Well last night went exactly the way we all thought it would. Chicago came out of nowhere to upset Minnesota last night, and I’m sure I am not the only one who totally whiffed on that game. In fact, while listening to the Fantasy Focus podcast earlier today, I found out that over 84,000 people were knocked out of ESPN’s Eliminator Challenge (basically a massive suicide pool) due to last night. I feel like I say this all the time, but just when you think something is a sure thing in the NFL, the unexpected always happens. Week 8

Now, I’m not going to overreact to this loss because those seem to come in pairs this season unless you are the Patriots. Minnesota still has one of the best defenses in the league, but that defense was due for a letdown at some point. I will say that I have some serious concerns though. This offensive line got really bad in a hurry, in fact Pro Football Focus gave Vikings tackle TJ Clemmings the worst single-game grade at the position in over a decade. This offense still lacks an identity, and certainly has taken multiple steps backwards following the 5-0 start.

I definitely was surprised by the effort put forth by the Bears last night. The defense certainly took advantage of the Vikings’ weakness on offense. Jay Cutler didn’t turn the ball over in one of the most shocking parts of this game. Running back Jordan Howard opened up the game with a 69-yard rush en route to a 153-yard performance. Certainly there were some encouraging signs here for the Bears, but this is still a mediocre football team at best for the rest of the year.

Enough about that debacle last night though, it’s time to move onto more pressing matters in the NFL. The rest of today’s “No Huddle” will offer up some players to consider in the MVP race now that we’ve reached the midseason mark, and I’ll reveal my latest power rankings.

Let’s talk about the MVP race because while I think we can all agree that Tom Brady is undoubtedly the front-runner, there are a few names that need to be in the discussion. This isn’t to say that I don’t think Brady should win, but there is more than just one man in this race.

If you had to ask me, there is a toss-up between two quarterbacks for the second spot in the MVP discussion. Matt Ryan and Derek Carr have both been phenomenal so far this season, and worthy of consideration behind Brady.

Derek Carr may have already “broken out” in terms of being a good player, but I think we are witnessing him making the jump to a superstar. Despite having one of the worst defenses in the league, Carr has led the Raiders to a 6-2 record so far. He is completing 66% of his passes this season and averaging 290 passing yards per game. Those are very solid numbers for the third-year quarterback.

The real sign of Carr’s jump to superstardom is in the touchdown and interception numbers. He currently sits at 17 touchdowns and just three interceptions this season. Speaking of pace, Carr is on his way to a career season overall.

Numbers aside, he has also shown signs of the rare “clutch gene.” Carr leads the league in game-winning drives this season due in large part to him making some incredible throws when it mattered most. Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree are great weapons to have at your disposal, but I argue that Carr is the biggest reason for Oakland’s success this season.

While we are potentially seeing the birth of a superstar in Oakland, we are also witnessing the resurgence of “Matty Ice” in Atlanta this season. Last season, the Falcons fell apart due in large part to combined performance of the offensive line and Matt Ryan. One year later and those concerns are no longer an issue for the Falcons.

Yes, Atlanta made huge improvements to the offensive line, but Matt Ryan is playing incredible football this season. Take this Sunday’s game against Green Bay as a prime example of Ryan’s MVP credentials. Down six with just under four minutes left in the game, Ryan leads a methodical drive down the field to win the game. The game-winning touchdown was an 11-yard pass just over the outstretched arms of the safety to Mohamed Sanu Sr. in the back of the endzone. That wasn’t even Ryan’s best touchdown pass of the day either. He dropped an absolute dime to Taylor Gabriel deep downfield in between two defenders. Matty Ice finished on Sunday 28-for-35 passing for 288 yards and three touchdowns.

In 2016, Ryan is completing just fewer than 70% of his passes and has amassed 2,326 passing yards. He has thrown 19 touchdowns and just four interceptions as well. Ryan was certainly the focal point of the Falcons’ collapse in 2015, but he has certainly silenced the detractors so far this season. Atlanta currently leads the NFL in points scored with 262, due in large part to Matt Ryan’s improved play.

An interesting thing to note is that both Carr and Ryan have the only 500-yard passing games so far this season.

Now let’s get into the power rankings and the watch list for this week. The top-two teams remain unchanged but there has been some movement behind them after last week.

(1) – New England Patriots (7-1) – Last Week: 1

No need to beat around the bush here, this is the best team in the NFL. I will continue to say that until further notice. While I do think it was a little shortsighted to trade their best linebacker midseason, Bill Belichick certainly has earned the right to make a decision like that. They’ll have a week to figure out how to replace Jamie Collins in this defense, so that won’t be a big worry for New England. The Patriots cruise into their bye week with the NFL’s best record and a strangle hold on the AFC East.

(2) – Dallas Cowboys (6-1) – Last Week: 2

The Cowboys narrowly avoided a huge divisional loss due in large part to the Eagles coughing up the victory. Dak Prescott had some rookie moments during the early portions of the game, but he came through in crunch time. He has earned the right to lead this team until the coaching staff and front office feel its time to go back to Tony Romo. Prescott looks more than capable of handling the pressure in Big D. Ezekiel Elliot continues to look like a shoo-in for Offensive Rookie of the Year, and is even looking like one of the NFL’s best running backs already in his young career. Now this defense did suffer injuries to key players in the secondary, but that shouldn’t be an issue this week against 0-8 Cleveland.

(3) – Denver Broncos (6-2) – Last Week: 5

The Broncos got a bit of revenge last week against the Chargers, and with the losses by Minnesota and Seattle, move up to the third spot in the power rankings this week. The loss of CJ Anderson hurts, but Devontae Booker looks more than capable in the backfield. There will certainly be a ton of pressure on the Denver front-seven this week if Aqib Talib misses Sunday’s showdown with Oakland. That front-seven did just get DeMarcus Ware back from his arm injury, which will bolster this pass rush exponentially.

(4) – Atlanta Falcons (5-3) – Last Week: Unranked

Atlanta earns a place in the power rankings this week off the heels of a thrilling win over the Packers on Sunday. Matt Ryan certainly deserves a ton of credit, but this team just feels miles ahead of the 2015 Falcons. Alex Mack is making such a huge difference on this offensive line, and you can see it in all phases of this offense. Atlanta has to make a quick turnaround against Tampa Bay this week for a Thursday night matchup.

(5) – Oakland Raiders (6-2) – Last Week: Watch List

I came about this close to putting the Raiders here last week, and in all honesty I guess I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. This defense is one of the worst in the NFL, and this is the most penalized team in the league by far. However, as I discussed before, Derek Carr is playing at a MVP-level. As long as he is playing at this level, the Raiders will be in every game they play this season. This week brings the season’s toughest test in a massive AFC West showdown with Denver on Sunday Night Football.

Watch List: Minnesota (5-2), Kansas City (5-2), Seattle (4-2-1), Pittsburgh (4-3), Philadelphia (4-3)

 Enjoy Game 6 tonight everyone! Tomorrow’s posts will include “Reality of Fantasy” and either the first “Heat Check” (NBA) of the year or a World Series recap depending on the outcome of tonight’s game. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.