Before Week 8, The Jaguars Were One Of The Top Three Teams In The NFL Power Rankings.
Greetings for Week 8 of the NFL season in 2023. The Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, and San Francisco 49ers each suffered shock losses this past weekend, which upset the top 10 in our weekly Power Rankings.
And as the weeks pass, it’s becoming increasingly obvious how the best half and bottom half of this league differ from one another.
We’ve refreshed the rankings below, and this season, our NFL Nation reporters will concentrate on one young player on each squad.
All players who are 24 years old and younger and haven’t yet made a name for themselves as top players are eligible. After seven weeks of the season, these thirty-two players are improving.
In the 2023 NFL period, it is the end of October, which indicates that the midpoint of the season has officially arrived.
But it’s a somber fact of life. After seven weeks of football, we are now preparing for the halfway point in the season before focusing on the different playoff races.
Speaking of the best teams fighting for a postseason spot, following another exciting week, the top spot in this week’s power rankings has moved once more.
For the first time this season, the Philadelphia Eagles took the top spot, and the San Francisco 49ers, who have dropped two straight games, are starting to slip.
The four lowest-ranked teams in action all won, while four of the best seven teams from the previous week lost. Sincerity be damned, I felt less guilt for the first group then for the latter.
In Philadelphia, the Dolphins were not totally outclassed, and in New England the Minnesota, respectively, the Bills and 49ers got their opportunities. Should I bring the Lions to Baltimore for the crushing defeat? Even with the Ravens’ potential power, that was the only real puzzler.
However, I have to grudgingly celebrate the huge underdogs’ good week, which included a 300th-game win for Bill Belichick and a rout of the Bears led by former Division II standout Tyson Bagent. Also deserving praise are the Broncos or Giants for battling to late victories.
The Best of the Best
1. Buffalo Bills (5-1, last week’s ranking: 1)
The Chiefs’ dominance over the 49ers during Week 7 has garnered a lot of attention and established them as the NFL’s best offense, but it doesn’t diminish the Bills’ top spot on the list as they head back from their bye.
Rightfully so, Josh Allen is the front-runner for MVP, and Buffalo remains the favorite for winning the Super Bowl.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (6-0, last week: 2)
The Eagles’ standing as the best team in the NFC did not alter over the bye week, similar to Buffalo.
At +200, they are the overwhelming favorite to take the conference in betting; according to FanDuel, no other club has odds better than +650.
Even though Jalen Hurts hasn’t played flawlessly lately, the team’s play on both sides pf the ball allows him to play without having to.
3. Kansas City Chiefs (5-2, last week: 3)
The Chiefs led the league in offensively expected points gained (EPA) per drive (1.14) going into their Week 7 game against the 49ers with DeMeco Ryan’s top-ranked defense.
They then increased that number to 1.38 after dominating the Niners by 44 points on the road, further separating themselves from other NFL offenses.
When Mahomes stays clean, his EPA per dropback is 0.59, which is 0.20 points higher than that of any other NFL quarterback.