New Orleans Saints' Takeaways From Week 8 And What's Ahead - Rant Sports

New Orleans Saints Week 8 Takeaways And What's Ahead

Another NFL week is mostly in the record books now. Two teams remained without a victory, one remained unbeaten, the Dallas Cowboys were stunned with a last-second touchdown by Matt Stafford in Detroit. Slowly but surely, we are starting to get an early outline of what the playoffs might look like.

Although we still have half of the season yet to play, it is probably safe to rule out teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as having any kind of hope for the postseason. I am thinking Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano will not be the head coach in Tampa Bay after this season. Gus Bradley in Jacksonville will likely be around next year as he is in his first year with the Jaguars, who seem to be perpetually in rebuilding mode.

Two AFC West teams, the Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs, have started strong. Peyton Manning in Denver is a leading candidate for NFL MVP honors. The Kansas City Chiefs have boggled everybody's mind with their impressive 8-0 start after having suffered a 2-14 season last year and a tragic murder-suicide.

The NFC West is no less competitive, with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers having started out 6-1 and 6-2 respectively. Meanwhile, the NFC North is currently up for grabs with the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears each having four wins, but a different amount of losses. The Detroit Lions have five wins under their belt, but also have a worse winning percentage. At this stage in the season, it really is too close to call.

The New Orleans Saints improved 6-1 after their 35-17 victory over the Buffalo Bills and continue look as if they will once again become the NFC South champions. It is not a sure thing, of course, but it is unlikely we will see a Saints meltdown with half a season left to play.

Here now are some takeaways of the Saints' Week 8 and a look at what's in store.

Jack Cavanaugh is a New Orleans Saints contributing writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @cav_jack, "Like" him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.