Everyone expects Week 1 of the NFL season to be wild, and it certainly delivered. We got some unforgettable performances, some big surprises, and we also got the chance to see a number of new quarterbacks leading their new teams for the first time.
Although the AFC might have the better top-end teams overall, the NFC might have a deeper field in 2025. We saw that fully on display with a number of teams that were expected to regress or even just be flat-out bad coming through with some of the most surprising performances of the week.
In our latest NFL Power Rankings, we're going to take a look at the state of the NFC now that all teams have played their games. Which teams are on the rise, who were we wrong about, and which teams are falling already after Week 1?
NFL Power Rankings: Updated NFC team rankings after Week 1 action
16. Carolina Panthers
The biggest issue facing the Carolina Panthers last year was their defense, and that appears to be a significant problem once again. Fans in Carolina are calling for defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero to be fired after giving up 200 yards on the ground to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first week of the season.
No matter how much Bryce Young has improved, if he's not getting help from his defense and has receivers dropping passes left and right, it's going to be a long year for this Panthers squad.
15. New York Giants
The Russell Wilson era did not get off to a hot start in New York, it's pretty safe to say at this point. While you've got fans in Carolina calling for the firing of their defensive coordinator, you've got fans of the Giants begging for head coach Brian Daboll to make a change at quarterback.
Giants fans don't want to spin their wheels with Russell Wilson if he's not going to be out there elevating the offense. Putting up six points against a division rival and allowing them to coast to a victory is not worth keeping Jaxson Dart on the bench. Dart could at least be out there getting reps. We'll see how long of a leash Brian Daboll is willing to give Mr. Unlimited.
14. New Orleans Saints
Something I grappled with throughout the course of the offseason was whether or not the Saints were quite as bad as some people seemed to think. As rough as their quarterback situation is on paper, this is a roster with a lot of really good veterans on it.
Spencer Rattler came out in Week 1 and was better than most expected, and was this close to throwing a game-winning touchdown pass to tight end Juwan Johnson. I'm not sure the Saints are going to be as bad as people though this year, especially if Rattler can build on his Week 1 performance.
13. Seattle Seahawks
It was Week 1 with a new offense, a new quarterback, and a lot of new pieces. The Seahawks are understandably still very much in the early phase of figuring out what they're going to be this season. But I'd be surprised if they figure it out quickly. Seattle plays in one of the toughest divisions in football, and what we saw from Sam Darnold in Week 1 was not anything close to the Darnold we saw under Kevin O'Connell in Minneapolis.
This could be a long year for the Hawks if Darnold doesn't figure things out quickly. They've got a tough defense under Mike Macdonald, but Darnold only got one series in the preseason and we saw the effects of that -- regardless of what he says -- against the 49ers.