The Week 8 schedule featured only two games that saw both teams with winning records. The slate also included three divisional rematches and 10 interconference clashes. The last of those takes place on Monday night when the Raiders take on the first-place Detroit Lions in the Motor City.
There's a change at No. 1 while a division champion from 2022 is in the midst of a three-game losing streak. It's interesting to note that all four division leaders in the AFC sport identical 6-2 records. Onward to the latest NFL Power Rankings.
The Cardinals were hoping to end a four-game skid when they hosted the Ravens. Once again, Jonathan Gannon's team was competitive. Josh Dobbs finished with 208 yards through the air and two scores, but he also threw a pair of interceptions. The Cards trailed 24-7 in the fourth quarter before making things close in the final two minutes.
It appears that quarterback Kyler Murray is close to making his return. He could be the team's starter next week at Cleveland. Arizona owns the league's worst record, as well as the NFL's longest active losing streak at five straight.
It was a contest that featured the top three picks in April's draft. The focus was on the quarterbacks in Carolina's Bryce Young and Houston's C.J. Stroud. The latter has had the better season to date, but on Sunday at Charlotte the former Alabama star and his team had the last laugh as the Panthers won their first game of the season.
Young overcame six sacks and threw for 235 yards and one score. More significantly, he led the team on a 15-play, 86 yard drive in the final 6:17 and Eddy Pineiro kicked his third field goal of the game, a 22-yarder as time expired.
Veteran Tyrod Taylor made a second straight start for Brian Daboll's club. However, he was knocked out of action (ribs) in the second quarter. Enter rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito. The undrafted free agent finished with minus-1 yard passing, but his six-yard touchdown run in the third quarter helped staked the Giants to a 10-7 lead.
New York was done scoring for the day. Big Blue would fall in overtime. Daboll's team is now eight games into 2023 and still has not reached the 100-point mark (95). So who starts at quarterback next Sunday at Las Vegas?
Bill Belichick's team was looking to avoid a second loss to the Dolphins this season. The Patriots came into the game with a 2-5 record, but both wins within the division. New England fell at home to Miami, 24-17, back in Week 2. Once again, the Pats were limited to 17 points and had no solutions for the Dolphins' passing attack.
Who would have thought that eight weeks into this season, the Patriots would not only be four games under .500 but would be the only team in the AFC East without a winning record? It has already been a forgettable year.
Bears' rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent opened some eyes last week in a win over the Raiders. He and the team were at SoFi Stadium Sunday night looking to take advantage of the Chargers' 32nd-ranked pass defense. Instead, quarterback Justin Herbert made easy work of the Chicago secondary, throwing three first-half touchdown passes.
Bagent did run for a touchdown with 2:12 to play, but that didn't even make the final score respectable. He threw for 232 yards and was also picked off twice. The Bears allowed a combined 31 points in their previous two games.
The Packers hoped to put an end to a three-game losing streak when they hosted the resurgent Vikings. That proved to be wishful thinking as the Green Bay offense sputtered throughout most of the afternoon and finished the game with 270 total yards. Matt LaFleur's team ran 62 offensive plays and owned the ball for just 23:38.
Quarterback Jordan Love's fall from grace continued. After starting the season with six TD passes and zero picks in the team's first two contests, he's connected for five scores and eight interceptions in his last five outings.
Could this be a week in which the only team in the AFC West to not win a game would be the first-place Chiefs? Andy Reid's team fell at Denver while the Chargers rolled the Chicago Bears on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium.
Of course, the Raiders winning at Ford Field on Monday night would be quite the surprise. Josh McDaniels and company figure to have quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo back at the controls. Regardless of who has been the quarterback, the club has scored less than 20 points in six of their seven games and ranked dead last in rushing.
The Broncos and Chiefs clashed for the second time in three weeks. Once again, the Denver defense made life difficult for reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. In the first meeting, it held Andy Reid's team to 19 points and one touchdown. On Sunday in the Mile High City, Sean Payton's club held the Kansas City offense out of the end zone.
The Broncos snapped a 16-game losing streak in this series and ended the Chiefs' 13-game winning streak vs. AFC West rivals. Denver's ground game rolled up 153 yards and the defense and special teams totaled five takeaways.
Shane Steichen's club lost a heartbreaker at home on Sunday to the Browns. The Colts hosted the slumping Saints on Sunday and things got off to a good start as Indianapolis owned a 17-7 second-quarter lead. However, it Was mostly all New Orleans after that as the Colts were outscored a combined 31-10 the last two-plus quarters.
It was a third straight loss for a team that won three of its first five games. During this current skid, Steichen's team has allowed at least 37 points in each setback, and Indianapolis' defenders have allowed 12 offensive touchdowns.
Ron Rivera's club has been highly inconsistent this season to date. Last Sunday, the Commanders gave up a season-low 14 points and still found a way to lose to the Giants. This week, the team looked to avoid a second loss to the rival Eagles in five games. It wasn't in the cards as Rivera's team squandered a 14-3 second-quarter lead.
Last season, only two teams in the league allowed fewer total yards per game. This year, Washington's defense has been a big disappointment. Sunday's loss marked the fifth time that the Commanders allowed 33-plus points.
It is what can happen to a rebuilding football team. The Rams were down early and often at AT&T Stadium. Sean McVay's team was overwhelmed by the Cowboys' passing game. The Los Angeles secondary had no answers for Dallas' quarterback Dak Prescott, who hit on 17-of-21 passes for 225 yards and three scores in the first half.
What about Matthew Stafford's right thumb. "We'll see what the significance of that injury is," said McVay after the game (via ESPN's Sara Barshop). "But I don't want to speculate until I have full clarification from the doctors."
The Titans returned to action after a week off and hosted the Falcons. Rookie quarterback Will Levis got the start and handled all the passing (Malik Willis carried the ball twice, losing a fumble) and showed off that heralded arm. He finished the afternoon hitting on 19-of-29 passes for 238 yards and three scores without an interception.
In his first six games with the Titans, veteran DeAndre Hopkins caught 27 passes for 376 yards and zero TDs. On Sunday, he was targeted six times and totaled four receptions for 128 yards and found the end zone three times.
Apparently, the Colts' defense was just the tonic Dennis Allen's team needed to cure what ailed them. New Orleans snapped a two-game winning streak. The Saints rolled up 511 total yards and evened their record.
Inconsistency has plagued Allen's team this season. However, the Saints find themselves tied with Atlanta for the best record in the NFC South. Even more interesting is the fact that the club's remaining nine games are all within the conference. Five of those nine are divisional clashes, including a pair with both the Panthers and Falcons.
What was indeed troubling for the Steelers on Sunday at home against the first-place Jaguars was the fact that Teryl Austin's defense came up with three takeaways. Of course, this same unit gave up 377 total yards. Once again, the offense was a no-show in the first half as Kenny Pickett struggled early and eventually went down.
It's a short week for Tomlin's team as they host the Titans on Thursday night. The availability of both Pickett (ribs) and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (hamstring) is up in the air, but Matt Canada's offense may be the bigger concern.
On Thursday night at Buffalo, it was too little too late for the Buccaneers. Down 24-10 late in the fourth quarter, Buccaneers' quarterback Baker Mayfield threw a 24-yard TD pass to Mike Evans with 2:44 to play. A two-point conversion made it a six-point deficit, but the Bucs failed on a Hail Mary attempt on the final play of the night.
Todd Bowes' team is 3-0 when it scores at least 20 points and 0-4 when it doesn't. It was Tampa's third straight loss. After eight weeks of play, every team in the NFC South has at dropped at least four games this season.
Yes, it was a short week for the Purple Gang as they followed up a Monday night meeting with the 49ers with a road trip to Lambeau Field. Kevin O'Connell's club made it three straight wins and the rejuvenated Vikings evened their record at 4-4. None of that seemed to matter after it was learned that Kirk Cousins suffered an Achilles injury.
What will the team to do at quarterback for the rest of the season? The Vikings have a game at Atlanta on Sunday and the NFL trade deadline is at 4:00 pm ET on Tuesday. Could the team already have the answer on the roster?
Last week, Brandon Staley's team had no answers for Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes. On Sunday night at SoFi Stadium, the visiting Chicago Bears had no answers for Justin Herbert. After just two quarters of play, he had already completed 21-of-25 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns. The Chargers led 24-7 at intermission.
The Bolts got some surprising help on Sunday as the first-place Chiefs were stunned at Denver by the last-place. Staley's team still has quite the uphill climb, but the Chargers must build on its best performance of the season.
DeMeco Ryans's team was back in action on Sunday after a week off and were in Charlotte to take on the winless Panthers. Neither one of these teams managed at least 250 yards of offense as the Texans (229) and Panthers (224) combined for 453 total yards. C.J. Stroud threw for only 140 yards but did run for one touchdown.
Houston's defense sacked Carolina quarterback Bryce Young and held the Panthers to just 44 yards rushing on 24 carries. However, Ryans's club never saw the ball for the final 6:17 of the game and succumbed to a late field goal.
The first-place Falcons were in Nashville to take on a Titans' team that had an extra week of preparation. Atlanta took an early 3-0 lead but would spend the rest of the afternoon playing from behind. A defense that entered the week ranked seventh vs. the pass allowed Titans' rookie Will Levis to throw for 238 yards and four touchdowns.
Taylor Heinicke took over for Desmond Ridder after intermission. The latter was sacked five times and lost another fumble. He would clear concussion protocol but Arthur Smith opted to keep the second-year pro on the sidelines.
It has happened on more than one occasion this season. Much-maligned Jets' quarterback Zach Wilson has looked less-than-ordinary in numerous games but has also had a knack of making some big-time throws in the clutch. That was very evident on Sunday against the Giants. Suddenly, the spunky Jets have strung together three straight wins.
Down 10-7 with 24 seconds to play, there were 29-yard passes to Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard, respectively. Greg Zuerlein sent the game into overtime with a 35-yard kick and nailed the game-winner in OT minutes later.
Would some extra rest be a good thing for the reigning AFC North champions as they took a two-game winning streak to San Francisco? In some ways, the Cincinnati Bengals made it look easy against the 49ers. Quarterback Joe Burrow hit on 87.5 percent of his passes for 283 yards and three TDs. The team gained a season-high 400 yards.
Zac Taylor's team plays five of its next seven games at home, including next week's prime time playoff rematch with the Bills. Last season, the Bengals overcame a 0-2 start to win the AFC North. Will history repeat itself?
From an imposing 5-0 to a perplexing 5-3. Kyle Shanahan's defense gave up 400 total yards, Quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 365 yards and one score but threw two interceptions and committed three turnovers overall.
So how on Earth are the 49ers one spot ahead of a Bengals' team that just beat them in their own ballpark on Sunday? The team's third consecutive loss dropped them seven spots from last week's rankings, so no team had a bigger fall. More importantly, can Shanahan and his staff fix things during the team's upcoming off-week?
The Bills bounced back from last week's loss at Foxborough and hung on for a win over the visiting Buccaneers on Thursday night. Buffalo's run defense has been a problem, but it wasn't an issue against a Tampa team that entered the week ranked 29th in the league in rushing. The Bucs managed 78 yards on the ground on 17 attempts.
Buffalo's offense gained 424 yards. Josh Allen threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score. However, he was picked off for the for the eighth time in as many games and now has 10 turnovers on the season.
Dan Campbell's team has an extra day to lick its wounds as they host the Raiders on Monday night. The NFC North leaders were pushed around at Baltimore last Sunday. The defense gave up a whopping 503 yards in a 38-6 loss.
Right on the heels of the NFC North leaders are the 4-4 Minnesota Vikings, who went to Green Bay on Sunday and won their third straight game. The team lost quarterback Kirk Cousins to an Achilles injury but keep in mind that these two longtime rivals don't meet until late December, facing each other twice in the final three weeks.
The Browns survived a wild afternoon at Indianapolis last Sunday. This week, the team was on the road again, this time at Seattle. Both teams made their share of mistakes, but late in the fourth quarter Kevin Stefanski's team owned a 20-17 lead. However, Cleveland's tough defense couldn't prevent a late Seattle touchdown drive.
P.J. Walker got the start for the second straight week. He threw for 248 yards and a touchdown to tight end David Njoku. However, Walker was sacked three times and committed all three of Cleveland four touchdowns.
After stubbing its toes at home in a Week 1 loss to the Rams and looking pretty bad doing it, Pete Carroll's club has won five of its last six games. Combined with the recent issues of the San Francisco 49ers, the Seahawks are now atop the NFC West. On Sunday, they rallied in the fourth quarter against Cleveland's formidable defense.
Quarterback Geno Smith threw a pair of interceptions, his third straight game with multiple turnovers. He also threw a pair of TD passes, the second a nine-yarder to Jaxon Smith-Njigba with 38 seconds to play to win the game.
The opportunistic Jaguars took their four-game winning streak into Pittsburgh. Doug Pederson's club was far from sharp and found the end zone just once in the rain-plagued contests. The AFC South leaders gave the Steelers plenty of chances to capitalize on three turnovers but a physical defense came up with its share of key stops.
Trevor Lawrence threw an end zone interception but also totaled 292 yards through the air, 56 of those on a TD connection with running back Travis Etienne. The latter finished the game with 149 total yards from scrimmage.
Mike McCarthy's well-rested club hosted the Rams. It was more of the same for a team that has won five of its first seven games, four of those victories by 20-plus points. The Cowboys' offense, defense and special teams all scored in the first two quarters as the team opened up a stunning 33-3 lead. Dallas totaled 251 total yards in the first half.
Dak Prescott finished the afternoon with 304 yards passing and four scores (1 interception). CeeDee Lamb totaled 12 catches for 158 yards and two TDs. However, will this offense show up at Philadelphia next Sunday afternoon?
For the second time this season, Mike McDaniel's team was coming off a double-digit loss. For the second time, the Dolphins responded with a solid performance. Tua Tagovailoa did commit a pair of turnovers, but he also threw for 324 yards and touchdowns. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle both scored and each totaled 100-plus yards.
It was the season debut for cornerback Jalen Ramsey, obtained from the Rams via trade this offseason. He picked off Patriots' quarterback Mac Jones and was part of a defense that limited New England to 218 total yards.
John Harbaugh's team ran its road record to 4-1 by holding on for a win at Arizona. The Baltimore offense finished the afternoon with just 268 total yards. However, the AFC North leaders played turnover-free football. Running back Gus Edwards ran for 80 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. Lamar Jackson threw a pair of TD passes.
One of the NFL's better run defenses gave up 129 yards. Harbaugh's club offset that by picking off Cardinals' quarterback Josh Dobbs twice. The Ravens play six of their final nine games at home, including the next three.
Talk about streaking? Entering this second meeting of the season with the Broncos, the Chiefs had won six straight games, had defeated Denver 16 consecutive times and were riding a 13-game winning streak vs. AFC West rivals. All of that disappeared on Sunday as Andy Reid's team mistake-prone team settled for three field goals.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 241 yards and two interceptions. He was sacked three times and also lost a fumble. The Chiefs have committed 16 turnovers in eight contests, and the loss knocked them out of the No. 1 spot.
For the second time in five weeks, the Eagles and Commanders clashed, this time in Landover. The first meeting resulted in an overtime win for the Birds. This time, Nick Sirianni's team dug itself an 11-point second-quarter hole before rallying for a 38-31 victory. Wideout A.J. Brown continued his torrid play, catching a pair of TD passes.
With the Chiefs laying an egg in the Mile High City, Philadelphia has taken over the top spot in the rankings. The team has bounced back from that Week 6 loss to the Jets by scoring 31-plus points in consecutive victories.
