NFL Preseason Power Rankings: Chiefs on top, Ravens right behind, Lions make top 3

Kickoff to Week 1 is right around the corner. Preseason is over. Each of the 32 teams’ 53-man rosters have been finalized. Nearly all of the starting quarterbacks have been named, and now all that’s left is to wait. The Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens begin the season from Arrowhead on Thursday, September 5th, two teams which just so happen to be top two in our Preseason Power Rankings.

1) Kansas City Chiefs

I wouldn’t dare put the Chiefs anywhere but the top spot for two reasons. First, because they have won the last two Super Bowls and with Patrick Mahomes driving the bus history shows you don’t bet against the two-time MVP. The second reason is because my two most faithful readers would drop me faster than you could say Jack Robinson if KC did debut at No. 1. Personal relationships aside, there’s no reason this team should be anywhere but the top spot. Last year they showed us the defense can win them games on the rare occasion the offense isn’t clicking. I seriously doubt Mahomes has as many problems with his new look receiving corp led by second year sensation Rashee Rice.

2) Baltimore Ravens

How do you make a team that got to the AFC Championship, led by the MVP of the league with the best defense in the game even better? Bring in the best running back of this generation. Last year the Ravens held opponents to just 16.5 points a game, and the world watched along as Lamar Jackson dazzled in his first full season over two years. On top of that, Derrick Henry has been released from purgatory in Tennessee as one of the most dominant ball carriers ever chases his first title. This team is built to win a Super Bowl. All they have to do is figure out a way to knock the Chiefs off of their throne.

3) Detroit Lions

Hey now! The Lions with the top spot out of the NFC after making it to the Conference Championship game for the first time in three decades. Let’s not forget that this team had a foot and a half in the Super Bowl before it all came crashing down against the 49ers. Not a whole lot has changed for this team who has got better and better every year under coach Dan Campbell. He didn’t feel the need to play any of his starters in the preseason because he knows what he’s getting from his guys once Week 1 begins. No one asked me for a prediction, but I think the Lions represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this year.

4) San Francisco 49ers

How many times can the Niners keep coming close before the flame eventually burns out? There is still a lot of firepower on this offensive even if Brandon Aiyuk doesn’t sign with San Fran. Obviously it would be better for those in the Bay Area to see the team’s leading receiver return, but the weapons around Brock Purdy are enough to make Kurt Warner’s Greatest Show on Turf envious. The one thing that should worry Niners fans is on defense. With no Talanova Hufanga or Dre Greenlaw to start the season, things can get ugly in a hurry. When healthy this team is among the best, but can the offense tread water and hold on while their stars on defense get healthy?

5) Dallas Cowboys

It’s getting around that time where the Cowboys, and their fans, and the media and everyone else jumps on the Dallas bandwagon as if they aren’t coming off yet another playoff disappointment. Well I’m not on the wagon, but I’m not exactly off the wagon either. Those in Big D can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that maybe the best WR in the game, Ceedee Lamb has signed on for the next four years. Tony Pollard is gone and the Cowboys went back to their ex, Ezikiel Elliott, which is never the greatest idea, in football or in life. DaRon Bland going down with an injury that will keep him out 6 to 8 weeks hurts the secondary, but we already know where this team will be come Week 18. They will be in the playoff mix, but will they be in the Super Bowl mix? Talk to me in January.

6) Houston Texans

After a shocking season in which a first year head coach and a first year quarterback took this franchise as far as it has ever gotten in team history, you have to think the Texans should be expecting to reach the Super Bowl. I doubt C.J. Stroud or DeMeco Ryans are the kind of guys who buy into the sophomore slump, especially when you bring in a 1,000 yard rusher and a WR who has six straight 1,000 yard seasons. Now that he’s out of Buffalo, in a dome in Houston, with Tank Dell and Nico Collins around him this offense is going to be even more unstoppable. The defense lost their leading tackler in Blake Cashman, and leading pass rusher in Johnathan Greenard, but DeMeco Ryans will have his defense ready to fill those voids. Even if they don’t fill the void is there anyone that is going to be able to stop this offense?

7) Green Bay Packers

The system in the Frozen Tundra seems to be working. Draft a quarterback, let them sit and watch behind a legend of the game, and when it’s their turn to take control the transition is flawless. There were tons of nay sayers when Jordan Love and the Packers started the season 2-5, but those doubters were quickly silenced once the Pack won six of their last eight and smoked the Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs. There were many times when the Packers defense had to save the day for Love in the early part of the season, but with Josh Jacobs and AJ Dillon in the backfield and a maturing WR corp, Jordan Love is going to have plenty of options to win games all on his own. The new age Packers took less than a year to rebuild, and now they have their sights set on reclaiming the division and maybe even the conference.

8) Miami Dolphins

Is this the year that the Miami Dolphins break out of their bubble and actually become a good team, that is capable of beating other good teams? They are flashy, they are fun, they are entertaining, but when it comes down to crunch time, this team has not yet proven that it’s ready to take the next step. I’ve been critical of Mike McDaniel for a few seasons now, and I’m not going to lay off until this team starts playing up to their potential. Being a players coach is fine, but sometimes you’ve got to bust some heads, and chew people out and I’m not sure McDaniel is comfortable doing that.

9) Cincinnati Bengals

Joe Burrow is back which means Ja’Maar Chase is back which means the Bengals are back. Remember last year Burrow had a calf injury that kept him from looking like Joe Cool at the beginning of the season. Just when the ship was starting to straighten out, he goes down with a season ending wrist injury. They did lose Joe Mixon in the backfield, and now it’s up to Zach Moss to carry the load at running back, which outside of last year, he’s never really done in his five seasons in the league. Another hole to fill in the offense is Tyler Boyd who was the second leading receiver last year. He is off to the Titans so Andre Iosivas is going to have to plug in after a rookie season in which he had just 15 catches for 116 yards.

10) Cleveland Browns

Kevin Stefanski was a miracle worker last year in Cleveland, guiding the Browns for the first time since 2020 and just the second time since 2003. He did if after losing his starting running back Nick Chubb in the second game of the season, and then his starting QB in the sixth game of the season. We don’t really know how good this team can be, because we haven’t seen them at full strength. We won’t see them at full strength for another month or so considering Chubb is still recovering from that devastating injury, and will be on the PUP list which means he will miss at least four games. As always the defense is going to carry this team. Myles Garrett led the Browns to the playoffs with the league’s best defense that allowed just 270 ypg.

11) Los Angeles Rams

How much longer can Matthew Stafford be a top quarterback in the league? It wasn’t that long ago that Stafford led this Rams team to a Super Bowl, but he’s had a long career full of lasting injuries. The one thing that should be keeping him going is his WR corp which may be one of the best in the league. They may not have the size like other receivers around the league but Puka Nakua and Cooper Kupp will be running circles around defenses and Kyren Williams will continue to barrel over defenders like not many running backs do in the league anymore. On defense, how do the Rams replace one of the best nose tackles we have ever seen? Aaron Donald is gone and Bobby Brown III is in. He won’t be the dominant force in the middle of the line, so it’s going to be up to Ernest Jones IV to do a bit of double duty this year.

12) Jacksonville Jaguars

How do the Jags bounce back from a historically bad collapse at the end of last season? Bringing in Gabe Davis this offseason is one way. That will come as a big help to Trevor Lawrence who just got the fattest contract in NFL history during the summer. Now it’s time to repay the franchise that made him the richest guy on any field he steps on this season. Josh Allen is coming off a a career year as is Travon Walker, so on the D-Line the Jags are going to be just fine. What it’s going to come down to is those two creating turnovers on defense and Trevor Lawrence keeping hold of the ball when the Jags have the ball.

13) New York Jets

Let’s not go nuts just because Aaron Rodgers is finally back for the New York Jets. He may be a four time MVP, but he is 40 years old. He is coming off an Achilles injury, and the last time we saw him play for a full season was in 2022 when he was in the bottom six in the NFL in QB rating at 41.3. His young crop of WRs share some of the blame for his poor season in Green Bay. This year he’s got an arsenal of weapons that are much more explosive than he had last year and if we know Rodgers, he is going to get each and every one of those WRs involved in the offense. Robert Salah’s defense was the base of this team last year, and while they be happy to share the spotlight this season they will be even more happy to have the offense on the field for extended amounts of time, as opposed to last season.

14) Philadelphia Eagles

I’m not sure what to believe about the Eagles at the moment. Do they have talent across the board on both sides of the ball? Yes. Is Jalen Hurts still an elite quarterback in this league? Maybe. Do we know what to expect from the new offensive and defensive coordinators who were brought in this offseason? Absolutely not. It’s not an easy thing for players to get adjusted to a new offense or defense on the fly. One thing is for sure, this team can’t start this season like they finished last or heads will roll.

15) Buffalo Bills

We heard it all last year. The door might be closing on the Buffalo Bills. I hate to the be bearer of bad news, but I think the door is closed. A lot of the Bills success over the last few years came from Josh Allen working his magic and taking the team on his shoulders. He’s going to have to do that now more than ever considering his top two WRs have left Orchard Park during the offseason. Another big blow for the Bills was Matt Milano tearing his bicep in preseason. He is the heart and soul of the defense and this group is going to be without him for potentially a second straight season after he played just 5 games last year.

16) Los Angeles Chargers

There is a bit of worry surrounding the start of the season with Justin Herbert’s planter fascia injury that was said to potentially keep him out of Week 1. While reports are that his right foot is healed completely, that’s the kind of injury that can linger for a while. That’s a troublesome possibility considering the injury issues that the Chargers QB has had to fight through over the last few years. Jim Harbaugh is in town. That’s the good news for a promising young quarterback like Herbert. The bad news is Keenen Allen, Mike Williams and Austin Ekeler have left LA. Perhaps the Chargers needed a clean slate with a new coach, and that was the thought process behind letting staples of the team go. Harbaugh, Herbert and the rest of the Chargers organization knows the first step towards success is keeping their QB healthy.

17) Pittsburgh Steelers

The offensive problems in Pittsburgh almost drove the city to rebellion and civil unrest as chants imploring the front office to fire Matt Canada stretched to the Pittsburgh Penguins games last year. There has been a complete revamping to the offense and either Justin Fields or Russell Wilson is going to be the face of that makeover. The defense should remain untouched seeing as it won the Steelers most of their games and led them to the playoffs. Last year showed, no matter how the offense is playing, as long as TJ Watt is on the field, Pittsburgh is going to have a chance to win football games.

18) Indianapolis Colts

The Colts saw disaster strike in the first month of the season when their rookie QB and face of the franchise Anthony Richardson went down with a season ending shoulder injury. That didn’t stop Gardner Minshew from nearly leading them to the playoffs even with Jonathan Taylor former NFL leading rusher missing seven games of the season. Indy get both Taylor and Richardson back and at 100% coming into the season which may make life difficult for the Texans who looked like they were going to have a strangle hold on the division for the long run.

19) Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons showed they mean business the offseason, by bringing some massive names to town. They splashed the most cash in free agency, drawing Kirk Cousins to the Mercedes Benz Dome despite the achilles injury he suffered last year. Matthew Judon is going to be a force on the defensive line after coming to Atlanta in an early season deal with the New England Patriots. With an added amount of pressure to opposing quarterbacks that could open up Justin Simmons in the secondary. There are still questions concerning the Falcons receiving corp, and more importantly Cousins’ achilles considering we didn’t see him for a single snap in preseason, but one thing is for sure. Bijan Robinson is going to be fun to watch this season. He came up 24 yards from a 1,000 yard season, but had more than 1,400 total yards in his rookie year.

20) Seattle Seahawks

When Pete Carroll was in Seattle you always knew the Seahawks were going to be in the mix at the end of the season. After a 13 year spell on the sidelines, Carroll is gone and it’s going to be up to Mike McDonald to keep this team overachieving for the next year or two. Geno Smith has been the man for the Seahawks over the couple years and has had Seattle in the thick of the playoff mix. Bet on Kenneth Walker having his first 1,000 yard rushing season, as Zach Charbonnet comes into his own this season.

21) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Can the Bucs do it for a second straight year? It may not be as easy in a beefed up NFC South, but Baker Mayfield and company will always have a punchers chance. We already know Todd Bowles defense is going to come into Week 1 in midseason form, but it’s going to be up to the offense to put a little more weight on their shoulders this year. Rachaad White is in his third year, and flirted with 1,000 yard rushing season. He will be the work horse for Baker Mayfield’s offense that has two 1,000 yard WRs in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. This team came together at the end of last year, winning their last five of six, and blowing out the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs. Bucs fans will be hoping some of that swagger carries over into this year.

22) Arizona Cardinals

Is it me or have the Cardinals been completely forgotten about over the last few years? With Kyler Murray getting injured mid way through the 2022 season, it has thrown that franchise into a spiral of irrelevance. Murray had this team playing great football a few years ago, and he came back in time to get a little taste of action for the second half of the season. Even though the Cardinals only won 2 of those 7 games with him under center, having him come into this season with a few games under his belt should do him and new coach Jonathan Gannon well.

23) Chicago Bears

It’s not every year that the No. 1 pick in the draft goes to a team that was actually halfway decent the season before. That’s the beauty of trading for draft picks with a terrible team. The Panthers finished at the bottom of the league which means Caleb Williams got drafted by a team that actually has some talent on both sides of the ball. On top of that they brought it Keenan Allen to join Rome Odunze and DJ Moore. In the last six games of last season, the defense gave up 20 points or less, and with Matt Eberflus in his second season as head coach that unit should get even better. The NFC North is going to be tough this year, which may affect their record in the long run, but this is a team that is built to contend for a playoff spot.

24) New Orleans Saints

The Saints weren’t far from a playoff spot last year, and this year I think the offense gets even better. Hopefully Jamaal Williams is more incorporated in the offense this year, which will give the Saints a one-two punch with Alvin Kamara that would open up things downfield for Chris Olave who is one of the top pass catchers in the league, but he just needs to be targeted like a top WR in the league. That will happen if Rashid Shaheed can have a break out year, and open up some space for Olave.

25) Washington Commanders

Dan Quinn is getting a second shot at being a head coach on a team that needs a bit of a second shot themselves. With the change of ownership and the rebranding of the franchise, the Commanders have been floating in obscurity for much too long. Quinn has an attitude and an appreciation for what this franchise used to be, and now, for my money, has the QB with the biggest up side in this draft class. They are a little thin at the WR position after letting Jahan Dotson go, but Terry McLaurin is Mr. Consistent for this side, and Bobby Wagner is going to anchor the defense that should be much improved from last year.

26) Las Vegas Raiders

I love Antonio Pierce and I hope he has a long and successful tenure in Vegas. Having said that, I don’t think this team is ready to compete for a playoff spot just yet. There are questions at the QB position and the RB position after letting Josh Jacobs go this offseason. Gardner Minshew is a fun quarterback to watch when coming off the bench as a back up, but being a starter is a whole different beast, and I think there is a reason he’s been a career back up. The good news is the the defense is going to have an identity and a toughness that we haven’t seen from the Raiders in a long time.

27) Denver Broncos

Broncos fans can finally put the Russell Wilson disaster in the rear view as Sean Payton has started this season with a clean slate. He is hyping Bo Nix up to be the next John Elway and it seems like Bronco Nation is biting at the bait. Their defense kept them in a lot of games last year, and a big core of that unit returns although losing Justin Simmons is going to hurt. A lot of the Broncos success is going to be on the shoulders of their rookie QB, but Bo Nix has the backing of his coach and the Mile High City.

28) Minnesota Vikings

There is plenty of talent on both defense and offense for Minnesota, the only question is who is going to get those offensive players the ball? Sam Darnold has been a journey man in the NFL ever since getting drafted third overall by the Jets in 2018. He’s got the weapons to succeed, but it’s going to be all up to him to fill Kirk Cousins’ shoes. Kevin O’Connell is a quarterback coach, and should be molding him into a QB that can move the ball down the field. Bringing in Stephon Gilmore is going to bring another dimension in the secondary that got torched on more than one occasion last year.

29) Tennessee Titans

What do the Titans have to look forward to this season? Not a whole lot if we are being honest. They lost their heart and soul of the team for the last decade in Derrick Henry. Mike Vrable, who brought this underachieving team to three straight playoffs and an AFC Championship is gone. There is a changing of the guard in Tennessee and they did bring in some talent on both sides of the ball, but it could take some time. Of all of the teams in the bottom five of these initial Power Rankings, I do think the Titans have the most room to move up the board.

30) New England Patriots

The Pats were not a good team last year. Now they have a rookie QB who is supposed to come in and make this team competitive, but not this year. It looks like Jacoby Brissett is first year coach Jerod Mayo’s man at least for the short term. Losing Matthew Judos will leave a big hole on the defensive end, but if Mayo was willing to let him go he must see something he likes in this defense. It may get uglier before it gets better in New England, but they just have to hang on and trust the process. What they can’t do after the departure Bill Belichick is go through a coaching carousel like they have done with their quarterbacks since Tom Brady left.

31) New York Giants

Patience is wearing thin with Daniel Jones in the Big Apple. I don’t think Tommy DeVito is going to be the answer, but having a homegrown kid behind the QB1 isn’t going to do any favors. On top of that, losing Saquon Barkley to a divisional rival is almost unforgivable. The fact that New York was willing to pay Jones and not Barkley may turn out to be a decision that haunts Giants fans for the next decade.

32) Carolina Panthers

I’ve grown so used to the Panthers being in the bottom spot of the Power Rankings over the last few years, that this is more about tradition than anything else. Bryce Young struggled in his first year in Carolina, and the front office didn’t do much to surround him with talent and set him up for success this season. Buckle up Panther fans, it’s going to be another long and painful season.