The first week of the NFL regular season is here, finally. We will get football every weekend until February 2024 after a dreadful drought. Although it’s a bit hard to put in predictions prior to the season, we can go off of what we’ve seen the previous year and offseason transactions that could move teams up and down in the power rankings.
Teams like the Bears that made trades to get a DJ Moore or the Colts drafting Anthony Richardson, these moves can propel them higher in the power rankings throughout the upcoming weeks.
Whether the team drafted a new quarterback or made some key offseason moves, they could’ve moved up after the end of last season. Let’s get into some power rankings prior to the start of the regular season…
Ranking
Team
Change (+/-)
Record
1
Kansas City Chiefs
–
0-0
2
Philadelphia Eagles
–
0-0
3
Cincinnati Bengals
–
0-0
4
Buffalo Bills
–
0-0
5
Dallas Cowboys
–
0-0
6
New York Jets
–
0-0
7
San Francisco 49ers
–
0-0
8
Jacksonville Jaguars
–
0-0
9
Miami Dolphins
–
0-0
10
Los Angeles Chargers
–
0-0
11
Baltimore Ravens
–
0-0
12
Detroit Lions
–
0-0
13
Seattle Seahawks
–
0-0
14
Pittsburgh Steelers
–
0-0
15
New York Giants
–
0-0
16
Cleveland Browns
–
0-0
17
New Orleans Saints
–
0-0
18
Minnesota Vikings
–
0-0
19
Denver Broncos
–
0-0
20
Chicago Bears
–
0-0
21
New England Patriots
–
0-0
22
Green Bay Packers
–
0-0
23
Atlanta Falcons
–
0-0
24
Washington Commanders
–
0-0
25
Las Vegas Raiders
–
0-0
26
Carolina Panthers
–
0-0
27
Tennessee Titans
–
0-0
28
Indianapolis Colts
–
0-0
29
Los Angeles Rams
–
0-0
30
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
–
0-0
31
Houston Texans
–
0-0
32
Arizona Cardinals
–
0-0
Key rankings…
8) Jacksonville Jaguars
My favorite team to make another jump this upcoming year. The Jaguars surprised everyone this past season after making the playoffs and knocking off the Chargers in the first round. Not only that, they gave the Chiefs a fight in the divisional round.
They decided to take a gamble and trade for Calvin Ridley after his gambling incident and I think it pays off for them big time. They got some solid production out of Christian Kirk and Evan Engram this past year, but adding Ridley to the mix… sheesh. Watch out for the Jaguars.
14) Pittsburgh Steelers
Another sleeper this upcoming year. Playing in a tough division, the Steelers will have their work cut out for them, but they showed resilience and promise in the latter part of last season.
If Kenny Pickett can take another step in his development, the Steelers could sneak in as a playoff team this upcoming year and cause some chaos in the stacked AFC.
20) Chicago Bears
Going to be really interesting to see how Justin Fields looks with an actual WR1 in DJ Moore. Will we see an improvement in his game and see him put up a year like Jalen Hurts finally getting a true WR1? Well… maybe not, but if he can show that he’s improved and the Bears are finally able to consistently rely on his arm… the Bears will be feared without a doubt.
24) Washington Commanders
The Commanders defense is already one of the best in the league. Now if they can get actual consistency from the QB position? Definitely going to make the NFC North interesting.
The Commanders have a solid receiving core around Sam Howell with Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, and Jahan Dotson… can he perform with the plethora of weapons around him? Stay tuned to find out.
