ESPN has released their Week 8 NFL Power Rankings and they have given the Oakland Raiders a sizable drop following their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. ESPN maintained the 49ers at the number four position coming out of their bye week. New Orleans leap-frogged the 49ers on the heels of their demolition of the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football.
The Raiders were upset at home by the Kansas City Chiefs thanks to a variety of miscues in personnel and coaching. The Raiders now sit at 4-3 heading into their bye week. Following the loss of Jason Campbell, the Raiders made a quick trade to acquire Carson Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals. High draft picks aside, the next week and a half will be pivotal as the Raiders try and get back on track moving forward.
The 49ers head into their post-bye schedule looking to wrack up wins against a less difficult schedule than they saw in the first half. They play several tough teams, but they get a lot of games that do not appear quite so difficult. Part of that is having half their remaining games come against an NFC West that is struggling mightily aside from the 49ers. The 49ers host the Browns this weekend, looking to improve to 6-1.
Here are the top 15 teams according to ESPN:
1. Green Bay Packers
2. New England Patriots
3. New Orleans Saints
4. San Francisco 49ers
5. Pittsburgh Steelers
6. Baltimore Ravens
7. Buffalo Bills
8. Detroit Lions
9. San Diego Chargers
10. Chicago Bears
11. New York Giants
12. Houston Texans
13. New York Jets
14. Atlanta Falcons
15. Oakland Raiders