NFL Power Rakings 2022 Week 8: BIlls back to pacing the league

Our NFL Power Rankings return this week after taking a bye week last week. With the conclusion of Week 7 on the league schedule, we start to move into Week 8 now and we take a look at who is performing the best around the league. Or which teams were on a bye but still jumped up the rankings into the top spot.

We do power rankings a little differently here on The Phinsider. Rather than just taking last week’s rankings, moving the teams up if they won or down if they lost, we start with a clean slate each week and we have two people make the rankings. Josh Houtz and Kevin Nogle make the power rankings draft style, alternating picks to answer the questions, “Who can win the Super Bowl?” It can lead to some dramatic changes each week, but it also keeps us having to look at each team and trying to assess how they are playing, how they will play over the rest of the season, and take into account any major injuries they may have suffered (see the New York Jets this week as they lost running back Breece Hall).

The Buffalo Bills are back in the top spot, despite having spent Week 7 on their bye. They jumped over the Philadelphia Eagles, who remain undefeated on the season as they also had their bye week in Week 7, and the Kansas City Chiefs, who blew out the San Francisco 49ers this past weekend.

The Miami Dolphins slide back into the top 10 this week as quarterback Tua Tagovailoa returned for a 16-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football. After a game in which the Dolphins defense led the way, will Tagovailoa continue to find his rhythm after missing two weeks with a concussion, leading to a better offensive performance for Miami?

Three teams that could probably be higher, but find themselves buried a little in our rankings this week are the Jets, the Green Bay Packers, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Jets get pushed down, despite their 5-2 record, following the loss of Hall for the year. A potential rookie of the year candidate, Hall is 10th in rushing this season and has been a big part of the success for New York through seven weeks. How they respond without him will determine if they leap up to where a five-win team should be on the rankings, or if they slide down the rankings over the next couple of weeks.

The Packers and Buccaneers are both capable of making a run and positioning themselves in the NFC playoff picture, but right now, they are not playing teams led by Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady. Both teams have to figure out some issues if they want to get back up the rankings and want to be seen as contenders this year.

Time to get to the rankings. Nogle will take the odd picks this week while Houtz has the even selections.

NFL Week 8 Power Rankings

1. Buffalo Bills (Week 6: 3)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (1)
3. Kansas City Chiefs (2)
4. Minnesota Vikings (6)
5. Dallas Cowboys (4)
6. New York Giants (9)
7. Baltimore Ravens (5)
8. Miami Dolphins (11)
9. Cincinnati Bengals (15)
10. New York Jets (19)
11. Tennessee Titans (13)
12. San Francisco 49ers (8)
13. Los Angeles Rams (14)
14. Seattle Seahawks (18)
15. Las Vegas Raiders (25)
16. Los Angeles Chargers (12)
17. Green Bay Packers (10)
18. Arizona Cardinals (17)
19. New Orleans Saints (20)
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7)
21. Chicago Bears (27)
22. Atlanta Falcons (24)
23. New England Patriots (21)
24. Cleveland Browns (16)
25. Pittsburgh Steelers (28)
26. Washington Commanders (31)
27. Jacksonville Jaguars (23)
28. Indianapolis Colts (26)
29. Denver Broncos (22)
30. Carolina Panthers (32)
31. Detroit Lions (30)
32. Houston Texans (29)