NFL Divisional Power Rankings, Week 8: A humbling week for the NFC South

The week began in London (again), and ended with a Monday night doubleheader featuring the Harbaugh brothers. Six of the eight divisions saw all four of their teams in action this past week as only the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys had come down. There was a huge showdown in the Twin Cities between the two top teams in the NFC and a Super Sunday rematch.

For nearly two months, one division has owned the top spot in these league divisional power rankings (not to be confused with the NFL power rankings). That did not change this week, but there was a little shuffling elsewhere.

A little heads up about next week. There will be a full slate of 16 games for the first time since Week 4. For the first time this year, there will also be divisional rematches (3).

The latest edition of the NFL Divisional Power Rankings

8. AFC South

Last week: 8th

This group remains at the bottom of the rankings, at least for now. For the second straight week. the struggling Jaguars were in jolly old England and this time they faced reeling New England. The Colts got their starting signal-caller back and hosted the well-rested Dolphins. Elsewhere, the first-place Texans and shaky Titans faced tough road tests in Buffalo and Green Bay, respectively. When it was all said and done, things tightened up in this division a bit and DeMeco Ryans’s team all of a sudden had a team on its heels.

Talk about déjà vu? Doug Pederson’s team won for the second time in three weeks, spotting the Pats a 10-point lead and responding with 25 straight points on the way to a 32-16 win. The Titans were up 10-0 at Buffalo and allowed the game’s 34 points. Anthony Richardson returned for Indianapolis, who scored the final 16 points of the day in a 16-10 win. Houston lost at the gun at Green Bay. The Colts and Texans meet this Sunday for the second time this year, with Houston in position to sweep the season series.

7. NFC South

Last week: 6th

Week 7 in the National Football League began in the Crescent City and the Saints’ issues continued, most notably on defense. The slump continued in a big way as Dennis Allen’s team dropped its fifth consecutive game, this time to the visiting Broncos, 33-10. New Orleans has now dropped five in a row and by a combined score of 151-86. The Saints have allowed a whopping 502 yards on the ground in their last two games to the Buccaneers (277) and Broncos (225). From 2-0 to the hot seat for the team’s head coach?

The Falcons brought a three-game winning streak into their clash with the visiting Seahawks. Atlanta’s defense was a no-show and quarterback Kirk Cousins played Santa Claus in a 34-14 loss. Carolina had no answers for either Jayden Daniels nor Marcus Mariota in a 40-7 loss at Washington. On Monday night at home, the Bucs jumped out to a 10-0 lead, gave up 34 straight points and lost, 41-31. Wideouts Mike Evans and Chirs Godwin went down as well. The NFC South was 0-4 and lost by a combined 148-62 score.

6. AFC North

Last week: 7th

There was the battle of Ohio, a quarterback change in the Steel City, and a showdown between a pair of defending division champions that also happened to be two of the highest-scoring teams in the league. Things began with a bang at Cleveland as second-year Bengals’ wide receiver Charlie Jones returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a score. Cincinnati would win for the second straight week, 21-14, but the Browns lost quarterback Deshaun Watson to a ruptured Achilles. Their six defeats equal their 2023 total.

Both the Steelers and Ravens were ready for prime time and rallied after early deficits. Mike Tomlin gave veteran Russell Wilson the nod vs. the Jets, saw his team fall behind 15-6 and watched the club score the final 31 points in a 37-15 rout. Baltimore was in Tampa on Monday night. The Ravens were down 10-0, after one quarter, but ahead by 10 at the gun as the Ravens rolled up 41 points and 508 total yards. This is a group that collectively is playing better football in recent weeks, hence the move up in the rankings.

5. AFC East

Last week: 5th

Sean McDermott’s Bills entered the weekend as the only team in the division that was above .500. After the Jets’ decisive loss to the Steelers on Sunday night at Pittsburgh, they were the only club of the four to post a victory in Week 7. When the smoke cleared, the reigning AFC East champion Bills boast a 5-2 record, while the Dolphins (2-4), Jets (2-5), and Patriots (1-6) own a dismal 5-15 mark. Three of the four games involving this quartet were of the lopsided variety, hence another step backward for this division.

The Bills hosted the Titans, fell behind 10-0 in the second quarter and bounced back with the final 34 points of the game. Josh Allen threw for 323 yards and two TDs, one of those scores to new Bills’ wideout Amari Cooper. Later that day, the Jets opened up a 15-6 second-quarter lead at Pittsburgh, only to watch Mike Tomlin’s club roll up 31 unanswered points. Sunday began in London and the Patriots’ sixth straight loss, this time to the Jaguars. Finally, Mike McDaniel’s offense made too many mistakes at Indianapolis.

4. NFC West

Last week: 4th

It was a rematch of Super Bowl LVIII, as well as Super Bowl LIV. Kyle Shanahan’s club was looking for a bit of revenge on Sunday at home as they took on the Chiefs, who handed them both of those championship losses. The Seahawks took their three-game losing streak to Atlanta, looking to cool off a Falcons club that had won three in a row. The shorthanded Rams were back in action after a week off and hosted the Silver and Black. Finally, the perplexing Cardinals welcomed the Chargers to the desert on Monday night.

49ers’ quarterback Brock Purdy (3) had one more interception than Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes (2) on Sunday. Hence, the Niners dropped to 3-4 and the injuries are piling up. It’s a team coming off a 12-5 season and a conference title. Sean McVay’s Rams survived the Raiders and are 2-4, one year after finishing 10-7 and grabbing a wild card berth. The Cards dealt the Bolts a 17-15 setback at the gun. Do the math and the Seahawks, a 34-14 winner at Atlanta, are the only team in the division with a winning mark.

3. AFC West

Last week: 2nd

The Broncos got things started in the AFC West Thursday night in the Big Easy as they manhandled the slumping New Orleans Saints. Sean Payton’s team now sits at 4-3 and quarterback Box Nix continues to make strides. He had 75 of the team’s 225 yards on the ground, and Denver’s defense racked up six sacks in a 33-10 win. Meanwhile, the Chiefs were in San Francisco for a Super Bowl rematch, the Raiders were at SoFi Stadium for the second time this season, and the Chargers were in Arizona for a Monday night tilt.

Andy Reid ran his record vs. Kyle Shanahan to 5-0 in a 28-18 win, the team’s 12 straight overall victories dating back to Week 17 of 2023. Antonio Pierce’s team struggled again and has now dropped three straight games by a combined 86-46 score. The Raiders’ offense failed to score a touchdown, Aidan O’Connell left the game (broken thumb), and Gardner Minshew threw three interceptions. As for Jim Harbaugh’s club, their defense was gashed for 181 rushing yards in a rough 17-15 loss in the desert.

2. NFC East

Last week: 3rd

While the Cowboys were off this week and obviously looking for answers to their perplexing 2024 start, Washington continued its unexpected 2024 showing and managed to once again put a slew of points on the board. This time, the Commanders rolled and did it without their star rookie signal-caller out for the majority of the game. Dan Quinn’s club hosted the struggling Panthers, Dante Fowler picked off Andy Dalton early, ran it back 67 yards for a TD, and the 40-7 rout was on. The real question is the status of Commanders’ rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels (rib). Will he be ready to face the Bears on Sunday?

It was a happy return to MetLife Stadium for running back Saquon Barkley, who rolled his former team for 176 yards rushing and a score in Philadelphia’s 28-3 win over the Giants. The Birds’ defense gave up only 119 total yards and racked up eight sacks—seven of those on Daniel Jones. The impressive wins by the Commanders and Eagles, by a combined 68-10 score, elevated this quartet back to the second spot.

1. NFC North

Last week: 1st

It was only the second contest in seven weeks matching NFC North rivals. It was not only huge in the standings but was arguably the most exciting game of the season to date. The Vikings were the line 5-0 team in the NFC, but the Detroit Lions were riding a three-game winning streak and entered Week 7 as the league leaders in points scored per game. The Packers host the division-leading Texans, while Matt Eberflus’s club sat home. It was the third straight week that an NFC North team was on its bye week.

This division featured two of the most entertaining games of the week. Green Bay and Houston both had their share of leads, and Packers’ quarterback Jordan Love overcame two picks with three TD passes in a 24-22 win. Dan Campbell’s club rallied for a 31-29 victory at Minnesota and handed the Purple Gang its first loss of 2024. There are four teams in the NFC that have won five times, and three are in this division. All told, Detroit (4), Green Bay (3), and Chicago (3) are riding winning streaks of three or more games.