The 2015 NFL season is no longer young and in need of nurturing. It isnt jumping to conclusions anymore when reacting to patterns and outcomes because there is enough of a sample size to make legitimate takeaways across the league through Week 8.The AFC South and NFC East are atrocious, the New England Patriots are a football-playing machine that appears primed to win another title, the Cincinnati Bengals are for real and the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos are a testament to the fact defense can stillwin in todays NFL.With that in mind, here is a look at the updated power rankings heading into Week 9, as well as the records and critical scoring stats for each team.Season Review: Most Meaningful Games of the YearWeek 5: Cincinnati Bengals over Seattle Seahawks, 27-24The Bengals are undefeated, but they still dont get the benefit of the doubt that the New England Patriots or even the Denver Broncos do because they lost in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last four seasons.Overcoming a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the stingy Seattle Seahawks is one way to earn more respect.Quarterback Andy Dalton got the job done against the famed Legion of Boom secondary and finished with 331 passing yards and two touchdowns. Whats more, he did it when the Seahawks were playing against the pass late in the game and still made the necessary plays to come away with victory.The defense settled in during the second half as well and made enough stops to give the offense the opportunity for the comeback.This was a coming-out party in a thrilling game for a team with as much talent as anyone across the league in Dalton, A.J. Green, a two-headed running back tandem in Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard and a solid defense.Week 6: Carolina Panthers over Seattle Seahawks, 27-23Rinse and repeat from the Week 6 result when the Bengals came from behind against the Seahawks.The Seahawks blew a 23-14 lead at home to the Carolina Panthers when Cam Newton led his offense on two consecutive 80-yard drives in his final two possessions. Each ended in a touchdown, and the dynamic quarterback found tight end Greg Olsen in the end zone from 26 yards out for the winning score.This was the game that officially put Newton into the MVP discussion, especially when the lack of talent on the receiving corps is taken into consideration with no Kelvin Benjamin. The fact it came on the road in a raucous stadium against the two-time defending NFC champions made it all the more impressive.It gave Newton confidence moving forward in a season in which hes made a habit of clutch plays with the game on the line. He did so again Monday in an overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts and earned the praise of Michael Robinson of the NFL Network in the process:This was also an important game on the other side because it signified the Seahawks may not be the dominant defensive force fans have grown accustomed to the past few years. It was the second straight fourth-quarter collapse for the Legion of Boom, and the 4-4 Seahawks are still on the outside looking in at the current NFC playoff picture.Week 8: Denver Broncos over Green Bay Packers, 29-10The easy narrative for this game was Peyton Manning is back. After all, the surefire future Hall of Famer appeared mortal in the early portion of the season, and his arm strength was fairly questioned. Even with the undefeated record, the offense was struggling.Still, Manning threw for 340 yards against the Green Bay Packers and looked like the unstoppable force he was in his prime.Despite the performance, he has seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions on the year, and was coming off a bye week in favorable playing conditions. One outing bucking the trend of the rest of the season for the 39-year-old doesnt mean he is suddenly the leagues best again.Rather, this game is on the list because of the Broncos defense. Aaron Rodgers is arguably the best player in the league, and he threw for a meager 77 yards and took three sacks. No Packer ran for more than 38 yards, and superstar Randall Cobb tallied a mere 27 receiving yards.If the Broncos defense continues to play like this the rest of the season, it may be the one group capable of stopping Tom Brady and company from winning two straight Super Bowls. The pass rush has been dominant, the run defense is stifling and the secondary consistently sticks with receivers.It was a head-turning performance by a dominant unit. Just look at Denvers defensive ranks through Week 8:Cornerback Chris Harris recognized his units greatness after the win, per Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today: Thats Aaron Rodgers. Youve got to know were the real deal.No argument here.
Click here to read full news..
