NFL Power Rankings Week 8: Colts at the bottom until they string together some wins

The Colts got a big lift in the form of a dominating victory at home over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. That win showed some significant improvements on this Colts team that many will hand wave because of the Bills status as one of the worst teams in football.

While it is true that some of the Colts’ successes on Sunday shouldn’t be overreacted to, the Bills aren’t a good team, the emergence of the offensive line and the running game is not something to dismiss. If the Colts can go on the road this week and beat the Raiders in a similar fashion, we can expect opinions to begin to shift, if only slightly, about this team.

Let’s take a look at how the Colts stack up heading into week 8.

ESPN has the Colts up 1 spot to 26^th.

WR T.Y. Hilton. Hilton came back from a two-game absence on Sunday against the Bills, and his presence as a vertical threat has been sorely missed. The Colts are averaging 7.37 air yards per target, which ranks 27th.

USA Today has the Colts holding firmly at 27^th.

Indianapolis is 2-0 this year when Andrew Luck’s sidearm fires 31 times or fewer. When he uses it more than 40 times? Yep, his team is 0-5.

Yahoo! Sports has the Colts up from 30^th to 27^th.

Marlon Mack had a career day, with 126 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries against a good Bills defense. I don’t think the Colts are on the verge of a huge run, but it’ll be important for them to see which young players emerge the rest of the way.

Bleacher Report has the Colts up from 29^th to 27^th.

Having a bad year? Feeling sad about a season that’s spiraling out of control?

The Buffalo Bills can help!

The Colts stopped their four-game skid with a bang Sunday, trouncing the Bills at home in a game in which Andrew Luck threw four touchdown passes and the defense forced five turnovers.

Much like with Denver’s Thursday night thrashing of the miserable Arizona Cardinals, it’s hard to read a ton into this win, convincing though it may be.

This is a Bills team that already ranked at or near the bottom of the NFL in most offensive categories—and that was before it started a quarterback (Derek Anderson) who had been with the team all of a week.

There’s a chance the Colts could use this as a springboard of sorts. Of Indy’s next five games, just one is against a team with a winning record—and that’s the 4-3 Dolphins.

Keep hope alive, Indy!