It’s a good time to take a closer look at the real contenders this NFL season now that the trading term has come and gone.

The Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs were active buyers before teams were told to stop trading. Many are predicting a potential Lions vs. Chiefs Super Bowl showdown after both improve their respective rosters.

The Washington Commanders are finally being taken seriously as a Super Bowl contender after the team made the splash move for cornerback Marshon Lattimore. They now have a lockdown corner in case they face the Lions in the postseason.

There is plenty of competition for Detroit in the NFC. Maybe not by much for Kansas City in the AFC, but the Chiefs have been far from dominant despite their 8-0 start.

Let’s take a look at the buyers at this week’s Fact or Fiction trade deadline. Even the struggling Dallas Cowboys refuse to accept the reality of a chaotic season.

Chiefs finish the regular season 17-0

Manzano’s vision: fiction

I understand why some pundits and fans are annoyed that Kansas City is seen in the same light as Detroit. It took seven comebacks, a pair of missed false starts on Jawaan Taylor and a handful of questionable flags for the Chiefs to get to 8-0 on the season.

No matter how nasty the Chiefs’ games go, Kansas City tends to find ways to win most of their games, and it’s not always because the referees got involved. It helps to have Patrick Mahomes, that’s why Baker Mayfield groaned to the heavens when the Chiefs won the overtime toss. It could get ugly, but nine times out of 10, Kansas City will find a way to win. That’s why the Chiefs are the heavy favorites to get out of the AFC – because the usual contenders haven’t found a way to beat them when it matters most.

I’m sure by now I’ve annoyed those who are tired of seeing the Chiefs win, but here’s something to look forward to: they’ll probably lose a game in the regular season.

Remember, I said that nine times out of 10, the Chiefs find a way to win. They are in their 10th game of the season. The Chiefs face the Denver Broncos and the Buffalo Bills in the next two weeks. I wouldn’t be surprised if they fall into a trap game against the Broncos and respond by destroying the Bills, who have won four straight games.

OK, maybe it’s hard to imagine rookie Bo Nix leading the Broncos to a win Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. But the Chiefs love to play dangerously and ultimately they will burn to keep it close in the final minutes. Kansas City will play the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers in the final five games of the regular season.

Plus, this team probably doesn’t care about a perfect record. The real goal is to win three consecutive Super Bowls.

The Lions will have a cakewalk to Super Bowl LIX

Manzano’s vision: fiction

The Lions have earned the right to be viewed as the heavy favorite in the NFC and the best team in football. They are the No. 1 team Conor Orr’s power rankings because they checked a lot of boxes in the first half of the season.

Detroit has an offensive juggernaut and a physical defense that is ordinary acquired edge rusher Za’Darius Smith to help with the loss of Aidan Hutchinson, who suffered a season-ending leg injury last month.

The smart money is on the Lions (7-1) versus the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. But these two teams are not headed to a meeting in New Orleans in February.

There are too many strong teams in the NFC to say the Lions will have a cakewalk to the Super Bowl. This isn’t the AFC where you try to convince yourself that the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills can beat the Chiefs.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the Lions lose to one of their NFC North rivals, like the Minnesota Vikings or Green Bay Packers. Yes, they are 2-0 against those teams, but don’t forget the familiarity. These teams all know each other well, making every potential playoff meeting a coin flip.

Maybe the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams will both find a path to the postseason. The NFC West teams have Super Bowl experience with two of the best coaches in the NFL. No one will want to see Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp and Kyren Williams if Los Angeles finds a path to the playoffs. And who knows, maybe in two months the 49ers will regain their Super Bowl status once their key players are healthy again.

And I haven’t even mentioned the two best teams in the NFC East: the Commanders, who are playing with a lot of confidence against rookie sensation Jayden Daniels, and the Philadelphia Eagles, who look like the 49ers and Rams are a Super Bowl runner-up. 2022.

The Lions can certainly save all these teams, but let’s wait to punch their ticket to New Orleans.

Commanders were wise to go all in on Marshon Lattimore’s trade

Manzano’s Opinion: Fact

The Commanders (7-2) had plenty of reasons this season to continue accelerating their rapid rebuild — which not many saw coming.

Armed with additional draft picks, Washington now went all-in to win in Daniels’ rookie season after acquiring Lattimore from the New Orleans Saints in exchange for three 2025 draft picks, including a third-round selection. It was a steep price, but Washington General Manager Adam Peters had an extra third-round pick from the Jahan Dotson trade with the Eagles.

In a sense, the Eagles helped the Commanders improve their defense, and in turn, potentially take the NFC East crown from them. Now Lattimore can help defend AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith when the division rivals play twice later this season.

This aggressive move by Lattimore may seem like a rookie mistake from a team that wasn’t used to playing this late in the playoffs. But all the steps Peters has made have benefited the present and future in Washington, which is why he should be the frontrunner for Executive of the Year.

Peters knew coach Dan Quinn would need a lot of outside help to build a good roster in the first year of their partnership, but he wisely invested in undervalued players on short-term contracts to avoid putting the salary cap in jeopardy if the moves wouldn’t work. That’s why Quinn was able to put up a decent defense despite not having much talent.

There is an argument that the Commanders should have gone with the same selection and not given up so many draft picks. But you never know how draft picks will turn out and how offseason acquisitions will fare with a new team. So why not now? There is no need to wait until next year, when this year’s commanders will be ready to fight.

Cowboys should have been sellers at the trade deadline

Manzano’s Opinion: Fact

I imagine Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is constantly reminded of Dak Prescott recently went to injured reserve before shrugging it off and agreeing to trade for Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jonathan Mingo. Perhaps a Cowboys executive almost screamed that a fourth-round pick was too much for Mingo, especially when the Chiefs got DeAndre Hopkins for virtually the same price.

All jokes asideNothing the Cowboys (3-5) have done this season suggests they are a player or two away from being a playoff contender. Even the slight chance of a surge in the second half disappeared when Prescott injured his hamstring and went on IR, making him unavailable for at least the next four games.

But maybe Jones is thinking about what backup Cooper Rush did in 2022 when he kept the team afloat while Prescott was sidelined. Even that thinking makes little sense due to the glaring roster holes in this year’s group. The Cowboys need to look to the future and find creative ways to improve the backfield, offensive line and defense. Building a roster became a lot more difficult after Prescott and CeeDee Lamb signed huge contract extensions before the season. Oh, and Lamb is dealing with a shoulder injury.

Prescott may have tried to warn Jones not to trade their draft picks when he said on the sidelines last week that the 2024 Cowboys are worthless. Good, maybe he didn’t say that. We’ll have to ask a professional lip reader.

Either way, maybe the Cowboys can revive Mingo’s career; he has just 12 catches for 121 yards in nine games this season and hasn’t contributed much since being drafted in the second round last year.

Plus, the Cowboys didn’t have much to offer a contender. Obviously, they didn’t trade star edge rusher Micah Parsons. Maybe this is Jones’ way of building for 2025 and not admitting that this year has been a total failure in Dallas. I think this is a small victory for one of the biggest disappointments this season.