Sportsnaut
Week 8 demonstrated once again why the 2025 NFL season has felt more unpredictable than usual. It also might have been a week that delivering a turning point for several franchises, with victories that could be the spark they need to get back into playoff contention.
Let’s dive into our NFL Week 9 power rankings, evaluating how teams performed in Week 8. For teams on the bye week, we took a look at how they’ve performed so far and what’s next.
The Indianapolis Colts have the best record in the NFL right now, which warrants the top spot in the power rankings entering Week 9. Indianapolis’ résumé—with signature wins over the Chargers and Broncos—paired with the preseason skepticism surrounding this team, explains why some remain cautious about buying in. What Shane Steichen and company keep demonstrating, however, is that they can dominate weaker competition and rise to the level of tougher opponents. Sunday’s win was the latest example of that. Given the Colts’ strengths, they should go into Pittsburgh next week and beat Aaron Rodgers.
Heading into their Monday Night Football matchup, the Kansas City Chiefs offense has averaged 411.8 total yards, 6.06 yards per play, and 31.5 points per game in their last four contests. This is the best this unit has looked since the 2022 season. With Rashee Rice back, every part of the passing game aligns perfectly into the role each player is best suited for, allowing Patrick Mahomes to perform like an all-time great quarterback again. If this level of play can be maintained, the Chiefs will unquestionably be the No. 1 team in the NFL.
Coming out of the Week 8 bye, the Detroit Lions are starting to get healthier defensively. The time off also provides offensive coordinator John Morton and defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard an opportunity to make adjustments, learning from their first seven games as play-callers to better position their units moving forward. At 5-2, fielding one of the best rosters in the NFL, Detroit can quickly demonstrate in the second half of the season that it’s the team to beat in the NFC.
Survival. That’s all Week 8 needed to be about for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The offense has been devastated by injuries and desperately needs some time off. So, while Baker Mayfield’s MVP campaign is taking some big hits, the Buccaneers’ defense is rising to the occasion. Excellent defense is what the Buccaneers didn’t have last season. If they can return from the Week 9 bye with the offensive line in better shape and both Chris Godwin and Bucky Irving returning to the field, that 6-2 record will feel even better.
The Seattle Seahawks have a Super Bowl-caliber defense, especially once Devon Witherspoon and Julian Love return to the secondary. One unit that’s really flying under the radar, though, is Seattle’s offensive line....
