Week 8 NFL power rankings: How low do Tom Brady's Buccaneers and Aaron Rodgers' Packers go?

NFL power rankings entering Week 8 of 2022 season (previous rank in parentheses):

1. Bills (1): QB Josh Allen is on pace for a single-season record 5,610 passing yards but resumes that quest Sunday night against a Green Bay defense that has been the league's stingiest from that aspect – and hasn't surrendered even 270 yards through the air in a game this season.

2. Eagles (2): The NFL's last unbeaten team isn't currently scheduled to face an opponent with a winning record before Dec. 4, when the Titans come to Philadelphia. Good thing champagne doesn't spoil for those still-reveling '72 Dolphins.

3. Chiefs (3): How's the Tyreek Hill replacement committee going? Sunday was the first time QB Patrick Mahomes has ever had a pair of 100-yard receivers (JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling) when neither was Hill or TE Travis Kelce.

4. Cowboys (4): As Michael Irvin told me, QB Dak Prescott's return "worked out perfectly" – Dallas facing two patsies at home (Detroit, Chicago) before a bye but after a loss, a period that allows Prescott to settle in and literally get a feel for throwing the rock again.

5. Vikings (5): QB Kirk Cousins' 88.7 passer rating is his lowest since becoming a full-time NFL starter. But if he and Minnesota can pick up the offensive efficiency, this team could actually challenge for the NFC's top playoff seed.

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6. Giants (6): A little smoke and mirrors? The number of teams that have ever started 6-1 with all their games decided by one score ... well, it's just this one.

7. Ravens (7): Nice to see them hold a lead Sunday, but QB Lamar Jackson's late-game effectiveness must improve. His fourth-quarter passer rating in 2022 is 56.8, and he has five turnovers in the final period.

8. Bengals (8): QB Joe Burrow has blown past 400 passing yards in three of his last five regular-season games at home. But beware, the sacks he endures are also creeping up again, Joey B. going down eight times the past three weeks and a league-most 24 this season.

9. Dolphins (10): Getting QB Tua Tagovailoa back Sunday night and shepherding him through the game incident free was encouraging. Nearly as important? Miami eclipsing 100 yards on the ground for just the second time this season while taking the ball away three times. The Fins appear to be getting strong just as the schedule weakens, Pittsburgh kicking off a stretch of six consecutive sub-.500 opponents.

10. 49ers (9): Their Super Bowl 54 rematch loss to Kansas City got out of hand late. But a revitalized defense and fully integrated RB Christian McCaffrey should be enough to fuel a rise to the top of the NFC West.

11. Titans (18): Their four-game winning streak coincides with a collective collapse by the rest of the AFC South – which Tennessee now seems poised to capture for a third consecutive season.

12. Seahawks (19): Look who's atop their division. And a major reason is RB Kenneth Walker III (353 rushing yards, 4 TDs in last 3 games), who might now have the inside track to Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

13. Jets (12): The trade for RB James Robinson is a decent offset for the loss of rookie Breece Hall (torn ACL). However the bigger, if underappreciated blow, here could be the season-ending triceps injury to OL Alijah Vera-Tucker. A run-dependent offense suddenly looks dangerously hamstrung.

14. Rams (16): The bye came at the right time for a battered team, one that expects WR Van Jefferson, DB Troy Hill and C Brian Allen back very soon.

15. Chargers (13): The bye comes a week too late for LA's other team, the Bolts likely losing WR Mike Williams (ankle) for weeks and CB J.C. Jackson (knee) for the rest of the season.

16. Packers (14): QB Aaron Rodgers is already being asked if this team can run the table, as it did over the final six weeks of the 2016 regular season. They'll have to if coach Matt LaFleur is to notch 13 wins for the fourth consecutive year.

17. Buccaneers (15): It's getting ugly for QB Tom Brady, who was held to three points or fewer for the third time in his three seasons with Tampa Bay. That only happened to TB12 twice in New England.

18. Patriots (11): A team that appeared primed for one of its patented mid-season runs was instead exposed – by Chicago of all teams – as one with defensive issues and a festering quarterback problem.

19. Cardinals (22): They can't count on getting two defensive TDs per week, that happening in Week 7 for the first time in seven years. But being able to rely on WR DeAndre Hopkins, to catch balls and center QB Kyler Murray, should count for a lot.

20. Raiders (26): Sure appears they miscalculated by not picking up RB Josh Jacobs' fifth-year option during the offseason. His 3,720 career rushing yards are the most ever by a Raider in his first 50 games (surpassing Hall of Famer Marcus Allen). Jacobs' 633 yards in 2022 are third best in the league, with 441 (and 6 TDs) coming in the past three games.

21. Saints (21): Here's a nifty nugget, per ESPN: TE/QB/FB Taysom Hill is the first player since Hall of Famer Walter Payton with at least eight career TDs rushing, receiving and passing. Of course, be nice if New Orleans' quotient of walking wounded decreased in order to reduce its reliance on Hill.

22. Falcons (17): Plucky as they are, Sunday was a reminder Atlanta is ill equipped to come back from double-digit deficits given its limitations passing the ball. In a season-worst 18-point loss, top targets Kyle Pitts and Drake London each finished with 9 receiving yards.

23. Commanders (29): You'd love to give some credit to a team that's strung together a pair of wins. It's just so hard when the primary plot is the viability of disgraced Washington owner Dan Snyder at a time when his wife is still tossing around the "R" word.

24. Jaguars (23): All five of their losses have come by a margin between six and eight points, i.e. a touchdown. Maybe the rise of newly anointed starting RB Travis Etienne – he's averaged 113.7 yards from scrimmage the past three weeks – will help Jacksonville turn the corner.

25. Browns (24): A four-game losing streak, lowlighted by nine turnovers, may very well prove fatal to their season – especially with Cincinnati, Miami, Buffalo and Tampa Bay on the docket before QB Deshaun Watson is eligible to return.

26. Steelers (25): Rookie QB Kenny Pickett's 5.5% interception rate is the league's worst among qualified passers, more than three times higher than Mitch Trubisky's (1.6%).

27. Bears (30): You can see what they're becoming – a team that runs the ball (480 yards the past two weeks) and plays defense (26 points allowed) – a formula that looked far more legit against New England on Monday than the Week 6 loss to Washington.

28. Colts (20): Bold move to make the switch from veteran QB Matt Ryan to preseason star Sam Ehlinger. Still, the owner matchup between Jim Irsay and Snyder is the juiciest subplot of Week 8's showdown with the Commanders.

29. Panthers (32): Nice to see interim boss Steve Wilks get to savor his fourth career win given what a raw deal he got from Arizona following his one-year hitch in 2018.

30. Broncos (28): With the trade deadline approaching, some interesting personnel decisions lie ahead – perhaps especially on offense – for what is currently the league's lowest-scoring team.

31. Lions (27): RB Jamaal Williams' first career lost fumble came at a rather inopportune time – first-and-goal from the 1-yard line – in Sunday's loss at Dallas. But it kept alive a new streak: Detroit, which scored at least one TD in this season's first 11 quarters, hasn't found the end zone in the last eight.

32. Texans (31): Little chance the league's worst rushing defense (164.7 yards allowed per game) will improve with Tennessee, Philadelphia and the Giants up next.

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Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL power rankings Week 8 2022: Packers, Buccaneers keep sinking