Week 8 (2023) NFL Power Rankings From The Sturg
No bye weeks for any team this week and some surprises
This is coming out on Thursday, I can see that. It’s been a busy week for me and I was trying to get this out as soon as possible. Thursday morning overnight is better than never. Now that I have gotten that out of the way. Let’s get to a bit of analysis.
One team is coming up as the clear #1 this week after a major upset. Another team got its first win this week as I suspected might happen. Some teams are sliding a bit (49ers, Colts, Buccaneers, and the Cardinals). There are some surprise teams still near the top and they might be for real after all. Let’s take a look at this week in my power rankings.
Elite Top 10 (1–10)
1. Philadelphia Eagles (7–1): This team found a way to win in Landover, MD despite fumbling the ball twice and giving up 472 yards, including making Sam Howell look like a stud. This team feels like a very tentative #1 but this team continues to show why they’re near the top of the league. In the end, all that matters is winning and that’s what they’ve been doing.
2. Miami Dolphins (6–2): The #1 scoring offense moves back up this power rankings after a win against the Patriots. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle each had over 100 yards receiving with a touchdown each. Their running game doesn’t look as lethal with Raheem Mostert in there but they do enough to complement the excellent passing game. They beat the Patriots 31–17 in Week 8.
3. Baltimore Ravens (6–2): I was hesitant to move them up this high after this week’s win against the Arizona Cardinals 31–24. The running game looks great at the moment though. Gus Edwards had 80 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Lamar Jackson didn’t get intercepted. This Baltimore offense is rolling and complementing the defense well.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (6–2): The Jaguars defeated the Steelers in Pittsburgh 20–10. Trevor Lawrence had nearly 300 yards. They did lose the ball three times but did just enough to overcome that as Mitch Trubisky was starting on the opposite side. And controlling the time of possession is always a plus.
5. Detroit Lions (6–2): I wanted to say that this is a bounce-back week for the Lions on Monday Night but they had the sad Raiders as their opponent so I don’t know how much stock to put into that. Jared Goff looked better in this game than he did in the Ravens game. Getting over 150 yards from Jahmyr Gibbs with a touchdown definitely helped as well.
6. Kansas City Chiefs (6–2): Last week’s #1 team fell five spots this week after a terrible loss to the Broncos. Two weeks after beating them, the Chiefs laid an egg. The Chiefs had five turnovers against a determined Broncos defense and Mahomes looked very average after a stellar game in Week 7.
7. Dallas Cowboys (5–2): Dallas was back on track this week. They stomped the LA Rams 43–20 in a weird scorigami. Dak Prescott had a good game with over 300 yards and 4 touchdowns. Their defense held LA’s high-powered offense in check. They should be proud of this win.
8. Seattle Seahawks (5–2): It wasn’t pretty but the Seahawks defeated the Browns in Week 8 24–20. The win put them in first place in the NFC West at the moment just ahead of the slumping San Francisco 49ers. The win is their second in a row. Geno Smith threw two interceptions and could clean that up a bit.
9. Buffalo Bills (5–3): The Bills played well enough on Thursday night to defeat the Buccaneers 24–16. Josh Allen played well and we even got to see Ryan Fitzpatrick take his shirt off since he was so excited. It was a bet but whatever. The point is, that Josh Allen showed enough out there against a good team to get fans excited. Hope that Buffalo can keep up that fire going forward.
10. San Francisco 49ers (5–3): Three straight losses. What can I say? Two of those games could’ve gone either way. In this last game, they also had a chance but Brock Purdy had two critical errors after throwing for over 360 yards. Their dual threat McCaffrey had over 100 total yards and two touchdowns. The schedule doesn’t get any easier as in Week 10, they get the Jaguars. Luckily, they get a Week 9 bye.
The Mid-Tier (11–20)
11. Cincinnati Bengals (4–3): The Bengals are riding high on a three-game winning streak after beating the 49ers this week. They played well enough to get a win with a nice balanced attack. Joe Burrow threw three touchdowns and had no interceptions. This team feels like they’re clawing back each week.
12. New York Jets (4–3): The Jets’ passing defense gets a ton of credit here. Tyrod Taylor and Tommy Devito had negative passing yards as the Giants had to heavily rely on Saquon and the running game to send this to overtime. Zach Wilson didn’t throw an interception and played well enough to position them for a win.
13. Cleveland Browns (4–3): PJ Walker at quarterback is obviously not the answer. This team still ended up outgaining the Seahawks but two interceptions isn’t going to cut it. The defense couldn’t completely bail them out this game despite getting some of their own turnovers.
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (4–3): I only have a little bit to say about this game on Pittsburgh’s side. They were at home against a good defense. They still had no excuse for the anemic play on offense. But to be fair, Mitch Trubisky at quarterback and Jaylen Warren leading your team in rushing don’t exactly scare anyone.
15. Minnesota Vikings (4–4): Three wins in a row? This team has come up from an early slump. The bad news. Another key injury. Another team with a good quarterback going down to a torn Achilles. Kirk Cousins isn’t a superstar but he’s definitely better than a majority of the quarterbacks out there. I feel like this is the Vikings’ apex of the season. They are going nowhere but back down after this.
16. New Orleans Saints (4–4): Derek Carr had a solid game in a win over the Colts but the real surprise star of this game was Taysom Hill. He had a 44-year completion and led the Saints in rushing with 63 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. He also had a 14-yard reception. They can move him anywhere in this offense and it’s always good to have a weapon like that.
17. Atlanta Falcons (4–4): Technically, I should be putting the Falcons ahead of the Saints since they have identical records (the Falcons are the technical leaders of the NFC South right now by one of the tiebreakers) but the loss against the Titans prevented me from doing that. They got burned by a rookie quarterback. And Taylor Heinicke isn’t it at quarterback. Benching Desmond Ridder wasn’t the move here.
18. Los Angeles Chargers (3–4): The Chargers stopped a mini-slide with a win against the Chicago Bears. Herbert threw for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns. Austin Ekeler did more damage in the passing game with a touchdown and nearly 100 yards but still led the rushing attack. They need more games like that from their lead back.
19. Tennessee Titans (3–4): Will Levis, the rookie out of Kentucky torched the Atlanta Falcons’ defense in his debut. He might be the quarterback of the future in Tennessee. He looked confident and having Derrick Henry looking more like Derrick Henry with over 100 yards rushing will help too.
20. Houston Texans (3–4): A loss to the winless Panthers in a matchup of the top two rookie quarterbacks picked in this last draft must be embarrassing for a team that has looked better this year. It was a close game 15–13 and both defenses played well. CJ Stroud didn’t throw a touchdown in this game. And their running game was the only decent thing that shone in this loss.
The Caboose (21–32)
21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3–4): Three straight losses. This team is not in control of the division anymore. They are legitimately struggling. Their last two losses were close. Their defense is playing well. It’s the offense that is having trouble at this point. I could see this team bounce back and I still believe they have the best chance to win the NFC South.
22. Denver Broncos (3–5): Two wins in a row now for this Broncos team. Their win over the Chiefs wasn’t pretty but it is a win against one of the best teams in the league. Maybe Sean Payton has this club playing better going forward. Their defense definitely stepped up to the task this last week.
23. Los Angeles Rams (3–5): They had their offense grounded this week in the loss to the Cowboys. I chalk that up more to the opponent than to their ability. They’ve shown that they are a very capable team offensively. Losing Matthew Stafford to a thumb injury isn’t a good omen for them though. They could start slipping further down this list.
24. Indianapolis Colts (3–5): Three straight losses. I was reluctant to drop them after last week’s loss but it was easier in this week’s loss to the Saints. They definitely lost this last game and didn’t get robbed. I’m still confused as to whether this team will turn it around this year. Despite their trouble, their ground game still looks great.
25. Washington Commanders (3–5): The Commanders almost pulled off a great win against a division rival. Sam Howell looked like an elite quarterback for one game but couldn’t do enough to get them over the top. Their defense will certainly have to play better than it did against the Eagles though.
26. Las Vegas Raiders (3–5): Another week, another Raiders loss. The air attack looks anemic with Jimmy Garoppolo right now. Even their ground game which was their strength in the past isn’t playing up to their abilities either. Josh Jacobs is having an underwhelming season by his own standards. He needs to step it up to carry this offense. Their defense forced 3 turnovers and still couldn’t pull out a win in Detroit on Monday Night.
27. Green Bay Packers (2–5): I’m not going to completely place the blame on Jordan Love here. The Packers need to play better defense, especially on third downs. This is a team game after all. They have no shot at the division title at this point in the season and they might race the Bears to the cellar at this rate.
28. Chicago Bears (2–6): Tyson Bagent went back to looking like an undrafted rookie quarterback this week. The Bears had no shot in this game against a superior Chargers team. They couldn’t even make up for the lack of production on offense with a decent running game.
29. New York Giants (2–6): I don’t care how good a team’s pass defense is. You don’t throw the ball for negative yards in a game ever. Wow. I get that Saquon is back and he is your main weapon but you need to have more balance in your attack. The Giants thought that they could compete with the Jets this week with a strong ground game. They lost in overtime.
30. New England Patriots (2–6): Speaking of terrible teams, the Patriots went back to their losing ways against a very superior and talented Dolphins team this week. Mac Jones played terribly and didn’t exactly inspire anyone with his recent performance. He did have two touchdowns but just a very mediocre stat line. Their defense did have two turnovers but couldn’t do much with them.
31. Carolina Panthers (1–6): The Carolina Panthers won the battle of the top rookie quarterbacks this week as they got their first win against Houston. Bryce Young looked like the superior quarterback in this matchup for one of the first times this season. Giving up six sacks isn’t exactly inspiring though and could’ve cost them the game if not for the last-second field goal.
32. Arizona Cardinals (1–7): I’m just happy my Carolina team can finally come out of the cellar for the first time. Arizona’s earned this spot though. They’ve been right there in a few games but winning matters. Joshua Dobbs threw for over 200 yards and two touchdowns but he also had two interceptions in the loss to the Ravens. Their defense isn’t good enough to overcome these types of mistakes. They are benching Dobbs now and either going back to Kyler Murray or to Clayton Tune. Come tune in next week to find out. They play the Browns in Cleveland in Week 9.
Tune in to the Press Box on Medium next week for the rankings after Week 9 to see where your favorite team stacks up. I try to get these out every week every Tuesday or Wednesday. I hope you enjoy this season’s only Thursday edition as I will stay on top of it going forward. Tonight’s game is Tennessee (3–4) at Pittsburgh (4–3).
I have edited this section because I looked at the Week 10 matchup this week instead of Week 9 and I predicted that Carolina would go on the road and steal a win from Chicago. I think that the Titans will pull off a victory in Week 9 against the Steelers for this week’s pick.
Stay tuned to the NFL as well to find out if I get that right. Until next week on Tuesday or Wednesday, sports fans.
Source: NFL Standings
Compare My Rankings to Other Major Rankings
