Week 8 NFL Power Rankings: Bucs, Rams on the Rise; Bosses can’t fall anymore, can they?

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WEEK 8 POWER RATINGS

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Ranking, Team, Last week, We say

1. Arizona Cardinals (1): Surpassed less than 31 points just once during the 7-0 start.

2. Tampa Bay Bucs (4): Last win was by five TDs without AB and Gronk.

3. Los Angeles Rams (5): Top 5 in multiple stat categories and No. 1 in trick survivors.

4. Dallas Cowboys (3): Leading the league with 37 more yards per game than Brady Bunch.

5. Green Bay Packers (6): Six online W-streak games like DC between games lost versus high-flying cards.

6. Cincinnati Bengals (8): Best of the beasts in the AFC North? “Who dey” thought that?

7. Buffalo Bills (7): Returned from halftime with a home date against the team they beat on the road 35-0 five weeks ago.

8. Tennessee Titans (9): Derrick Henry has more rushing yards than 24 teams.

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9. Baltimore Ravens (2): You can’t take yourself seriously as an SB contender when you can’t defend yourself from the pass.

10: Cleveland Browns (12): It only took Case Keenum and D’Ernest Johnson to start winning again.

11. Las Vegas Raiders (14): Carr is back on the track with 664 passing yards in two games after Gruden.

12. Los Angeles Chargers (10): Did they really lose 34-6 to the Ravens before their goodbye?

13. Indianapolis Colts (17): Beating the Titans leads them on a 5-game win streak with the Jets, and then the Jags.

14. New Orleans Saints (15): And imagine if Jameis Winston defeats the Bucs this week?

15. New England Patriots (18): Don’t look now, but Bill Belichick is having a great season.

16. Pittsburgh Steelers (16): Big Ben “feels healthier” after goodbye. Watch out for the Steelers.

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17. Minnesota Vikings (13): With 3-3 could be defined for the next 4 weeks (Cowboys, Ravens, Chargers, Packers).

18. Atlanta Falcons (21): Son of a billionaire who does a good job as a freshman coach.

19. New York Giants (28): Beating anyone 25-3 with injuries is impressive.

20. Kansas City Chiefs (11): Three points vs. Titans? I can’t get any worse. Right?

21. Chicago Bears (19): Worst offense in the league with an average of 124.4 passing yards per game.

22. San Francisco 49ers (22): Starting to look like 2016 (2-14) more than 2019 (13-3).

23. Carolina Panthers (20): First place in “team speed” changes the subject of the 4-game slide.

24. Seattle Seahawks (23): The defense is improving, but they miss Russ big time.

25. Philadelphia Eagles (24): Coach Sirianni says they are a “budding flower.” Without fertilizer.

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26. Washington Football Team (25): Off-field disorder distracts from inexplicable miseries on the field.

27. Denver Broncos (26): Too talented to be that bad.

28. Jacksonville Jaguars (27): They haven’t lost in two weeks!

29. Miami Dolphins (31): Deshaun should aim higher.

30. New York Jets (29): The rookie quarterback led his team to 54 points against them. ‘Nuf said.

31. Detroit Lions (30): It won’t be the sixth team to have an excellent season. Probably.

32. Houston Texans (32): Offense averaging 7.8 PPG in the last five just because he scored 22 in one.

WEEK 8 LOOKS AND LOCKS

LAST MAN STANDING: If you can find a bet that the Bengals, Bills and Rams beat the Jets, Dolphins and Texans by 50 combined points, jump on it. As someone who is still alive in two Survivor Pools but generally won’t take the same team in both, I’m on Cincy (yes, on the road) and the Bills are back at Orchard Park after a week off.

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LIMITING OPTIONS: Even with Packers star Davante Adams (reserve from COVID) expected to miss Thursday night (see below), you should keep Robert Tonyan in your fancy bench if you have any decent options. The Cardinals have tight ends limited to just 156 yards, the lowest total in the league by nearly 30, and are among the four teams that refuse to set foot in their end zone. At the same time, the stats probably won’t deter Aaron Rodgers, who has never been short of confidence, and Tonyan, who was tied for fifth in receiving touchdowns last season, and is coming off his best game of 2021 with four holds. for 63 yards and a TD last week against Washington.

MACK SACKED: Through seven games, the Bears are tied for the league lead in sacks with the Vikings, who have played just six. One reason to avoid Chicago in their game against the 49ers is that Khalil Mack is reportedly heading to the IR with the foot injury he’s been playing for. Mack is on track for his best season since being acquired by Chicago in 2018, with six sacks, six tackles for losses and one fumble recovery.

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IT’S ELEMENTARY, D. WATSON: Why any team would shell out what it would take to acquire Deshaun Watson from the Texans is a mystery, given that his off-field woes make it impossible to know when the 26-year-old quarterback will play. again. Now comes the news from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that Watson has only waived his no-trade clause for the Dolphins, which has taken the other team that was apparently interested in him, the Panthers, out of the conversation. It feels bad that Watson is in a position to make the decisions, despite what his contract says. With the NFL trade deadline set for Tuesday, the best bet is that he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, nor will he play this season.

PRIME TIME SELECTIONS

GREEN BAY PACKERS (6-1) IN THE ARIZONA CARDINALS (7-0)

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LINE: Arizona by 6 1/2

CHEWABLE: This is the first of just three (if you can believe it) primetime games for the Cardinals, and they’ll want to show the world what they’ve been missing … If Green Bay can somehow pull off the surprise, Aaron Rodgers should become the mid-season favorite as an MVP. Not only is his favorite target, superstar Davante Adams, expected to be outnumbered, but WR Allen Lazard (COVID reserve) is out as well and WR Márquez Valdés-Scantling (hamstring) simply has “hopes” to return. to go. In that case, in three-width sets, Rodgers will look at Randall Cobb, Equanimeous St. Brown and Amari Rodgers. That’s going to fight with a slingshot when the other team has tanks like DeAndre Hopkins, AJ Green and Christian Kirk … To make things harder for Rodgers, the Cards’ defense is Top 5 in sacks, points per play and third chance conversion. rate … Packers lead all-time series 45-26-4 but Cards have won last three games …

CARRYING: ARIZONA by 6 1/2

SCORE: Cardinals 33, Packers 21

Don Brennan, Sun Gambling Columnist:

LAST WEEK: 8-5

SEASON: 58-48-1

BEST BETS LAST WEEK: 3-0

BEST BETS SEASON: 14-7

Fantasy Football guru Dan Bilicki:

LAST WEEK: 5-8

SEASON: 47-59-1

BEST BETS LAST WEEK: 0-1

BEST BETS SEASON: 4-3

NFL columnist Rob Longley:

LAST WEEK: 9-4

SEASON: 59-47-1

BEST BETS LAST WEEK: 1-0

BEST BETS SEASON: 6-0