Blog

NFL Power Rankings After Week 8

Jonathan McFadden | Nov 3, 2026 | nfl | 5 min read

Eight tiers, 32 teams, halfway through the season. The Bears are on top after the Simmons trade, the Chiefs fell from first to tenth, and the Packers are climbing.

›Blog
›Nfl Power Rankings After Week 8

Eight weeks in, the rankings got rebuilt again, eight tiers this time, and the Bears sit at the top of it now. The Chiefs fell from first to tenth. The full board with all the movement is on the power rankings page.

Seahawks, Bills, and… BEARS OH MY

I can’t put the Bears in a standalone tier, but they deserve to be first among what I consider the elite teams. They’re 6-2, they went into Seattle and won 34-17, and Caleb Williams is third in the league in EPA per dropback after going 24 of 34 for 247 with no picks. And then there’s the Simmons trade. The Bears sent two first-round picks to the Titans for Jeffery Simmons on Thursday, and he had a sack and two more tackles at or behind the line in his first game as a Bear. He’s potentially the best defensive player in football and will now get to fully showcase it. The Bears are third in the NFC by record behind the 49ers and Vikings at 6-1. The Bills are 6-1 after beating the Ravens 36-10.

Seahawks, Bills, and… BEARS OH MY

3 teams

Bears▲8

Bills▲5

Seahawks▼1

Zero Surprise

The Chiefs lost back to back, 20-3 in Seattle and 28-24 in Denver, and fell from first to tenth. The offense actually bounced back in Denver, Mahomes was 30 of 41 for 321 and three touchdowns with 12 snaps in the red zone after none the week before, but the defense gave up 28. They’re 5-2 and the Broncos are 6-2. The 49ers, Broncos, and Lions are all in here as well, and I wouldn’t be shocked if any of them won it in the end. Most wouldn't be my pick but the fact remains.

Zero Surprise

8 teams

49ers▼1

Broncos▲11

Lions▲8

Rams▼3

Jaguars=

Patriots▲3

Chiefs▼9

Bengals▲2

Floored

The Packers went from 25th to 12th and a lot of it is the defense coming together. They’ve allowed 20 points or fewer in five straight games, 14, 7, 13, 20, and 19, and they have 15 takeaways, tied with Tampa for the most in the league. That’s without Micah Parsons, who hasn’t played a snap this year after tearing his ACL late last season and should be back soon. Then there’s Love, because it’s bombs away. His average throw travels 9.2 yards, fourth highest of the 30 qualified quarterbacks, and 17 percent of his throws go 20 yards or more, second only to Malik Willis and well above the league’s 11.3. He threw three touchdowns against the Panthers on Thursday. The Vikings are 6-1 and the Steelers are 6-2.

Floored

3 teams

Packers▲13

Vikings▲2

Steelers▲4

MapQuest

This season is about directions. Where are we going? Do we actually have our QB? Our coach? Is our front office even good? Are we a playoff team or is this fugazi? Are we going to be in the QB market in the offseason or the draft? The Giants are 4-2-1 with a new quarterback, the Bucs went from 30th to 17th, and the Cowboys are 3-5.

MapQuest

7 teams

Giants▲7

Raiders▼11

Buccaneers▲13

Browns▲9

Cowboys▼9

Falcons▼3

Panthers▼10

The Wilderness

The Ravens fell from sixth to 22nd. They’re 4-4, last in the AFC North, and it’s no Lamar for a while. He missed three games, was listed with an ankle, and was out after one play against the Bills. The defense has been suspect, they’ve allowed 23 or more in six of eight games including 35 and 36 the last two weeks, and it ranks 22nd against the pass. Jesse Minter was hired in January to replace John Harbaugh, from the Chargers defensive coordinator job, and it’s his first head coaching job at any level. The defense he was brought in to run ranks 18th in EPA, only three spots better than last year when everyone was torching them. Bad coaching hire? It’s only eight games and Lamar has missed three of them and played one snap in another, so I’m not ready to say that quite yet, but the defense hasn’t helped and that's supposed to be his calling card. The Cardinals, Texans, and Jets are in here too.