At the midway point of the 2025 NFL season, the contenders have begun to separate themselves from the pretenders, giving fans a look at the teams that will realistically compete for the Lombardi Trophy in February.

With six teams on a bye and eight of 13 games on the schedule being interconference games, Week 8 might be one of the least consequential weeks on the 2025 NFL season. Still, every game is important and the results we’ve seen so far have impacted the current playoff picture (early as it may be).

The Bengals are allowing a league-worst 407.9 yards per game through eight games, and Ben Johnson will have his pick of matchups to exploit, starting with a Cincy run defense that gave up 254 yards and two TDs against the Jets. Although starting running back D’Andre Swift is out, Kyle Monangai should pick up the slack.

The Chiefs and Bills are surging ahead of their Week 9 showdown. But can either of them catch the Colts and Patriots to take the No. 1 seed?

These are the deals USA TODAY's NFL reporters want to see happen ahead of the league's Nov. 4, 2025, trade deadline.