NFL WEEK 8 UPDATE

We've reached the halfway point of the 2014 NFL Season, which means it's time for the newest edition of The Pittman's Power Rankings.  Before I reveal my rankings, I'd like to give out a few midseason awards.  Here we go....

THE PITTMAN'S MIDSEASON AWARDS

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER:  Peyton Manning (DEN)

COACH OF THE FIRST HALF:  Jim Caldwell (DET)

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE FIRST HALF:  J.J. Watt (HOU)

ROOKIE OF THE FIRST HALF:  C.J. Mosley (BAL)


Now, let's take a look at The Pittman's Power Rankings.

THE PITTMAN'S POWER RANKINGS - MIDSEASON EDITION

32.  OAKLAND RAIDERS (0-7) - No second season on the horizon for interim head coach Tony Sparano.

31.  JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (1-7) - Averaging less than 15 points per game, the Jags offense should be named Bortles and Lame.

30.  TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (1-6) - The Bucs have failed to score more than 17 points in 5 of their 7 games.

29.  NY JETS (1-6) - Rex (Ryan) is in effect a lame duck head coach.

28.  ATLANTA FALCONS (2-6) - Not even two years ago the Falcons were one win away from the Super Bowl.

27.  TENNESSEE TITANS (2-6) - On Sunday, rookie Zach Mettenberger became the third different quarterback to start for the Titans this season.

26.  ST. LOUIS RAMS (2-5) - One week after upsetting the Seahawks, the Rams lost the Show Me State Showdown to the Chiefs and two key players on offense for the season.

25.  MINNESOTA VIKINGS (3-5) - Rookie phenom Jerick McKinnon is helping Viking fans forget about Adrian Peterson.

24.  CHICAGO BEARS (3-5) - The only thing scarier than how bad the Bears are playing right now is the contact Chicago gave Jay Cutler in the offseason.

23.  WASHINGTON REDSKINS (3-5) - The NFL's best quarterback depth chart resides in DC.

22.  NY GIANTS (3-4) - The combined record of the 3 teams the Giants beat is 9-15 while the combined record of the 4 teams they lost to is 23-5.

21.  CAROLINA PANTHERS (3-4-1) - They've already lost the same number of games as they did in 2013 and yet the Panthers are in first place in the NFC South.

20.  NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (3-4) - The Saints finally looked like themselves in their blowout over the Packers Sunday night.  Now can they get their first road win since Week 12 of last year?

19.  HOUSTON TEXANS (4-4) - What's more surprising, the Texans defense with J.J. Watt ranking 30th in the NFL or the offense with Ryan Fitzpatrick ranking 11th?

18.  BUFFALO BILLS (5-3) - With just one more victory, the Bills can equal their win total of a year ago.

17.  CLEVELAND BROWNS (4-3) - The last time the Browns were above .500 this far into a season was 2007.

16.  MIAMI DOLPHINS (4-3) - Quietly, running back Lamar Miller is on pace to rush for 1,072 yards this season.

15.  PITTSBURGH STEELERS (5-3) - As amazing as his performance was against the Colts, the Steelers can't count on Ben Roethlisberger to throw for over 500 yards and 6 TDs every week.

14.  KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (4-3) - After an 0-2 start, KC has won 4 of their last 5.

13.  BALTIMORE RAVENS (5-3) - I'm not a Ravens supporter by any means, but that offensive pass interference call against Steve Smith was absolutely terrible.

12.  CINCINNATI BENGALS (4-2-1) - The most impressive thing about the Bengals victory on Sunday was they did it without wide receiver A.J. Green.

11.  INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (5-3) - A week after shutting out Cincinnati, the Colts defense allows 51 points to Pittsburgh.

10.  SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (5-3) - Phillip Rivers has played great, but San Diego must run the ball to win.  Average 100.8 yards rushing in 5 wins.  Average 60.6 yards rushing in 3 losses.

9.  SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (4-3) - Was Sunday's dramatic victory over the Panthers the turning point of the Seahawks season?

8.  PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (5-2) - Running back LeSean McCoy needs to get going if the Eagles want to remain a legit contender come playoff time.

7.  SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (4-3) - As this team continues to get healthier, so does their Super Bowl aspirations.

6.  GREEN BAY PACKERS (5-3) - Relax Packer fans!  No one was going to beat the Saints Sunday night in New Orleans.

5.  DETROIT LIONS (6-2) - Down 21-0 at halftime, Detroit teams of the past would have packed it in, but this Lions team has heart.

4.  DALLAS COWBOYS (6-2) - For the first time this season, DeMarco Murray ran the ball less than 20 times Monday night and as a result, the Cowboys lost their first game since Week 1.

3.  NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (6-2) - Since their beatdown at the hands of the Chiefs, the Patriots have outscored their opponents 158-87.

2.  ARIZONA CARDINALS (6-1) - Since Week 8 of 2013, the Cardinals are an incredible 13-3.

1.  DENVER BRONCOS (6-1) - If the Broncos continue to average 130.6 yards rushing like they have the last 3 weeks, there's a real chance they won't lose another game.

And there's the midseason edition of The Pittman's Power Rankings.  Until next week...