NFL power rankings, Week 10: The rich got richer

Contenders buy at the NFL trade deadline and rebuilding teams sell. That’s the rule of thumb and it held true this season.

While there’s been some fluctuation at the top of the weekly power rankings, there have been a few constants. The back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs still haven’t lost a game, the Detroit Lions are blowing the doors off almost every opponent they face, and both the Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders have seven wins each.

All four of those teams made moves to seize the opportunity to get better.

The Chiefs’ trade to acquire DeAndre Hopkins is paying immediate dividends. The five-time Pro Bowler caught two touchdown passes in an overtime win Monday. The Bills’ acquisition of Amari Cooper hasn’t been as instantly impactful, but could help the team down the stretch.

Then on Tuesday, the Commanders added four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore and the Lions traded for three-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Za’Darius Smith.

None of those teams was going to be easy for the rest of the league to catch. Now it’ll be even harder. With Week 10 on the way, here’s our latest power rankings:

The contenders

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1. Detroit Lions (7-1) [Last week: 1]
2. Kansas City Chiefs (8-0) [Last week: 2]
3. Buffalo Bills (7-2) [Last week: 3]
4. Washington Commanders (7-2) [Last week: 5]
5. Baltimore Ravens (6-3) [Last week: 7]

The Chiefs slid down to No. 2 last week after yet another underwhelming win coupled with a Lions blowout. The addition of Hopkins made the Kansas City offense look like an unstoppable juggernaut again, but an overtime victory isn’t enough to unseat the Lions, who took out a quality opponent by double-digits.

Probably playoff teams

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6. Green Bay Packers (6-3) [Last week: 4]

7. Philadelphia Eagles (6-2) [Last week: 8]

8. Minnesota Vikings (6-2) [Last week: 9]

9. Atlanta Falcons (6-3) [Last week: 10]

10. Houston Texans (6-3) [Last week: 6]

11. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) [Last week: 11]

The Texans won five of their first six, including a nail-biter against the Bills in Week 5. But two losses in the last three weeks raises questions about how much of a contender Houston really is, especially after losing Stefon Diggs for the year. A Sunday night duel with the Lions may only make things worse for the slipping Texans.