Arizona Sports NFL Power Rankings Week 8: Steelers on top
Oct 27, 2020, 7:28 AM | Updated: 7:29 am
Benny Snell #24 of the Pittsburgh Steelers is congratulated by head coach Mike Tomlin after scoring a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans during the first half at Nissan Stadium on October 25, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
(Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
The Arizona Cardinals notched the league’s signature win in Week 7, but it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers who have risen to the top of the latest edition of Arizona Sports’ NFL Power Rankings.
The Steelers built a 20-point lead over the then-unbeaten Tennessee Titans in Nashville, but had to hang on for dear life to stay undefeated. The Titans reeled off 17 straight and had a chance to send the contest to overtime, but Stephen Gostkowski missed a 45-yard field goal wide right and Pittsburgh left town as the league’s only remaining undefeated team.
The Cardinals and Seahawks played a wild overtime affair Sunday night in Glendale, a game that saw Arizona take their first lead as Zane Gonzalez’s 41-yard field goal split the uprights with seconds left in overtime. The resilient Cards have won three straight and head to their bye week having moved up three spots in this week’s rankings.
The big fallers? The Chicago Bears plunge six spots after their punchless Monday night loss to the Rams and the Las Vegas Raiders, who got smacked by Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, fall seven spots.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-0) ▲1
Steelers played keep away from Titans with over 36 minutes of possession time.
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2. Kansas City Chiefs (6-1) ▲2
Only 286 yards vs. Broncos, but thanks to defense and special teams, still put up 43 points.
3. Baltimore Ravens (5-1) ▲2
Fresh off the bye, they’ll get a chance to blemish Pittsburgh’s record.
4. Green Bay Packers (5-1) ▲2
Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams was too much for the Texans.
5. Seattle Seahawks (5-1) ▼4
With that defense, their margin for error is thin and that was proven against Arizona.
6. Tennessee Titans (5-1) ▼3
Remember when Stephen Gostkowski was automatic? Six missed field goals and two missed extra points so far.
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2) ▲1
Tom Brady had his best game as a Buc in the win against the Raiders (33-45-369 and 4 TDs)
8. Los Angeles Rams (5-2) ▲5
Nice bounce-back win over Chicago after a disappointing loss to San Francisco.
9. Buffalo Bills (5-2) ▲4
Struggled a little too long in slog of a win over the Jets.
10. New Orleans Saints (4-2) —
Entering a tough stretch at Chicago, at Tampa Bay and home vs. San Francisco.
11. Arizona Cardinals (5-2) ▲3
Still not sure how they beat Seattle, all things considered, but they’ll take it.
12. Indianapolis Colts (4-2) ▼1
Get Detroit out of their bye week.
13. Chicago Bears (5-2) ▼6
Not much positive to speak of in their Monday night loss to Rams.
14. San Francisco 49ers (4-3) ▲2
More injuries, but they also handed Bill Belichick his worst Patriots home loss.
15. Cleveland Browns (5-2) —
Baker Mayfield started horribly vs. Cincinnati, ended brilliantly.
16. Las Vegas Raiders (3-3) ▼7
Pretty disappointing follow-up to their impressive win over the Chiefs.
17. Miami Dolphins (3-3) —
Hard not to feel something for Ryan Fitzpatrick, but looking forward to seeing what Tua has.
18. Detroit Lions (3-3) ▲3
Todd Gurley gave Matthew Stafford just enough time to beat the Falcons.
19. Carolina Panthers (3-4) ▼1
Offense has struggled in back-to-back losses to Chicago and New Orleans.
20. Los Angeles Chargers (2-4) ▲2
Justin Herbert, who has played well, finally gets his first win over Jacksonville.
21. New England Patriots (2-4) ▼2
This isn’t just about Cam Newton, Pats are lacking in a lot of areas.
22. Denver Broncos (2-4) ▼1
Drew Lock with no touchdowns and four picks since returning from his injury.
23. Philadelphia Eagles (2-4-1) ▲2
And the Eagles take over first place in the NFC East with a forgettable win over the Giants.
24. Minnesota Vikings (1-5) ▲3
Needing wins, Vikes get a road trip to Lambeau right after the bye.
25. Washington Football Team (2-5) ▲5
Held Dallas to just 142 yards of offense in a 22-point win.
26. Houston Texans (1-6) ▼2
You know things are bad when J.J. Watt is short and snippy with the media.
27. Dallas Cowboys (2-5) ▼4
They’ve been so bad, it’s weird that there are five teams below them.
28. Atlanta Falcons (1-6) ▼2
Gurley blames himself, but the Falcons would have found another way to lose had he not scored.
29. New York Giants (1-6) ▼1
Has a team ever been better well-defined by one play than Daniel Jones’ stumble?
30. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6) ▼1
The losing streak has hit six straight.
31. Cincinnati Bengals (1-5-1) —
Veterans are begging to get out; Carlos Dunlap listed his house on social media.
32. New York Jets (0-7) —
They got Darnold back, but he wasn’t good. Jets had four yards in the second half against the Bills.
