NFL power rankings entering Week 8 of the 2026 season (previous rank in parentheses):
1. San Francisco 49ers (1): Huh, you say? These guys just lost − pyrite! Not so fast. WRs Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel and DE Nick Bosa were among the inactives Sunday and don't even truly illustrate the injury issues here. The Niners were also playing at 1 p.m. on the East Coast on the heels of a Monday night appearance. RB Christian McCaffrey was well shy of 100%, and QB Brock Purdy was well shy of his typical 100.0+ passer rating, picked off twice by the plucky Falcons. If ever there was a time to give a team a mulligan, especially as it heads into a badly needed bye week, this is it.
2. Chicago Bears (4): QB Caleb Williams has been lights out since his return.
But after failing his Week 2 test against the Vikings, he'll try to pass this week's against Seattle's equally formidable D − and on the road this time.
3. Denver Broncos (5): Bo Nix looked like a functional quarterback Sunday in the team's best offensive showing of the season. Next, he gets the opportunity to make up for Week 1's disappearing act in Kansas City.
4. Seattle Seahawks (6): How important is it for them to keep their turnover issues under control? Since the start of last season, Seattle is 15-0 when it has one or fewer giveaways. Otherwise, the Seahawks are 6-6. File that away, Sammy D. And hat tip to NBC's Mike Tomlin for the nugget.
5. Minnesota Vikings (3): Maybe they're the 2000 Ravens and only need to score 17 points a week … which is close to what they're providing. That wouldn't be such a concerning trend if they weren't having so much difficulty handling teams like Miami and Indianapolis.
Not exactly a purple patch offense!
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) October 25, 2026
The Vikings have 10 TDs this season, tied for the 3rd fewest in a 6-0 start in NFL history!
Minnesota has scored 5 TDs in their last 5 games. Only one other team in NFL history has scored 5 or fewer TDs during a 5-game win streak - the Kansas… pic.twitter.com/LyQOuiEsWK
6. Kansas City Chiefs (2): They don't get the benefit of the doubt San Francisco does, and this could be a generous ranking after the first game of Patrick Mahomes' career in which he never took a snap in the red zone. The offense's 213 yards was also a new low under the three-time Super Bowl MVP … granted Mahomes could use better blocking and some help at wideout, especially against a unit like the "Dark Side."
7. Jacksonville Jaguars (7): Might be a good week to showcase Brian Thomas Jr., who's effectively become WR5 here − targeted eight times over the past four games − despite what coach Liam Coen says.
8. New England Patriots (8): Turnovers continue to be their bugaboo, their 14 giveaways the second most in the league and a minus-7 differential also the second worst. Factor in a rash of injuries, and it's fairly remarkable that the Pats are 4-3.
9. Buffalo Bills (9): How good has rookie coach Joe Brady been during this 5-1 start? Buffalo's 32.8 points per game are the second best of the Super Bowl era (since 1966) through an HC's first six career games. If they figure out how to stop anyone, look out.
The Bills 32.8 points per game under Joe Brady mark the second-most in the Super Bowl era through a head coach’s first 6 career games.
— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) October 19, 2026
Only Mike Martz (Rams - 43.7 in 2000) averaged more points. https://t.co/5DPssggUKp
10. Atlanta Falcons (16): Major tip of the hat to rookie LB Kendal Daniels, whose fourth-quarter interception of Purdy sealed Sunday's upset − and a week after Daniels was carted off the same field and hospitalized after taking a blow to the head. "It's been the craziest week of my life," said Daniels who didn't actually suffer a concussion in Week 7. May your good fortune continue, rook.
11. Detroit Lions (11): Maybe a little more MVP love for Jared Goff, the only quarterback to pass for at least 200 yards, a TD and zero picks in each of his team's first six games? Ever.
MVP Candidate
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) October 26, 2026
Jared Goff has thrown more touchdowns (14) than he has taken sacks (12), and his next interception will be his first since January. Averaging 9.3 yards/dropback when operating play action.
Reflex has so often been to credit his play callers over the years. Maybe… https://t.co/CznW7Yos7T
12. Green Bay Packers (17): Given their circumstances, lotta room for upward mobility here − especially if OLB Micah Parsons rejoins RB Josh Jacobs on the field in the near future.
The Green Bay Packers find themselves at 4-3 after their loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday. How exactly did the Packers get here?
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) October 26, 2026
🏈Ranking last in Pass Block Win Rate (31%)
🏈Averaging a league-low 59.9 Rush YPG
🏈Leading the NFL with 18 drops
🏈Missing 7 FG/PAT, tied for… pic.twitter.com/S9Jn0Gi9n7
13. Los Angeles Rams (13): The Rams are who we thought they were − that's why we took the damn field. Now if you want to crown them, then crown their … well for one week anyway.
14. Las Vegas Raiders (12): The Raiders are who we thought they were − that's why we took the damn field. Now if you want to crown them, then crown their … not for the past four weeks actually.
15. Cleveland Browns (14): Say what you want about QB Deshaun Watson − and I generally do − but he's led a game-winning drive in all five of this first-place team's wins. He had one in his first four seasons in Cleveland … combined.
16. Pittsburgh Steelers (18): “Sometimes you’ve got to suck it up and make a play for your guys,” QB Aaron Rodgers said of his 8-yard run for a first down in the final minutes of Sunday's game, a scramble that pretty much buried the Saints. “I think because I am so much less athletic than I used to be, it actually fires up the guys even more.” On that play, the 42-year-old four-time league MVP also outrushed every single New Orleans player Sunday.
RODGE KEEPER‼️ @AaronRodgers12 pic.twitter.com/jg7ooqNPaY
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 25, 2026
17. Cincinnati Bengals (19): Someone's heating up. QB Joe Burrow's eight TD passes over the past two games are more than he had in the first four weeks combined (7). "That's who we have to be," said Burrow of a team that's topped 30 points in both of its most recent outings, something it hadn't done since Week 1.
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (25): Good to see Baker Mayfield back, and the Bucs back to relevance … though they clearly should have had the quarterback's nifty new glove designed by the Milwaukee Brewers.
It was a Team Tampa Bay effort to create Baker's custom protective glove 🧤👀 pic.twitter.com/zkC1QP7Ahr
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 25, 2026
19. Carolina Panthers (10): Anomaly or worrisome reversion? QB Bryce Young threw for 163 yards and turned the ball over three times in Sunday's blowout loss to Baker's Bucs, looking like the player he'd been for most of his first three seasons − after Young had averaged a league-best 309.8 passing yards through his first five starts of 2026 with just two giveaways. So do we believe in Young's history? Or his recent history?
20. New Orleans Saints (21): They could really use RB Travis Etienne Jr. and first-round WR Jordyn Tyson to come back on the other side of their Week 8 bye.
21. Baltimore Ravens (15): Same old Ravens? They've blown a double-digit lead in all three of their losses … though getting outscored by a league-high 70 points after halftime in 2026 is a new twist.
22. New York Giants (22): Did you know that RB Cam Skattebo's 124-yard rushing performance Sunday was the first time he'd topped the century mark since Arizona State almost took out Texas in the 2024 CFP quarterfinals, aka the Peach Bowl?
23. Dallas Cowboys (26): Perhaps the most encouraging component of Monday night's win at Philadelphia was the full reawakening of RB Javonte Williams.
Javonte Williams is in good company. 👟
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) October 27, 2026
He had 155 rushing yards on Monday to join Emmitt Smith (4x), Ezekiel Elliott, and Tony Dorsett as the only Cowboys to rush for 150+ yards against the Eagles. He found the gaps as he had 4.2 yards before contact per rush. pic.twitter.com/emlL0r1Cxg
24. Houston Texans (20): It may be a lost season in H-Town, but not if you're Tank Dell. Welcome back, boss, and props.
Tank Dell gets his first catch in 673 days for a 42-yard gain🥹
— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) October 25, 2026
NYGvsHOU on FOX/FOX One
Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/zwXKQWxxJs
25. Washington Commanders (27): If you like rooting for the good guys, let's hope Dan Quinn's internal bye week audit bears some fruit for the one-win Commanders.
26. Arizona Cardinals (23): Could TE Trey McBride get to 150 receptions this season? He's already the first player in league history to catch at least seven balls in each of his team's first seven games.
27. Miami Dolphins (31): “Thinking of me as a little kid in the parking lot as we (came to the Meadowlands), I was one of the those guys flipping off the buses, and now here I am," said New Jersey native and first-year Fins coach Jeff Hafley after his team upset the Jets to finally break into the win column. Way to also flip off all of those observers who thought your team might become the 0-17 bookend to the 17-0 1972 Dolphins, Coach.
28. New York Jets (24): If Aaron Glenn wants to keep his job, he should probably beat an AFC East team − at least once. Or at least try not getting outscored 107-6 in the final minutes of the first half, as the Jets have been under their second-year HC. “If I were them, I would do two-minute every day of my life until further notice," noted Tomlin (possibly AG's replacement? Just sayin'.)
29. Philadelphia Eagles (28): Welp, at least they control the 2028 NFL Draft. Enough said.
30. Tennessee Titans (29): They haven't won consecutive games in a season since 2022. Enough said.
31. Indianapolis Colts (30): Think there might be a book out on QB Daniel Jones? He was blitzed on 85.2% of his dropbacks on Sunday by Minnesota, most in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016) … and the results spoke for themselves.
The Vikings defense blitzed on 85.2% of Daniel Jones' dropbacks, the highest blitz rate by a defense in a game in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016).
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 25, 2026
Minnesota generated pressure on 60.9% of those blitzes, with all four its sacks coming when blitzing.#INDvsMIN | #Skol
32. Los Angeles Chargers (32): After getting throttled by their bye week, remaining the league's only winless team, the Bolts hit the road to face the Rams at SoFi Stadium, where maybe they'll play better as the visitors. (They're always visitors there? Sorry, never mind.)
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL power rankings Week 8: Who's No. 1 after 49ers, Chiefs lose first games?
