NFL Computerized Power Ranks: Week 8

I see that Ryan didn't write a full-blown post today, so I'll treat you to 2 consecutive days of computerized power ranks! Yes, unlike last week, while waiting to answer the door for some trick-or-treaters I decided to be ultra diligent and create the ranks for this week while the Monday Night game was still being played.

Speaking of Halloween, who better would it be to post a picture of this week than Andy Dalton, leader of the 5-2 Orange and Black Cincinnati Bengals? No, you don't need to adjust the color on your screen...his hair matches the uniform perfectly. With their 4th win in a row this week, the Bengals have climbed all the way up to #3. So like I asked about the 49ers a few weeks ago, are they are for real? I think its a little less clear cut. 4 of their 5 wins are against awful teams (Browns, Jaguars, Colts, Seahawks) and their 5th win is against another surprise team this year, the Bills. Their 2 losses are to the above mentioned 49ers and the terrible Broncos, so they are hard to predict. Both of their losses were narrow, so they could realistically be 7-0 right now. I think they have some bigger tests coming up soon, especially over the next 3 weeks where they play the Titans on the road followed by the Steelers and then Ravens. If they struggle in those games, I think it will be a rough 2nd half.

As for the other 5 teams, the Packers and 49ers stayed 1-2. The Ravens narrow comeback win over Arizona pushed them back to #4, and the Lions remained at #5. The Patriots fell out of the top 5 after losing to the Steelers.

The bottom 5 remained the same but shuffled. The Rams got their first win to climb up to #29, pushing back the Cardinals and Dolphins. The Broncos and Colts stayed put.

The biggest gainers were the Chiefs, who went from laughing stock to tied for 1st place in the AFC West in 4 short weeks. The biggest losers were the Saints and Cowboys, who had embarrassing losses, the Saints to their opponent, and the Cowboys on the scoreboard. They dropped 7 spots each.

Playoff Projections (I think they are waaaay off this week. No way Bengals get home field or probably even make the playoffs or the Patriots miss the playoffs)
AFC
1st Round Byes: #3 Bengals, #6 Bills
#7 Steelers @ #11 Texans
#4 Ravens @ #14 Chiefs
Top 5 Out: #8 Patriots, #13 Jets, #16 Titans, #17 Chargers, #18 Raiders

NFC
1st Round Byes: #1 Packers, #2 49ers
#9 Bears @ #10 Giants
#5 Lions @ #12 Falcons
Top 5 Out: #15 Saints, #19 Buccaneers, #20 Eagles, #21 Vikings, #23 Cowboys

Full Ranks: