The National Football League is now through the first half of the 2026 season, which has featured plenty of surprises and standout performances around the league.
Entering Week 10, we know who the really bad teams are. However, there is no true frontrunner in either of the two conferences. The trade deadline, which passed on Tuesday, will certainly impact the final results. Some divisions are dominating from top to bottom while others may send an under .500 team to the postseason to host a game. It’s been a wild season so far, but plenty of football remains.
After the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings completed the week with a thrilling Monday Night Football game, this is where things stand in our power rankings.
The Contenders
1. Buffalo Bills (Last Week:
1)
2. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week: 3)
3. Chicago Bears (Last Week: 2)
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week: 6)
5. Denver Broncos (Last Week: 4)
6. Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 5)
7. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week: 7)
8. Detroit Lions (Last Week: 8)
9. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week: 9)
10. New England Patriots (Last Week: 10)
11. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week: 12)
For now, the Buffalo Bills are the best team in the NFL. In the meantime, the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, and Jacksonville Jaguars, among others, simply trail them. All of those teams made significant upgrades to their roster via trade before the deadline, and all feel like they can make a run with their new-look group.
The important thing for that group of teams is the head coaching position. All of them have a guy that they believe can get it done. In fact, all 11 teams in this tier believe that their head coach can give them a tactical advantage, or at least break even, against anyone.
Now that the Minnesota Vikings have Kirk Cousins, each team has a quarterback that they can trust. There are some better than others, but all are proven solid in the NFL. Speaking of Minnesota, the entire NFC North is once again in this tier. Despite the Vikings' loss to the Bills, this is still trending to be the best division in the NFL.
Teams To Watch
12. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week: 11)
13. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 13)
14. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: 14)
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 15)
16. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week: 16)
17. Cleveland Browns (Last Week: 17)
18. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week: 18)
19. New York Giants (Last Week: 20)
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 21)
The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams are the two teams that could find themselves one tier above as soon as next week. It is hard to put full faith in them at this time, but there are reasons to believe in their immediate future. Each of them plays in a strong division, which could hurt them, but the rosters are incredible.
The New York Giants are good, but how good? They have a lot to prove in the weak NFC East. Someone in the NFC South has to make the playoffs and host a game, but who will it be? Right now, even off a loss, it's possible that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers end up being that team. The Bucs played the Bears hard and have been much better since their abysmal start.
More To Prove
21. Carolina Panthers (Last Week: 19)
22. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: 24)
23. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week: 22)
24. Washington Commanders (Last Week: 23)
25. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week: 25)
26. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: 26)
27. New York Jets (Last Week: 27)
28. Houston Texans (Last Week: 28)
29. New Orleans Saints (Last Week: 29)
30. Tennessee Titans (Last Week: 30)
31. Miami Dolphins (Last Week: 31)
32. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week: 32)
If the Bucs can't win the NFC South, an even less impressive team may end up on top. One of those teams currently resides in this low tier. If one of the Dallas Cowboys or Washington Commanders (the Eagles sold at the deadline) were to catch the Giants, they'd jump out of this tier, but don't count on it.
The season is slowly becoming lost for the rest of the teams in this tier. For the bottom-six group here, it is already time to scout the 2027 NFL Draft. There will be upsets along the way, but the final half of the season won't be pretty for most of the teams here.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: NFL Week 10 power rankings: How trade deadline impacted the standings
