Now that Week 8 of the 2026 NFL season is in the books, it’s time for an incredibly meaningful and serious exercise: NFL Power Rankings! What makes these rankings different? everything else they are THE only truly accurate ones in the entire universe. Hard to believe, I know. But it’s true. Let’s see how all 32 teams stack up.
BLG’S WEEK 9 POWER RANKINGS
1 – Chicago Bears (LW: 5) – The Bears going to Seattle and dominating the reigning Super Bowl champions is truly impressive. This team looks like a force to be reckoned with, especially after adding Jeffery Simmons to their defense. Overall strong combination of talent and coaching.
2 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 2) – The 49ers had a solid bye with losses to Seattle (NFC West threat) and Minnesota (No. 1 seed threat). They will host a good Raiders team in Week 9.
3 – Buffalo Bills (Last Week: 3) – The Bills have lost one game this season and it was by three points to a division rival. As their conference’s lone losing team, they have a navigable path to the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture.
4 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 1) – Make it two game losing streak for the Chiefs. This team needs some help before the NFL trade deadline and they will likely make some moves to get it.
5 – Detroit Lions (LW: 7) – The Lions are the only NFC North team yet to lose a game in their very competitive division. They continue to be plagued by injuries but they must not sleep.
6 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: 4) – The Vikings will not remain undeterred by how ineffective their offense is. Their defense will make teams really earn them wins, though.
7 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 9) – The Jags own the NFL’s best point differential at +85. The next closest team is the 49ers at +58. Jacksonville is also second in DVOA. They are a real title contender.
8 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 6) – If the season ends today, which it doesn’t, the Seahawks will be on the outside looking in at the seven teams ahead of them in the NFC playoff picture. This is a good team but they are not an elite team like last year.
9 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 8) – Despite being 12.5-point home favorites, the Bengals needed overtime to defeat the lowly Titans. It’s not a good idea to allow Cam Ward to log the third-best passer rating of his career against your defense.
10 – New England Patriots (LW: 11) – It hasn’t been a great season for the Pats but they are 4-1 in their last five games. Drake Maye threw 14 touchdowns to two interceptions for a 122.2 passer rating that season.
11 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: 12) – The Rams benefit from a softer side of their schedule. It also looks like Myles Garrett could be back soon. They might run.
12 – Denver Broncos (LW: 13) – Unfortunately, Sean Payton is a good coach. The Broncos are tied for the NFL’s best record against the spread this season, a sign that this team is exceeding their expectations.
13 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 15) – The Raiders snapped their four game losing streak with a thrilling win over the Jets. Will be interested to see how they fare in their next three games: at San Francisco, against Seattle, at Denver. That stretch will be a litmus test for how real this team is.
14 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 16) – The Packers have lacked a signature win against a good team this season. They have beaten lesser competition but have yet to come out on top against a big dog. (I’m not counting the Bears game that Tyson Bagent started.)
15 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 20) – Do we need to take the Steelers seriously? They are currently the top team in the AFC North, though Cincy’s ceiling appears to be higher.
16 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 10) – Oof. The Ravens are taking a big fall here after losing both Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley to injury. Undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano could start in Week 9 even though he’s also been banged. It doesn’t look good.
17 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 14) – The Dallas defense is a joke and Brian Schottenheimer is doing a bad job. That said, Dak Prescott deserves more blame than he’s getting. The Cowboys actually pulled away in overtime after the Cardinals got the ball first. Needing only to move into Brandon Aubrey’s long field goal range while playing at home, Prescott managed a drive that netted -5 yards on three plays and resulted in a punt. It’s got to be a moment for the highest paid quarterback in the NFL and he’s too little in one big spot. Rare first time!
NFC East Mixtape Vol. 203: Cowboys embarrassed, Eagles down, Washington back
The NFC East is a very special place in 2026.
Sunday saw the Dallas Cowboys completely humiliated against the Arizona Cardinals and at this point all hope is completely lost for them in the season.
On Sunday night’s slate, the Washington Commanders re-entered the division race with a win over a Philadelphia Eagles team that looked ready to end this whole thing.
Meanwhile, the New York Giants rested and prepared to maintain their spot at the top of the divisional standings.
RJ Ochoa and Brandon Lee Gowton discuss it all in the latest episode of the NFC East Mixtape… with special guest Scott Bair from Hogs Haven! The show is live today at 12 pm ET…
You will see that we have a BRAND NEW NFC East Mixtape YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe because the show will be live here exclusively in video format.
AND you can listen to the show too! On the Blogging The Boys and/or Bleeding Green Nation podcast feed as well as the SB Nation NFL Show feed!
18 – New York Giants (LW: 18) – The G-Men will return from their bye as road betting favorites in Philly for the first time since 2009. New York is also looking to bolster their roster with more talent before the NFL trade deadline. They might just win the NFC East.
19 – Cleveland Browns (LW: 17) – The Browns had a chance to make people take themselves more seriously by beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh. They did not come close to doing so.
20 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 22) – Obligatory mention in the Bucs’ Week 8 win despite not completing a pass. Maybe the Bucs are following the 2024 Eagles script to just run the hell out of the ball. Not a bad strategy if teams can’t stop it!
21 – Carolina Panthers (LW: 19) – Two of the Panthers’ three wins this season have come against depth quarterbacks (Cooper Rush and Tanner McKee). They don’t scare anyone.
22 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: 21) – I continue to maintain that the Falcons are the NFL’s most unpredictable team week in and week out. They followed up an impressive Week 7 with the 49ers by beating a team that didn’t even complete a pass against them.
23 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 27) – Minshew Mania is running wild on you, bro! The Cards are one win away from surpassing their projected 2026 win total (3.5 games) with nine games left to play. Props to Mike LaFleur for helping his team meet expectations.
24 – New Orleans Saints (LW: 23) – The Saints return from their bye to host the Sheuder Sanders-led Browns. We’ll see if Kellen Moore can make a run in the weak NFC South.
25 – Houston Texans (LW: 24) – The Texans return from their bye to play the Bolts in California. If Houston can’t win this game, stick a fork in them.
26 – Washington Commanders (LW: 28) – The Commanders didn’t exactly look amazing with a win over the Eagles but, hey, they bought some time to keep their season alive in a weak division. We’ll see if they can build on this success with the Rams, Giants (huge game in the NFC East), and Bengals next.
27 – Miami Dolphins (LW 29) – After losing their first three games by double digits, the Dolphins’ last four games have been decided by one possession (1-3 in that stretch). Progress?
28 – New York Jets (LW: 30) – The Jets haven’t been great but they’ve played some entertaining games this season.
29 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 25) – The Eagles are pathetic. I have my doubts that Nick Sirianni can survive a failure of this magnitude.
30 – Tennessee Titans (LW: 31) – Taking the Bengals to overtime feels like a moral victory for this group.
31 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 26) – The Colts don’t do much tanking because they don’t own their first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. But they still get higher picks in other rounds.
32 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 32) – Five of the Chargers’ seven losses have come on more than one possession. They have never really been competitive.