Ryan Kings NFL Power Rankings! (Weeks 5-8)

We are officially half way through the 2025 NFL season (ALREADY?) and its time to reveal my half way mark power rankings of all 32 teams. We seen some teams get it together in weeks 5-8, as well as seen some teams continue to sink the ship as we progressed. Injuries have also been a big factor so far in this season with multiple teams missing major contributors to the offense and defense, including Lamar Jackson missing time for the Ravens. Brock Purdy, Nick Bosa, and Fred Warner missing time for the 49ers, and many more.

A couple notes I wanna mention entering this set of Power Rankings. This is not based on who is the best team on a week to week basis. This is based on who I think are the teams more than likely able to head to the Super Bowl in Santa Clara. You will see the rankings chopped up into parts, including the “Super Bowl Contenders”, “Playoff Bound”, “Questions to Answer”, and the “Bottom Dwellers.” Some teams may be ranked a little higher than some, but again, it comes back to the point of, where these teams are right now, and the chances of them making a run come January. And we are going to start it off right away with some controversy so lets get into it.

Ryan King’s Week 5-8 NFL Power Rankings!

-Super Bowl Contenders-

1. Philadelphia Eagles 6-2 (-)

• “They lost to the Giants!” “They choked against the Broncos!” You’re not wrong. But are teams not allowed to have an off day? That’s exactly what we seen from the Eagles when they took their two straight losses in Weeks 5-6, but since then, the Eagles are right back into their juggernaut ways whether its with Jalen Hurts’ arm, or Saquon Barkley’s legs. Many were wondering where Barkley’s explosiveness was this season, and Barkley answered that question in Week 8 against the Giants where he exploded for 150 yards and a touchdown. Much like I said about the Chiefs the last two years. Until this team is buried in the dirt 6 feet under or gives me a reason to think otherwise, Philly remains the top team in the NFL.

2. Kansas City Chiefs 5-3

• Well, well, well. Look who was right about the Chiefs returning to playoff relevance once Patrick Mahomes had his top 2 targets back and healthy? I said in the previous rankings how when Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice returned to the team that Patrick Mahomes and Chiefs offense would be fine, and that they have been. KC took a bad loss to the Jaguars on a Monday night, and since then they Chiefs have popped off 3 wins in a row including a big win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday night football, while also scoring almost 30 points in every game since Rice has returned. Similar to Philly, and back to the note at the beginning of the article. IF you had to bet your life on a team representing the AFC in the Super Bowl, is it not the Chiefs? Similar to Philly, until this team is 6 feet under,  I refuse to count them out, and drop them low into the rankings.

3. Detroit Lions 5-2

• Detroit is HUMMING since the last rankings. We were worried about the coordinators at the start of the season, but since, the Lions have been dominant. Injuries are what’s holding the Lions back again, as the Lions played a Monday night game against Tampa Bay that forced the team to turn to undrafted and inexperienced defensive backs that actually made the night long for Baker Mayfield. Detroit is handling the injuries, and Jared Goff and the Detroit offense haven’t missed a step. If Detroit can stay just a LITTLE healthy, look for them to be a problem for any opposing teams meeting up with them in the coming weeks.

4. Los Angeles Rams 5-2

• Matthew Stafford is still playing and is still healthy. That has been my thing about the Rams all season long, and with the addition of Davante Adams, the Rams are looking like the team that won the Super Bowl a couple years ago. The team has a good run game, a good pass game, and a young and hungry defense, all the things needed to be a contender for the Super Bowl. As long as Stafford stays healthy, the Rams are going to be in this conversation all season long.

5. Buffalo Bills 5-2

• Buffalo had a couple of losses in a row, one to the rising New England Patriots, and one to the Atlanta Falcons who I still cant decide if they wanna be good or not. As long as Josh Allen is behind center, while also being backed by a very productive run game, and defense, Buffalo should be able to stay in this category for the foreseeable future.

-Playoff Bound-

6. Indianapolis Colts 7-1

• Alright, I’ll admit it, I was wrong about Daniel Jones, or was I? Maybe Daniel Jones wasn’t as bad as we thought and he was just in the wrong situation with the Giants throughout those years. The Colts on a weekly basis have been the best team in the NFL, they are the only team left in the AFC with only one loss, and their offense and defense has played lights out so far this season. Indy IS benefiting from playing a 4th place schedule with easy wins over teams like Tennessee, Arizona, and Las Vegas, but a win is a win in the NFL is it not? Indy is winning the games they are supposed to and are looking like a playoff contender 8 weeks in. However, am I ready to place them in the Super Bowl Contenders? No. The one loss on their schedule is to the Rams, so to me it feels like when Indy plays a annual playoff team, the losses might come. But when you look at the rest of the schedule for the Colts, a matchup with the Chiefs in the coming weeks will be a good test to see if the Colts are real or not. Regardless, this team looks really good and has earned its spot in these rankings.

7. Green Bay Packers 5-1-1

• I know my readers weren’t expecting this. Green Bay at the moment holds the #1 seed in the NFC, and only has one loss… and a tie…. so why are they not even in the Top 5? I’ll TELL YOU WHY. Green Bay has shown multiple examples of inconsistency this season including close wins over the Bengals, Cardinals, and I’m still not over the performance against the Browns. I worry that when Green Bay hits the road, they do not play up to the billing everyone sets for them. At home, Green Bay is going to be tough to stop, but if we continue on this path of playing down to an opponent at home and on the road, eventually the luck will run out, and those are going to add up to losses. The Green Bay defense made Jacoby Brissett look like a Hall of Famer, and Joe Flacco nearly led the comeback in his first start with the team. Green Bay needs to learn how to close out teams, and win games other than by the skin of their teeth, until that happens I cant trust them enough to put them in the Super Bowl Contenders, no matter how good Jordan Love is playing.

8.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6-2

• After our last power rankings in weeks 1-4, I was honestly thinking about putting Tampa Bay in the Top 5 of these rankings, but injuries continue to mess with the Tampa Bay season. Mike Evans is out for the season, and MVP Candidate Baker Mayfield is missing some of his top targets to throw to, and we seen the effect that had in the following weeks. Tampa Bay should still be considered a contender, with the only losses on the schedule to Philly and Detroit, but as I said in the last set of rankings, will the Bucs be healthy enough for Baker to lead them on a deep playoff run?

9. Denver Broncos 6-2

• Denver started off a little slow on the 2025 season, but since the last set of rankings, has been producing at a high level including giving the Super Bowl Champion Eagles their first loss IN Philly. Denver also showed they can make a comeback scoring 33 points in the 4th quarter against the Giants to steal a win. The Denver defense is legit, and can win games if the Bronco offense isn’t playing up to par. If Nix can continue to play at this high level, and the defense keeps it up like they have been with Pass Rushers Nick Bonito and Jonathan Cooper, Denver can easily rise in these rankings, but of course, one thing all Denver and AFC West fans have on their mind, is… can they beat the Chiefs? We will see if they pass that test in the next set of rankings.

10. New England Patriots 6-2

• Similar to Indianapolis, this is one of the biggest surprises so far in the 2025 season. Mike Vrabel has turned this team around already, and are playing like Super Bowl Contenders through 8 weeks. Drake Maye with the play calling of Josh McDaniels has turned into Tom Brady Jr. it seems like, and is playing like one of the top quarterbacks in the league. The turning of the tide happened on a Sunday night when the Patriots went in to Buffalo and beat the Bills, once that win was secured, it was like a whole new aura came over the Patriots. They have a coach, a quarterback, and a defense… is the big bad empire building up again? NFL Fans… are we ready for this?

11. Seattle Seahawks 5-2

• Another team I am very impressed with considering how we felt about them in the preseason. Sam Darnold has yet again established himself as “The” Guy in his new home, and the offense is humming at a high level. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has also established himself as a top receiver in the league, which is showing as the Seahawks are in contention for an NFC West title. The defense for Seattle is also playing lights out, and complimenting the offense wonderfully. One thing to note with the Seahawks too, is unlike previous years with Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson where Seattle was a feared team playing in front of their fans, under Mike McDonald and Sam Darnold, the Seahawks have become a dangerous road team. This could play a big factor if the Seahawks cannot get over the LA Rams or San Francisco in the NFC West standings. Seattle is NOT a team I would want coming to my home venue when it comes playoff time.

12. Los Angeles Chargers 5-3

• Injuries always seem to bite one team especially hard every year, and that’s a perfect way to describe the Chargers. At full strength, we thought LA was going to be able to knock the Chiefs off their AFC west title streak, but following the last couple weeks. The Chargers are needing to fill gaps. The offensive line is tattered, and the team is missing its top 2 running backs from when they entered the season. Luckily for the Chargers, having a franchise quarterback who can cover up some of these blemishes can help the situation. Can Justin Herbert will this injured, battered and bruised Chargers team to the playoffs? Will there be any Chargers left on the team to meet Herbert in the playoffs?

13. Pittsburgh Steelers 4-3

• Pittsburgh gives me the same kind of vibe when you read about the Atlanta Falcons below. Do they wanna be good and be the division leader and go to the playoffs? Or will they sputter out? Aaron Rodgers has taken over the offense for the Steelers, which has been doing fine. But the question mark on the Steelers, is oddly… their defense. A unit full of names, past and present has not been able to gel consistently, despite the unit totaling the most money spent on a defense in the NFL. Does the Steelers offense need to carry the defense for the team? At least for Steelers fans, that’s something Aaron Rodgers is accustomed to.

14. Jacksonville Jaguars 4-3

• Jacksonville started off hot, but they were beating teams they should, including a good win over the Chiefs at home. But as the season has progressed we have seen the Jaguars take an up and down approach. Trevor Lawrence is still dealing with turnover issues, and the team has yet to get one of their top targets going in Brian Thomas Jr. The Jags are placed pretty well according to their current total offenses and defenses rankings which is right near the middle. This will be a pivotal set of games coming up for the Jags as they need to keep pace with the Colts in their Division, and keeping pace with the rest of the AFC Wild Card teams who a vying for a spot too.

-Questions to Answer-

15. San Francisco 49ers 5-3

• Despite my hate for this team, I wanted to put them higher in the rankings, but if you thought your team has injury problems, think again. The Niners are dealing with the loss of Nick Bosa, and Fred Warner for the season as well as the uncertainty of Brock Purdy making his way back in to the starting lineup. Mac Jones has kept the ship afloat, but we are starting to see those injuries play a factor in the teams success from week to week. After the loss of Warner and Bosa, the defense is missing its UMPH, allowing 26 points to the Houston Texans who I often wondered if their offense knew the season started. Will the Niners be able to avoid any more injuries and keep it competitive in the NFC West?

16. Dallas Cowboys 3-4-1

• Leave it to Dallas to put out a Top 5 offense every week, with a bottom 5 defense too. And this is an issue that will show its ugly face all season long for the Cowboys. The Dallas offense can put up 40 points in a snap of a finger, but the problem? The defense is giving up 42 leading to losses. Dak Prescott, for the first time in his career, feels like he is not shouldering all the blame for the teams problems, but on the other side of the ball, the defense cant stop a runny nose. Until this defense fixes itself, watch for the Cowboys to take some unnecessary losses, and mess with their hope of making the playoffs.

17. Atlanta Falcons 3-4

• I said it before during the first set of rankings and I’m going to say it again. DOES THIS TEAM WANT TO BE GOOD, OR DOES THIS TEAM WANT TO BE BAD? The Falcons to me are the definition of inconsistent. They can wipe the floor with the Vikings, Bills, and Commanders, but couldn’t score a point against the Panthers, lose to the injured 49ers, and the Dolphins with Tua only having one eye to throw the ball. I can’t trust this team to bump up anymore with this kind of season and inconsistency. We will see if the answer to this question is addressed in the next set of rankings.

18.Chicago Bears 4-3

• Chicago… Chicago… what do I do with you? Right away we seen the Bears start off good, then take a couple of stupid losses, and heading right back to the drawing board. I think this is in a positive direction, however. Under new head coach Ben Johnson, this team is learning how to win games, and trying to prevent losing them too. At this time last year, the Bears were sitting with the same record that resulted in the Bears losing a bunch of games in a row, and the eventual firing of their previous head coach. Will this last half of the season be different? I didn’t move the Bears up or down compared to the last set of rankings, but I got a feeling after this next set of games, the Bears could be trending in the right direction, or as your resident Packer fan that doesn’t wanna give Chicago any credit ever…. lower.

19. Washington Commanders 3-5

• Washington is dealing with a successful 2024 hangover. Expectations were set for the team to be a contender, but the main source of the teams success has barely played so far this season. Jayden Daniels is dealing with a sophomore year, where opposing teams have some film on him and can decipher what he’s good at and what he’s bad at. With Daniels also missing time, it is throwing off the machine that was Washington last year. Until Daniels is back and healthy, and in full swing, I expect Washington to float in this area of the rankings, barring a miracle run including wins over the Eagles, and Cowboys which will be a tall order if Daniels isn’t there calling the signals.

20. Houston Texans 3-4

• Houston, you know the offense needs to score points too in order to win right? Houston’s defense is LEGIT, but CJ Stroud and the offense are failing to score points in order to give the defense some breaks and room for error. This unbalance between the two units is causing the Texans to lose games, and furthering the deficit from both, the Division lead, which they were a favorite for, and the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. Stroud and the offense will be key for the Texans to make the comeback and get back into the playoff conversation, but they will have to score points, and operate as an NFL offense first, before we start talking about any kind of playoffs hopes.

21. New York Giants 2-6

• They might be a little high considering only 2 wins on the season, I get that. But you could tell once Jaxon Dart took over the starting role for the Giants, it was exactly what they needed. Currently, New York reminds me of Carolina from the last set of rankings. They need to start figuring out ways to win games. New York had a statement win sitting in their hands when they went to Denver and completely choked. Can’t do that. The New York defense is proving to be a force, it will be up to Jaxon Dart to put it all together. The Giants also lost their on the field motivator, Cam Skattebo for the season which will play a factor. I don’t expect the Giants to really top this set of rankings, but Dart could change my mind.

22.Baltimore Ravens 2-5

• Did not expect the Ravens down in this spot heading into the season. The team had a gauntlet of games to start the season that started them off in a hole, and to make matters worse, after a blowout loss to the Chiefs we haven’t seen quarterback Lamar Jackson ever since. Cooper Rush was not the answer, and Tyler Huntley was called up and got a much needed morale boosting win in Week 8. Lamar is expected to return soon, but is it too late for the Ravens to save their season? Injuries around the whole team have plagued this season, and the Ravens will need help with losses by other teams to have a shot at making the playoffs.

23. Carolina Panthers 4-4

• Test Passed! I said in the last set of rankings, one of the big problems or issues the Panthers were having was learning how to win games. Carolina for the most part has started doing that! A win over Dallas has given the Panthers a jolt of energy, but as soon as something good happens for the Panthers, something bad happens. The Panthers rattled off 3 wins a row, including that upset win over Dallas, and when the Panthers locked in the third straight win over the Jets, starting quarterback Bryce Young was out the next week with an ankle injury, sending in Andy Dalton to take on the Bills… you can imagine how that went. Just as the momentum starts to swing in their favor, the starting quarterback goes down. Once Young is back in action, can the Panthers ride the momentum and get some more wins and keep building for the future? It seems like Carolina is slowly getting it together, but consistency is key.

24. Minnesota Vikings 3-4

• My oh my… did I not expect this. The Vikings… are a mess right now. Whether its because of the injuries, the quarterback situation, the offensive line, or whatever issues the defense is having, its not looking like a good year in Minnesota. J.J. McCarthy has missed significant time, and Carson Wentz TRIED to keep the ship afloat before he was knocked out into the IR with a shoulder injury after Week 8. McCarthy will return in Week 9, and try to get the Vikings back on track. But regardless of who is under center for the Vikings, the center and the offensive line remain a MAJOR issue for the team. If they team fails to address the performance and consistency of the offensive line, this issues with the offense will continue to grow.

25. Arizona Cardinals 2-5

• I said it in the first set of rankings, and I’m saying it during this one. The Kyler Murray era needs to end in Arizona. Murray has been out the last couple of weeks and bye with an injury, and since then the Cardinals offense has looked WAY better with backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett taking the snaps. Arizona’s defense almost caused an upset win against Green Bay, but fell just short. The Cardinals look different as a team with Brissett in there, and could hint at the potential of a new era beginning in Arizona next year. If Murray returns expect the Cardinals to stay down this low, if Brissett stays, expect them to bump UP a few spots.

26. Cincinnati Bengals 3-5

• The Bengals were heading for the Bottom Dwellers category.. but then Joe Flacco was traded to the team to try and save their season. And for the most part? That’s what Flacco has done. Flacco was traded to the Bengals before Week 6, and took a understandable loss to the Packers, and then would pop off for a big night against division rival Pittsburgh the week after. Flacco has shown with the weapons on the Cincinnati offense that he can win games. BUT… There’s always a but. The Bengals defense is still god awful including the embarrassing loss to the Jets in Week 8 where the defense gave away a big lead, leading to a loss and the Bengals sitting at 3-5. Everyone keeps wondering if Burrow will come back if the Bengals are in the right spot. But with that defense, does it even matter?

-Bottom Dwellers-

27. Miami Dolphins 2-6

• How Mike McDaniel still has his job, I’m not sure. Miami should be considered lucky to be just 27 in this set of rankings. The one thing that Miami was supposed to be good at was offense, and the last couple weeks of the season, Miami has barely been able to crack 10 points. Tua is having issues seeing the field, Tyreek Hill is out for the season and could call it a career. Miami is in need of a total reset and culture change, and Dolphins fans are going to have to wait until the team decides to cut ties with McDaniel.

28. Cleveland Browns 2-6

• What a mess. Since our last rankings, the Browns made a quarterback change, sending Joe Flacco to division rival Cincinnati, and turning to the young arm of rookie Dillon Gabriel. The good news? Cleveland is still playing good defense… however the bad news is, there wasn’t much of a change in signal calling when it came to Flacco to Gabriel on the offense. The Browns have won one game with Gabriel as the quarterback, and the defense is starting to get frustrated. In Week 8, edge rusher Myles Garret collected 5 sacks in the game against the Patriots… but the Browns offense only scored 13 points. Is it time to give Shadeur Sanders a chance? If this is how Cleveland is going to play the rest of the season… it wouldn’t hurt anything..

29. New Orleans Saints 1-7

• I didn’t expect to move the Saints up a lot of spots this year, but when you look at the production of the Raiders and the Jets, I figured for the moment it would be fair enough to move them up. The Saints clearly need a change at quarterback whether its through the draft, or free agency, but Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough aren’t cutting it. The Saints have TRIED to be competitive in some of their games, which leads me to believe similar to the Raiders. Wait and see what they got this year, and build for next year.

30. Las Vegas Raiders 1-6

• The Raiders were on a bye in Week 8, and they managed to lose 38-6 and Geno Smith just threw another interception. The Pete Carroll experiment in Las Vegas is not going as planned, and not meeting the expectation that I had for them when we started this year. To be fair, the Raiders lack a lot of big play ability, and superstars, Ashton Jeanty has made splashes, but its not enough to get Vegas in the win column on a consistent basis. This season for the Raiders is the definition of wait and see what we got and move forward, I just wonder if heading into next year, will it be Carroll manning the regime, or will Raiders ownership wanna head in a different direction?

31. New York Jets 1-7

• It took 8 weeks, but the Jets finally won a game…. and that’s been about it. The Jets have some offensive issues right now which blew up in the media after the owner made comments about “Just completing a pass.” Those remarks led to the Jets winning their first game in Week 8 against the Bengals, but going forward what is there to expect? Justin Fields has proven this year that he is not the future of the franchise, and the team is losing in bad ways. Some think firing Aaron Glenn already and restarting again is the route to go, but let this be a reminder to everyone in a league that has no patience, Dan Campbell, Glenn’s former boss, went 3-13-1 in his first year with the Lions, did you see where the Lions are ranked today? Finding the RIGHT quarterback, and completing a pass will be the first step in New York getting it together, however it may take some time, so expect New York to keep floating down by the bottom dwellers the rest of the season.

32. Tennessee Titans 1-7

• Since we last spoke, the Titans DID win a game, but have since fired their head coach Brian Callahan, and are looking exactly like the worst team in the NFL. Cam Ward is still showing glimpses of potential, but until Tennessee brings in a head coach that can pull together the locker room and harness the potential of the team as a whole, Tennessee will remain the bottom feeder of the league. There isn’t much to say about Tennessee at this point, they’re terrible.