NFL Power Rankings Roundup: Jaguars Enter Week 8 With Massive Opportunity in AFC South

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Week 8 is set to be an important week for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

After the amount of losing and tomfoolery that has transpired in the AFC South since the last time the Jaguars were on the field in London in Week 6, the Jaguars have quite the opportunity on hand when they face the Indianapolis Colts in their return from the bye week on Sunday at EverBank Stadium.

With the Colts now conceding the AFC South with the trades of Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, and with the Texans sitting at 2-5 and still not quite figuring things out, the divisional race is there for the taking as long as the Jaguars take care of business. And if that is how things play out, the Jaguars can shift their focus to bigger and better things across the AFC.

So, where do the Jaguars stack up against the other AFC contenders entering an important Week 8? We break it down below with this week's roundup of power rankings.

Sports Illustrated: No. 8 (0)

The Jaguars do not take a step backward or forward in SI's weekly power rankings, with Liam Coen's squad sticking firm at the No. 8 spot. The Jaguars have a chance to raise their profile a good bit in the weeks and months to come with battles against the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears both down the road.

ESPN: No. 6 (-1)

The bye week gave the Seahawks the chance to jump in front of the Jaguars but, otherwise, there is not much here. The Minnesota Vikings will have to lose a game eventually, and that is likely when the Jaguars can really start getting a rise. Otherwise, most of the teams in front of the Jaguars here can be expected to stay there.

CBS: No. 9 (-1)

I am going to talk about the Cincinnati Bengals being ranked above the Jaguars a few times here, but that is the biggest question mark in terms of where the Jaguars are ranked here and which teams are above them. The Jaguars already beat the Bengals in Cincinnati, but alas.

FOX Sports: No.8 (0)

There is almost zero movement in this week's power rankings, and the same applies for the Jaguars at No. 8. If the Chiefs keep slipping, though, the Jaguars could easily take their spot in the weeks and months to come considering their strength of schedule.

The Athletic: No. 8 (-1)

There isn't much to say here. The Jaguars are behind a few risers like the Chicago Bears who are coming off strong Week 7 performances, which means the Jaguars and their bye week brings them down a spot. If the Jaguars are going to rise, it will need to happen over the next few weeks as they play some key AFC South games.

NFL.Com: No. 6 (-1)

The Jaguars drop out of the top-five here in favor of ... the Cincinnati Bengals? The Bengals defense is still not very good, and the offenses needed the score 35 unanswered points in the second-half to make up for an absolutely putrid first half against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7. Putting the Bengals anywhere near above the Jaguars is off, I would say, but that is where the Jaguars find themselves in this week's rankings at a few different spots.

Yahoo: No. 8 (+1)

The Bengals jumped the Jaguars in this week's power rankings, which seems ... odd. The Jaguars were clearly the better team when they faced off against the Bengals in Week 4, with the Jaguars having two touchdowns and an interception all negated by questionable judgement calls from the officials. The Jaguars are better than the Bengals, and I would imagine they are better by quite a bit, too.

Pro Football Talk: No. 2 (+2)

The Jaguars climbed this week after the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs lost their first games of the season. It is fair to say the 49ers and Chiefs each can't say they are surely a tier above the Jaguars after mistake-filled and middling performances against the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks, which makes it clear that the Jaguars belong here.

Add us as a preferred source on Google