It’s that time of the week when we look at which defenses stepped up and which others fell after week 8 in the NFL. That means we could have some new teams in our defensive power rankings, so let’s get to Week 8’s top defenses in the NFL.

How was the NFL hierarchy affected by a week full of lopsided results? Eric Edholm provides a fresh batch of Power Rankings, with Jim Harbaugh's Chargers among the league's biggest risers.

Kanu is a breakout prospect with a ton of high-level reps on tape this fall in his first year as a starter. He's really shined in the run game where his ability to get off blocks has been top notch.

Patrick Mahomes is struggling to stay in the top five, while C.J. Stroud has almost been knocked off the list. Another thrilling NFL week resulted in a major shakeup of talkSPORT’s

The Dallas Cowboys will be in search of defensive help at the NFL trade deadline, and a former top-20 draft pick could be what they need at EDGE.

Sheppard is one of the coaching breakouts of 2025, a former linebacker who has kept the Detroit Lions defense humming along in Aaron Glenn's stead. The Lions are a popular target for coordinator hires as of late, and Sheppard could translate his lone season as a defensive coordinator in Detroit into a head coaching pretty quickly.