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Neil Reynolds' 2025 Week 8 Power Rankings

No one seems to want a permanent hold on top spot in these or any other power rankings. It is an ever-changing picture at the top of the league and that suggests we should buckle up for a wild ride in the second half of the season.

Who are the Super Bowl favourites right now? With no clear-cut "best team in football" there are probably a dozen teams – or maybe more – who believe they have a chance to run out of that tunnel in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday February 8.

At the bottom, the messy and smelly sludge of defeat is harder to climb out of. And that is the current world of the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins.

  1. DETROIT LIONS +1

What impressed me most about the 5-2 Lions' win over Tampa Bay on Monday was the reminder that this team can win in a variety of ways. Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown had some nice connections, but this was really about Jahmyr Gibbs and the rushing attack.

  1. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS +2

There is a decent body of work now to consider the Colts as one of the league's best. Sunday's road win against the Los Angeles Chargers was another that featured multiple contributors. With a home game against Tennessee to come, the 6-1 Colts are in great shape.

  1. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS --

The Seahawks flexed their defensive muscle in Monday's win over Houston. And Jaxson Smith-Njigba continued his great form at receiver. But Mike Macdonald would not have been pleased with four turnovers and 12 penalties. There is room for this 5-2 team to improve.

  1. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS -3

A disappointing night in Detroit was compounded by the loss of star wide receiver Mike Evans – likely for most of the season – with a fractured clavicle. It came on a nasty-looking injury when the all-star appeared to be knocked out on the play. That is a big blow to the offense.

  1. LOS ANGELES RAMS +2

The Rams made light work of their road trip to Baltimore and their flying visit to London over the past two weekends. And at 5-2 they now have to be considered among the genuine Super Bowl contenders in the NFC. There is balance on both sides of the ball and lots of promise.

  1. GREEN BAY PACKERS --

The Packers let the lowly Cardinals hang around for too long in Week 7 and it required a big fourth quarter effort to get over the finish line, but the game produced one major positive. Micah Parsons came alive and recorded three sacks to tip the contest Green Bay's way.

  1. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES +1

Performances like last weekend in Minneapolis make me wonder why the Eagles cannot produce a high-level passing attack every week. Jalen Hurts and his receivers were sensational. But recent history has shown they struggle to do that on a consistent basis.

  1. BUFFALO BILLS -3

How about this fact from my friend and Sky Sports' resident statto Benedict Bermange? Between their bye week last November and a Week 3 win over Miami this year, the Bills played 12 games and turned the ball over once! In their last three games, they have turned it over six times. That period of 12 games was the best in NFL history for fewest turnovers.

  1. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS --

There is no bump for the Chiefs in these rankings this week because I think they played and dominated one of the worst teams in the league in the Raiders. But KC appear to be figuring things out and have a winning record for the first time this season. They couldn't, could they?

  1. DENVER BRONCOS +1

A 33-point fourth quarter to defeat the Giants on a walk-off field goal was incredible and shows these Broncos never lose belief. They trailed 19-0 at the end of the third and 26-8 with just over five minutes left. They emit the kind of steel demanded by head coach Sean Payton.

  1. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS +7

The Patriots took care of business in Nashville on Sunday to win their fourth in a row. Drake Maye was excellent in going 21 of 23 for 222 yards and two touchdowns. But there was more. There were 175 rushing yards, five sacks, an interception and a fumble return touchdown.

  1. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS +3

The 5-2 49ers seem determined not to let devastating injuries derail their season. Christian McCaffrey is the engine, but let's give a nod to Mac Jones, who has gone 4-1 in relief of Brock Purdy at QB. And he is no game manager, averaging an NFL-high 281 passing yards per game.

  1. PITTSBURGH STEELERS -3

It appears as if Aaron Rodgers was not washed up at all (which the New York Jets seemed to believe), he just needed a better situation. And he is playing really well at the age of 41. But the defense regressed last week in Cincinnati and finding weekly production has been hard.

  1. CHICAGO BEARS +5

The Bears have won four in a row to enter the NFC playoff picture and it was their running game and defense that powered them on Sunday. That was an impressive win in that it was a game the Bears should have won – against New Orleans – and they took care of business.

  1. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS -3

It's been a tough couple of weeks for the Jags. But if you had told Liam Coen that after games against Houton, San Francisco, Kansas City, Seattle and the LA Rams that his team would be 4-3; he would have taken that. But… let's keep an eye on Trevor Lawrence's form.

  1. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS -2

The Chargers have lost three of their last four after opening the year with three straight wins in their division. Injuries have played a massive role. Justin Herbert is still a dangerous gunslinger, but his line is compromised and the defense is sliding in the wrong direction.

  1. ATLANTA FALCONS -1

Just when you think the Falcons have arrived with a defining Week 6 win against Buffalo, they get easily handled by the 49ers in Week 7; casting massive doubt over the legitimacy of this squad. They have a chance to climb back above .500 this week at home against Miami.

  1. DALLAS COWBOYS +3

The Cowboys have lost just one of their last four contests and during that time, Dak Prescott has thrown 13 touchdown passes and no interceptions for a quarterback rating of 128.1 His connections with George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb make the Cowboys an exciting watch.

  1. WASHINGTON COMMANDERS -6

The Commanders are going through some challenging times that will require great leadership from Dan Quinn. They have lost two in a row, were already down their top three receivers and lost QB Jayden Daniels to injury that could see him miss a Week 8 trip to KC.

  1. MINNESOTA VIKINGS -3

Red zone issues hurt the Vikings in a game they could have won against Philadelphia. Is Carson Wentz the answer at quarterback? How quickly will they go back to JJ McCarthy? Or is the biggest question… should this team have just stuck with Sam Darnold all along?

  1. CAROLINA PANTHERS +1

The Panthers have continued to build on their promising end to 2024, opening 4-3. Those four wins have featured two credible offensive displays and two games in which the defense was dominant. That is most encouraging as the D was a disaster for most of last season.

  1. HOUSTON TEXANS -2

The 2-4 Texans have been one of the NFL's bigger disappointments of this season. CJ Stroud is not playing well and he is not very well protected. But the play-calling from offensive coordinator Nick Caley has not been great. That undoes the work of the league's top defense.

  1. BALTIMORE RAVENS --

The 1-5 Ravens are banking on Lamar Jackson returning as they come out of their bye week to host Chicago. There are winnable games coming after that. A Thursday visit to Miami and then contests against Minnesota, Cleveland, the Jets and Cincinnati. They're not done yet.

  1. CINCINNATI BENGALS +4

Joe Flacco can still sling the rock as he showed in defeating Pittsburgh in Week 7. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are once again factors to be feared. A home game against the Jets offers the Bengals a chance to even up their record at 4-4 and stay alive for Joe Burrow.

  1. ARIZONA CARDINALS -1

The Cardinals need their bye week to get over some heartbreaking defeats. They have lost five in a row by a combined 13 points and each game has gone down to the final play. This team just cannot find the right play in the right moment and it leaves them floundering.

  1. NEW YORK GIANTS -1

There has been so much positivity around the Giants in recent weeks following the emergence of Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo. But that Denver loss has to go down as one of the most heart-breaking in team history. Now Brian Daboll's men must rally as they face the Eagles again.

  1. CLEVELAND BROWNS +3

The Browns snapped an 11-game streak of failing to score more than 17 points in a contest, but they cannot play Miami every week so have to find a way to be more consistent. Quinshon Judkins is an impressive rookie RB and he should be the focal point of the attack.

  1. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS -1

Spencer Rattler has enjoyed some good moments at QB for the Saints, but he turned the ball over four times last week. Does that open the door for second-round rookie Tyler Shough soon? The Saints are 1-6 and need to know what they have at QB before the 2026 NFL Draft.

  1. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS -3

The Raiders hit a new low in Week 7 as they ran just 30 offensive plays in a 31-0 defeat to Kansas City. A team would normally expect to run more than twice that amount of plays in a game. The lack of touches for rookie running back Ashton Jeanty (7) did not make sense.

  1. TENNESSEE TITANS +1

There is not going to be much to look forward to between now and the end of the season for a Titans team that has allowed rookie QB Cam Ward to be sacked an NFL-high 30 times. Then the offseason will be all about finding a new head coach, a new identity and an offensive line.

  1. MIAMI DOLPHINS -2

In what is shaping up to be a lost year, I'm starting to wonder if Tua Tagovailoa – Miami's $53 million-per-year quarterback – is a couple of poor performances away from getting benched. I have to admit that I am surprised to see Mike McDaniel still leading this team into Week 8.

  1. NEW YORK JETS --

If you want to know how hard it is to be a New York Jets fan, consider this… the wheels have completely fallen off in Miami and the Titans have already fired their head coach. Yet neither of those teams is the worst in the league or without a win. That honour falls upon the Jets.