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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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CARSON, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 13: Quarterback Devlin Hodges #6 of the Pittsburgh Steelers warms up ahead of his first career NFL start against the Los Angeles Chargers at Dignity Health Sports Park on October 13, 2019 in Carson, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)
CARSON, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 13: Quarterback Devlin Hodges #6 of the Pittsburgh Steelers warms up ahead of his first career NFL start against the Los Angeles Chargers at Dignity Health Sports Park on October 13, 2019 in Carson, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images) /

19. Pittsburgh Steelers (19)

The Pittsburgh Steelers decline this season was very unexpected. They started out the season with three-straight losses, but even worse than losing the games, the Steelers lost Ben Roethlisberger for the season after an elbow injury required surgery. They then turned to Mason Rudolph, who was 1-2 as a starter before he too suffered an injury in Week 5 which put undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges in the lineup.

He ended up being quite the surprise as he’s completed 75.9 percent of his passes for 200 yards with one touchdown and a pick. Most importantly, he led them to a win in Week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Now at 2-4, they head into their bye week with a small glimmer of hope that they can still turn the season around — considering the Ravens are still just a couple of games ahead of them at 2-4 and they have four divisional games remaining on the schedule.

What they need to do is find a way to keep playing as well on defense as they have in the past couple of weeks while continuing to play smart football on offense. They have a winnable game in Week 8 as they host the Miami Dolphins, which will help them continue to build some much-needed confidence.

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