Welcome to week 0 of the official r/NFL Power Rankings! In less than 72 hours, football will be back. No more masked singer hype. No more speculation on whether Aaron Donald will double fist helmets against the Bills on TNF. No more just wondering if rivalry openers such as Vikings/Packers, Steelers/Bengals, Saints/Falcons will live up to expectations. But until then? Yet another preseason discussion. 31/32 reporting
| # | Team | Record | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Bills | 11-6 | The Buffalo Bills are the betting favorites to win the Super Bowl, and it is absolutely terrifying. On paper, this team is primed to do it all. Other than the continued absence of All-Pro Cornerback Tre'Davious White as he rehabs an ACL tear, and the varying degrees of question marks at running back, it's hard to point out too many holes on this Bills roster. Each year, teams surprise us in how they exceed or fall short of expectations. It's one thing to say the Bills are good enough, now they need to go out and get it done. With the Bills slated as the first game of the season against the defending champ Rams, the city of Buffalo and BillsMafia across the world hold their breath. | |
| 2. | Rams | 12-5 | The list of noteworthy departures (Woods, Hekker, Von Miller, Whitworth, OBJ, KOC & more) certainly seems to outweigh the noteworthy additions (Robinson, Wagner) but the Rams made the most of their offseason and there’s no reason to think they can’t contend for a second straight Super Bowl. The core remains intact with McVay at the helm plus the NFCW has one less chef in the kitchen. Anything but another deep playoff run would be a disappointment. | |
| 3. | Buccaneers | 13-4 | With just 17 years away from being able to collect Social Security, the Masked Singer (?) returns for his 23rd and likely final NFL season. The Bucs enter the season with unexpected shifts to their core offense, hampered by surprise retirements (Ali Marpet, Gronk) and injuries in camp (Jensen), but might find a small boost from free agents Julio Jones and Russell Gage. To start the season, the Bucs will face a strong Dallas team with a feisty young defense, but a coach on the hot seat in Mike McCarthy. QB Dak Prescott has had close to an 80% completion rate on the Bucs in recent matchups. It should make for a thrilling shootout. | |
| 4. | Chiefs | 12-5 | It is a year of transition for the Chiefs with Tyreek Hill being surprisingly shipped off to Miami over the offseason. The Chiefs went from the 23rd youngest team in the NFL in 2021 to being the 7th youngest team in the NFL heading into the 2022 season. The Chiefs are staring down a brutal schedule this year filled with tough divisional games along with many playoff teams from last year. Whether the Chiefs get through this tough looking schedule will depend on how they adjust to life without Tyreek Hill and how the team's nine rookies play. The Chiefs still have Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Andy Reid so the ceiling for the team is high - but now the question becomes what the next era of Chiefs football with Mahomes looks like in a rough AFC. | |
| 5. | Bengals | 10-7 | The Bengals are coming off of their most successful season in over 30 years, but the majority of the football media have determined that last season's Super Bowl run was a fluke. The team again finds themselves labeled as underdogs. Will that disrespect motivate them enough to repeat as AFC champs? | |
| 6. | Packers | 13-4 | After a disappointing Divisional round defeat, the Packers reloaded for another Super Bowl run with Aaron Rodgers at the helm, now on his 15th year as the Packers starting QB. The big loss of the offseason was the Davante Adams trade to Las Vegas, but the Packers will be getting back 2020 All-Pros Jaire Alexander and David Bakhtiari after both missed most of the season due to injury. Instead of paying Adams, the Packers spent their money retaining key defensive players in Rasul Douglas, De'Vondre Campbell, and Preston Smith, while adding two first round rookies to Joe Barry's unit. Adding Sammy Watkins, 33rd overall pick Christian Watson, and 4th round camp stud Romeo Doubs might not fully replace the receiving void that Tae left, so look for running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon to be key contributors in the passing game. Despite the Adams trade the Packers still look to be a formidable team with serious Super Bowl aspirations | |
| 7. | Chargers | 9-8 | It's "put up or shut up" season for the Chargers. Having a top 5 QB on a rookie deal has allowed them to put together their best roster since the mid-2000's. While the division is loaded, the other teams are also undergoing various levels of retooling. This will be their best opportunity for a while. Carpe diem. | |
| 8. | 49ers | 10-7 | The 49ers come into the 2022 season with one of the most talented rosters in the league. The intrigue of the season revolves around second year starting QB Trey Lance. While Shanahan is known for tailoring and offense around the QB’s strengths, the margin for error becomes paper-thin on a team whose goal is nothing short of a Super Bowl Run. | |
| 9. | Ravens | 8-9 | Everyone knows what happened last year, but now that we've made a virgin sacrifice to the injury gods, so we are praying that everyone returns safe and healthy. Of course, having Ronnie Stanley/JK Dobbins/Gus Edwards basically unable to play Week 1 puts a hamper on a lot of things, but the revitalized secondary mixed with the emergence of Bateman and preseason favorite Isaiah Likely gives us Ravens fans a lot to look forward to this year. Here's hoping a healthy Lamar can have his best year yet. | |
| 10. | Colts | 9-8 | There’s a lot to unpack with the Colts this season. After Wentz was shipped out to Maryland, the team acquired Matt Ryan to replace him. He’s now the team’s 5th different starting QB in five years. In addition, the team added veterans Yannick Ngakoue and Stephon Gilmore, which should be a pleasurable boost to Gus Bradley’s new defense. Fans are also eager to see if second-year players Kwity Paye, Dayo Odeyingbo, Michael Stratchan, and Kylen Granson will make the big-leap forward. Uncertainty is the word of the day. But at the very least, Matt Ryan should be much more consistent than Wentz, and hopefully his skills elevate the team’s young WR corps and utilize Jonathan Taylor much more effectively. Will the Colts win the Super Bowl? Maybe. If they do, I’ll order a pizza; and they don’t, I’ll eat out. Also, fuck Deshaun Watson. | |
| 11. | Eagles | 9-8 | Quiet (and not-so-quiet) optimism surrounds the Eagles after a series of promising off-season moves, both in signing talented players and yeeting underperforming 21st overall picks. The season ultimately hinges on a single player - Jalen Hurts - and whether he can improve from last season and cement his permanent role as perennial starter for the franchise. | |
| 12. | Broncos | 7-10 | Siemian, Lynch, Osweiler, Keenum, Flacco, Allen, Lock, Driskel, Rypien, Hinton, Bridgewater — and Russell Wilson. The $246 million dollar man. The boon. The promised land found after wandering in the wilderness. The light, the chosen one. No superlative is strong enough to express the feeling. No more forced QB competitions, no more talking up guys. A high-level quarterback who is an even better person. The Broncos got their QB, and they didn't sell their souls to do it. #LetsRide | |
| 13. | Raiders | 10-7 | After a season filled with seemingly endless incidents, the Raiders are coming off a playoff appearance for only the 3rd time in the last 20 years. Now, Derek Carr, entering his 9th season in the NFL, and with his 6th head coach in that time, looks to lead the team back to the playoffs with his best friend and new weapon Davante Adams. The Raiders are looking to start the regular season the same way they ended it last year, with a win over the Chargers. | |
| 14. | Titans | 12-5 | The Titans go into the 2022 season a much different team than the #1 seed that was one and out in the playoffs. The roster has changed in ways to get younger and try to prolong the 6 year streak of above .500 records. The biggest move of the offseason was the AJ Brown trade with the bet being that the large AJ Brown contract would be too much in comparison to taking a shot on a first round WR (Treylon Burks). Derrick Henry returns at full strength, the secondary has become deep with talent and Jeffery Simmons anchors a line that should make an impact even with the loss of Harold Landry. The Titans may not be on the top level of a stacked AFC but Vrabel has proven that his coaching and approach can make the Titans out perform their collected talent. | |
| 15. | Cowboys | 12-5 | Not gonna lie: the first month is gonna be rough. The Cowboys are entering the season with some injury issues, and they face 3 of the last 4 Super Bowl teams in the first 5 weeks. However, a weak division and a softer second half schedule leaves this team with a pretty decent path to the playoffs. | |
| 16. | Cardinals | 11-6 | Is it already that time of the year again? Time to be full of hope, joy, and elation as our very own Arizona Football Cardinals take the field and provide electric offense alongside passable at times defense? Oh golly-wait, what is that in the distance?! Don't tell me it's… week 10 and onwards collapse!! Not again!! | |
| 17. | Dolphins | 9-8 | We enter the 2022 season continuing our dynasty of offseason championships notching our 4th championship over the past 9 years. We're really hoping these offseason championships can finally translate to regular season success, more specifically, playoff success. Our offseason "success" seems to be inversely correlated to our playoff success considering we now own the second longest playoff win drought in the NFL (21 years.) We arguably have the most talented roster we've ever had since our last playoff win so let's hope we finally break the drought. For the first time in forever, we were unanimously picked by NFL Network to beat the Pats week 1. So naturally we're going to get blown out 38-10 and five of our players will suffer season ending injuries. | |
| 18. | Saints | 9-8 | New year, who dis? The Saints start 2022 with a new head coach for the first time in the power rankers era. Eschewing any inclination to chase a QB, they've stuck with Jameis in the hopes he bounces back from his injury last year - possibly a decent gamble given how he was looking before he went down. | |
| 19. | Patriots | 10-7 | Mac Jones has two favorite poems: “Man in the Arena” by Teddy Roosevelt, and “If” by Rudyard Kipling. The first is about how talk is cheap, and the person who matters is the one risking defeat to taste victory. The second is about the power of maintaining integrity and focus on what is most important. There’s a lot of doom and gloom on talk radio around New England lately, and the buzzards are circling to feast on the corpse of the dynasty. You know who seems to still be smiling and enjoying life, though? Bill Fucking Belichick. There are plenty of reasons to lower expectations, but the games don’t happen on paper. Talk is cheap. The players on the field will determine the outcomes. Bill is staying true to who he is, and has his team focused on what they can control. Strap in. | |
| 20. | Vikings | 8-9 | Kirk Cousins's career win-loss record is 59-59-2, so naturally when the Vikings' new management came in they... extended Kirk so they could run it back with this 8-9 squad? OK, so maybe the Vikings aren't clear contenders, but there's a vision here: Kevin O'Connell hopes to unlock Kirk the same way McVay once did in Washington, Justin Jefferson will feast on schemed-up matchups like Cooper Kupp and the offensive line might not even suck with Christian Darrisaw drawing comparison to Trent Williams and rookie Ed Ingram having a standout preseason. The defense has talent, but that talent is either past its prime (Patrick Peterson, Harrison Smith, even Eric Kendricks) or comes with big injury concerns (Danielle Hunter & Za'Darius Smith). So there's a good reason Vegas right now projects this as another .500 squad, but there are also reasons to believe this team can beat those odds. | |
| 21. | Steelers | 9-7-1 | For the first time in many years, the Steelers are a true question mark entering the season. In the past, even when pessimism lingered in the background of an optimistic foreground, there was a solid idea of what the Steelers could potentially achieve. Although Pittsburgh had a solid preseason from a W/L perspective, many questions still remain. The team has to solidify in several key areas, such as QB and OL. Pessimism gives way to realism, which is that this team is starting over without Big Ben, Trubisky has to make the job his own. The fact that Mason Rudolph is still a backup for the Steelers and not on a different team says something about the confidence in either the position, the OL's ability to keep it healthy, or both. | |
| 22. | Browns | 8-9 | It was a mess of an off season. Never before have the Browns experienced a QB controversy like this. With the signing of Watson the Browns went from loveable underdogs to possibly the most hated team in the entire league. Pre-season performance aside everyone is watching the Browns to see if they can pull out of this nose dive and regain their soul. The Browns will face Baker in Carolina week one. | |
| 23. | Panthers | 5-12 | For Matt Rhule, this is it. Under Rhule, the Panthers have finished with 5 wins each of the past two seasons, and in fact, ended last season with a worse winning percentage than in 2020. CMC hasn't been healthy for the majority of either of those seasons, but that doesn't stop Panthers fans from believing in the team motto. Keep Pounding. Whenever this season gets started, it's going to be with that motto in our minds. After Sam Mills' introduction into the Hall of Fame this year, the motto rings even more true as we try to find out footing as a team. Turnover at the QB position is the obvious sign to point to, but there's so much more than has changed under the hood than just Baker. Schematically, we've moved away from Joe Brady to a Ben McAdoo-led offense, brought Steve Wilks back, and tried to bolster the LB corps. To that end, this team looks, and feels, different than the previous two seasons. Starting with Baker, the team obviously is showing more swagger and attitude than there has been previously. On the field, it remains to be seen if that translates to wins, or if it just translates to more of what Panthers fans expect out of Matt Rhule: bluster. No matter what, this is a season of change for the Panthers and it's going to be interesting to see how it unfolds. | |
| 24. | Commanders | 7-10 | The Washington Red-- sorry, Football Te-- apologies once more, I mean of course, The Washington Commanders are set to make their debut. New name, new uniforms and a new QB in Carson Wentz who joke all you want, is actually still an upgrade at the position. Ron Rivera has a lot of pressure in year 3 of his rebuild to produce a winning record and while the offense will be seemingly improved, the defense under Jack Del Rio has been woeful at best and with no notable additions talent-wise it's hard to see how they take a step forward. The best thing going for this team is perhaps an easier schedule than the murderers row of QB's they faced in 2021. While everyone enjoys piling on and optimism is in Washington is in short supply, it's important to remember that this team remained in contention most of the season with a backup QB last year so who knows. | |
| 25. | Lions | 3-13-1 | The Lions come into this season off a 3-13-1 campaign that left more questions than answers. Dan Campbell's first year as |
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| 26. | Jets | 4-13 | This is a huge year for the Joe Douglas front office. The Jets added a ton of talent this offseason, and Douglas's moves have been widely praised by the football cognoscenti. But in this league the fate of a franchise rests of the shoulders of QB1, and Zach Wilson has a ton to prove after a rookie years with more downs than ups. If Wilson takes a meaningful step forward, the Jets should be in a position to contend sooner rather than later. If he has another year like 2021, the Jets may be in the market for a new QB (along with a new GM and Head Coach). | |
| 27. | Jaguars | 3-14 | Capping off a less than electric camp, the Jags and fans alike look towards the 2022 season with renewed hope and equally high expectations compared to where they were a year ago. While the name on the building remains the same, the faces around the office are decidedly different than the season prior. Doug Pederson looks to replicate the success he had in Philadelphia, this time instead leading a crew of cats (rather than birds) to the promised land. Pederson's plans are tied directly to the anticipated growth of Jacksonville's 2021 1st overall pick, Trevor Lawrence. All eyes are firmly fixed on the sophomore QB as expectations catch up to the hype surrounding him. With a spread of only +3, the Duval squad looks to start the season strong, by heading to Washington and defeating the freshly christened Commanders. | |
| 28. | Seahawks | 7-10 | Did anything crazy happen this offseason? I legitimately do not remember. Ooohhhhhhhh yeah! DK re-signed!! That's all that matters 😍. Week 1 is our Super Bowl on this season-long quest for #1 overall. Can Geno and Drew successfully tank command the Seahawks? We shall see. | |
| 29. | Giants | 4-13 | 2021 was... not kind to the Giants. They lost a number of starters to injury, Kenny Golladay pulled the emergency brake on his hype train in record time, and the team was being run by one of the most incompetent HC/GM duos the league had ever seen. 2022 is about righting the wrongs that have left this franchise in the sorry state it currently finds itself. For the first time in a long time, fans can have some actual hope, because a GM and HC who were hired on pedigree and not narcissism have started to commit to the rebuild this roster has so desperately needed for the last half a decade. There have been some painful moves, like the release of fan favorites James Bradberry and Blake Martinez, but the team also made some exciting additions through the draft. In what truly is Daniel Jones' make or break year, the front office has done everything within their limited resources to surround him with the best talent they can. Now it's time to see how it all translates on the field. | |
| 30. | Bears | 6-11 | Things can change quickly in the NFL, and in just a few months Ryan Poles' has turned over two-thirds of the Bears' roster. The Bears' near and medium-term future still revolve entirely around Justin Fields. If Fields can take a step forward in his sophomore year, the Bears could make some noise in a fairly weak division. | |
| 31. | Texans | 4-13 | This time last year I compared the Texans to East Germany in 1949; rebuilding but towards a future where there was no certainty that things would get better. This year the coming season feels far less bleak. The o-line is better, we have exciting young talent, and our QB isn't a rapist. Hope is in the air, and Kool-Aid is being served double-cupped on Kirby. | |
| 32. | Falcons | 7-10 | Week one. Saints vs Falcons, Winston vs Mariota. A rivalry opener in the real Mercedes Benz Stadium could set the tone for the season. Mariota might not have the arm his supporters hope for, and (if) Ridder plays there will be times he looks like a third-round rookie. Regardless, it's clear Dean Pees and Arthur Smith have a vision for this team, and through the draft and bargain-bin free agency shopping, Terry Fontenot is seeing that vision through. On the field, The Falcons will hopefully prove to be well coached, no matter how talent or untalented they look on paper. A relatively tough schedule might be the nail in the coffin of the Falcons 2022 season, nipping positivity in the bud. With 130 million in 2023 cap space, baby steps are fine heading in the right direction. |
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