A Look at the 2023 NFL Standings Heading into Week 8
Week 7 of the NFL season has come and gone.
The Minnesota Vikings captured one of the most impressive wins of the week, propelling them into second-place in the NFC North, and there was plenty of other shuffling across the league standings this past weekend.
With Week 8 now fast-approaching, here is an updated look at the 2023 NFL standings heading into the next slate of games.
2023 NFL Standings: Week 8
AFC East
- Miami Dolphins (5-2)
- Buffalo Bills (4-3)
- New York Jets (3-3)
- New England Patriots (2-5)
The big outcome in the AFC East was Buffalo’s loss to the Patriots. They had an opportunity to recapture the lead in the division, but with the loss, they are suddenly only half a game ahead of the New York Jets for second.
Miami’s road loss to Philly can’t be overlooked, either. This team continues to dominate the inferior opponents, but they now have a couple pretty ugly road losses against a couple of the top teams in the league.
AFC North
- Baltimore Ravens (5-2)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2)
- Cleveland Browns (4-2)
- Cincinnati Bengals (3-3)
Baltimore cruised to a victory over the Detroit Lions this past weekend, ensuring that they held their lead in the AFC North for another week. It was a wire-to-wire win that showed the Ravens can compete with just about anyone in the league.
The win proved to be extremely important too as both Cleveland and Pittsburgh also navigated the week to victories of their own. Meanwhile, the Bengals got an opportunity to rest up on their bye prior to a big Week 8 showdown against the San Francisco 49ers.
AFC South
- Jacksonville Jaguars (5-2)
- Houston Texans (3-3)
- Indianapolis Colts (3-4)
- Tennessee Titans (2-4)
It was a relatively quiet week in the AFC South with both the Texans and Titans being on their byes in Week 7. However, this offered the chance for Jacksonville to increase their lead in the division, and they did just that with a win over the Saints on Thursday. Further down the standings, Indianapolis came just short against the Browns, but the game should provide hope for the rest of the season despite a loss.
AFC West
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-1)
- Las Vegas Raiders (3-4)
- Los Angeles Chargers (2-4)
- Denver Broncos (2-5)
Week 7’s results came with the Kansas City Chiefs furthering their dominant lead in the AFC West. They now sit three games above the rest of the competition after their victory over the Chargers on Sunday. Denver may have also won, but with their sluggish start to the year, that win did not give them a chance to move up in the standings.
Las Vegas remains in second-place for now, but they are coming off one of their worst games of the season, being thoroughly dominated by the Chicago Bears this weekend even with Justin Fields sitting out with a hand injury.
NFC East
- Philadelphia Eagles (6-1)
- Dallas Cowboys (4-2)
- Washington Commanders (3-4)
- New York Giants (2-5)
With the Cowboys on their bye, all they could do was watch as the Eagles extended their lead atop the NFC East with a big win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night. Philly pulled away down the stretch and captured a 31-17 victory in front of their home crowd.
New York seems to be getting back on track as well behind a couple strong defensive showings over the past couple weeks. They may not have beaten the Bills in Week 6, but they were able to overcome the Washington Commanders on Sunday by winning 14-7.
NFC North
- Detroit Lions (5-2)
- Minnesota Vikings (3-4)
- Green Bay Packers (2-4)
- Chicago Bears (2-5)
Things could not have played out much better for the Vikings in terms of the NFC North race. They watched both the Lions and Packers fall on Sunday, giving them a golden opportunity to get back into the divisional race on Monday night.
They did just that by putting together their most complete game of the season against the San Francisco 49ers, pulling off a 22-17 upset in front of their home fans. The Bears also earned their second win of the season behind a strong showing from backup QB Tyson Bagent.
NFC South
- Atlanta Falcons (4-3)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3)
- New Orleans Saints (3-4)
- Carolina Panthers (0-6)
Folks, we have a new leader in the NFC South race after the Falcons stumbled their way into a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They had three red zone turnovers on Sunday, but none of it mattered as they escaped with a 16-13 victory.
Meanwhile, the Saints started the week with a loss to the Jaguars on Thursday night, missing out on a chance to jump both Atlanta and Tampa Bay. The Panthers remain buried at the bottom following their bye week.
NFC West
- San Francisco 49ers (5-2)
- Seattle Seahawks (4-2)
- Los Angeles Rams (3-4)
- Arizona Cardinals (1-6)
San Francisco remains on top of the NFC West despite their loss to the Vikings, but the race has quickly gotten close. With back-to-back losses, the 49ers now stand just half a game above the Seattle Seahawks, who earned their fourth win of the season by squeaking out a win against the Cardinals.
The Rams also lost this weekend, thus placing them firmly in no man’s land in the division. They are 1.5 games behind Seattle for second while holding a two-game lead over the Cardinals, who remain in the cellar.
NOTE: This article originally appeared on our sister-site, PurplePTSD.com.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.
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