16. Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals land at No. 16 in our power rankings with preseason beginning. The Bengals have missed the playoffs three years in a row now and are surely beginning to feel the heat. The front office finally got a bit more serious this offseason and revamped the defense, perhaps creating a season that looks a lot how 2021 did.
I am very high on the Bengals, but with how poor the defense was last year, I don't see a reason to rank Cincy higher until that unit proves it can be competent. Dexter Lawrence and Jonathan Allen are two major additions in the trenches, and other supplementary players like Boye Mafe and Bryan Cook are solid all-around pieces who are going to raise the floor of this unit.
All in all, Cincy does have everything you'd nee to win the Super Bowl on paper, but with how devastatingly underwhelming they've been, coupled with QB Joe Burrow not always being able to stay on the field, 2026 could go much different than we think.
15. Philadelphia Eagles
One team I would sell your stock on would be the Philadelphia Eagles. Not only is AJ Brown out of the picture, who was their best pass-catcher, but the team has yet another new offense thanks to hiring Sean Mannion as the new offensive coordinator, replacing Kevin Patullo.
All of this change on the offensive side of the ball is not going to holdup for much longer. This team can not only not find the needed consistency on offense, but QB Jalen Hurts being a limited passer is also not helping.
Sure, the defense is great, but I am not sure why we should believe that the offense is suddenly going to figure it out. This team reeks of being a borderline Wild Card squad right now.
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