Power rankings

Who sits atop — and at the bottom — of the league entering this week’s matchups?

1. New Orleans Saints (8-1) | Last week’s rank: 1 Dez Bryant suffered a season-ending injury in practice before making his debut for the team so the Saints signed Brandon Marshall instead. But does adding a complementary WR really matter at this point?

2. Kansas City Chiefs (9-1) | Last week’s rank: 3 Patrick Mahomes has raised the expectations for himself so much that his 249-yard, two-TD, no-interception performance Sunday against the Cardinals seemed rather ordinary. 3. Los Angeles Rams (9-1) | Last week’s rank: 4

The triumph over the Seahawks got the Rams back into the win column ahead of the big matchup with the Chiefs. 4. Los Angeles Chargers (7-2) | Last week’s rank: 5 The victory in Oakland was routine, and the Chargers keep winning while drawing relatively little notice for it. 5. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2-1) | Last week’s rank: 6 The Steelers, thanks to the emergence of James Conner, aren’t missing Le’Veon Bell.

6. New England Patriots (7-3) | Last week’s rank: 2 It’s not that the Patriots won’t rebound from the loss Sunday in Nashville. They will. But they’re two games behind the Chiefs in the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. That matters quite a bit. 7. Houston Texans (6-3) | Last week’s rank: 8

The Texans have the Titans on their heels in the AFC South as they return from their bye to play Sunday at FedEx Field against the Redskins, putting their sixgame winning streak on the line.

8. Chicago Bears (6-3) | Last week’s rank: 10

The Bears are for real. Khalil Mack celebrated his return to the defensive lineup Sunday with a two-sack performance in the win over the Lions, and second-year QB Mitchell Trubisky continued his rapid development with another good outing. 9. Washington Redskins (6-3) | Last week’s rank: 14 The Redskins were dominated statistically in Tampa but didn’t turn the ball over and benefited from the Buccaneers’ miscues. That’s not an exciting way to win. But it works. 10. Tennessee Titans (5-4) | Last week’s rank: 16 The victory over the Patriots has the Titans again looking like a viable contender. QB Marcus Mariota seems much closer to fully healthy. 11. Minnesota Vikings (5-3-1) | Last week’s rank: 11 The Vikings come back from their bye in second place in the NFC North, a half-game behind the Bears. The two teams still face each other twice, including this Sunday night in Chicago.

12. Carolina Panthers (6-3) | Last week’s rank: 7

The lopsided defeat last Thursday night in Pittsburgh was alarming. But Coach Ron Rivera was right: It happens in the NFL and it must be discarded quickly.

13. Green Bay Packers (4-5-1) | Last week’s rank: 17 The victory at home Sunday over the Dolphins calms things down a bit and gets the Packers back to .500. But they’re winless on the road this season. 14. Indianapolis Colts (4-5) | Last week’s rank: 20

No one is paying too much attention but the Colts actually have become a competent team, with three straight wins.

15. Dallas Cowboys (4-5) | Last week’s rank: 21

Just when things seemed to be falling apart for the Cowboys, QB Dak Prescott and RB Ezekiel Elliott came up big Sunday night in Philadelphia.

16. Philadelphia Eagles (4-5) | Last week’s rank: 9 So much for the notion that the Eagles were about to go on a second-half run to take control of the NFC East.

17. Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) | Last week’s rank: 12 Another season is slipping away and the firing of defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is unlikely to change anything.

18. Miami Dolphins (5-5) | Last week’s rank: 15 There was a time this season when the Dolphins were 3-0 and threatening to be a challenger to the Patriots in the AFC East. So much for that. 19. Baltimore Ravens (4-5) | Last week’s rank: 19 The Ravens were reeling heading into their bye.

20. Seattle Seahawks (5-5) | Last week’s rank: 18 The Seahawks have remained competitive during their transitional season. 21. Cleveland Browns (3-6-1) | Last week’s rank: 29 The Browns, after beating the Falcons on Sunday, are 1-1 with Gregg Williams as their interim head coach. 22. Atlanta Falcons (4-5) | Last week’s rank: 13

The Falcons seemed to have regrouped from their poor start to the season. Then came Sunday’s loss in Cleveland. 23. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6) | Last week’s rank: 22 Hey, didn’t you used to be the Jaguars? 24. Detroit Lions (3-6) | Last week’s rank: 23

It appears ever more certain that Year 1 of Matt Patricia’s coaching tenure in Detroit is going to be a major disappointment. 25. Denver Broncos (3-6) | Last week’s rank: 25 The Broncos come back from their bye to resume a season that has gone so wrong, putting Coach Vance Joseph’s job in jeopardy. 26. Buffalo Bills (3-7) | Last week’s rank: 30

Matt Barkley has been the Bills’ most effective QB this season. Does that say more about Barkley or the desperation of the Bills’ QB situation? 27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6) | Last week’s rank: 24 FitzMagic is not looking so magical these days

28. New York Giants (2-7) | Last week’s rank: 31

The game-winning drive orchestrated by Eli Manning to win Monday at San Francisco at least provided a little relief from the misery. 29. Arizona Cardinals (2-7) | Last week’s rank: 26

No one said the rookie-year education of QB Josh Rosen was going to be easy. 30. New York Jets (3-7) | Last week’s rank: 27

The Jets are not exactly making a spirited run to keep Coach Todd Bowles from being fired after the season. 31. San Francisco 49ers (2-8) | Last week’s rank: 28 Nick Mullens and the Niners came up a bit short Monday night against the Giants. 32. Oakland Raiders (1-8) | Last week’s rank: 32

If this season ends up being it for the Raiders in Oakland, the final days are ugly indeed. Mark Maske, The Washington Post