By Steven Oh
Accuscore.com

The Ravens potentially saved their season with a huge win over the Broncos. They improved their playoff chances by over 20 percentage points not only because they beat a good team, but the defensive performance bodes well for them to play better the rest of the season. The Bengals were on a Bye week but dropped 18 points because the Ravens, Texans and Chargers all won and they are the Bengals’ primary playoff competitors. The Browns and Steelers chances are unchanged after Week 8. Cleveland continues to have zero percent chance.

By beating the Jets twice the Dolphins have slashed the Jets playoff chances by more than a third to just 13 percent. While the Dolphins win hurt the Jets it barely helped Miami who improved by just 2 points. The Dolphins are still just 3-4 and have a fairly tough remaining schedule that includes 2 Patriots games and the Steelers. The Dolphins can soar up the rankings if they shock the Patriots in Week 9 and beat them. Right now everything looks good for New England as they may be the only team in the division likely to finish above .500 and now have a nearly 90 percent chance of winning the division.

The Broncos lost their first game and with victories by possible Wild Card competitors (Baltimore, San Diego, Houston) their playoff chances did drop 8 points, but the Broncos are still at a very strong 87 percent chance of making the playoffs. The Chargers will definitely need to beat Denver in Denver if they hope to close the gap in the division which is currently Denver 73, San Diego 27 percent. Denver has the benefit of having 3 more games against lowly Kansas City and Oakland, but Denver also has to face Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, the Giants, and the Colts this year.

The Colts were challenged in Week 8 but they still won and have nearly a 100 percent chance of making the playoffs. The Texans improved their chances by 10 points thanks to a road win over Buffalo, but if Houston loses in Week 9 to Indianapolis expect their chances to drop by at least 5 points next week. The Texans are 5-3, but their playoff chances lag behind the 4-3 Chargers and Ravens because their odds of winning their division are so slight and they only have 2 games where they would be heavy favorites on their remaining schedule. They face the Colts twice, the Jaguars on the road, @ Miami, New England and Tennessee, a team that definitely has the talent to play spoiler in Week 11.