With week eight of the NFL season in the books, here are the InscriberMag’s NFL Power Rankings.
1.) Denver Broncos (6-1, – ): After a 35-21 dismantling of the visiting San Diego Chargers, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos head east to Foxboro to face long-time rival, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
2.) Arizona Cardinals (6-1, 3): The best 6-1 team no one is talking about, the Arizona Cardinals could very well be the best team in the NFC.
3.) New England Patriots (6-2, 9): Four straight wins after an embarrassing loss in the heartland with the rival Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos coming to town. Yeah, Tom Brady is ready to rock!
4.) Dallas Cowboys (6-2, 2): A tough loss to the sub-500. Redskins is one thing, putting your previously injured QB back in the game(Romo) when the backup (Weeden) was playing well will lead to much second-guessing in Big. Oh! and the NFC West-leading Cardinals are coming to Jerryworld too.
5.) Detroit Lions (6-2, 10): Coming back from 21 points across the pond says something. The Lions are legit.
6.) Indianapolis Colts (5-3, 4): To say that the Colts took it on the chin is an understatement. Pity them for running into the black-and-gold buzzsaw named Ben Roethlisberger.
7.) Green Bay Packers (5-3, 3): Tough road loss for A-Rod and Acme Co. down in New Orleans, but the Packers have the kind of offense to rebound quickly.
8.) Philadelphia Eagles (5-2, 5): A tough last-minute loss to the Cardinals may have exposed the Eagles Achilles heel—lack of a consistent running game.
9.) San Diego Chargers (5-3, 8): With ten days to recover from their 14-point loss to the Denver broncos at Mile High, San Diego travels to South Beach to face the resurgent Miami Dolphins.
10.) San Francisco 49ers (4-3, 11): Fresh off a much-needed bye week, the Niners look to reestablish themselves against the always-tough Los Angeles-bound(joking!) St Louis Rams.
11.) Seattle Seahawks (4-3, 12): Despite a narrow road win over the Panthers, Seattle moves up slightly, but in terms of the “eye test” they to being in denial of reading their own press clippings and in a post-Super Bowl stupor. With no Harvin and an unhappy Lynch, can Wilson carry the offensive load by himself?
12.) Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3, 14): The Steelers have the most underrated elite quarterback in Big Ben, the best wide receiver in the NFL in Antonio Brown, and seem to finally be going back to their roots in blitzing and playing tough. Watch out!
13.) Baltimore Ravens (5-3, 6): Rough way to loss a much-needed divisional game on the road in Cincinnati, Ravens have little time to lick their wounds, as they renew their hard-hitting rivalry with the arch-rival Steelers #iceup
14.) Buffalo Bills (5-3, 16): 2-1 with Kyle Orton as starter, the Bills are quietly sneaking their way into playoff contention, thanks to the journeyman veteran and an underrated and relentless pass rush.
15.) Kansas City Chiefs (4-3, — ): The OTHER Kansas City sports team not named the Royals, has back-to-back impressive wins over San Diego and St.Louis, the Chiefs have the hapless Jets making a trek out to the heartland.
16.) Cincinnati Bengals (4-2-1, 13): A narrow win over the Ravens—thanks to a fortuitous offensive pass interference call on Steve Smith—drops the Bengals in the #INSCMagazine rankings, as the Bengals are a “false nine”—a team that looks good on paper, but plays differently on the field and folds against top-end ones. Case in point, a 26-point blowout vs. New England and a 27-0 Indianapolis shutout loss. Other than sweeping Baltimore, who has Cincy beaten to justify a higher ranking? #whodey
17.) Miami Dolphins (4-3, – ): A 14-point win over the one-win Jaguars is not enough to move the Dolphins up. Beat San Diego, then we’ll talk!
18.) Cleveland Browns (4-3, – ): Hard to move the Browns up after struggling to beat a winless team at home in the Oakland Raiders, but a win is a win. Brian Hoyer needs a lights-out performance against the Bucs or brace for calls of “Johnny Cleveland!”
19.) New Orleans Saints (3-4, 24): A strong win over Aaron Rodgers and the visiting Packers, gives New Orleans a bit of hope as they head to Charlotte to face a reeling Panthers squad and the visiting Niners at home, the week after.
20.) Houston Texans (4-4, 22): J.J. Watt putting rookie Zach Mettenberger in his place with his “selfie” sack celebration was what the Texans needed in getting back in the “W” column. A win over the visiting Eagles would put Houston back on course.
21.) New York Giants (3-4, 20): With a full bye week to prepare for Andrew Luck and the visiting Colts, the Giants have a chance to get back on track.
22.) Minnesota Vikings (3-5, 27): It maybe early to tell, but the Vikings may have landed a gem at linebacker in Anthony Barr.
23.) Carolina Panthers (3-4-1, 21): Another home loss to the visiting Seattle Seahawks, 13-9. Maybe they should play them out in the Northwest? On the bright side, Kelvin Benjamin looks like a legit OROTY candidate.
24.) Washington Redskins (3-5, 28): As far as Skins fans are concerned, RGIII can take as long as he needs to come back, with Colt McCoy running the show.
25.) Chicago Bears (3-5, 19): A 28-point blowout road loss to New England, 51-23, now a trip to Green Bay to face nemesis, Aaron Rodgers. Going to be a rough two weeks to be a Bears fan.
26.) Atlanta Falcons (2-6, 25): London calling? After blowing a 21-point lead at Wembley, a bye week may be just what Matt Ryan and Mike Smith need.
27.) St. Louis Rams (2-5, 23): Getting dropped in the all-Missouri matchup, 34-7 to the Chiefs, St Louis must now travel to Silicon Valley to face the Niners.
28.) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7, – ): Despite losing 27-13 to the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville has a promising offensive tandem of Blake Bortles, Denard and Allan Robinson
29.) Tampa Buccaneers (1-6, – ): A tough loss to the Minnesota Vikings in overtime, Tampa must now travel to cold and rainy Cleveland in hopes of stealing a road game from the up-and-coming Browns.
30.) Tennessee Titans (2-6, – ): A bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for rookie quarterback, Zach Mettenberger to work more on reading the Titans playbook instead of taking selfies.
31.) New York Jets (1-7, – ): If I’m a Jets fan, J-E-T-S should mean, Just End The Season at this point.
32.) Oakland Raiders (0-7, – ): Gritty effort in the Dawg Pound, Derek Carr looks to be the real deal and future franchise cornerstone to build around in Raider Nation.
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