Can any of the NFL's five unbeaten teams go 16-0?

For the first time in NFL history, a record five unbeaten teams will take the field in Week 8 and you can watch them all in action live on Sky Sports.

The Green Bay Packers, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos all boast 6-0 records after seven weeks, while the New England Patriots moved to 7-0 with their emphatic 36-7 win over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.

That number will be whittled down to at least four this weekend with the Packers and the Broncos set to meet in a blockbuster showdown in the late game on Sunday night, which will be live on Sky Sports 2 HD from 12:30am on Monday morning.

The only team to go undefeated through a season are the 1972 Miami Dolphins, while the Patriots came agonisingly close in 2007 after going through the regular season 16-0 before losing to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

The road from 6-0 to 16-0 is an admittedly long one, but we at Sky Sports wanted to examine the strengths and weaknesses of each of the five in order to determine who might (just might) be capable of doing the impossible.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (7-0)

Point differential: +116

Combined record of opponents: 21-26

Signature win: 30-23 over Jets on October 25

Remaining schedule: Washington, at Giants, Bills, at Broncos, Eagles, at Texans, Titans, at Jets, at Dolphins

The reigning Super Bowl champions have picked up this season where they left off when defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Arizona in February. The Patriots have only been held below 30 points once this season, in the opening game against the Pittsburgh Steelers when they scored 28.

Tom Brady - at 38 years old - is enjoying arguably the finest season of his career thus far. The Patriots signal-caller ranks first in touchdowns (20), first in interceptions (1) and second in passing yards per game (344). The Patriots offence as a whole leads the NFL in points per game with 35.6.

Anyone who has ever spent any time listening to Bill Belichick knows the importance he places on taking care of the football, and his team are doing him proud this season with a +7 turnover differential - good for second in the NFL. The offence has turned the football over just three times, which is the best mark in the league.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Patriots lost big-name players in the offseason with Darrelle Revis, Vince Wilfork and Brandon Browner all departing. But New England has adjusted well and their average of 19.0 points conceded per game is the eighth best mark in the NFL, while their total of 26 sacks is tied with Denver for the best in the league. Chandler Jones has racked up 8.5 sacks through seven games, which is two more than any other player in the NFL.

GREEN BAY PACKERS (6-0)

Point differential: +63

Combined record of opponents: 14-26

Signature win: 27-17 over Seahawks on September 20

Remaining schedule: At Broncos, at Panthers, Lions, at Vikings, at Lions, Cowboys, Raiders, at Cardinals, Vikings

Although the Packers are sitting pretty atop the NFC North standings, head coach Mike McCarthy will be comforted by the fact his undefeated team are capable of more than they have shown thus far.

The bye week came at the perfect time for Green Bay, who will hope to have key offensive trio Randall Cobb (WR), Davante Adams (WR) and Eddie Lacy (RB) fully healthy in time for two daunting trips to fellow undefeated teams, Denver and Carolina.

Aaron Rodgers uncharacteristically ranks 18th in the NFL with 249 passing yards per game entering Week 8, but that is more a commentary on the health of his surrounding cast rather than his personal performance. His 15 touchdowns trail only Brady and Carson Palmer (who has played a game more), while his two interceptions trail only Brady.

Surprisingly, the biggest reason for the Packers' undefeated record is their defence, who rank first in the NFL with 16.8 points per game conceded. Green Bay has racked 23 sacks (third behind Denver and New England) with outside linebackers Julius Peppers (5.5) and Clay Matthews (4.5) leading the way. On the back end of the defence, first-round pick Damarious Randall has performed sensationally in coverage, allowing only 41.9 per cent of passes thrown his way to be completed which is the second-best mark in the league behind only Patrick Peterson (41.7).

The Packers also boast a +6 turnover differential, which is tied with Denver for the fourth-best mark in the league.

CINCINNATI BENGALS (6-0)

Point differential: +60

Combined record of opponents: 14-27

Signature win: 27-24 over Seahawks on October 11

Remaining schedule: Colts, Packers, at Titans, Washington, at Cowboys, at Saints, Falcons, at Giants, at Falcons, Buccaneers

Few would have picked the Bengals as legitimate Super Bowl contenders entering the season because, although they have one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, the perception was that Andy Dalton could not raise his level of play enough to enable them to make a run.

Well, 'The Red Rifle' is proving otherwise so far in 2015.

The Bengals quarterback leads the NFL with a QB rating of 116.1 and has thrown 14 touchdowns against just two interceptions. His yards per attempt total of 9.12 leads the NFL and illustrates the efficiency with which he has played this season. The Bengals offence is averaging 30.3 points per game and Dalton is managing the talented weapons around him masterfully.

On defence, the Bengals have been very solid if not spectacular, allowing an average of 20.3 points per game which is good for 12th in the NFL. Their sack total of 17 is good for ninth in the league with defensive end Carlos Dunlap among the league's leaders with 6.5.

The home game against Seattle on October 11 was viewed as a litmus test for a team that has reached the playoffs in each of Dalton's first four seasons but fallen at the first hurdle on each occasion. The Bengals found themselves trailing in the fourth quarter but rallied to win and in doing so, served notice to the rest of the league that this team has more substance than its previous incarnations.

CAROLINA PANTHERS (6-0)

Point differential: +52

Combined record of opponents: 15-26

Signature win: 27-23 at Seattle on October 18

Remaining schedule: Colts, Packers, at Titans, Washington, at Cowboys, at Saints, Falcons, at Giants, at Falcons, Buccaneers

When 2014 first-round pick Kelvin Benjamin was carted off the field with a season-ending knee injury in training camp, serious questions were raised about the Carolina Panthers' ability to field a competent passing game in 2015.

Those concerns have been proven to be valid so far, with the Panthers averaging just 200 yards per game through the air - good for 29th in the NFL. The strange thing is it has not mattered.

The defence and the rushing attack have picked up the slack and Cam Newton has been able to make clutch plays when it matters to lead the Panthers to a perfect 6-0 record.

Carolina leads the NFL with 144.7 yards rushing per game. Newton has accounted for 245 of those while also rushing for four touchdowns. His receiving corps leaves a lot to be desired with Ted Ginn serving as his de facto number one option after being the FIFTH option in Arizona last season. Against the Seahawks in Seattle, Newton led the Panthers on two 80-yard touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to erase a 27-14 deficit.

On defence, the Panthers are allowing just 18.3 points per game which is tied with Seattle for fifth-best in the league. The unit boasts elite players at every level - none more so than cornerback Josh Norman who is tied for the league lead with four interceptions while allowing just 46.2 per cent of passes to be completed into his coverage. Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly form the NFL's best one-two combination at linebacker while defensive tackle Kawann Short is enjoying a breakout season and has emerged as one of the NFL's most dominant interior defenders.

DENVER BRONCOS (6-0)

Point differential: +37

Combined record of opponents: 13-27

Signature win: 23-20 over Vikings on October 4

Remaining schedule: Packers, at Colts, Chiefs, at Bears, Patriots, at Chargers, Raiders, at Steelers, Bengals, Chargers

Given the wealth of talent in the Mile-High City, it is not a shock to see the Denver Broncos with an undefeated record after seven weeks of the NFL season. But the manner in which they have achieved that feat has been surprising.

Peyton Manning has aged before our very eyes this season and looks a shadow of the player who broke NFL records for both touchdown passes (55) and passing yards (5,477) in 2013. Despite having arguably the NFL's best one-two punch at wide receiver at his disposal in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, Denver is averaging a league-worst 6.4 yards per attempt through the air. Manning has thrown just seven touchdowns while his 10 interceptions are tied for league lead.

Denver has not found solace in the ground game either where they rank 29th in both rushing yards per attempt (3.6) and total rushing yards.

Luckily for the offence, Denver boasts the best defence in the NFL and it is this unit which is largely responsible for the team's perfect record to date.

The Broncos are first in the league in passing yards allowed per game with 192.2 and joint-first in sacks (26) while they rank second in points per game (17.0), second in takeaways (17) and fourth in rushing yards allowed per game (89.2).

The defence is stacked with impact players, with DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller forming the most dangerous combination of pass rushers in the NFL, while Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. are the best of pair of cornerbacks.