JACKSONVILLE – Here are senior writer John Oehser's Week 8 2016 NFL power rankings. And we all know how important these are:
Rank. Team (Rec) | Last week | Comment
- New England Patriots (6-1) | 2 | When will they clinch home field? Very soon, probably
- Minnesota Vikings (5-1) | 1 | Unbeaten no more
- Dallas Cowboys (5-1) | 4 | Offensive line dominated bye week
- Seattle Seahawks (4-1-1) | 3 | Sunday's tie could feel more like a victory as time goes on
- Denver Broncos (5-2) | 5 | Big victory Monday to keep pace in tough AFC West
- Green Bay Packers (4-2) | 6 | Aaron Rodgers struggling? Guess it's relative
- Kansas City Chiefs (4-2) | 10 | Chiefs have won nine consecutive games at home
- Oakland Raiders (5-2) | 12 | Jags made Raiders defense look a lot better than No. 32 Sunday
- Atlanta Falcons (4-3) | 7 | Elite offense, but will it be enough?
- Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) | 14 | This defense is capable of winning a lot of games this season
- Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) | 8 | Patriots a bigger factor than Big Ben's absence on Sunday
- Buffalo Bills (4-3) | 9 | Patriots are starting to look far, far away
- Arizona Cardinals (3-3-1) | 15 | Sunday's tie could feel more like a loss as time goes on
- Cincinnati Bengals (3-4) | 16 | They're good enough to overcome a really slow start
- Houston Texans (4-3) | 13 | The late miracle versus Indy a week ago will loom large for a while
- Detroit Lions (4-3) | 17| You can't count them out with Stafford playing like this
- Washington Redskins (4-3) | 11 | One late Matt Stafford drive from being one of NFL's hottest teams
- New York Giants (4-3) | 20 | They're quietly right in a very strong NFC East
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3) | 21 | Only a half-game out of first place
- San Diego Chargers (3-4) | 25 | Improving – but must win a lot more to get back in a tough division
- Los Angeles Rams (3-4) | 18 | Case Keenum remains the guy … for how long?
- Miami Dolphins (3-4) | 26 | Digging their way out of an early-season hole
- Indianapolis Colts (3-4) | 29 | Luck now 8-0 versus Tennessee Titans
- Baltimore Ravens (3-4) |19 | Have lost four consecutive games since a Week 3 victory at Jacksonville
- Tennessee Titans (3-4) | 23 | Old friend Mike Mularkey will have Titans ready Thursday
- Jacksonville Jaguars (2-4) | 22 | Streakin' no more
- New York Jets (2-5) | 28 | Welcome back to the lineup, Fitz
- New Orleans Saints (2-4) | 24 | Narrowly missed a huge road victory at KC Sunday
- Carolina Panthers (1-5) | 27 | Can a week off help them get things right? Stay tuned
- San Francisco 49ers (1-6) | 30 | Six-game losing streak is their longest since 2008
- Chicago Bears (1-6) | 31 | First, Cutler … now Hoyer, too?
- Cleveland Browns (0-7) | 32 | Seven and counting
