Bengals News: Week 8 power rankings show just how tough AFC North is

In Bengals news, the power rankings are out as we enter Week 8. Where do the Cincinnati Bengals and the rest of the AFC North sit in the rankings?

It's frustrating that despite the Bengals sitting at 3-3, they're still dead last in the AFC North. The Ravens are 5-2 and the Browns and Steelers are both 4-2 and all three teams took care of business this past week while the Bengals were on their bye week.

The Browns and Steelers' defenses have got them to this point while not getting good play out of their quarterback but hey, they're still sitting above .500 and with better records than the Bengals. That hopefully will change in the coming weeks though.

Check out what's trending in Bengals news.

NFL Week 8 Power Rankings: Ravens catapult into top 3 after demolishing Lions, Steelers also make huge leap [Pete Prisco, CBS Sports]

Despite not even playing a game in Week 7, the Bengals managed to drop three spots on Prisco's power rankings. He put the Ravens at three, Browns at nine, Steelers at 11, and Bengals at 14. The Steelers leapt 11 spots on the list after taking down the Rams this weekend.

"The bye had to be good for this team, especially Joe Burrow and his calf. They needed the time. But now they face a brutal trip to play the 49ers. "

- Pete Prisco

NFL Power Rankings, Week 8: Chiefs reclaim No. 1 spot; rampaging Ravens soar into top five [Eric Edholm, NFL.com]

The Ravens are ranked fourth, the Browns sit 10th, the Bengals jumped up to 12th, and the Steelers are one spot behind at 13.

"Is there a way to kick-start the run game? That had to be a discussion topic for Cincinnati over the bye. The Bengals' ground attack wasn't very explosive last year, but it was effective. This season, it has been neither. The good news is that we're really talking about making incremental gains over the final 11 games. The bad news is that the personnel is arguably worse. Joe Mixon can't make people miss this year, and the Bengals have yet to identify an effective RB2. I know Joe Burrow's at his best out of the shotgun, but it's worth asking why the Bengals have seven under-center snaps in six games after logging more than 200 a year ago."

- Eric Edholm

NFL Power Rankings Week 8: Chiefs, Eagles are 1-2, plus one question for each team [Josh Kendall, The Athletic]

Kendall has the Ravens in third, the Browns in seventh, the Bengals in 11th, and the Steelers in 13th. The question he has for the Bengals this week is: "Is the running game OK?"

"Joe Burrow seems fixed. Now about that run game. The division-winning Bengals teams of the last two seasons didn’t lean on the run, but they could run the ball. Cincinnati was eighth in the league in rushing success rate in 2022 (41.1 percent) and 23rd in 2021 (37.3). This year, the Bengals sit 30th at 30.9 percent, and Joe Mixon is the only back with more than five carries this season."

- Josh Kendall