You have to give credit to the New York Jets. The defense gave up 24 points in the first half to the Cincinnati Bengals in their most recent game, only to tighten up and give up 14 in the second half, leading to New York’s first win of the season.
That’s a dangerous formula for a team whose 2025 ceiling is to land the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
So, the Jets did what they could to limit the chances of that happening again. They traded away star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and star cornerback Sauce Gardner, steps that will help the defense join the team’s offense in the bottom-10 of the league rankings. To really punctuate worsening the defense, the Jets even added Mazi Smith in their deal with the Dallas Cowboys.
Although the Jets stole the trade deadline show on Tuesday, they also left some meat on the bone. In fact, even though it shaped up to be a busy trade deadline, a number of players who were rumored to move ended up staying put. That’s where we begin this week’s What’s Trending in the NFL.
Bonus five: Trades that didn’t happen that would have been awesome
5. Mark Andrews OR David Njoku to the Green Bay Packers: Not that there’s ever a good time for an injury to a critical piece like Tucker Kraft, but the Packers at least knew before the trade deadline that they’d be without their starting tight end for the rest of the season. For a team that’s supposed to be in a win-now mode, the Packers have very little proven talent at what’s become an important position for Jordan Love. On the flip side, Andrews is on an expiring deal and Isaiah Likely is back in the fold for the Baltimore Ravens. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Browns have found something in Harold Fannin Jr., making Njoku expendable.
4. Trey Hendrickson to the Detroit Lions: Honestly, what is the play here by the Bengals? I understand reporting leading up to the deadline of how the Bengals were looking for a generous return in exchange for Hendrickson. It’s your typical leaks to drive the price up as much as possible. But when the clock gets to 3:59 p.m. ET, why would you not take the best offer on the table to move a 31-year-old pass rusher who you had a difficult offseason with on the business side and is destined to walk after a season in which your playoff hopes are slim, at best?
On the Lions’ side of this transaction, I understand why they wouldn’t get in a bidding war. They already have some high-priced players and will need those premium draft picks for talented players on rookie deals. Still, Detroit is right in the middle of its contending window and adding Hendrickson would have created some separation in the conference, not to mention improve the defensive line and the ailing secondary.
3. Jakobi Meyers to the Buffalo Bills: A little bit of an asterisk here, as Meyers was dealt at the deadline, but he ended up on the wrong team! The Bills are operating in a very dicey situation. Josh Allen is an all-world superstar, no doubt about it, but there is not enough talent around him for there to be any margin for error. So far this season, James Cook has been the magic elixir whose involvement has dictated wins and losses for Buffalo. Cook is dealing with multiple injuries this week, which may not cost Buffalo against the Miami Dolphins, but won’t bode well if they persist into January.
2. Breece Hall to the Kansas City Chiefs: This would have been fun just to see the wider NFL audience lose its mind. This would have made things borderline unfair for the rest of the league, especially now that Patrick Mahomes has all of his options back in the passing game. For the Jets, this is similar to Hendrickson for the Bengals. Drive up the price all the way to the last minute, no problem, but then take the best offer on the table and add it to the bag of draft picks.
1. Garrett Wilson to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: There really wasn’t much noise about Wilson being available, and I can understand why. In the next year or two, the Jets will bring in a young quarterback and it will help him break into the league to not be in a Cam Ward/Tennessee Titans situation.
The Jets extended Wilson this past summer and he’s only 25. I get it. But it’s still worth exploring because, as New York showed with Gardner, there is a price for anything when there’s a fire sale. And if they had made a move, what a fit Wilson would have been in Tampa Bay, where the Buccaneers are reeling from injuries to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The end is near for Evans, and the team can get out of Godwin’s deal after 2026. A future with Emeka Egbuka and Wilson paired with Baker Mayfield and Bucky Irving would have made for an enjoyable core.
Not ranked: Lack of quarterback movement — In a rare positive contribution in the world of quarterbacks from the Browns, trading Joe Flacco to the Bengals showed what a veteran quarterback can do for a team hurting at the position. There were other possibilities, mainly in New York with the Giants. Why not bless the NFL viewing audience by shipping Jameis Winston off to a place where he has a chance to play?
Kirk Cousins doesn’t appear to have much left in the tank and the finances would make it hard, but his presence in Atlanta is a waste for everyone involved. Kyler Murray isn’t really in the conversation for an in-season boost, especially after he was placed on injured reserve, but the Cardinals may need to explore finding a way to get out of that hefty contract, too.
Road to Santa Clara
The five teams with the best chance at winning the Super Bowl.
5. Los Angeles Rams: Matthew Stafford’s offseason back injury kept him out of most of training camp, making many people wonder if he’d be able to physically withstand a full NFL season. And here he is in Week 10, coming off back-to-back games of four-plus touchdown passes and leading the league in the category. You can’t break a man who quarterbacked the Detroit Lions through the 2010s.
4. Detroit Lions: There’s not much positive you can take from losing at home to the Minnesota Vikings, who were welcoming back J.J. McCarthy and figuring out their running back rotation between Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason. The Lions have fallen a game back of the Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles and Buccaneers, and have one more loss than the Green Bay Packers. The Lions also have the ninth-toughest schedule remaining.
3. Philadelphia Eagles: Look, only a hater would rank a team as the third most likely to win the Super Bowl, when said team is currently atop the conference.
2. Buffalo Bills: I give the Bills and Chiefs a lot of credit for giving us this generation’s version of Brady vs. Manning, and the game on Sunday was delightful. Credit to the Bills for rattling Mahomes and getting the win. However, once again, this is not a power ranking and we’ve seen this movie many times before of a regular-season Bills win, only for a different result in the playoffs. A significant trade deadline acquisition, coupled with the win, would have given me more confidence to catapult them to No. 1.
1. Kansas City Chiefs: There were clearly some concerns coming out of the loss to Buffalo, but nothing that can’t be cleaned up. The Bills are an even match for the Chiefs, but the former’s list of injuries is stacking up. The bye week comes at a good time for the Chiefs, who can sort some things out and get ready for the stretch run.
Not ranked: Seattle Seahawks — Quarterbacks are difficult to evaluate at any stage, whether it’s in the draft or NFL veterans. As much as we’ve seen teams botch quarterback draft picks, we’ve also seen teams hold on to veterans for too long or give a big check to the wrong quarterback in free agency. The Seahawks have put forth a masterclass, getting a Super Bowl out of Russell Wilson and moving on from him when the end was in sight. They got the most out of Geno Smith and moved on when they saw a better option on the market. And once again, they were correct in their assessment. Sam Darnold has been a perfect fit, and it’s encouraging to see the Seahawks buy into him by giving him another playmaker at the deadline.
The Seahawks seemingly aced the quarterback test again with Sam Darnold. (Geoff Burke / Imagn Images)
Bottom five
The five teams with the best chance to land the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
5. Las Vegas Raiders: At least Brock Bowers’ return gives Raiders fans something to cheer for.
4. Cleveland Browns: Joke is on you, Joakim Noah, David Njoku actually wants to stay in Cleveland!
3. New Orleans Saints: Last week was a tough assignment for Tyler Shough to start with, but his progress throughout the season is the only thing worth watching with the Saints.
2. Tennessee Titans: Good news for the Titans: They finally get their bye week. Bad news for the Titans: There’s only one bye week during the season.
1. New York Jets: Aaron Glenn continues to play the mystery game with the starting quarterback, as if the starter would “win” the competition during the week. When Myles Garrett is on the schedule, the true winner is the backup.
Not ranked: Arizona Cardinals — I don’t think the wins and losses matter a whole lot this season for the Cardinals but the front office will have some interesting decisions to make. The offense looks to flow better with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback, and I’m not basing that on this past week because the team was basically practicing routes on air in Dallas. I don’t believe Brissett is the answer long term at the position but his play is at least proving that Murray is also not it.
