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NFL Power Rankings, Week 8: Cowboys find spark, Raiders look like pretenders

By Randy Gurzi

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 20: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates a first quarter touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in the game at AT&T Stadium on October 20, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 20: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates a first quarter touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in the game at AT&T Stadium on October 20, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 13: Shaq Thompson of Carolina Panthers tackles Chris Godwin of Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the NFL match between the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 13, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 13: Shaq Thompson of Carolina Panthers tackles Chris Godwin of Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the NFL match between the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 13, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Getty Images) /

24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (27)

Head coach Bruce Arians seemed to have brought a spark to the offense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they put up a double nickel on the Los Angeles Rams in their 55-40 victory in Week 4. At that point, they were 2-2 and Jameis Winston was starting to look like the player Arians has been hoping he could turn him into.

Then, they lost their past two games as they were knocked off 31-24 by the New Orleans Saints and 37-26 to the Carolina Panthers. Each of those losses came to NFC South rivals and were against backup quarterbacks as Teddy Bridgewater (who has been great in relief of Drew Brees) and Kyle Allen (who has been great in relief of Cam Newton) led their teams to a win.

What was more concerning was the play of Winston, who completely fell apart in Week 6. Against the Panthers, he threw five interceptions, giving him 10 on the season. Throughout his career, this has been a major issue for the former first-round pick and is one of the biggest reasons the team is considering allowing him to leave in free agency following this season.

It would be tough for them to start over again, especially given the fact that they’ve never given a quarterback a second contract, but they also have to realize that Winston’s issues aren’t going away anytime soon. The rest of this season will be huge in determining whether or not the two sides will stay together.

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