Week 8 2014 NFL Power Rankings
By Tyler Lurkins
1. Denver-Denver should ride the #1 spot for a while. They look unbeatable.
2. Dallas-Is Dallas back in the biz of being America’s team? Playing Washington next week should
keep them at #2.
3. Green Bay-Green Bay is destroying opposing teams. Can their D sustain a close game, though?
4. Indianapolis-The D is quietly coming alive to keep Luck’s offense in the lead. What kind of
competition will Pittsburgh bring next week?
5. Detroit-Escaping a close game, Detroit’s front four looks unstoppable. Atlanta plays well at
home, can Detroit’s secondary keep the Lions in the game?
6. Arizona-A squeaky win against Oakland, but the Cards still have the record to be at the top.
7. Seattle-Seattle is still a powerhouse. However, three losses will keep them dwindling here until
some injured stars return.
8. Philadelphia-Arizona has the secondary to take on the Eagles. After a bye week, Philly could see
a big win, and a rise in the rankings.
9. San Diego-KC controlled the Bolts for most of the game. San Diego stays above the Chiefs by
record alone. A trip to Denver this week will show if the Chargers are the real deal.
10. Kansas City-No matter the score, KC dominated the Chargers. The Rams have surprised many
teams early, and flattened in the 2nd
11. Baltimore-Baltimore is sailing along, and picks 8 through 12 can be easily debated. Wins are
wins, but do they have the firepower to continue winning?
12. New England-Are the Patriots coming alive, or are they simply beating teams they should? At
any rate, they’ve deserved to remain in the middle of the pack and host a wavering Chicago
team this week.
13. San Francisco-The Niners really need the bye week after been ripped apart by the Broncos.
14. Cincinnati-Cincy needs to top the Ravens this week to stay relevant.
half. This could be a closer game than it appears.
15. Buffalo-Rankings 15 through 20 can be flipped around and discussed. Buffalo sits here because
they seem to be the most lethal team. They boast a tough front 4, Sammy Watkins, and a
rejuvenated Kyle Orton. Consistency is a must down the stretch.
16. Miami-The word consistency is used frequently on these power rankings. Miami looks the part
of decent team, but need to show more. They face a weak Jags team coming off a win.
17. Carolina-Eventually Cam will lose his ego and fall apart. The team is plagued by poor line play
and a horrible secondary.
18. Pittsburgh-Welcome to the roller coaster that is Pittsburgh. Though a Monday win over
Houston, the Steelers took out an average team. They see a true test this week as they host
Indy.
19. Cleveland-Wins against Pittsburgh and New Orleans, and a tight game against Baltimore, yet the
Brownies can’t top the lowly Jaguars. The Browns had a shot at relevance in the NFL.
20. Houston-It’s hard to pick a team with Fitzpatrick at the helm. Houston will drag out a .500
season, but won’t impress many.
21. New Orleans-Right when New Orleans looked the victors, they coughed up the ball. New
Orleans may yet go on the rise, but right now they dwell at the bottom of the power rankings.
22. Chicago-The Bears need to “bear down,” as they say. The team is falling apart, but still possess
so many weapons.
23. Tampa Bay-The Bucs are hanging tough with Glennon at the helm. As the team develops as a
unit, they should knock off Minnesota this week.
24. New York Giants-The Giants are slowly building up steam offensively, but are now struggling
defensively. Though a loss, they played Dallas well and now go on a bye week.
25. Atlanta-It’s tough to rank Atlanta any lower. On paper, they match up with anyone offensively,
but poor schematics and injuries are keeping them from W’s.
26. St. Louis-Blowing huge leads to Philly, Dallas, and San Francisco, St. Louis barely skidded past a
top notch Seattle team. Is this team good, with horrible coaching…or are they truly bad and just
catching breaks.
27. Minnesota-Though beating St. Louis, Minnesota will remain below them. They are still
struggling to gel as a unit, but they are showing bright and developing stars.
28. Washington-Washington just looks lost. The D is still porous, and turnovers are destroying
them.
29. New York Jets-Harvin is a cute little acquisition, but the Jets are still struggling at the QB spot.
Maybe they’ll win a couple games, but the Jets aren’t going to set the world on fire.
30. Jacksonville-What a gritty win the Jags pulled out. The team is growing, but still lack the talent
to become even an average team.
31. Tennessee-Charlie Whitehurst is the QB. End of story.
32. Oakland-Oakland seems to have the fire to put a fight. Carr is on the right track, but will be hard
pressed to lead Oakland to multiple wins.
Comments are closed.