Welcome to Week 8 of the Pro Football Network company-wide NFL power rankings. While Dalton Miller ably provides his own power rankings, following the conclusion of each Sunday’s action, we’ll be polling each of PFN’s NFL contributors to assemble our list.
Each week, we’ll combine rankings from yours truly, Chief Content Officer David Bearman, NFL Director Adam Beasley, Betting Director Brian Blewis, Audience Engagement Director Mike Gambardella, COO Matt Infante, NFL Analyst Dalton Miller, Bengals Reporter Jay Morrison, Cowboys Reporter Jess Nevarez, and Fantasy Director Kyle Yates.
Which teams are too high or too low as we enter Week 8 of the 2023 NFL season?
From the current NFL standings to team depth charts to coverage of every game in the 18-week NFL schedule, we have all the news from around the league to keep you up to speed!
Pro Football Network’s Week 8 NFL Power Rankings
32) Carolina Panthers
Week 7 Ranking: 32
The NFL’s only remaining winless team, the Panthers got a reprieve on Sunday thanks to their Week 7 bye. With no playoff hopes on the horizon, Carolina can turn its attention to the Oct. 31 trade deadline, when they could move assets like pass rusher Brian Burns, cornerback Donte Jackson, and injured safety Jeremy Chinn.
31) Arizona Cardinals
Week 7 Ranking: 27
Joshua Dobbs has slowly slid down the QBR rankings and now sits at 18th after a scoreless 146-yard effort against the Seattle Seahawks. Kyler Murray returned to practice last week and seems nearly ready to return to game action after tearing his ACL in December.
MORE: 2023 NFL Updated PUP List
Will Murray mesh with Arizona’s new offensive scheme? Or will his rest-of-season play turn him into an offseason trade candidate?
30) Denver Broncos
Week 7 Ranking: 31
The Broncos pulled out a close win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, but that victory — which moved Denver to 2-5 — won’t alter the club’s immediate plans. Sean Payton will likely trade at least a few veterans from a crop that includes WRs Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton, OT Garett Bolles, LB Josey Jewell, and S Justin Simmons.
29) Chicago Bears
Week 7 Ranking: 28
Tyson Bagent was mistake-free in his first NFL start, which was all the Bears needed to take down a Brian Hoyer-helmed Las Vegas Raiders club. Bagent, a former Division II quarterback at Sheperd University, was rightfully the story of Week 7. But don’t forget about Chicago’s defense, which has allowed just 17 points per game over the last three weeks.
28) New York Giants
Week 7 Ranking: 29
Tyrod Taylor’s performance as the Giants’ starting QB over the past two weeks has to have New York fans wondering why Big Blue gave Daniel Jones $40 million per year. While Taylor ranked a respectable 13th in EPA per dropback from Weeks 6-7, Jones was 31st over the first five games of the season.
27) Las Vegas Raiders
Week 7 Ranking: 25
Why was the 38-year-old Hoyer starting for the Raiders on Sunday when fourth-round rookie Aidan O’Connell — who started in place of an injured Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 4 — could have used the additional reps? Las Vegas remains one of the most directionless organizations in the NFL.
26) New England Patriots
Week 7 Ranking: 30
Rumors that Bill Belichick could be fired this offseason were quieted by a Sunday report that the Patriots head coach signed a “lucrative, multi-year extension” to stay in New England.
Then, Mac Jones and the Patriots offense proceeded to post their best performance of the season, putting up 29 points on the Buffalo Bills. It was a good week for New England, but at 2-5, the club’s season outlook hasn’t changed all that much.
25) Tennessee Titans
Week 7 Ranking: 26
With Ryan Tannehill still recovering from the high ankle sprain he suffered before the Titans’ Week 7 bye, head coach Mike Vrabel said Mailk Willis and second-rounder Will Levis could both see time when Tennessee faces the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Not only that, but Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz reported today that “everyone really is available” on the Titans’ roster, including RB Derrick Henry and WR DeAndre Hopkins. Tennesee might have a very different roster — and already be looking toward 2024 — by this time next week.
24) Green Bay Packers
Week 7 Ranking: 23
Losing to the Detroit Lions in Week 4 was one thing. But the Packers’ consecutive defeats to the Raiders and Broncos — in which they scored just 30 total points — forced a complete reassessment of where Green Bay is headed this season.
While Jordan Love deserves the benefits of an entire season as the Packers’ starting quarterback, the early results have been underwhelming.
23) Washington Commanders
Week 7 Ranking: 22
Sam Howell possesses many qualities NFL teams search for in quarterback prospects, but his pocket presence has been atrocious.
MORE: NFL Week 7 Winners and Losers
Wink Martindale’s Giants’ defense ranked last in the NFL with just six sacks entering Week 7, but they still managed to take down Howell five times. He’s been sacked 40 times this year — David Carr (2002) was the only QB in league history to be brought down more times through the first seven games of a season.
22) Indianapolis Colts
Week 7 Ranking: 21
Gardner Minshew II improbably led the Colts to the best performance any offense has posted against the Cleveland Browns’ elite defense this season. Shane Steichen deserves a lot of credit for creating an offense suitable for both Minshew and Anthony Richardson, and he even took advantage of Minshew’s underrated athleticism on Sunday, allowing Indy’s backup to score two rushing touchdowns in a 39-38 loss.
21) New Orleans Saints
Week 7 Ranking: 18
As impressive as the Saints’ 15-point, fourth-quarter comeback against the Jacksonville Jaguars was, they couldn’t finish the job. Facing first-and-goal from the six-yard line, Derek Carr threw four straight incomplete passes to end the game.
It was a decent metaphor for New Orleans’ season. The Saints feel close to a contender and have shown flashes on both sides of the ball. But it feels like they’ll come up just short this year, even in an NFC South with no clear leader.
20) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 7 Ranking: 14
Over the past two weeks, the Buccaneers have looked like something closer to the team many expected entering the season. A 3-1 start provided a glimpse of hope that Tampa Bay’s post-Tom Brady life could involve the postseason, but Baker Mayfield’s limited upside and the Bucs’ atrocious rushing attack don’t threaten most defenses.
Still, Tampa Bay’s defense has stood its ground, and the club’s rebuilt offensive line has meshed quickly. There’s still a chance for the Bucs — and the Saints, for that matter — in the division race, but they’re nowhere near the NFC’s top tier.
19) Los Angeles Chargers
Week 7 Ranking: 13
A playoff berth felt like the bare minimum that Chargers head coach Brandon Staley needed to keep his job after this season. At 2-4, Los Angeles feels incredibly far from the postseason, but its last two losses came against the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys, both among the best teams in football.
Upcoming matchups against the Bears and New York Jets will give the Chargers a chance to get back to .500, but those games are also in prime time. If Staley’s decision-making costs L.A. either contest in front of a national audience, could he get a pink slip before the season ends?
18) Atlanta Falcons
Week 7 Ranking: 20
Atlanta’s defense has been a revelation in recent games, holding the Commanders to under 200 yards in Week 6 before giving up just 13 points to the Bucs in Week 7.
The Falcons look like the best team in the NFC South, especially if Desmond Ridder can stop turning the ball over. Ridder can operate Atlanta’s offense and help create chunk yardage, but the interceptions and fumbles have been back-breaking.
17) Minnesota Vikings
Week 7 Ranking: 24
No team made a larger leap in the power rankings this week than the Vikings after their Monday night win over the San Francisco 49ers. Minnesota’s defense has given up just 30 points over the past two weeks. If Brian Flores’ unit can keep it up until Justin Jefferson (hamstring) returns, the Vikings could still be a playoff team.
16) Los Angeles Rams
Week 7 Ranking: 15
The Rams are a difficult team to get a handle on. Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Puka Nacua comprise one of the NFL’s best aerial attacks, and Los Angeles’ defense has performed much better than anyone could have hoped.
MORE: NFL World Reacts to Controversial Ball Placement Call Between Steelers and Rams
So why are the Rams only 3-4 through seven weeks? They’ve had some bad luck in one-score games that could turn around as the season progresses, but it’s unclear if L.A.’s defense can keep up this effort all year.
15) New York Jets
Week 7 Ranking: 16
New York’s defense may keep the team in games throughout the season. Remember, the Jets went 7-9 last season with a Zach Wilson/Joe Flacco/Mike White triumvirate under center.
Flacco and White are no longer around to relieve Wilson if he struggles. While the former No. 2 overall pick has taken slightly better care of the ball this season, Wilson still can’t elevate an offense that struggles up front and has few playmakers.
14) Houston Texans
Week 7 Ranking: 19
So many other teams in this range of the power rankings struggled in Week 7 that the Texans moved up five spots while on their bye. And what’s not to love about this team?
C.J. Stroud already looks like a 10-year veteran. Will Anderson Jr. is a defensive cornerstone. Tank Dell and Nico Collins have emerged as offensive weapons. DeMeco Ryans could be Coach of the Year, and OC Bobby Slowik might be a head coach by 2024.
13) Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 7 Ranking: 17
The Steelers’ offense didn’t necessarily look all that much better in Week 7, but they were put in much more advantageous situations. Two of Pittsburgh’s TDs were set up by a Matthew Stafford interception and a Brett Maher missed field goal, but Sunday represented the exact type of game the Steelers always seem to pull out.
12) Cincinnati Bengals
Week 7 Ranking: 12
The Bengals earned two critical wins to get back to .500 before their Week 7 bye, but they’ll now face an “11-week gauntlet” — head coach Zac Taylor’s words — to end the season. Taylor is right: Cincinnati has the NFL’s most challenging schedule by a wide margin over the year, per Aaron Schatz’s DVOA metric.
While the Bengals have the talent to rebound and make the playoffs for a third straight year, upcoming games against the 49ers and Buffalo Bills will tell Joe Burrow and Co. where they’re really at.
11) Seattle Seahawks
Week 7 Ranking: 11
Geno Smith and Co. haven’t been able to get anything going over the past two weeks, but Seattle’s defense has been on an absolute heater.
John Schneider and Pete Caroll’s streak of draft luck appears to have returned — 2022 second-round edge rusher Boye Mafe is leading the NFL in pass-rush win rate, while 2023 first-rounder Devon Witherspoon already looks like a dominant CB. The Seahawks rank ninth in defensive efficiency after finishing just 26th last season.
10) Cleveland Browns
Week 7 Ranking: 10
The Deshaun Watson injury saga is one of the strangest in recent memory, and his fully guaranteed $230 million contract looks like more of a mistake every day — not because he’s been hurt, but because he hasn’t looked like anything close to the Pro Bowl QB that starred with the Texans.
The Browns’ defense had been playing at a truly historic level until allowing 38 points to the Colts on Sunday, but Watson’s unavailability and poor play are wasting that defensive performance.
9) Buffalo Bills
Week 7 Ranking: 6
Few teams can look as utterly dominant as the Bills, but they’ve struggled against the Giants and Patriots — two teams in the bottom seven of these power rankings — over the last two weeks.
MORE: NFL Trade Deadline — AFC East Trade Candidates
Josh Allen has had his ups and downs this season, but he wasn’t the reason Buffalo lost to New England on Sunday. The Bills’ defense — now without CB Tre’Davious White, LB Matt Milano, and DT DaQuan Jones — isn’t the same unit that entered the season. General manager Brandon Beane needs to be involved at the deadline.
8) Detroit Lions
Week 6 Ranking: 5
Even the league’s best clubs suffer embarrassing defeats from time to time, and that’s precisely what happened to the Lions on Sunday. They simply ran into a buzzsaw in the Baltimore Ravens. Fortunately, few teams have a quarterback like Lamar Jackson under center.
Still, Detroit should be active at the trade deadline. The club has a talented roster, but a modest addition at WR, EDGE, or CB wouldn’t hurt as they gear up for a postseason run.
7) Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 7 Ranking: 9
The Jaguars have — very quietly — scored 68 points over the past two weeks, the most in the NFL during that span. Jacksonville’s offense has mostly gotten back on track, even if Christian Kirk seems to have temporarily overtaken Calvin Ridley as the club’s WR1. If they can take down the Steelers on Sunday, the Jags will enter their bye on a five-game winning streak.
6) Dallas Cowboys
Week 7 Ranking: 7
Jerry Jones said the Cowboys won’t initiate trade talks before the deadline, but it certainly seems like Dallas should be willing to make an acquisition, especially given that they made two veteran trades — for CB Stephon Gilmore and WR Brandin Cooks — over the offseason.
With corner Trevon Diggs out for the season, Dallas could use another defensive back to play alongside Gilmore and DaRon Bland. Adding another pass catcher or linebacker depth wouldn’t hurt, either.
5) Miami Dolphins
Week 7 Ranking: 3
There’s no reason to think any less of the Dolphins after their Sunday night loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, who we haven’t even reached in these power rankings yet. Miami was down multiple starters along the offensive line and banged up elsewhere, but they still have the NFL’s most dangerous offense.
Jalen Ramsey is expected back sooner than later to buoy a defense that needs all the help it can get. If the Dolphins can find some offensive line reinforcements at the trade deadline, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with by the time the playoffs arrive.
4) Baltimore Ravens
Week 7 Ranking: 8
Everything came together for the Ravens in their 38-6 destruction of the Lions in Week 8. Lamar looked like an MVP candidate, hitting six different receivers for at least 30 yards while posting four total touchdowns. And Baltimore’s defense shut down a Detroit offense that had been varied, efficient, and explosive in every game this season.
Brain drain could soon become an issue for the Ravens, as OC Todd Monken and DC Mike Macdonald should both be on 2024 head coaching shortlists.
3) San Francisco 49ers
Week 7 Ranking: 1
The 49ers would have won in Week 6 had Jake Moody converted a 41-yard field goal against the Browns. San Francisco lost another game on Monday night but did so without wide receiver Deebo Samuel or left tackle Trent Williams available.
MORE: Should 49ers Fans Become Worried After Second Straight Loss?
Brock Purdy threw two poor interceptions, but Week 7 marked the first two-pick game of his career. He was consistently accurate beyond those turnovers and displayed surprising athleticism as a scrambler. Purdy has been a significant improvement over Jimmy Garoppolo, both from a ceiling and floor standpoint.
2) Philadelphia Eagles
Week 7 Ranking: 4
The Eagles’ defense was outstanding against the Dolphins on Sunday night, holding Tua Tagovailoa and company to a season-low 244 offensive yards. Philadelphia’s defense was already showing signs of improvement and will now add former Titans safety Kevin Byard to its depth chart.
Meanwhile, the Eagles can score in any number of ways. Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown are eviscerating opponents through the air, Hurts can’t be stopped when Philadelphia needs one yard, and D’Andre Swift and the club’s rushing attack are always available if the passing game isn’t clicking.
1) Kansas City Chiefs
Week 7 Ranking: 2
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Patrick Mahomes was back to his old tricks against the Chargers in Week 7, completing 32 of 42 attempts for 424 yards and four touchdowns en route to an absurd 0.59 EPA per dropback. (For reference, the Dolphins generated 0.617 EPA per offensive play when they scored 70 points on the Broncos in Week 3).
Even still, Sunday was just the 16th-best game of Mahomes’ career by adjusted net yards per pass attempt — that’s how good he’s been. And now he has one of the NFL’s best defenses?