony Romo, followed by a big game in Seattle on Sunday Night Football against their division’s first-place Cardinals.
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3; Last Week- No. 7)
It’s very hard to win with your second-string quarterback, and with your third-string quarterback? Good luck.
The Steelers should get back to looking like a very good team soon, as Ben Roethlisberger could return as early as this week, in what is a highly important game against the AFC North-leading Bengals in Cincinnati.
12. St. Louis Rams (3-3; Last Week- No. 15)
The Rams look like a legitimate playoff contender now with Todd Gurley at running back. The 10th overall pick from this year’s draft is shredding defenses with an average of 6.0 yards per carry, and 433 rushing yards over the last three games.
Gurley has a single carry of at least 48 yards in all three of those games. No one in the NFL has over three carries of 40+ yards on the season.
13. Miami Dolphins (3-3; Last Week- No. 21; Biggest Riser)
What we said last week:
“Is it possible that Joe Philbin was that big of a problem, and that new head coach Dan Campbell can get the Dolphins playing like the team they’re capable of being?”
It’s starting to look more and more like the answer is yes.
14. New York Giants (4-3; Last Week- No. 16)
The Giants have a +9 turnover differential. No other NFL team has a turnover differential over +6.
15. Oakland Raiders (3-3; Last Week- No. 20)
The Raiders put their talented young offense on full display with their victory over the Chargers in San Diego. Following that up with a win over the Jets would get a lot more believers in this sleeper AFC playoff contender.
16. New Orleans Saints (3-4; Last Week- No. 18)
A perfect example of quality quarterback play giving a team a chance to compete, even with what is otherwise a pretty flawed roster.
This is the Saints’ remaining schedule: vs Giants (4-3), vs Titans (1-5), at Redskins (3-4), at Texans (2-5), vs Panthers (6-0), at Buccaneers (2-4), vs Lions (1-6), vs Jaguars (2-5), at Falcons (6-1).
If the Saints play like they have over the last four games, they have a shot at winning a lot of those upcoming games.
17. Philadelphia Eagles (3-4; Last Week- No. 12)
Sam Bradford in this offense is not working out. The 27-year-old quarterback leads the NFL in turnovers and has thrown more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (9).
18. Indianapolis Colts (3-4; Last Week- No. 11; Biggest Faller)
The NFL’s most disappointing team through Week 7. And they have been even worse (1-4) in Andrew Luck’s starts.
19. Buffalo Bills (3-4; Last Week- No. 17)
The Bye Week comes at a great time for a Buffalo team that has played badly over the last four weeks. They are clearly a significantly better offense with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback than EJ Manuel.
20. San Diego Chargers (2-5; Last Week- No. 14)
An awful performance at home vs the Raiders after nearly getting a win at Lambeau the week before. There is talent and a favorable schedule to make a run, but it needs to happen immediately for the Chargers to have any possible playoff hopes.
21. Dallas Cowboys (2-4; Last Week- No. 19)
The Cowboys hoped to tread water while Tony Romo is out, but they have now lost four straight games, and are in danger of dropping to 2-5 after playing the Seahawks in Week 8.
It doesn’t appear anyone is going to run away with the NFC East, but the Cowboys are going to have little room for error by the time Romo returns.
22. Washington Redskins (3-4; Last Week- No. 25)
Washington overcame a 24-point deficit –the largest deficit in franchise history– for the win. However, the fact they were down 24 points in a game to the Buccaneers is pretty alarming at the same time.
They now have a Bye Week, and then a highly difficult five-week stretch: at New England, vs New Orleans, at Carolina, vs New York Giants, vs Dallas.
23. Chicago Bears (2-4; Last Week- No. 24)
It will be interesting to see if the Bears make any more trades with the deadline approaching (November 3rd). The team has already traded defensive players Jared Allen and Jon Bostic for sixth-round picks in-season, and trading Matt Forte for a draft pick is something first-year general manager Ryan Pace has surely considered.
The Bears are rebuilding, and could fall to 2-5 with a loss to the Vikings this week. Additionally, Forte is an upcoming free-agent that will be a 30-year-old at the running back position next year. He will be looking for a nice contract and may want to play for a more obvious immediate contender as well. Not to mention those kind of teams are the kind of teams that would seem more willing to pay up for a 30+ year old running back, like the Colts (a team that was expected to contend) did this offseason with Frank Gore.
So it seems unlikely that Forte will be back in Chicago next year, and he is a terrific all-around back that could greatly help several contenders right now. He really makes a ton of sense for the Cowboys and Broncos right now, for example. Perhaps a team like that will get desperate and offer the Bears a third-round pick or so for Forte before next week’s
24. Kansas City Chiefs (2-5; Last Week- No. 29)
They got a win, vs a third-string quarterback. And they may get another win this week, vs the 1-6 Lions in London. Yay?
25. San Francisco 49ers (2-5; Last Week- No. 22)
There are weeks they look pretty decent, and there are weeks their talent-deficient roster is very evident. The latter was the case against the Seahawks in Week 7.
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-4: Last Week- No. 27)
Tampa Bay blew a 24-point lead, and the chance to get to what would’ve been a very surprising 3-3 record.
Jameis Winston and the offense are showing a lot of promise, but the defense is allowing an NFL-worst 29.8 points per game. An improving offense and bad defense does not sound anything at all like a Lovie Smith team.
27. Cleveland Browns (2-5; Last Week- No. 23)
Some things never change.
28. Baltimore Ravens (1-6; Last Week- No. 30)
Are they good? No. Are they this bad? No. But they need to start putting four quarters together.
29. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5; Last Week- No. 32)
The Jaguars tried really hard to give away their game in London vs the Bills, but they’re going to be very satisfied with any win they can get.
Somehow (the answer is: they’re in an awful division) Jacksonville enters Week 8 just one game out of first place.
30. Detroit Lions (1-6; Last Week- No. 28)
Jim Bob Cooter to the rescue with the play-calling!
31. Tennessee Titans (1-5; Last Week- No. 31)
Marcus Mariota may return this week and that’s great news for a Titans team that was only able to score seven points at home against the Falcons in Week 7.
And who is the running back on this team? Rookie fifth-rounder David Cobb was a powerful downhil runner in college at Minnesota and may be the best option, but he is on the Injured Reserve (designated to return) and won’t be eligible to play until November 8th. Keep an eye on him for fantasy purposes too.
32. Houston Texans (2-5; Last Week- No. 26)
A disaster that will only get worse with the loss of Arian Foster to a torn Achilles.
Their quarterback situation stinks, their running back situation stinks (again), and the worst part of all is their defense that was expected to be good is also very bad. This team has very few strengths and a whole lot of awful.
