The NFL is impossible to power rank before the season starts, so for our first of five sets of power rankings this year, one every four weeks, I have tiered the teams instead. Let’s take a look at the power rankings.
Contenders
Baltimore
Kansas City
Green Bay
Tampa
Los Angeles Rams
Philly
2022 MVP Picks are in‼️ pic.twitter.com/bexpT2gKPI
— NFL GameDay (@NFLGameDay) September 7, 2022
The Bills are simply put, the deepest team in the NFL, even if things go poorly the floor for the Bills is 11 wins. They have the QB, they have the offense, they have the defense if they win less than 11 games something has gone terribly wrong. Green Bay will be carried by the defense this year, but any team with Aaron Rodgers at the helm is still a contender.
Philly is a bit of a projection but I believe Jalen Hurts will put up a top ten QB season this year, they add AJ Brown and the defense looks to be good at every level.
Playoff teams
Cincinnati
Denver
Indianapolis
Philadelphia
Los Angeles Chargers
Las Vegas Raiders
Denver and Las Vegas are high-variance teams. Things could go oh so right for both those teams or oh so wrong. The Broncos question is will Russell Wilson be able to elevate an offense that hasn’t been a factor in the NFL since 2014? The question for the Raiders becomes can a defense, that despite a stellar pash rush, with weaknesses at every level keep up and keep the Raiders competitive? The questions surrounding the Niners are more pronounced, most notably is Trey Lance actually good? We don’t know this yet, but we will find out quickly.
Good teams with playoff hopes
Tennessee
New Orleans
Minnesota
Arizona
Dallas
Tennessee has the best defense the Titans have had under Mike Vrabel. This is an offensive league though and any offensive that boasts Robert Woods as its unquestioned number one defender has question marks. Dallas has a stellar pash rush duo but have lost offensive fire power and Dak’s consistency is a major question mark. I almost put them in the great unknown along with the Cardinals but ultimately I believe both passers are talented enough to make their perspective teams playoff contenders.
The great unknown
Detroit
Miami
New England
Jacksonville
Pittsburgh
Cleveland
The Browns despite being a hive of scum and villainy, have a good roster. People projecting they will have one of the five worst records in the NFL are a little bit crazy in my eyes and sort of wish casting. The Browns have a stellar defensive line, a good secondary, a great run game and Jacoby Brissett is a decent enough stop gap. Sure, things could go poorly but to assume that when Watson returns in late season they’ll be totally out of the wild card hunt is a mistake.
Things could go poorly, quickly
New York Jets
Carolina
Houston
Commanders
The Joe Flacco news feels more like a benching than it does injury prevention. The reports out of camp suggest Joe Flacco had better command of the offense and just yesterday Ian Rappaport described Zach Wilson’s recovery as, “Ahead of schedule,” unless a well respected insider is lying to us, which I doubt, this feels like a move to give Flacco a shot as the signal caller and use Wilson as a backup plan.
From NFL Now: The #Jets are starting Joe Flacco in Week 1 and more. A look at where it all stands… pic.twitter.com/z1WfvyKFyB
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 7, 2022
The Commanders on the other hand could be one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, or struggled under on and off passer Carson Wentz. I wanted to put Houston in the tier above this, I am high on them, but Davis Mills is too much of an unproven.
Rebuilding teams
New York Giants
Chicago
Atlanta
A thing I am excited for on each of these teams: Giants, year two of Kadarius Toney, the guy is electric when healthy but can he stay healthy? Bears, Justin Fields, if he is as good as we think he is he can make a limited offense watchable. Atlanta, Kyle Pitts, guy could be a game-changing monster that changes the way the NFL views the position of tight end. Seattle, just whatever happens there, it could go really well and they could end up surprising with 7-8 wins or it could go poorly and they’ll have the first pick of the draft next year.
That’s it for Power Rankings, check back in week four for the official list and see where your team ranks.