The NFL regular season is such a funny time in the pro football calendar. We get 18 weeks of chaos, wacky and zany plays, and general clumsiness from a majority of the league, only to inevitably see the same teams standing at the finish line. None of it matters!
In this case, I’m talking about the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles — last year’s Super Bowl 57 participants.
We are almost halfway through the 2023 campaign, and it’s starting to be apparent most teams should stop trying. Not that they will, mind you, but there’s an evident upper crust, a second class of championship contenders, an uninspiring middle class that might sneak into the postseason by default, and a whole bunch of squads that should already be looking toward draft time in the spring.
The Chiefs and Eagles fit into that first category. They are the NFL’s obvious one percent without all the negative connotations that designation carries in real-life application. They are led by superstar quarterbacks (Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts), coaches who know how to play to their players’ strengths (Andy Reid and Nick Sirianni), and possess depth galore at every vital position.
I honestly think that both teams, after slight retooling in the offseason, are somehow even better than they were last year. It’s wild to even consider.
So, wouldn’t another Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl be fantastic? It’s been a long time since we had two teams this good on opposite ends of the NFL’s spectrum. The storylines themselves might be rote on this occasion (the Kelce saturation could feel old if wholly redone), but the matchup itself would likely amount to another instant classic that goes down to the wire. If we can’t get an entertaining regular season, at the very least, it’s comforting to know we’re on track for a potentially climactic championship event.
The Chiefs and Eagles headline For The Win’s Week 8 NFL power rankings because of course they do. What else would you expect?
32
Carolina Panthers
Last week’s rank: 32
The bye week gives Carolina some extra time to prepare for the Houston Texans and hope they don’t get embarrassed by the quarterback they passed on in order to select Bryce Young No. 1 overall. — Christian D’Andrea
31
Las Vegas Raiders
Last week’s rank: 26
Josh McDaniels is trying to get fired. That’s the only way to describe his playcalling. How does he keep relying on one of the league’s worst defenses to carry him as he settles for late field goals??? — CD
30
Arizona Cardinals
Last week’s rank: 28
The Cardinals have now lost four straight games since their (clearly kinda miraculous?) upset of the Dallas Cowboys. There are few meaningful things to analyze about a roster utterly bereft of talent like this. Arizona desperately needs Kyler Murray back and two upcoming first-round draft picks to hit this April before it can start turning its operation around for the better. Until then, this anonymous and forgettable franchise does not deserve any attention outside of the Phoenix area. — Robert Zeglinski
29
Chicago Bears
Last week’s rank: 30
Tyson Bagent did everything he needed to on Sunday. He got the ball out quickly and let D’Onta Foreman do most of the leg work against a non-threatening Raiders defense. He also had to be subbed out for a Hail Mary because his arm wasn’t strong enough. There is zero quarterback controversy in Chicago. These bumbling Bears are only trying to stay above water until Justin Fields returns from his thumb injury. For now, they’re succeeding. — RZ
28
Denver Broncos
Last week’s rank: 29
Every Broncos win drives them further away from the possibility of drafting Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. No wonder Sean Payton is going full nihilist. He knows that’s his only legitimate path to revitalizing Denver’s fledgling organization. — RZ
27
New York Giants
Last week’s rank: 27
I’m not saying there should be a quarterback controversy between Tyrod Taylor and Daniel Jones, but I’m not NOT saying it. Brian Daboll has eyes, and he also knows the truth. What he has to balance is whether chasing the NFC’s No. 7 seed in a mediocre conference is worth ruining a shot at a new young quarterback. — RZ
26
New England Patriots
Last week’s rank: 31
The Patriots went back to 2021 to boost Mac Jones, littering his game plan with a litany of short throws and obscuring his intentions with lots of pre-snap movement. This proves he’d probably win 10-12 games under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, but it may not mean much for his immediate future in Foxborough. — CD
25
Green Bay Packers
Last week’s rank: 19
Jordan Love looks like a caretaker quarterback, and his inability to make big throws is a crushing change of pace from the last three decades of Packers football. Maybe he’ll get there, but he’s running out of time to prove it in 2023. On the flip side, an inexperienced receiving corps bailed him out in Week 7, giving him the opportunity to let down Green Bay fans with one final, brutal throw. — CD
24
Indianapolis Colts
Last week’s rank:
Yes, certainly, some questionable calls aided in the Colts’ demise in Week 7. But also … don’t put yourself in a position to get beaten by P.J. Walker at home. — CD
23
Tennessee Titans
Last week’s rank: 25
(Stylized in the voice of Homer Simpson choosing between crab juice or Mountain Dew): Malik Willis or Will Levis at starting quarterback?
Gah. Oh, jeez … I’ll take Malik Willis. — RZ
22
Washington Commanders
Last week’s rank: 22
Jonathan Allen has every right to be angry. The Commanders do not have a powerhouse roster by any means, but they are too talented to be one game under .500 almost halfway through the season. It’s still early in the Josh Harris ownership era, but he’s probably gonna have to clean house in the offseason (goodbye, Ron Rivera!) to turn Washington’s fortunes around. — RZ
21
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last week’s rank: 17
The Buccaneers have a Baker Mayfield problem. What was once a nice (and surprising!) start to the season is now punctuated by a quarterback averaging just about six yards per pass attempt in his last three starts. Tampa Bay is probably still good enough to compete for the NFC South. Now it just has to decide whether trading for a quarterback (Kirk Cousins?) is worthwhile for those low ambitions because a stopgap like Mayfield isn’t capable. — RZ
20
New Orleans Saints
Last week’s rank: 16
Derek Carr is sort of aggressively “just a guy.” This is a problem, If he can’t get his offense to even approach the levels a veteran defense has attained early in 2023, this season is just going to be another expensive frustration for Saints fans. — CD
19
Atlanta Falcons
Last week’s rank: 12
Desmond Ridder is wildly inconsistent and probably can’t be a difference-making starting quarterback for a contending professional football team. The good news is that the Falcons aren’t a contending team. They’re just the current favorites for the NFC South. That’s a big difference. — RZ
18
Los Angeles Rams
Last week’s rank: 12
Losing to Pittsburgh at home hurts. But the schedule still charts a path to a plus-.500 season and a playoff berth in the disheveled NFC. That’s pretty good for what looked like a clear rebuilding season for the Rams. — CD
17
Pittsburgh Steelers
Last week’s rank: 20
You never want to give Mike Tomlin too much time to prepare. Sunday marked the seventh straight year in which he’s won coming off a bye week — games started at quarterback by late-stage Ben Roethlisberger, early-stage Kenny Pickett and, gulp, Mason Rudolph. T.J. Watt’s ability to prop up Pittsburgh’s scoring continued in Week 7, this time via an interception that led to the Steelers’ first touchdown of the game. — CD
16
Cleveland Browns
Last week’s rank: 18
At this rate, they should start chiseling Myles Garrett’s name onto a 2023 Defensive Player of the Year trophy. The superstar defensive end almost singlehandedly wrecked the Colts’ game plan, a sight that is becoming all the more common on the league’s best defense. I’m not sure this Cleveland team is capable of winning anything meaningful, but I also wouldn’t bet against Garrett’s capacity to swallow planets whole. — RZ
15
Houston Texans
Last week’s rank: 15
The Texans probably aren’t good enough yet to crash the playoffs. But they’re good enough to ruin the value of next year’s first-round draft pick, which they traded to the Arizona Cardinals in order to draft Will Anderson. That’s a step in the right direction! — CD
14
Minnesota Vikings
Last week’s rank: 23
That’s a big jump, but the Vikings proved they can limit the turnovers that doomed them early in the season and, more importantly, Kirk Cousins is playing like a guy who wants a fully guaranteed nine-figure contract next spring. The generally prolific veteran played composed, quality football to prove the rebuild isn’t on quite yet in the Twin Cities. — CD
13
Los Angeles Chargers
Last week’s rank: 10
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. The Chargers have a prolific quarterback, a guy who can process like the best of them and positively drop dimes all over the field. But the rest of the team is a discombobulated mess with little attention to detail, forcing the said passer to play from behind in clutch situations every single week.
I’m obviously talking about Justin Herbert, but it feels like the Chargers never left the Phillip Rivers era. — RZ
12
New York Jets
Last week’s rank: 14
Such is the state of the NFL that you can have an objectively bad quarterback and still rank amongst the top dozen teams. New York rose slightly thanks to the chaos that consumed other contenders on its bye week. It can stay there if Zach Wilson can merely be a league-average quarterback going forward. — CD
11
Cincinnati Bengals
Last week’s rank: 13
The Bengals are hoping that a bye week of rest for Joe Burrow’s calf will finally let them unleash their deep passing game. If Tee Higgins can come back healthy at the same time, Cincinnati will be one of the league’s more intriguing NFL teams to watch in the second half of the season. The Bengals leaned on white-hot stretch runs in each of the last two years to make consecutive runs to the AFC title game. And they can certainly do it again. — RZ
10
Buffalo Bills
Last week’s rank: 6
Josh Allen played well in Week 7, but he had a handful of notable misses that helped the Patriots escape with a home win. That’s been the case of his 2023 — Pro Bowl quarterbacking that doesn’t meet his All-Pro potential. The bigger concern, however, is a depleted defense that just got bested by Mac Jones. Von Miller, you OK, guy? — CD
9
Seattle Seahawks
Last week’s rank: 9
Seahawks fans have to be happy with the recent returns from their 2023 first-round picks. Devon Witherspoon has put himself in the Defensive Rookie of the Year running by doing a little bit of everything extremely well. Jaxon Smith-Njigba stepped into the starting lineup in place of an injured DK Metcalf in Week 7 and had his most productive day as a pro — four catches, 63 yards and a touchdown. If those two build from there, Seattle’s got a shot at an NFC West title. — CD
8
Dallas Cowboys
Last week’s rank: 8
This will be one of the few instances we reward Mike McCarthy’s Cowboys for doing nothing. This doesn’t seem like a great Cowboys squad, but they’ve only started working Brandin Cooks into the offense and, in the wake of Trevon Diggs’ season-ending injury, they might be actively finding a real CB2 opposite Stephon Gilmore at the upcoming trade deadline. Call it a hunch, but Dallas could have its best football waiting in the coming weeks. — RZ
7
Jacksonville Jaguars
Last week’s rank: 7
We blinked, and the Jaguars won four straight games, including two while staying overseas in London. Trevor Lawrence is arguably playing the best and most controlled football of his career, thanks in large part to Travis Etienne’s uncanny ability to find the smallest running seams. With an underrated defense led by the young Andre Cisco, there’s a lot to like about these Jaguars. They might even be the No. 1 contender for the AFC’s heavyweight belt. — RZ
6
Detroit Lions
Last week’s rank: 3
Get blown out by over 30 points in the first big boy game you’ve played in weeks, and you lose your “Lions” name privileges. That was a thoroughly pathetic “LOINS” effort on the road in Baltimore. Aaron Glenn’s passive defense had no answer for Lamar Jackson, and Jared Goff isn’t remotely built to come back from behind. It’s back to the drawing board for Dan Campbell’s team, and they might just have to scrap everything. — RZ
5
Miami Dolphins
Last week’s rank: 4
It’s a soft landing spot for Miami, even after a 14-point road loss to the Eagles on Sunday night. Part of that is because the Dolphins’ comeback efforts showed a little hope that this team could handle adversity (you know until it didn’t). But mostly because the NFL’s second tier of contenders is filled with teams you sorta, kinda, don’t really trust. — CD
4
San Francisco 49ers
Last week’s rank: 2
Back-to-back losses to the Browns and Vikings are officially troubling, as is Brock Purdy’s sudden mortality. The 49ers’ defense got outshined by Cleveland in Week 6, and their offense got torn up by Kirk Cousins and Jordan Addison in Week 7. The trade deadline looms. Last year that led to Christian McCaffrey’s arrival. With the Eagles already reloading, will San Francisco follow suit? — CD
3
Baltimore Ravens
Last week’s rank: 11
Every now and then, Baltimore likes to remind you that it can turn any given opponent into 2020 Vanderbilt under the right circumstances. Week 7 was an example, as the Ravens outgained Detroit 315-47 over the first four drives of the game and made the last 40 minutes in Maryland garbage time. And the Lions are pretty good, too! — CD
2
Philadelphia Eagles
Last week’s rank: 5
Sunday night was a revealing affair for the Eagles. After weeks of rampant questions about their consistency (or lack thereof), Nick Sirianni’s bunch answered the bell against an upper-crust Dolphins squad. Jalen Hurts and Co. easily played the most complete offensive game of their young season, while coordinator Sean Desai’s defense — led by an unfathomably deep defensive line — set the tone by allowing just one offensive touchdown. These are the intimidating Eagles we remember. Watch out, NFL. — RZ
1
Kansas City Chiefs
Last week’s rank: 1
Don’t look now, but the Chiefs’ runaway train is gaining steam. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are at the top of their games. Rashee Rice is blossoming into a genuine downfield threat. And a young, semi-elite Kansas City defense — with a motivated Chris Jones leading the charge — is proving to be ironclad. In an unstable league lacking color and consistent competency, the Chiefs are a comforting balm. At this stage, they look like they’re destined for their third Super Bowl championship in five seasons. — RZ
