2014 NFL Power Rankings Week 8

This is it. The halfway point of the season. By now most teams have shown their true identities. Or have they? There is some chaos amongst the top teams from last week causing a shakeup near the top. One again the old adage of "any given Sunday" rings true.

1. Denver Broncos (6-1) ~ Peyton Manning and company are unstoppable in the thin air of Mile High. That said, five of their first seven games have been at home leaving a lot of time on the road for the second half starting with a visit to Foxborough to face his old friend Tom Brady. Should be a good one. (Last Week's Ranking 1)

2. Arizona Cardinals (6-1) ~ Halfway through the season the Arizona Cardinals have the best record in the NFC. Say that out loud so you can hear it. (LWR 6)

3. New England Patriots (5-2) ~ Since their drubbing in Kansas City the Pats have turned their season around behind the arm of Tom Brady who has thrown 14 touchdowns against zero interceptions. The Golden Boy is back. Or maybe he never left. (LWR 9)

4. Detroit Lions (6-2) ~ A delay of game penalty gave the Lions beleaguered kicking game another shot and Matt Prater didn't miss. Detroit erased a 21-point deficit and should get Calvin Johnson back after the bye. (LWR )

5. Dallas Cowboys (6-2) ~ How bout dem Cowboys!?! Well, they lost Tony Romo for a while and then lost to Washington effectively knocking me out of my last man standing pool and giving this Eagles fan yet another avenue from which to hate Dallas. (LWR 2)

6. Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) ~ On the road with a three-point lead the Eagles had the Cards facing 3rd down and five on their own 25-yard-line with less than two minutes to play. They then gave up a 75-yard touchdown pass which wasn't even the longest scoring play (80-yarder) they gave up Sunday. At least they are done with their road NFC West games. (LWR 3)

7. Indianapolis Colts (5-3) ~ A week ago the Colts shut out a good Bengals team. This week they allow 51 points to a struggling Steelers team. Sometimes things just don't make sense. (LWR 4)

8. San Diego Chargers (5-3) ~ Keenan Allen loves playing in Denver. He has now scored five times in his last three trips to his divisional rivals home. (LWR 5)

9. Green Bay Packers (5-3) ~ Aaron Rodgers threw for over 400 yards but it wasn't enough to beat the Saints in New Orleans. But let's face it. Nobody beats the Saints in New Orleans. (LWR 7)

10. Seattle Seahawks (4-3) ~ For the third straight year Russell Wilson has led the Hawks to a comeback victory in Carolina. Doesn't that make this a trend? (LWR 10)

11. Kansas City Chiefs (4-3) ~ A 34-7 whupping of the Rams didn't make much of a game for the battle of Missouri. Either way the Chiefs are right back in the middle of things in the tough AFC West. (LWR 12)

12. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2-1) ~ A.J. Green is expected back this week when the Jaguars come to town. Expect A.J. and Andy Dalton to feast on that secondary. (LWR 14)

13. Baltimore Ravens (5-3) ~ Maybe I dropped them a bit far but after losing to the Bengals for the second time this season I couldn't rank them above Cincy. No way. No how. (LWR 8)

14. San Francisco 49ers (4-3) ~ The Niners had to be bummed after watching division rivals Seattle and Arizona pull out late comeback wins on Sunday. (LWR 13)

15. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3) ~ Just your standard 500+ yard passing day with six touchdowns for Ben Roethlisberger as the Steelers put up 51 on the Colts. Move along. Nothing to see here. (LWR 15)

16. Buffalo Bills (5-3) ~ Buffalo forced six, count 'em, SIX turnovers in a rout of the Jets. Oh and the offense didn't look too bad either with Kyle Orton tossing four touchdown passes. Maybe the quarterback switch was a bigger deal than I thought. (LWR 16)

17. Miami Dolphins (4-3) ~ It may not have been pretty but a win is a win and the Dolphins have a winning record at the halfway point. I'm sure most Miami fans will take that. (LWR 17)

18. New Orleans Saints (3-4) ~ Water is wet. The sky is blue. Justin Beiber is annoying. The Saints win at home. These are all facts of life. (LWR 20)

19. Cleveland Browns (4-3) ~ Cleveland got back in the win column which seems to be the thing to do for teams in the AFC North. Every team is over .500. (LWR 21)

20. Houston Texans (4-4) ~ JJ Watt celebrated a sack by taking a selfie with rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger. Is there anything Watt doesn't do well? (LWR 23)

21. Carolina Panthers (3-4-1) ~ As good as the AFC North is that is how bad the NFC South is. Every team is below .500. (LWR 18)

22. New York Giants (3-4) ~ Middle linebacker Jon Beason, the leader of the Giants' defense, will miss the rest of the season. That's not a good sign as the high-powered Colts offense is set to come to town. (LWR 22)

23. Chicago Bears (3-5) ~ Lamarr Houston became the second defensive player to knock himself out for the season due to an injury while celebrating. What makes this worse is that it came during a blowout loss against New England's backup quarterback. (LWR 19)

24. Washington Redskins (3-5) ~ Colt McCoy returned to Texas, where he starred in college, and pulled off the biggest upset of the week as the Skins ended Dallas' six-game winning streak. (LWR 25)

25. Minnesota Vikings (3-5) ~ They may have lost the coin toss in overtime but it didn't matter. The Vikings defense returned a fumble for the winning score on the first snap of overtime in Tampa Bay. (LWR 28)

26. St. Louis Rams (2-5) ~ Offensive tackle Jake Long and wide receiver Brian Quick both suffered season-ending injuries Sunday in a blowout loss to Kansas City. It's the second year in a row Long has torn his ACL. (LWR 24)

27. Atlanta Falcons (2-6) ~ When I woke up Sunday morning the Falcons had a 21-0 lead over the Lions at halftime. Then the Lions roared back. That had to be a long flight home from London. (LWR 26)

28. Tennessee Titans (2-6) ~ If it's Zach Mettenberger time in Tennessee I....um, don't really know what to say. Seriously. Someone help me out here. (LWR 27)

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-6) ~ Have we seen the end of the Doug Martin era in Tampa? (LWR 29)

30. New York Jets (1-7) ~ Well, it's officially Michael Vick time in New York. On tap is a visit to Arrowhead to face his old coach Andy Reid. (LWR 30)

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7) ~ Two starts and two 100-yard rushing games for Denard Robinson. The Jags may be on to something here. (LWR 31)

32. Oakland Raiders (0-7) ~ Week 13 at St. Louis looks like their best shot to avoid a winless season. (LWR 32)