LAS VEGAS -- The New England Patriots, our No. 1 team since quarterback Tom Brady's return in Week 4, continued to roll with their 41-25 victory over the Buffalo Bills as 6.5-point favorites, while the Minnesota Vikings lost 20-10 at the Chicago Bears as 5.5-point road favorites.
The defending champion Denver Broncos have moved into a tie for second with the Vikings and are followed by two teams that also lost this past weekend: the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks.
Here's a look at the teams making the biggest moves up and down the rankings, along with some Week 8 value plays (12-8 ATS so far this season) using this week's ratings:
Note: The NFL Vegas Rankings are compiled by taking the average of the ratings of ESPN Chalk handicappers, including Erin Rynning, yours truly and ESPN's Football Power Index, and are used to compare two teams as if they were to meet on a neutral field (after which most teams get 2.5 points for home-field advantage) and can be used to compare to the current point spread. We've also added the FPI and Massey-Peabody rankings to our chart for comparative purposes.