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And we're starting to reach a point where we should start wondering if this is the year.
This season's Super Bowl will be held at University of Phoenix Stadium next Feb. 1, and the Arizona Cardinals are looking like a real candidate to be playing in it. With a dramatic win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, the Cardinals are 6-1. They lead the NFC West by two games with some key early tiebreaker edges (a win over San Francisco, and the Seahawks and 49ers having one divisional loss to none for the Cardinals). And even the Cardinals are playing well.
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The defense has endured a ton of injuries and linebacker Daryl Washington's suspension but still is playing at a high level. The Cardinals were without quarterback Carson Palmer for a stretch, but the Cardinals went 2-1 with Drew Stanton starting. Arizona's only loss was on the road to Denver, which is clearly the best team in football through eight weeks.
Here's more on how the Cardinals have reached this point:
The strange thing about the hometown Super Bowl possibility is not just that it hasn't happened in 42 tries (six Super Bowls were held in a stadium that weren't home to an NFL team that season), it's that there haven't even been many close calls. According to the NFL, before this season teams that were set to host the Super Bowl were a combined 346-442-5. The last time a host team even made the playoffs was the 2000 Buccaneers, and they lost in the first round. Strangely, the two times a team played a Super Bowl very close to its home was the 1984 49ers at Stanford University and the 1979 Rams at the Rose Bowl, two of the six times a Super Bowl was held in a stadium that didn't have a home NFL team that season.
Maybe the Cardinals can break the host city curse. Just in case, it's worth noting that they are 4-0 at home this year.
Here are the post-Week 8 power rankings:
32. Oakland Raiders (0-7, Last Week: 32)
Raiders fans seemed pretty optimistic that Cleveland would be their first win. They couldn't cover a point spread of a touchdown. So now what?
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-6, LW: 31)
The Buccaneers are on a mission to lose every single way possible this season.
30. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7, LW: 30)
This season is about small steps. Finding out Denard Robinson is a very nice playmaker (he had his second straight 100-yard game after the Jaguars have finally given him a shot) is an example.
29. New York Jets (1-7, LW: 26)
I can't even imagine what would happen if the Jets drafted Jameis Winston next year.
28. Tennessee Titans (2-6, LW: 29)
Lost in all J.J. Watt's talk about selfies was that Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger wasn't all that bad. He was better than most sixth-round rookies are or would be. That doesn't mean he'll be a good starter for his career, but it wasn't a bad first step.
27. Atlanta Falcons (2-6, LW: 27)
That was an absolute clinic on how to blow a game. If nothing else, you can not call a pass on that last offensive third down, not even a high-percentage one.
26. Minnesota Vikings (3-5, LW: 25)
Teddy Bridgewater isn't a star yet, but he makes a throw like his 17-yard touchdown to Greg Jennings and you can see why he might be some day. It's impressive how he stood in against the rush and threw such an accurate ball:
25. St. Louis Rams (2-5, LW: 23)
This team is a chronic underachiever, but at least Robert Quinn (two sacks vs. Kansas City) is breaking out of an early-season slump.
24. Washington Redskins (3-5, LW: 28)
Give defensive coordinator Jim Haslett a ton of credit. He called a great game, and then when Tony Romo came back in after a back injury, he blitzed constantly and dared the gimpy Romo to win the game. He couldn't.
23. New York Giants (3-4, LW: 24)
Giants GM Jerry Reese said he wants the team's offense to be more aggressive. It would make sense to get Eli Manning passing more downfield, because that was one of his strengths before this season. According to Pro Football Focus, Manning's 22 attempts of 20 yards or more are tied for 25th most in the NFL (tied with Stanton, who started only three games) and he has completed just five, tied with Charlie Whitehurst and Blake Bortles for 28th.
22. Chicago Bears (3-5, LW: 20)
This is Bears defensive coordinator Mel Tucker's seventh season as a defensive coordinator, and his third with Chicago. In his first six seasons his defenses finished better than 23rd in yards allowed once and better than 24th in points allowed twice. So this year's ranking of 18th in yards allowed is an improvement! (The ranking of 29th in points allowed is not.)
21. Houston Texans (4-4, LW: 22)
Jadeveon Clowney returned on Sunday from a knee injury. He played 33 snaps, had one quarterback hurry and one tackle. It'll be fun when he hits his stride.
20. New Orleans Saints (3-4, LW: 21)
Sunday reaction after the win against the Packers: "Wow, the Saints are back!" The real answer: Nope, they just played a home game.
19. Carolina Panthers (3-4-1, LW: 16)
The positive for the Panthers is the 16-carry, 79-yard performance by Jonathan Stewart against a tough Seahawks defense. Maybe he is beyond all the injuries and ready for a nice second half.
18. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3, LW: 19)
Their final four road games are at Jets, Titans, Bengals and Falcons. Three very winnable games in there. If they win those, and handle business at home, their good record will sneak up on folks.
17. Cleveland Browns (4-3, LW: 18)
Brian Hoyer was 19-of-28 for 275 yards and a touchdown. After that stinker in Jacksonville, it was a much-needed rebound. (By the way, before any Steelers fans complain about their ranking vs. the Browns, remember that Browns 31, Steelers 10 was just two weeks ago.)
16. Miami Dolphins (4-3, LW: 17)
Defensive end Dion Jordan made his 2014 season debut, and didn't do too much. That's not unexpected since he missed the first six games due to suspension. But the third overall pick could use a strong second half to establish himself in the Dolphins' long-term plans.
15. Buffalo Bills (5-3, LW: 15)
Kyle Orton's production is huge for the Bills, and it really shows how bad E.J. Manuel was before he was benched.
14. San Francisco 49ers (4-3, LW: 14)
Marcus Lattimore will return to practice on Wednesday, two years after his horrible knee injury at South Carolina, then the 49ers will have three weeks to decide if they want to activate him. Hopefully he makes it back into an NFL game. It's a story worth rooting for.
13. Kansas City Chiefs (4-3, LW: 12)
Justin Houston had three sacks on Sunday, giving him 10 for the season, putting him slightly over the pace to break Michael Strahan's single-season record of 22.5. He'll be a free agent after this season.
12. Baltimore Ravens (5-3, LW: 10)
Sunday night's game against Pittsburgh is a fun one. The Ravens don't want to lose three of four to the Bengals and Steelers.
11. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2-1, LW: 13)
For the record, I think it was the right call on Steve Smith. A tough call, but the right one.
10. Detroit Lions (6-2, LW: 11)
Lions fans would probably rather they didn't play like that for a full half against a terrible Falcons team, but a win is a win. I'm still not sure they deserve a big bump up after two one-point wins against losing teams the past couple weeks.
9. Seattle Seahawks (4-3, LW: 8)
It wasn't a dominant win, but that final drive was great. Not everything is perfect again, but it's easier to figure it out at 4-3 rather than 3-4. (And no, Seattle didn't get "moved down" after a win. Another team that was behind them last week took a deserved big jump up. Someone has to slide down when that happens.)
8. San Diego Chargers (5-3, LW: 6)
There are a lot of injury issues the Chargers are dealing with. They'll be fine. Their biggest problem is they play in a division with the top team in football.
7. Green Bay Packers (5-3, LW: 5)
This Aaron Rodgers hamstring issue better not be serious. We saw what Rodgers means to this team last season. Heck, we saw it on Sunday night when the Packers fell apart because he was limited.
6. Indianapolis Colts (5-3, LW: 4)
I don't know what to do with them anymore after their defense pulled a sudden 180. But, no matter how many points the Colts were down, until the end you always had it in the back of your mind that Andrew Luck might bring them all the way back. He has reached that level.
5. Dallas Cowboys (6-2, LW: 3)
You can blame Romo's injury, and that was a factor, but the offense scored 10 of its 17 points with Brandon Weeden and Romo had nothing to do with Redskins quarterback Colt McCoy carving up the defense. Bad loss.*
4. Philadelphia Eagles (5-2, LW: 2)
The mistakes in Sunday's loss are concerning, but it doesn't make them a bad team. They're a few costly turnovers, stopping a great John Brown touchdown catch or 16 more yards at the end from winning a road game against one of the best teams in the NFL No reason to panic.
3. New England Patriots (6-2, LW: 9)
Rob Gronkowski isn't the only reason the Patriots are back to being legit Super Bowl contenders, but he's probably the main one. How many tight ends in NFL history have had that kind of impact?
2. Arizona Cardinals (6-1, LW: 7)
I haven't been the biggest Carson Palmer fan, but he's having an excellent year. He has 1,136 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception in four games. Aside from an excellent coaching staff, Palmer's the biggest reason the Cardinals are this high.
1. Denver Broncos (6-1, LW: 1)
I'm glad the Patriots look like a legit Super Bowl contender again. It makes next Sunday's game with the Broncos much more entertaining.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab