2023 NFL power rankings, Week 9: Sloppy Chiefs fall out of top spot after ugly loss

On Thursday night at Buffalo, it was too little too late for the Buccaneers. Down 24-10 late in the fourth quarter, Buccaneers’ quarterback Baker Mayfield threw a 24-yard TD pass to Mike Evans with 2:44 to play. A two-point conversion made it a six-point deficit, but the Bucs failed on a Hail Mary attempt on the final play of the night.

Todd Bowes’ team is 3-0 when it scores at least 20 points and 0-4 when it doesn’t. It was Tampa’s third straight loss. After eight weeks of play, every team in the NFC South has at dropped at least four games this season.

Yes, it was a short week for the Purple Gang as they followed up a Monday night meeting with the 49ers with a road trip to Lambeau Field. Kevin O’Connell’s club made it three straight wins and the rejuvenated Vikings evened their record at 4-4. None of that seemed to matter after it was learned that Kirk Cousins suffered an Achilles injury.

What will the team to do at quarterback for the rest of the season? The Vikings have a game at Atlanta on Sunday and the NFL trade deadline is at 4:00 pm ET on Tuesday. Could the team already have the answer on the roster?

Last week, Brandon Staley’s team had no answers for Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes. On Sunday night at SoFi Stadium, the visiting Chicago Bears had no answers for Justin Herbert. After just two quarters of play, he had already completed 21-of-25 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns. The Chargers led 24-7 at intermission.

The Bolts got some surprising help on Sunday as the first-place Chiefs were stunned at Denver by the last-place. Staley’s team still has quite the uphill climb, but the Chargers must build on its best performance of the season.