NFL Power Rankings: Ranking best matchups entering Week 9

There are some insane matchups on paper heading into Week 9 of the 2024 NFL Season. Let's power rank the best ones! The trade deadline is also quickly approaching, and we've seen two more recent moves made in Diontae Johnson being sent to the Baltimore Ravens and DeAndre Hopkins being sent to the Kansas City Chiefs.

More moves will certainly be made as well as we approach Week 9. The NFL trade deadline is on November 5th, the day after Monday Night Football for this coming week. Well, before we get to the trade deadline, we've power ranked the four best matchups on the schedule in Week 9.

Let's talk about them here.

NFL Power Rankings: Ranking best matchups entering Week 9
4. Chicago @ Arizona

Quietly, the Arizona Cardinals are not only better than you think, but have already hit their win total from 2023. They're 4-4 and lead the NFC West. The Chicago Bears lost in the most heartbreaking way possible in Week 8; they lost on a Hail Mary on the final play of the game.

I'd imagine that the Bears are coming into this game quite angry and looking to get to 5-3, and I'd also imagine that the Cardinals understand the position they are in and will look to take advantage of a poorly coached Bears team.

This could end up being a back and forth game, as the Bears defense is quite good, but the Cardinals offense is also quite good. If this came down to a potential game-winning field goal, I'd not be shocked.

3. Tampa Bay @ Kansas City

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a huge problem on defense and are down both Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, but this could still end up being a close shootout. Baker Mayfield leads the NFL with 21 touchdown passes, so he'll find a way to deliver the ball, and even though the Kansas City Chiefs offense hasn't been great this season, they'll find a way to move the ball against the horrible Bucs defense.

The Monday Night Football game in Week 9, this could be the toughest game of the season thus far for the Chiefs, who look to improve to 8-0 on the season. They are the lone unbeaten team in the NFL, and the Bucs are now, essentially, two games behind the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South, so their games are becoming more and more important.

2. Denver @ Baltimore

All of a sudden, the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens has turned into a must-watch game. Did any of us think that the Broncos and Ravens would have the same record through eight games? I didn't. Now yes, the two teams are in different spots, but they both started 0-2 in 2024 and have since turned their seasons around.

Both squads are second in their divisions and in a Wild Card spot in the AFC. The Broncos defense is among the best in the NFL, but the Ravens offense is also among the best in the NFL, so this could end up being a very close game. The Ravens should obviously be favored and will probably win this one, but it's shaping up to come down to the final minutes.

1. Detroit @ Green Bay

I mean, I have no idea how this would not be the game of the week. The Detroit Lions are 6-1 and clearly the best team in the NFC North and in the NFC, and the Green Bay Packers are 6-2 and might be the most explosive and fun team in the league. It's not clear at this point if Jordan Love is going to play in this game, but the whole NFL world hopes he does.

Love and Jared Goff are two QBs just about to break through into superstardom, so this game not only is going to feature to very good QBs, but it may also have huge implications for the NFC North race and the overall NFC playoff picture.

The Packers defense is quite good, but the Lions offense is insane. What gives? What unit is better? What QB is better? Which coaching staff is better? To me, a lot of those questions will be answered on Sunday.