We are merely days away from the start of the 2025 NFL regular season, and the race to Santa Clara for Super Bowl LX is officially going to be underway.
The reigning Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Dallas Cowboys to kick off the 2025 regular season on Thursday night, and we’re finally going to start getting a look at the teams we’ve been making a million different predictions for this offseason.
And even with as many possible outcomes as we can explore, the NFL is undoubtedly going to surprise us. With just days before the regular season, we’re taking one last crack at NFL Power Rankings without seeing any of these teams play. It’ll be fun to see how different this list is after Week 18.
NFL Power Rankings, Week 1: Cowboys plummeting before Week 1
32. New Orleans Saints
What is there to like about the Saints? This is roster with a lot of really solid veteran players, but no clarity at the quarterback position. The surprise retirement of Derek Carr this offseason obviously forced this team to change course, and now the Saints are likely playing with one eye on the future at quarterback. And that future probably isn’t on the roster. We’ll see what Spencer Rattler can do first, and Tyler Shough at some point after that (in all likelihood).
31. Indianapolis Colts
The closer we’re getting to the regular season, the less I’m liking the Colts’ projection. I don’t know where to put this team. Part of me wants to believe that Daniel Jones can be the next Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield, and part of me wonders if this Colts team is headed for a full-scale reload after this season. The biggest reason I hesitate to put the Colts so low on a list like this is the overall talent of this roster is strong, especially at the offensive skill positions. The quarterback position will be this team’s determining factor in 2025.
30. Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are in a major state of transition as a franchise right now, and unfortunately for them, we’re only in the beginning stages of the current renovations. Everyone in Cleveland is undoubtedly frustrated about the team whiffing on the window they just had where they could have stuck with Baker Mayfield, but they didn’t. And they are paying the price in QB purgatory. The floor is slightly higher with Joe Flacco, but the ceiling is extremely low for this Browns team.
29. Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are breaking in the #1 overall pick Cam Ward this year and they’ll get off to a tough start against the projected #1 defense in the NFL, the Denver Broncos. The Titans have one of the older rosters in the league, however, so there is experience around Ward, and that should help him acclimate. Nobody is talking about the Titans like they could be the next Washington Commanders or anything, but we will watch Ward’s career with great interest.
28. New York Jets
The Jets overhauled their front office and coaching staff this offseason, and made a change at the quarterback position with the Aaron Rodgers era a complete flop. The Jets obviously have talent on their roster. They were unanimously considered a top-5 roster in the league last year. But at this point, there are a lot of question marks with Justin Fields at QB, a young offensive line, and a new defensive scheme. This will be an evaluation year for the Jets, and they could surprise some people.
27. Las Vegas Raiders
Nobody upgraded their offense in the 2025 offseason more than the Las Vegas Raiders, and even the upgrades they made might not be enough. The Raiders went from Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell at the quarterback position to Geno Smith. They went from Alexander Mattison at running back to Ashton Jeanty. And at this point, they haven’t granted Jakobi Meyers his trade request. Pete Carroll is taking over the operation, and he’s going to need to get the most out of a cast of characters defensively that feels like a who’s who of recent draft busts and reclamation projects.
26. Carolina Panthers
Panthers head coach Dave Canales made the wildly unpopular and difficult decision last season to bench Bryce Young for Andy Dalton, and even though that was last year, it feels like it was a lifetime ago. The Panthers brought Young back into the mix and he had a really nice stretch of games to end the 2024 season. Now, he’s got Tet McMillan to throw the ball to and hopefully an improved defense behind him. The Panthers’ defense was dead last in points allowed last year, so they obviously have to show signs of life for this team to compete in the NFC South.
25. Dallas Cowboys
The trade of Micah Parsons has cast a very dark cloud over the Dallas Cowboys’ projection for this season. I’ve been all about the Cowboys this offseason, reminding people that they’ve been pretty much guaranteed for 12 wins when Dak Prescott is healthy over the last few years. But without Parsons, the projection for this team is a little more on the “dismal” side. Prescott is going to have to absolutely crush it this season for the Cowboys to be relevant, even over the Giants, in the NFC East.
24. New England Patriots
With Mike Vrabel coming in as the Patriots head coach this offseason, folks are expecting this to be one of the top breakout teams in the NFL. The Patriots have a potential star in the making with Drake Maye at quarterback, but there are a lot of issues on this roster that have yet to be addressed. It’s going to be a longer rebuilding process, but Maye can be the tide to raise all boats for this franchise. The Patriots will be must-see TV weekly after a couple of really rough years.
23. Jacksonville Jaguars
Don’t sleep on the Jacksonville Jaguars this coming season. The Jaguars have a new GM (James Gladstone), a new head coach (Liam Coen), and one of the most fascinating prospects in recent memory (Travis Hunter). If the Jags get a healthy Trevor Lawrence, why can’t this team compete in the AFC South? That was one of the worst divisions in football last year, and Lawrence has proven he can be a major difference-maker when healthy. Nobody shold be counting out the Jaguars, who could sneak up on the Texans in the AFC South this season.
22. Atlanta Falcons
The jury is out on so many pieces of this Falcons team. Is Michael Penix Jr. going to be the guy they hoped when they selected him 8th overall last year? Is the defense going to be able to make the necessary jump forward to actually compete with the Buccaneers? The Falcons don’t have a lot of certainty going into this year but everyone is excited to see what Penix can do as the full-time starter with the weapons at his disposal. Bijan Robinson is expected to contend for NFL Offensive Player of the Year and his consistency will be key for this team making a run at the Bucs.
21. Seattle Seahawks
I’ve gone on record all offseason as saying I do not like what the Seahawks decided to do this offseason. I get moving on from an aging quarterback, but the Seahawks paying a bunch of money to Sam Darnold after his lone year with the Vikings seems like it could end up burning them. And I certainly don’t like that move paired up with the decision to trade DK Metcalf to the Steelers. It would have been different to add Darnold along with Metcalf. Mike Macdonald needs his defense to come through in a big way this season.
20. New York Giants
The closer we’ve gotten to the start of the 2025 season, the more I’ve been buying the hype with the New York Giants. Is there hype? I don’t know exactly where the hype train is at with this team, but I’ll say I’m buying Giants stock early this season. I don’t think Russell WIlson is going to be a complete disaster, and the Giants have weapons on offense to get the ball to. They also might have the best defensive line in their division, which is saying something. Heck, they might have more talent than any other defensive line in the conference. That’s worth something.
19. Chicago Bears
This is as high as I want to go with the Chicago Bears right now. I was buying the moves they made last year on paper, and I’m buying them again this year, but I was way too ready to send the Bears to the playoffs. Caleb Williams has a lot to prove as a starting QB in the NFL going into his second season. Can he hit layups consistently? How long before we see him meshing well with head coach Ben Johnson? I felt like the Bears got the best head coach prospect on the market this offseason, and if that offense can be cohesive early, this Bears team is going to be tough in the NFC North.
18. Arizona Cardinals
Since he came on board as the team’s head coach a couple of years ago, Jonathan Gannon has seemingly had his guys playing above their talent level. Certainly when he took over in 2023, that was the case. The Cardinals now have some serious talent to go along with the coaching of Gannon, so how quickly can they get back into the mix in the NFC West? It might be this year. The Cardinals could easily be a 10-win team if they get a breakthrough year from Marvin Harrison Jr. and their pass rush, which has been revamped considerably.
17. Miami Dolphins
I feel like I’ve been justifiably hard on the Miami Dolphins all offseason, but let’s not forget what this team is capable of offensively when everyone is healthy. Yes, we can talk about “if” they don’t stay healthy all day long, but the Dolphins obviously have everyone ready to go on that side of the ball, and their best players on the defensive front are also all full go to start the season. The secondary is a major area of concern, especially at cornerback, but we can’t rule out the Dolphins scoring 30 points a game if their offense fully intact.
16. Pittsburgh Steelers
I will admit, I’m extremely skeptical that the Steelers’ marriage with Aaron Rodgers – the only Aaron Rodgers marriage we know about – is going to work out this season. This is supposed to be the swan song for Rodgers in the NFL, and something about it just feels off. We saw Rodgers playing well late last season for the Jets, but he’s once again got completely new surroundings. I believe in the inevitability of Mike Tomlin, however, so I would have to guess that nine wins for this team is probably the floor…right? The question is, what is the ceiling?
15. Los Angeles Chargers
This offseason has been rather terrible for the Chargers. It’s been a mixed bag in terms of guys coming and going, especially because Chargers fans were all clamoring for Keenan Allen’s return to Los Angeles. With that said, the injury to Rashawn Slater at left tackle threw a wrench in the Chargers’ offensive plans, and the situation with Najee Harris has been very concerning. Saying goodbye to Joey Bosa might have been addition by subtraction, but the ceiling for this team’s pass rush didn’t get any higher with the moves they made.
14. Houston Texans
The more I have thought about the Houston Texans last season, the less I’m feeling them as a top-10 team this coming year. CJ Stroud has a revamped offensive line in front of him, but the Texans made so many changes there that it’s hard to imagine they have fixed everything overnight. The addition of Nick Chubb might be a fortuitous one for this team as Joe Mixon’s injury seems to be more serious than anyone expected. With concerns on the offensive line, it might be the defense carrying this team in 2025.
13. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings won 14 games last year with Sam Darnold at the quarterback position, and I think that pretty much shocked everyone. Now, we’re really going to see Kevin O’Connell’s Coach of the Year credentials put to the test, as he’s no longer working with a reclamation project but his own first-round pick. JJ McCarthy is coming off of a major injury and has inherited a team that won 14 games last season. The pressure is going to be off the charts for the young quarterback, but it’s nothing he’s not already used to. McCarthy has ice in his veins. It might take him some time, but he should be operating the Minnesota offense at a high level by midseason, if not sooner.
12. Cincinnati Bengals
I can’t sit here and say I’m “buying” the Cincinnati Bengals’ defense right now, but I’m definitely buying their offense again. Joe Burrow has a case as the best quarterback in the NFL, even though there are no fewer than three legitimate MVP candidates in his own conference. Burrow was on a different plane last year as a quarterback, and as good as he already was, it’s clear that the game is slowing down for him year after year. The Bengals need to figure something out defensively, but with Burrow under center, they should be in most every game, even if they are shootouts.
11. San Francisco 49ers
I’m probably higher on the San Francisco 49ers than most, but their offensive core is back this year (Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Trent Williams) and Robert Saleh is calling the defense again. That was a recipe for success for the 49ers in the past, and I think it will be yet again this year. Saleh knows how to get the most out of his young players and his scheme has always been favorable for unheralded guys. He’s got more to work with than people think. I feel like the Niners will get a breakout year from Ricky Pearsall this year and Brandon Aiyuk will be back before you know it.
10. Washington Commanders
I’m not going to say that the Commanders caught lightning in a bottle last year, or that what we saw from them was a flash in the pan, but I do think we could see this team take a slight step back in 2025. Jayden Daniels got a new weapon with Deebo Samuel joining Terry McLaurin. He got a couple of new linemen in front of him in Laremy Tunsil and Josh Conerly Jr. The question for the Commanders is not about their offense, but their defense. Dan Quinn is going to have to work his magic with a rough group of pass rushers. The Commanders’ lack of EDGE talent could be their downfall.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers have a chance to be a sleeper Super Bowl contender in the NFC this coming season. So much will depend on whether Baker Mayfield is too much of a gunslinger out there, but even if he does throw a bunch of picks, you sort of expect him to throw at least one more touchdown to make up for it. Mayfield has so many weapons at his disposal, and a strong defense behind him. He doesn’t need to make every play. When it comes to having roster balance, I’m not sure anyone in the NFC exceeds what the Bucs currently have.
8. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos shockingly won 10 games last season when nobody in the football world expected anything out of them. Sean Payton had his team playing exceptionally well despite dealing with $90 million in dead money on the salary cap. The Broncos made a mistake with the Russell Wilson deal, but it’s fascinating how quickly hitting at the quarterback position can rescue a franchise. Bo Nix finished second in NFL history for quarterbacks with 29 touchdown passes on the season, and third in NFL history with 34 touchdowns overall as a rookie. The Broncos might have the best defense in the league.
7. Kansas City Chiefs
It feels disrespectful to have the Kansas City Chiefs this low, and certainly they deserve respect as the reigning AFC champions. The Chiefs are a modern-day dynasty, but we aren’t just evaluating what they have done to this point. We’re looking at what they might ultimately do this coming season. The reality is, the Chiefs have been carried the last two years by the defense. The offense has been great situationally, but middle-of-the-pack in scoring the football. The Chiefs need to come out this year with a chip on their shoulders and prove to everyone that they are still a dominant force on both sides of the ball.
6. Detroit Lions
I still really like the Detroit Lions this year. Let me just preface by saying that. There is no denying this team’s overall level of talent on both sides of the ball. But there is also no denying that losing Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn is going to be a factor worth watching over the course of a long season. We saw how much that hurt the Eagles after the 2022 season. The Lions also have made big changes on the offensive line. They have injuries piling up defensively already this offseason. It’s fair to be skeptical of this team right now.
5. Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams could end up being the best team in the NFC this year if Matthew Stafford can stay healthy. There are just very few weaknesses on this roster that they wouldn’t be able to overcome, unless they are dead last in pass defense because of the cornerback position. And with the talent the Rams have on their defensive front, I wouldn’t expect that. Obviously, this team’s floor is low because of the injury concerns with Stafford. But the addition of Davante Adams at receiver along with the expected progression of the young talent on this roster could have the Rams representing the NFC in Santa Clara next February.
4. Green Bay Packers
For those who have been reading my power rankings this offseason, you already know that the Micah Parsons trade moved the needle for me on the Packers only slightly. I’ve been high on Green Bay all offseason, but the trade for Parsons potentially puts this team on par with the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC. We’ll get the chance to see how quickly Parsons can acclimate himself to Jeff Hafley’s defense, but for the guy who has led the NFL in pressures since 2021, that shouldn’t be a problem. The Packers are loaded.
3. Buffalo Bills
There are really no notes I can give on the Buffalo Bills right now. We need to see this team playing real games, and their first test of the season is a brutal one. They face off against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 and might start the year off – at home – with a bad taste in their mouths. Either that, or the Bills will prove that this is going to be a banner year for the franchise’s history. This team is in “Super Bowl or Bust” mode right now and they have the talent to coast through the regular season to 13 or 14 wins.
2. Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles did lose quite a bit after winning the Super Bowl last year, but general manager Howie Roseman has that roster reloaded and ready for another shot at it this coming season. When you have the level of roster retention the Eagles had offensively as well as Vic Fangio coaching the defense, how can you not be confident about this team? Losing players like Milton Williams and Josh Sweat on the defensive front is not ideal, but again, the Eagles have obviously been planning on losses like that and have young guys ready to step up.
1. Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson is playing at the highest level we’ve ever seen him play. The Ravens have an elite group of skill players offensively. Questions about the offensive line have been answered by players the Ravens drafted (of course). The defense is loaded at all three levels. Simply put, the Baltimore Ravens are ready to not only make a run for the AFC this season, but run the table in the regular season. There won’t be many games in which they are not favored this season. This team is a scary combination of elite talent and well-oiled machine.