My NFL Power Rankings — Week 1
The NFL is back and I am giving a go at my first-ever NFL Power Rankings. I will try to do this as often as possible, because I really love the NFL…
1. New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are my Week 1 Number One by default because they have the best quarterback of all-time and arguably the greatest coach of all-time. The Patriots started this season like every other year — with a win. It doesn’t matter the weapons around Tom Brady, he will always make things work and, of course, he still has Rob Gronkowski — the greatest tight end in NFL history.
Perhaps most encouraging for the Patriots from their Week 1 win over the Houston Texans was their improved pass rush. The Patriots swarmed Texans quarterback Watson with a variety of players from Trey Flowers to free-agent addition Adrian Clayborn, to second year player Deatrich Wise.
2. Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles looked very explosive in the second half of their 33–13 Week 1 win over the Oakland Raiders. The Rams have the most talented starting lineup in the NFL. They have an explosive offense (led by reigning Offensive Player of the Year, Todd Gurley) and the most talented defense in the league (led by reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Aaron Donald). This is a very good team led by a very cool coach in Sean McVay.
3. Philadelphia Eagles
The reigning Super Bowl champions were not super convincing in their season opener against the Atlanta Falcons but they still managed to find a way to win which says to me that this is a truly budding champion team.
The impression the Eagles are giving off right now is that they will find a way to win more often than not. Philly is growing a champion’s DNA (like the Patriots) and is a very resilient team. The Eagles also have a very creative and cool coach in Doug Pedersen. We’re just not sure which Nick Foles will show up while Carson Wentz is out.
4. Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings have definitely improved with the addition of Kirk Cousins, one of my favorite quarterbacks in the league. They were already a formidable team, now they really have no holes, especially with the return of Dalvin Cook at running back. Defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson was also a beast in his Week 1 debut against the San Francisco 49ers (adding to the beasts the Vikings already have on defense). The only reasons the Vikings aren’t higher: 1) the teams above them are pretty good, 2) we are yet to see the new offense tested.
5. Kansas City Chiefs
Tyreek Hill is the most exciting player in the NFL right now. He is amazing. He is a big play machine. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes also looked very good but we are yet to see consistency from him and the offense (it is only Week 1). There are also question marks around the Kansas defense. The Chiefs only really have Dee Ford and Justin Houston as premier pass rushers and the run defense once again showed cracks in the season opening win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
6 Pittsburgh Steelers
Despite their disappointing finish against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1, the Steelers are still a very good all-round team. Antonio Brown is still the best wide receiver in the NFL. The offensive line is still one of the most reliable. And T.J. Watt, maybe he’s a superstar hero like his brother J.J. Watt. The Steelers would be an even better team and higher on these rankings if Le’Veon Bell was around. But James Conner had a pretty good debut in his place and the Steelers (if they clear up some of the unnecessary Week 1 turnovers) are still good enough to win the AFC North and possibly claim a playoff bye in the AFC.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are almost a complete team; they just lack a quarterback and offensive weapons outside running back Leonard Fournette. The passing attack is very average and it will end up putting too much pressure on Fournette (who is already dealing with hamstring injury) and the defense to carry the team. As things stand, that won’t be enough for the Jaguars to beat the sides ranked above them here.
8. Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are Super Bowl contenders. Unfortunately they have taken a big hit with the injury to Greg Olsen, Cam Newton’s security blanket. It is very big loss for an offense that doesn’t have many top end weapons as it is and that is what will hold back the Panthers again (like years past). Christian McCaffrey is a fantastic back. But he alone isn’t enough to give Newton the potent attack he needs. The only other weapon outside McCaffrey is Devin Funchess. Compared to the teams above them in these rankings, the Panthers are pretty average offensively. Positive: the defensive looked stellar against the Dallas Cowboys and will once again be one of the best units in the league.
9. Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals passed a tougher test than is being advertised by beating the Indianapolis Colts who were hyped for the return of Andrew Luck and played quite well at home. The only thing really holding back the Bengals is quarterback Andy Dalton.
It’s not that he is a bad player. But he doubts himself a lot and rarely plays freely to his potential, which we saw a glimpse of in the 2015 season. If Dalton can let loose he has one of the best arsenals in the whole league with superstar receiver AJ Green, speedster John Ross, tight end Tyler Eifert and running back Joe Mixon, who looked very good against the Colts. The defense with Geno Atkins (and Vontaze Burfict still to return) is underrated how good it is.
10. Denver Broncos
Von Miller was amazing in the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. But we knew Miller is amazing. What was cool and interesting was to see some new weapons come up for the Broncos such as rookie running back Phillip Lindsay. He was outstanding. He looked very fast and looked like a game-breaker. Denver has something there.
11. Washington Redskins
Alex Smith, that’s the reason the Redskins are so high here. Add in Adrian Peterson and Trent Williams and you have three players I trust for elite performance on a consistent basis, which is more than I can say for many of the teams below. This is a team that also has a creative coach in Jay Gruden and has continuity which is a very underrated positive.
12. Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens played very well against the Bills, but they beat up on a very poor team. We have to see them against the Bengals in Week 2 before we can make real judgments on the Ravens.
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers sneakily have one of the most explosive attacks in the NFL (led by wide receivers Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson) and they showed out in their remarkable 48–40 Week 1 win at the New Orleans Saints.
14. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons, like in last season’s Divisional Round could have beaten the Philadelphia Eagles; instead their red zone struggles killed them again. It is very weird when you have the most dominant wide receiver in the game in Julio Jones. The problem may be that the Falcons they are very one dimensional in the red zone. Atlanta’s defense will also miss the injured duo of safety Keanu Neal and linebacker Deion Jones going forward. Lastly, the Falcons are the antithesis of the Eagles at the moment in that Atlanta doesn’t know how to win. They threw away Super Bowl LI against the Patriots and the close losses in big games (going back all the way to when the Falcons lost to the Seahawks in the 2012 playoffs) are beginning to pile up.
15. Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears looked amazing against for three quarters the Packers and still didn’t win. That is the down to the fact they are young and still learning to win. However, until Aaron Rodgers began to mount that miraculous comeback the Chicago defense was pitching a shutout and the offense was moving quite smoothly. These are all big positives and when you add in Khalil Mack it equals a team that (if it can win its next game and get that confidence) can go on to have a really good season.
16. New Orleans Saints
The Saints lost badly to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The defense looked really bad. And this is the worrying thing with the Saints. History suggests that they have not been able to follow a successful season with another good one.
17. New York Jets
Here’s to hoping the Jets have a good season. Look: three years ago they finished 10–6. This is not a terrible team and they certainly have a good and respected coach in Todd Bowles. They also have a clear direction and plan at quarterback with Sam Darnold, and this counts for a lot. And that defense is a sleeper. Safety Jamal Adams was outstanding against the Detroit Lions and he led a fast defense that looked like it could harass any team, any given Sunday.
18. Green Bay Packers
As things stand we don’t know the status of Aaron Rodgers for Sunday’s game against he Vikings and that’s the problem with the Packers. They are a Rodgers injury away from the end of their season. He is the team.
19. Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers have talent on both sides of the ball but have consistently shown an inability to get out of their own way (which was again the case in their Week 1 loss to the Chiefs). It’s really tough to trust the Chargers.
20. Cleveland Browns
Ok. The Cleveland Browns have a team. Here is to hoping their next game is played in favorable weather conditions. They have a quarterback I trust — Tyrod Taylor — and one of the league’s most reliable catchers in Jarvis Landry. You add in Josh Gordon and Carlos Hyde and that is a good offense. The defense, meanwhile, is stacked. Myles Garret is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate and Denzel Ward looked very good in the secondary getting two picks. There are other budding stars such as Emmanuel Ogbah, Christian Kirksey and Joe Schobert. They just need to get a win to gain confidence.
The only reason to doubt the Browns (unfairly or not) is probably head coach Hugh Jackson who doesn’t have a good record as a head coach.
21. Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson is carrying bricks here and it’s even worse now with Doug Baldwin uncertain with a knee problem. The Seahawks simply have no weapons with little known rookie tight end Will Dissly being Wilson’s main target in the Week 1 loss to the Broncos. This formula really won’t work. It’s even less likely to work with a defense that is nowhere near where it was last season and before. Everything at the Seahawks right now (outside Wilson, Bobby Hero Wagner and Earl Thomas) is a bit average.
22. Houston Texans
On paper there is talent everywhere on this team. The problem with this talent is that it is all coming from injuries — i.e. electric quarterback Deshaun Watson, superhero J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus. The current defensive mainstay Jadeveon Clowney is also susceptible to injuries. Add an unreliable run game to the equation and this team has to prove to me in Week 2 that it can compete. I feel sorry for DeAndre Hopkins who is amazing and has been a top 5 receiver for the last four years. If they get it right, though, the Texans can be very good.
23. San Francisco 49ers
Jimmy Garappolo suffered his first career loss in the NFL but there was no shame in it as it came away against the very strong Minnesota Vikings. Jimmy G and the 49ers played well. The only problem is that there are no real weapons to threaten teams on a consistent basis and help Garappolo. Basically for the 49ers to win, everyone (especially Garappolo) has to play lights out every week. That’s very hard.
24. Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are really not an inspiring team but at least 1) they got a win in their opening game and 2) they are much better with Ryan Tannehill around. So the Dolphins land at 24 because they have warriors such as Robert Quinn and Frank Gore, who was good in his debut game, and they will surely add a better mentality to the Dolphins.
25. Indianapolis Colts
We believe in Andrew Luck, that is why the Colts are higher than the teams below them. The Colts hung tough against the Bengals which in itself was promising for a team that looked so weak for large parts of last season.
26. Oakland Raiders
I have very little faith in the Oakland Raiders, a team that trades away a once in a lifetime talent like Khalil Mack. That wasn’t the only nosebleed, Michael Crabtree is gone and quarterback Derek Carr (who for my money still needs to prove himself) has no real, reliable catching weapons, that is why the Raiders. The defense like head coach Jon Gruden says “needs more pass rush”, the problem, though, is they traded away their pass rush. And pass rush isn’t something you just find or manufacture. This might be a long season for the Raiders.
27. New York Giants
The New Giants are sort of plodding along and are in danger of falling into mediocrity. The only saving grace is the big market of New York and Odell Beckham, and also excitement around rookie running Saquon Barley. But this excitement won’t last long (for this season at least) if the Giants don’t win some games. A very big game on Sunday at the Dallas Cowboys…
28. Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys had a plan and a vision, I guess credit for that. They believed they had the best offensive line and the best running back and they would run the ball. Unfortunately even the best laid plans suffer setbacks and the Cowboys looked extremely ill equipped to deal with them. Travis Frederick is out and Tyron Smith and Zack Martin have been dealing with injures which has weakened the offensive line. The problem is there is no plan B, there are no receivers and the secondary is still very susceptible to big plays. The Cowboys will be lucky to win six games this season.
29. Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals have one transcendent talent in David Johnson and that’s it. Larry Fitzgerald is a legend and is amazing but it’s to see him carrying the Cardinals to wins every week. Losing Calais Campbell to the Jaguars last year took away the heart and soul of this team.
30. Tennessee Titans
The Titans had the worst opening day losing superstar tight end Delanie Walker to a season ending injury as well as quarterback Marcus Mariota and Taylor Lewan to other serious sounding injuries.
31. Detroit Lions
The Lioli were terrible against the Jets and it already feels like Sunday’s game against is a pivotal one for new head coach Matt Patricia. It’s not really a must-win (its only Week 2) but the Lions have to play much, much better.
32. Buffalo Bills
The Bills are the worst team in the league from the evidence of Week 1 — at least the Lions have certainty at quarterback. Nathan Peterman has been replaced at quarterback by the seventh overall draft pick, Josh Allen, after a poor performance in Week 1. But it’s not like Allen is coming into a team with much promise on offence. It’s a very tough situation for a rookie quarterback to step into.
