NFL Power Rankings 2012: Have the St. Louis Rams peaked in Week 8?

The St. Louis Rams have made a solid showing in the 2012 NFL Power Rankings for most of the year, but their two-game losing streak has left them all the way down at No. 27 in SB Nation's Week 8 power rankings. With the New England Patriots on the docket for Week 8, in a pseudo-home-game out in London, and a bye in Week 9, it's worth asking whether the Rams have already peaked in this year's arbitrary team rankings.

Which is not to say they'll end up all the way down at No. 27; with so much infuriating parity in the NFL this year, it's hard to say where they'll finish, but it's hard to imagine that this team is still one of the five worst in football after all the gains they've made under Jeff Fisher.

At the same time, though, this team definitely has a low ceiling. Will they make the playoffs? Probably not, which means they aren't one of the 12 best teams in the NFL. Will they be competing to the very end? They're already two games back of the San Francisco 49ers, so unless they pull off upsets in Week 8 and (against the Niners) Week 10 it'll be tough, which pushes them further down the list.

Floating around the edges of the Top 20 is this team's upside—it's exactly what they need after a lost 2011 season. They've already been there once, after improving to 3-2, and the rest of the season, I think, seems like it'll be devoted to returning.