NFL Power Rankings, Week 8: Chiefs reclaim dominance and superstars who need a trade

NFL Power Rankings and Superstar Trade Wish List

1. NFL Power Rankings, Week 8: Chiefs reclaim dominance, Steelers embarrass themselves
2. Biggest winners and losers in Week 8 NFL Power Rankings
3. These 4 NFL superstars deserve to be traded to a team that matters

Whether it was the Denver Broncos giving us a roller-coaster win probability chart against the New York Giants, the Kansas City Chiefs getting Rashee Rice back to maul the struggling rival Las Vegas Raiders, the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots continuing to establish themselves as legitimate threats (and maybe contenders) or even the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings trading haymakers, NFL Week 7 certainly delivered a bang and offered plenty of shake-up in our NFL Power Rankings.

Now that we're just some two weeks away from the NFL trade deadline, though, the truth of the matter is that where teams are in power rankings of all 32 teams is more important than ever, regardless of what I or any other analyst thinks. The considerations of how aggressive buyers and sellers need to be are happening in real time, the same of which is true for head coaching and personnel decisions at well (looking at you, Mike McDaniel!).

So while we're going to once again pit all 32 teams against one another for our Week 8 NFL Power Rankings, we'll also look at some of the biggest names in the NFL, who, though they might not actually be on the trade block, probably should be. Or, at the very least, fans should want them to be so that their immense talent isn't going to waste.

NFL Power Rankings, Week 8: Chiefs reclaim dominance, Steelers embarrass themselves

Biggest winners and losers in Week 8 NFL Power Rankings

Biggest Winner: Kansas City Chiefs

Sure, it was against the Raiders, but the simple truth of the matter is that the Chiefs were already starting to look back before they added their bonafide No. 1 receiver back to the mix, and Rashee Rice didn't look like he'd missed a beat after completing his six-game suspension. That was even more impressive when you remember that this was also his first game back after suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2024.

Kansas City's 31-point shutout victory over their rivals was their most dominant in that matchup in a decade and a half. While that has plenty to do with Vegas, you could clearly see everything starting to fall into place in this game. There's never been a moment to not truly have faith in the Steve Spagnuolo defense, but Rice completes the offensive picture for Mahomes, as does the emergence of rookie Brashard Smith as a potential 1B with Isiah Pacheco in the offense over Kareem Hunt.

While they're still looking up at the Broncos and Chargers in the AFC West, the Chiefs are seemingly trending in a much more favorable direction at this current juncture. And while entering Week 8 is still far too early to call anything with complete confidence when it comes to the postseason — much less the Super Bowl — it does seem that reports of the Chiefs' demise from early in the year might've been entirely too premature.

Biggest Loser: Pittsburgh Steelers

The Thursday night loss for the Steelers felt more back-breaking than it probably should. Yet, I also don't know how any portion of the fan base comes out of that game feeling any type of positivity based on how things transpired. Every criticism and complaint of the Steelers that has mounted regarding Mike Tomlin in recent years seemed on full display as they couldn't get past a severely depleted rival Bengals team led by Joe Flacco, the one quarterback starting who's older than Aaron Rodgers.

If you were to sum everything going on in Pittsburgh down to one problem, it's that this is a collection of great or big-name pieces that fit together to form abstract art rather than a puzzle. DK Metcalf and Rodgers still aren't on the same page, Jalen Ramsey has been inconsistent, the pass rush and defense as a whole aren't nearly as dominant as they've come to be expected to be, and the coaching staff, with Arthur Smith in particular, doesn't seem to know how to make any of it work.

Pittsburgh still holds a winning record and the lead in the AFC North, but that may have more to do with the rest of the division than it does the Steelers. They still don't appear to be far removed from mediocrity, and the band might already be tuning up to play the frustratingly familiar refrain of an above-.500 season that ends with an early playoff exit.

Team I'm Thoroughly Confused By: Denver Broncos

On the one hand, Bo Nix and the Broncos completed one of the most thrilling comebacks that we're likely to see this entire season. On the other hand, the team trailed 19-0 going into the fourth quarter against the New York Giants and by as much as 26-8 more than midway through the final frame. Yes, they were able to claw back into it, completely erase the deficit, and kick the game-winning field goal as time expired, but you would also hope, especially in Denver, that this team wouldn't be in such a position against an inferior opponent.

At the end of the day, Denver is still sitting at 5-2 with the lead in the division. But while that's the case, this defense is extremely potent, yet still seems to be conceding far more often than you'd like to. As for Nix, his struggles in the offense aren't entirely going away, and one could argue that a complete miscalculation n the part of the Giants — not to mention some awful decision-making from Jaxson Dart — put the Broncos back in the game on Sunday. A word to the wide: Abandon the prevent defense forever, but especially late in games.

It will still be some time before I'm willing to trust the Broncos, though I have to admit still that they're a good football team. It's a conundrum that I and many others have to face when assessing this group right now, and hopefully the real iteration of Denver will reveal itself sooner rather than later.

These 4 NFL superstars deserve to be traded to a team that matters

RB Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints

Though I'll admit that Spencer Rattler is flashing more than I ever expected him to at the helm of the Saints offense, this teams is miles away from being competitive right now. The offensive line is a mess, but that's second to a defense that can't stop anyone. And while star running back Alvin Kamara might not be the top-level star in the league that he once was, it'd be overly harsh to say that he's not negatively held down by his situation right now in New Orleans.

While Kamara might prefer to go and drink piña coladas rather than be traded from the Saints, football fans and the running back himself deserve better than watching him waste away with this current iteration of the team he's spent his entire career with. More importantly, New Orleans would also be better off moving him. There's no good that would come from being stubborn when this organization needs wholesale personnel changes in a rebuild, which a 30-year-old running back just simply isn't in position to be a part of.

Ideal trade landing spot: Kansas City Chiefs

My affinity for rookie Brashard Smith still has me intrigued by what he could be in the Chiefs offense, but in a win-now mentality, Kamara is the surer option that Kansas City could potentially turn to in order to upgrade the backfield. Pacheco simply hasn't been the same player for almost a year now while Kareem Hunt looks a bit washed up. The Chiefs reportedly aren't scouring the running back market, but maybe they'd reconsider if Kamara became available.

EDGE Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati Bengals

Given what we knew the Bengals defense was going to look like whether they were able to work out a new deal with Trey Hendrickson or not, I was always in favor of Cincinnati dealing their star pass rusher before the start of the season. Instead, they ended up on what is likely the worst option — especially given the current circumstances at quarterback — with Hendrickson only being around for the rest of this season on a pay raise before his deal is up.

Now that Joe Flacco is helming the offense in place of injured Joe Burrow, though, the Bengals are in an awful spot. Yes, they just upset the Steelers, but that feels like more of an indictment of Pittsburgh than an indication of future success in Cincinnati. Moreover, the negotiations that led into this season with Hendrickson also appear to be a clear indication that the Bengals aren't interested in a long-term deal, which should put trading their pass rusher on the table to accrue some sort of value before losing him for nothing more than a comp pick.

Ideal trade landing spot: Detroit Lions

Unfortunately, the Lions defense is once again getting ravaged by injuries. And while that hasn't completely been the case for the pass rush with Aidan Hutchinson back healthy, the group on the edge still needs more juice. Detroit has long been a popular landing spot for Hendrickson in a potential trade, and there's no reason based on what we've seen to this point that shouldn't be the case again if the Bengals make him available, even if that seems currently unlikely.

DT Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee Titans

I'll admit, I'm a bit more torn on Jeffery Simmons being traded by the Titans than I am the other three superstars here. At the end of the day, however, the firing of Brian Callahan and the state of the overall roster in Tennessee puts this franchise in too poor of a position to not try and hit the reset button around Cam Ward in any way they can. And there isn't an asset on the Titans payroll right now that could net the return for them that Simmons could in a potential trade.

Simmons is currently like the viral image of the Lamborghini sitting under the tin-roofed carport next to a single-wide trailer on this Titans defense. He's a force to be reckoned with on the interior of the defensive line, but he simply doesn't have the help around him right now. While currently injured after missing Week 7, he's expected back sometime relatively soon, and could be a force multiplier for a contender or playoff team that needs help on the defensive line. Meanwhile, with 2.5 years left on his deal at 28 years old, he could fetch quite a haul for a Titans team that needs a huge influx of young talent.

Ideal trade landing spot: Chicago Bears

Ben Johnson and the Bears appear to be finding their footing steadily this season, but the defense still leaves some cause for concern, particularly up front. Chicago could be in the market for more depth on the edge, but adding someone of Simmons' caliber to the interior would give Dennis Allen a game-wrecker that he currently lacks, which would help amplify the effects of the edge pass rush in itself without making a move at the position.

EDGE Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders

Thankfully, the injury that forced Maxx Crosby to leave Sunday's game for the Raiders does not appear to be serious and his rest-of-game absence was more precautionary than anything else. He's also just at the start of a contract that will pay the 28-year-old through the 2029 season, so Las Vegas certainly doesn't have to trade him. At the same time, the franchise tried to expedite a rebuild with the Geno Smith trade-and-sign deal this offseason, and it's blown up in their face.

Put simply, the Raiders are directionless right now, from hiring Pete Carroll and trying to force-feed win-now type of moves for a roster that was simply never ready to be in such a position. While trading one of the NFL's best pass-rushers isn't always the most palatable notion, the return they could get for him could help the new regime in Vegas course-correct after a misguided offseason with a king's ransom of draft picks.

Ideal trade landing spot: Dallas Cowboys

And no team can offer a king's ransom like the Dallas Cowboys could. Who know what Jerry Jones is conjuring up in his mind at this point after dealing Micah Parsons, but Crosby would be one of the only adequate replacements for the now-Packers star and the trade with Green Bay afforded Dallas the draft pick ammunition to reasonably start such a trade conversation. It's highly unlikely that the Raiders would move Crosby, but as Dak Prescott puts forth an MVP-caliber season, the Cowboys could certainly use a game-changing defensive piece like Crosby to not let it go to waste.