NFL Power Rankings: Before the main week 1 slate

The NFL season has officially kicked off with a banger of a game between the Chiefs and Ravens that saw the Super Bowl champs grind out a win with a performance that suggests they will be near the top of our power rankings all season long. But where is every other team ranked?

The Panthers could be better this year than last, with a new head coach and Bryce Young entering his second year in the NFL. However, we don’t trust this organization in the slightest, so we will wait and see if there is any improvement.

The Pats are going into the year with Jacoby Brissett under-center, which is probably sensible given their terrible offensive line situation. Drake Maye will take over at some point, but hanging out to dry with this supporting cast seems dangerous.

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Eric Edholm for NFL media wrote, “the margin for error feels pretty thin for a team that isn’t teeming with higher-end talent and features a good -- but hardly dominant -- defense,” in his recent power rankings. We tend to agree with that assessment, but we’re not even sure if the defense will be especially good.

The Saints roster features almost no players that opposing coaches will be worried about at this point in their careers. Their offensive line is improved after drafting Taliese Fuaga, but they are still starting Derek Carr, so their ceiling isn’t much beyond a .500 record, and we’d be surprised if they even got close to that.

If Daniel Jones and Malik Nabers find a connection early on, the Giants will win a few games just off the back of it. However, it’s still Daniel Jones at QB, who so far has exhibited very little ability to find a connection with any receiver. With no Saquon Barkley to carry the running game, this offense could be insipid. Brian Burns et al. should make for a good defensive line, however.

The Titans have, in theory, quite a good offense… if Will Levis can drastically improve on last year’s performances. We are, admittedly, Will Levis-doubters, and we could be way off-base here, but we just don’t see it with the former Kentucky QB.

The Commanders are going to be fun to watch this year, even if it's just done to Jayden Daniels doing crazy things from the QB position. Their skill position group shouldn’t cause many teams an issue, and defensively they are set to struggle.

We liked Bo Nix during the pre-draft process and expect him to be a solid NFL QB, however, is he a transformational player? Probably not. The Broncos need Sean Payton to find his fast ball quickly and get Nix and his team up to scratch, otherwise this could be another long season in the Mile High City.

Kyler Murray throwing to Marvin Harrison Jr. should be electric and may be enough to win the Cardinals a game here or there. Outside of that, this team lacks elite players, but still, as Eric Edholm writes, “If they can make moderate improvements defensively and maintain their us-against-the-world mentality, the Cardinals could double their win total from a year ago.”

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Another tough break for Vikings fans as they saw J.J. McCarthy seemingly win the starting quarterback job only to blow up his knee. At least the heartbreak came early this year, so there’s probably not many hopes or expectations to cling onto!

The Steelers will probably finish the year close to a wildcard berth, but at some point, do we need to start questioning this organization’s methodology? Despite not having a losing season in his career, Mike Tomlin hasn’t challenged for a Super Bowl for some time, and now they seem intent on settling as an above-average, but not great team, which doesn’t fly in the NFL.

If, and this is a big if, Anthony Richardson can stay healthy and is as good as we think he is, the Colts could emerge as a surprise package this year.

We know the Bucs made the divisional round last year and have improved this offseason, but does any seriously see a team led by Baker Mayfield as a genuine threat? As Bleacher Report wrote recently, “even in an NFC South that isn't exactly loaded, there isn't much margin for error,” and there is no more “margin for error” QB than Mayfield.

The Jags’ collapse in 2023 was only the second-worst in the NFL behind the Eagles’, but it was still terrible. Can Trevor Lawrence finally find consistency and not make the same killer mistakes? Is Doug Pederson the right coach to lead the Jags forward? These questions need answering, and quickly.

We recently wrote a piece outlining teams we believed could genuinely win the Super Bowl, and the Seahawks were on it, so maybe we’re hedging a little by having them so low here. We just don’t see a world in which they don’t have an elite defense and there are too many offensive weapons to cover, even with a patchwork O-line.

The Falcons signed Kirk Cousins in the offseason and promptly drafted Michael Penix Jr. in what is a truly baffling series of events that we still can’t come close to parsing. That being said, this is a decent football team with solid offensive weaponry in Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson and that should be enough for them to win the NFC South.

We’re sticking to our rule that the Jets are staying at 16 until we see them do something that suggests they shouldn’t be here. They could comfortably be the AFC’s representative in NOLA in February, or they could be picking top-10 in the 2025 draft, we really have no idea.

Eric Edholm’s summation of the Rams, “The Rams' firepower suggests they'll be in the mix, but there's no guarantee they can withstand a slow start again like they did last season,” is about what we think too. The loss of Aaron Donald has been under-discussed in our view, his impact on opposing offenses cannot be understated.

The Chargers have listed 6’4” 300lbs defensive tackle Scott Matlock as their starting fullback, and we can only assume that will lead to some amazing highlights. Jim Harbaugh is going to go old school on the NFL, and we think it’ll work, maybe not this year, but over time, we can see the Chargers winning a lot of games.

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Are we caught up in the Caleb Williams hype? It’s entirely possible, but, so what if we are, the Bears have assembled a good roster in a tight window and now look competitive.

Pete Prisco for CBS Sports has the Browns ranked at 16 in his latest power rankings, and we think that’s too low for a team coming off an 11-win season in which they started roughly 1000 different quarterbacks. Defensively, they will be elite, while their offense is entirely reliant on Deshaun Watson refinding his ability to play QB.

Per ESPN, the Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since 2000, which they will need to rectify soon, otherwise there will be serious questions about Mike McDaniel’s competency. Yes, they have an electric offense, but if you can’t win in January, what’s the point?

The Eagles are another volatile team with a wide range of outcomes. So much depends on Cam Jurgens competently replacing Jason Kelce at center and Jalen Hurts remembering not to throw horrendous interceptions at inopportune moments. Talent-wise, there are few teams better.

The Cowboys and Eagles will once again do battle for the NFC East, and both teams have the ability to win the Super Bowl or completely implode, giving this dogfight even more of an edge.

The Texans saw their window opening and reacted quickly, signing players with the intention to win now. C.J. Stroud could find his second season in the NFL more difficult than his first, but he’s so good it won’t matter.

Joe Burrow is going into the year healthy, and that’s a huge deal for the Bengals even if Ja'Marr Chase is still refusing to practice as he negotiates a new contract, per ESPN. There’s rarely a dull moment for the Bengals, but maybe signing your elite wide receiver before the season starts would be a good idea…

The Lions kept hold of Ben Johnson in what could be one of the biggest moments in the offseason, however, we can see them regressing a little from last year due to how competitive the NFC North is.

Jordan Love and the Packers faceoff against the Eagles in Brazil on Friday night in what should be a great litmus test for both teams. If Love continues his upward trajectory, this is one of the best teams in the NFL and will be in contention to play February football.

The next three teams are all about as close as it can be, with the Ravens, Bills, and 49ers all having good claims to being the second-best team in football. We have knocked the Ravens due to the loss of Mike Macdonald, who we think is one of the best defensive minds in football.

We would love the Bills to have one more receiving threat on the outside, with Dalton Kincaid set to be Josh Allen’s number-one target. They lack for stars on the defense, but it should still be a good unit under Sean McDermott’s coaching.

Pete Prisco summed up the Niners well, “The roster is still loaded and Kyle Shanahan remains one of the league's best coaches,” there isn’t too much more to say. We expect them to be contending for a Super Bowl again, and maybe, just maybe, they won’t lose it this time.

Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes. That’s about it. They’re the best team in football and will probably win a third Super Bowl in a row. Get used to the idea.

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