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Intro + Week 1 Power Rankings

Football is finally back and coming with it this year is our newest blog, The Touchdown Times.  We'll be posting at least once a week during football season, posting weekly power rankings, and discussing NFL trends.  Let's begin with our Week 1 Power Rankings with a brief explanation of some of the teams.


Super Bowl Contenders (1-6)

Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles kick off the season as the top team in our power rankings. Despite losing some players (Miles Saunders, CGJ), the Eagles brought back all of their offensive core and added some key defensive players in the draft (Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith specifically) making them the team to beat this year.  D'andre Swift is a breakout candidate, as he is an upgrade over Miles Sanders and creates a deadly threat on read options with Jalen Hurts.

Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals take the two spot in the power rankings as they brought back all of their offensive core and addressed part of their weakness by signing elite tackle Orlando Brown.  Brown will slide in at LT for the Bengals, who have struggled to keep Joe Burrow upright his entire career.  The Bengals are the favorite to win a tough AFC North and have shown they can win big playoff games on the road, beating the Chiefs in Arrowhead and the Bills in Buffalo the past two years.

Kansas City Chiefs:  The Chiefs would be number 1 on this list if All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones wasn't holding out for one last big contract.  Jones took another step forward last year and was a game-wrecker for the Chiefs, who otherwise lack star power defensively.  The offense will still have the best quarterback in the world in Patrick Mahomes and can win any shootout, but without Chris Jones, the Chiefs have plenty of questions on the defensive side of the ball that need to be answered.

New York Jets:  The Jets enter this season as the most-watched team in football after trading for a future first-ballot hall of famer Aaron Rodgers and then being featured on Hard Knocks.  The Jets Defense brings back all their key starters and was a top unit in the league last year, while the offense features a stacked running back room and OROY Garrett Wilson.  If Rodgers is able to still play at a high level, this team will be able to play with anybody.

San Fransisco 49ers:  The Niners are in a similar situation to the Chiefs in that they would be much higher on this list if they are able to come to terms with star pass rusher Nick Bosa.  There are rumors that they're close to a contract but until Nick Bosa signs and is in playing shape, the Niners' defense will struggle to recreate the dominance they had last year.  The offense still features arguably the best skill group in the league with versatile playmakers such as Deebo Samuel, CMC, and George Kittle.  If Nick Bosa were on this team they would be ranked above the Bengals.  

Buffalo Bill: The Bills are the last team on the legitimate Super Bowl contenders list and were close to being in the next tier.  However, if Josh Allen is still the QB he can win them any game if he protects the football.  The Bills need to figure out a way to run the ball late in games and are looking to James Cook to be a closer for them this season to protect late-game leads and kill the clock.  The Bills also have yet to prove they can beat the AFC's best in January as they've been eliminated by the Bengals and Chiefs the past two years (with the Bengals dominating them in Buffalo).


Fringe Super Bowl Contenders (7-9)

Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys have elite talent on both sides of the ball but can't seem to get out of their own way.  Whether it's brutal turnovers or coaching miscues, the Cowboys seem to find ways to lose the game in the key moments.  With the firing of OC Kellen Moore, HC Mike McCarthy will take over the play-calling duties and run an offense that might've only looked good because prime Aaron Rodgers was the QB and had near-perfect accuracy.  The defense can keep them in any game but until the offense can score consistently it will be hard to believe this team can beat the Eagles or 9ers.

Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins have elite speed at WR in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, but the defense remains a question mark.  Newly acquired Jalen Ramsey will miss part of the season due to knee surgery and Xavien Howard took a big step back last year.  It also seemed like towards the end of the season opposing teams started to figure out how to stop Coach McDaniel's offense, broken down on ESPN by Dan Orlovsky last year after the week 14 loss to the Chargers.

Los Angeles Chargers: The Chargers team has so much talent on both sides of the ball but seems to fall short every year.  Part of the reason for this is that coach Staley coaches like he is playing Madden, and seems to go for it on fourth down every single time.  If the Chargers took the points more often by kicking field goals on 4th and 4 from the 30, or punted when they were on their own side of the field they would win many more games.  The Chargers also brought in Kellen Moore as their new OC who will look to unlock Herbert's superstar potential this year.



Check out the rest of our power rankings below!

Playoff Teams
10. Ravens
11. Jaguars
12. Giants
13. Lions

Fringe Playoff Teams
14. Seahawks
15. Browns
16. Vikings
17. Broncos

Mid
18. Steelers
19. Saints
20. Patriots
21. Packers

Lower Mid
22. Bears
23. Titans
24. Panthers
25. Falcons
26. Raiders
27. Commanders

Rebuilding
28. Colts
29. Texans

Need to blow it up
30. Rams

Unwatchable
31. Buccaneers
32. Cardinals



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