We have a new leader in the Power Rankings as the red-hot Detroit Lions have knocked the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs off top spot. KC remain the league’s lone undefeated team, but the Lions have a special look about them right now.
- Detroit Lions +2
The Lions are a juggernaut that appears to be gaining speed with each passing week. Over their past four games, Detroit have scored 42, 47, 31 and 52 points. Super Bowl form.
- Kansas City Chiefs -1
Not for the first time this season, the stop-start Kansas City attack was bailed out by a strong defensive effort in Las Vegas. All that matters is that the Chiefs have now won 13 in a row.
- Baltimore Ravens -1
That was an annoying stub of the toe against Cleveland last Sunday. As good and as talented as this Ravens team is, they still struggle to close out games at times.
- Buffalo Bills +1
What is scary about these Bills is that they can often start slow or make some untimely errors, but they are still 6-2 and have won four of their games by at least 21 points.
- Green Bay Packers +1
Jordan Love goes down again, no problem. Matt LaFleur not only does a great job of scheming and coaching with what he’s got, Malik Willis is growing into a very reliable reserve.
- Washington Commanders +1
Jayden Daniels delivered some “wow” moments once again for Washington in Week 8 and none were bigger than his Hail Mary. But the Commanders D also looked good.
- Minnesota Vikings -3
After a 5-0 start, the Vikings have lost two straight and also lost left tackle Christian Darrisaw to a season-ending knee injury. The trade for Jacksonville’s Cam Robinson is smart.
- Houston Texans --
Houston bounced back with a win and a better offensive showing in Week 8, but they lost Stefon Diggs to a season-ending knee injury in the process. His future is now cloudy.
- Philadelphia Eagles +1
The Eagles are in good form as winners of three in a row. Jalen Hurts has not turned the ball over in that span. In fact, Philly are the only NFL team not to commit a turnover in October.
- Pittsburgh Steelers -1
All the Steelers keep doing is winning and it was a total team effort against the New York Giants on Monday night – offense, defense and special teams coming together.
- San Francisco 49ers +2
The 49ers righted their ship at 4-4 with Sunday’s win over Dallas. And now comes a much-needed bye week. Will they trade for a receiver and when will CMC return?
- Atlanta Falcons +4
Despite all the offseason chatter around the drafting of Michael Penix Jr., Kirk Cousins remains the driving force of the Falcons. If they make the playoffs, he will be the reason.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers -2
I have nothing but admiration for the way Baker Mayfield plays the game. Down his top two receivers last Sunday, he kept fighting and he will always give the Bucs a chance.
- Chicago Bears --
Take away the heartbreak of the Hail Mary and there were other issues for the Bears. Caleb Williams looked surprisingly flustered under pressure and the play-calling didn’t help.
- Seattle Seahawks -3
The Seahawks followed up a big win in Atlanta with a no-show at home against the Bills. That perfectly sums up their wild ride of a season. They have to find some consistency.
- Denver Broncos +3
The story of Sean Payton developing Bo Nix is the major headline in Denver, but we should all take a closer look at what has become one of the better defenses in the NFL.
- Los Angeles Chargers +3
There is too much heat on Justin Herbert, but at least the Chargers’ passing game woke up in Week 8. They need more weapons in 2025, but Ladd McConkey is a good start.
- Arizona Cardinals +3
The Cardinals did to the Miami Dolphins what they did to the San Francisco 49ers earlier this season. They hung around, got some big plays from Kyler Murray and stole it late.
- Indianapolis Colts -1
In some ways the benching of Anthony Richardson is seismic given his high draft status. But he has played poorly and tapped out of last week’s game for being tired. Unforgivable.
- Los Angeles Rams +2
It was not that long ago that there was talk of a Rams’ fire sale ahead of the trade deadline. Why do that now? At 3-4, this Matthew Stafford-led team can win the NFC West!
- Cincinnati Bengals -6
Sunday represented a step up in class for a Bengals team that had only beaten the Panthers, Browns and Giants. They were not up to the task and their playoff hopes appear bleak.
- Dallas Cowboys -5
There was some early-game fight from the Cowboys on the defensive side of the ball in San Francisco, but they eventually ended up getting pushed around. Again!
- Miami Dolphins +2
The Dolphins will be wondering how they let that one slip away against the Cards. Tua Tagovailoa energised the offense but was partly to blame on the safety that turned the game.
- Jacksonville Jaguars +2
The Jags were lively on offense but suffered some receiver injuries in their loss to Green Bay. The trading of left tackle Cam Robinson suggests the eyes of the franchise are on 2025.
- Cleveland Browns +5
There will be weeks when he plays terribly and others where he looks like a superstar. That’s the Jameis Winston experience in 2024. But it’s going to be a fun few weeks in Cleveland.
- Las Vegas Raiders +1
The Raiders defense put them in position to take down the Chiefs on Sunday, but Gardner Minshew was not up to the task. Again! Could it be time for Desmond Ridder at QB?
- New Orleans Saints -4
Derek Carr should return from his oblique injury on Sunday, but this season is going to be very tough to turn around. The Saints have lost six in a row and are very likely done.
- New York Jets -4
The Jets! Teams that score more than 20 points, don’t turn it over and allow fewer than 250 yards have a record of 750-1. The team with that lone loss in NFL history? The Jets at New England on Sunday!
- New York Giants --
There are quite a few problems with the Giants but the biggest of them all is the fact that they are the epitome of settling for three points when you need seven. They don’t score enough touchdowns.
- New England Patriots +1
Will it be Drake Maye (concussion) or Jacoby Brissett at quarterback at Tennessee this week? As bad as things have been for the Patriots, they have a shot at winning two in a row.
- Tennessee Titans -3
The Titans started brightly at Detroit, ran out of steam and then got their doors blown in. When Will Levis is fully fit, he is probably the better of two poor options at quarterback.
- Carolina Panthers --
I spoke to Dave Canales this week and the Panthers head coach has a clear and admirable vision for his team. He just doesn’t have the players to win games right now. Tough times.