We're about halfway through the NFL season, and it really doesn't start by my way of thinking until after Halloween.

That means it's time for real contenders to emerge. The pretenders will fall off.

After eight weeks, we have two undefeated teams left in the New England Patriots and the San Francisco 49ers. One is almost a lock to get to the Super Bowl in the Patriots.

The 49ers have truly impressed, but the NFC is loaded. Are they that much better than the Saints and the Packers? 

The Patriots and 49ers stay atop the Power Rankings this week, but the Packers and Saints are right behind them.

What I like to do at this point of the season is to try and find a team that could be ready to make a move towards the top. Is there even one? That's tough to say, but a team that seems to have fixed a few problems the past few weeks is the Los Angeles Rams. Playing against two bad defenses the last two games has helped right the offensive ship.

A wild Week 8 is in the books and there's a lot to go over. Fortunately Will Brinson, John Breech, Ryan Wilson and Sean Wagner-McGough are here to break everything down on the latest episode of the Pick Six Podcast. Listen to the full show below and be sure to subscribe right here for daily NFL goodness.

Could the defending NFC champs be readying to make a real push to be an elite team again in the NFC? 

In the AFC, the team to watch is the Kansas City Chiefs. They are 5-3, but they've lost three homes games. That's a bad look, but they played this past week without quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He is expected back soon, and when he's back they are a real threat in the AFC.

It won't be easy this week for the Chiefs when they play host to the Minnesota Vikings, another team that has played well the past month and could be pushing to be an NFC elite. 

It's Halloween folks, time for the real contenders to emerge – even if, aside from a few of the obvious, it might be tough to do.