2026 NFL Power Rankings: How all 32 teams stack up for Week 9 - ESPN

If you've felt like games have been closer than ever in the 2026 NFL season, you're not wrong. There have been 71 games decided by one score (eight points or fewer), tied with 2022 for the most through Week 8 in NFL history, per ESPN Research.

So how do teams start to really separate at this point of the season? Well, the easiest way might be by making big trades before the Nov. 10 deadline. (Some teams have already been active, with the Bears adding former Titans DT Jeffery Simmons and the 49ers bringing back DT DeForest Buckner.)

To preview how important the deadline can be, we asked our NFL Nation reporters to pick the best in-season trade acquisition by each team in their franchise's history. That includes the acquisition of draft picks who eventually became stars, like the Cowboys using a pick earned from the Herschel Walker trade to select running back Emmitt Smith in the 1990 draft.

To form the 1-32 list, our power panel of more than a dozen NFL analysts evaluates how all 32 teams stack up against one another. Here are a few highlights from this week's rankings:

The Broncos are in the top five of our rankings for the first time this season after defeating the Chiefs — their fourth win while trailing in the fourth quarter this season. Quarterback Bo Nix now has 13 fourth-quarter comeback wins over his career, which is the most by any quarterback in their first three seasons since starts were first tracked in 1950. And Denver is now the favorite to win the AFC West on DraftKings.

The NFC North is the only division with all four teams in the top 15 of our rankings, starting with the Bears at No. 5 and ending with the Packers at No. 14. Minnesota dropped its first game of 2026 against Detroit, which scored the first