NFL Power Rankings: Biggest risers and fallers after Preseason Week 1

Who overreacts to what happens in the NFL preaseason? Definitely not us...Football is finally back after a six-month hiatus and with everything that happened over the course of the offseason on paper, we now finally have some actual football to evaluate.

Well, sort of.

The preseason is not going to give us a clear enough picture of what every team is going to look like in the regular season, but it can certainly get fans excited about certain players or teams. We're going to update our 2024 NFL power rankings anyway, giving a fresh perspective on everything that went down in Week 1 of the 2024 preseason. Which teams are rising and falling even just with a short sample from the weekend of preseason games?

2024 NFL Power Rankings after Preseason Week 1

32. Las Vegas Raiders

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce was pleased with what he saw from his quarterbacks in the Raiders’ preseason debut against the Minnesota Vikings.

There are some who think the combination of Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell could be the worst in the NFL.

"Yeah, it was good. Good reps there for Aidan. Backed up, got us drove all the way down the length of the field. It was close there, was thinking about going for the fourth down, negative play, we kicked a field goal. And then Gardner came in, three good drives. Really for both quarterbacks, all four possessions led to points on the board for the Raiders. That was positive. There's a lot of things obviously we can learn from it." 

Antonio Pierce (via Raiders PR)

The Raiders are going to be one of the most interesting teams to watch this coming season considering how they rallied and played well after Josh McDaniels was fired last year.

31. Carolina Panthers

The Panthers’ preseason opener was a massive disappointment from an outside perspective. Can anyone explain why Bryce Young didn’t play in this game? Are the Panthers really preserving his health right now instead of giving him valuable reps?

I am guessing we’ll see Young at some point in the preseason, but he needs these game situations to be able to show actual improvement. The pressure is on the Panthers and Bryce Young this year thanks to the fact that Frank Reich and his staff were absolutely awful last year. The new coaching staff, led by head coach Dave Canales, gave all the reps in the first preseason game to Jake Luton and Jack Plummer.

What in the world? This team is not good enough to sideline Bryce Young for preseason reps. And if he’s dealing with an injury, there’s even more cause for concern.

30. Washington Commanders

Washington Commanders fans had to be absolutely thrilled after seeing rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels come out on his first drive in the preseason. He launched a deep ball down the right side of the field for a 42-yard play and then kept the ball on an option play to score the first touchdown of the preseason.

Daniels’s full skill set was on display and undoubtedly has Commanders fans giddy about what could be. But this is a team that is going to have to continually trust the process. There are a lot of moving parts on this Commanders roster and so much change, possibly too much to really have a ton of team success in year one of the Dan Quinn era. 

It might take some time, but the Commanders should at least be exciting this season if Daniels can make continual progress.

29. New York Giants

New York Giants fans may have gotten a bit of an unfortunate glimpse of the frustration and struggle coming in the 2024 regular season with Drew Lock out there getting absolutely wrecked in the preseason opener. Not that Lock is going to be the one playing quarterback, but how much better can Daniel Jones be this season?

The Giants are holding out hope that we will see more of the 2022 version of Daniel Jones, the guy who limited turnovers a little bit better and was able to get that Giants team into the playoffs. The performance by Drew Lock in combination with the lack of targets going to Malik Nabers was disturbing for Giants fans.

This is a team that is really just on the cusp of being pretty good. What is their ceiling with Daniel Jones? It’s tough to project this team to get back to the playoffs with Jones coming off of an injury and looking bad in the games he actually played last season.

28. New England Patriots

The excitement over the New England Patriots’ preseason was rather quickly squashed when third overall pick Drake Maye came out there and only threw three passes. It was a light day at the office for Maye, and the Patriots paved the way for Joe Milton and Bailey Zappe to get the majority of the reps at quarterback.

Specifically, Bailey Zappe got a lot of time out there as the Patriots are likely auditioning him for a trade. If Jacoby Brissett is going to be starting this year, then having a lot of preseason reps for Drake Maye will be essential. It doesn’t make sense to limit his reps out there in the preseason if he’s not going to be starting this year. 

And Brissett probably should have gotten at least another series after going 0-for-3 passing. The guy needs a completion. There’s no reason to make a mountain out of a molehill here but the Patriots need to see more out of the QBs that will actually be playing this year.

27. Seattle Seahawks

After some rumors that there might be a quarterback controversy in Seattle this offseason, I think we can safely put those rumors to rest if we’re basing it off of the first week of the preseason. To be fair to Sam Howell, it was his first game action as a member of the Seattle Seahawks following the offseason trade between Seattle and Washington, but there was a lot left to be desired as Howell got a good amount of work against the Los Angeles Chargers.

He’s still a young quarterback, but as far as potentially starting for the Seahawks this season, it’s probably not going to be happening unless it’s some type of emergency situation. This is Geno Smith’s team.

How do the Seahawks respond to the departure of Pete Carroll this offseason? Does this team have enough defensively to compete in the relatively loaded NFC West?

26. Tennessee Titans

Given the fact that the preseason is shortened to just three games, it was fascinating to see around the league that there were so many inexperienced and unproven quarterbacks who really didn’t get a lot of work overall.

The Titans gave Will Levis a couple of drives but only scripted five pass attempts for him. Levis was just out there getting his feet wet and getting plenty of reps handing the ball off to Tony Pollard while also running the ball in for a score himself.

Tennessee has made a lot of moves this offseason indicative of a team that is planning to contend in their division this season. Their quarterback situation, however, dictates we take a more reasonable approach to projecting this team. Will Levis is a wild card but the pieces are in place for him to have a breakout season.

25. Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings saw some good things from rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy in his debut after throwing an interception. The rookie bounced back to throw a couple of touchdown passes and show off the arm talent he has in the process.

But how about Sam Darnold, too? 

The Vikings had all the makings of the perfect situation for a quarterback to step into. Kevin O’Connell is an excellent coach and he’s built a great staff. The Vikings have some of the best playmakers in the NFL in Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson, and Aaron Jones. There’s a lot to like about this situation in Minnesota for either Darnold or McCarthy, but it appears Darnold is going to get the first crack at it.

And having a great situation around him is going to be unfamiliar territory for Darnold, at least as it pertains to him being the potential starter.

24. Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts outkicked their coverage last season in the first year of the Shane Steichen era, but they outkicked their coverage without their star rookie quarterback. Anthony Richardson showed us a glimpse of the type of weapon he could be at the quarterback position last season, but an injury robbed the NFL world of seeing how much he could grow.

And ultimately, the Colts won a lot of close games last season in a fashion that may not be sustainable going forward. But there are pieces in place for this team to be really special if everything comes together. We didn’t get to see much of the starting unit in the Colts’ preseason loss to the Broncos, but this team is must-see TV each week.

23. Atlanta Falcons

I don’t know that the transition from the Arthur Smith era is going to go as smoothly as some people seem to think for the Atlanta Falcons. Not that Smith is “the one that got away” for the Falcons, but we really saw general manager Terry Fontenot overcorrect this offseason after very oddly not going after an actual franchise quarterback for the last three or four years. 

The overcorrection of firing a head coach, signing Kirk Cousins to a massive contract, and using the 8th overall pick on Michael Penix Jr. – believe it or not – may not work out immediately for the Falcons. It’s going to take time for this cast, which is good on paper, to get going. And the defense is going to have to overachieve for Raheem Morris.

This is a team that could make more noise from November on to the end of the season than they do in September.

22. Arizona Cardinals

We didn’t get a very extended look at a lot of the most interesting new-look Arizona Cardinals in their preseason opener against the Saints. Namely, we didn’t get to see much of Marvin Harrison Jr.

We want Marvin.

I don’t think we’re going out on much of a limb to say the Cardinals are going to be a lot better in 2024 than they were in 2023. Jonathan Gannon had his guys competing every week last year, and competing hard. That was despite a lack of great talent on the roster. But GM Monti Ossenfort has done a tremendous job of assembling the roster and utilizing his NFL Draft assets to build at key positions.

We should get a better look at Arizona in Week 2 of the preseason but I view this as a 7-8 win team.

21. Los Angeles Chargers

So, what does Ryan Tannehill think of Los Angeles?

When is Justin Herbert coming back again?

The Chargers are in a bad spot if Justin Herbert isn’t healthy at the start of the season, and right now, that appears to be at least somewhat of a question mark. We’ll know soon enough just how worried the Chargers might be about Herbert not being available at the beginning of the year based on the action they take at the backup quarterback spot.

Easton Stick isn’t going to cut it for them right now. The Chargers need to go get someone to come in and potentially start for them if need be. Without Justin Herbert, this offense for Jim Harbaugh is absolutely cooked.

20. Denver Broncos

Did the Denver Broncos find a franchise quarterback? Many people in the NFL world are now buzzing after seeing Bo Nix play very well in his debut under head coach Sean Payton. Despite being the sixth quarterback taken in the first round of this year’s draft, Nix was tailor-made for Payton’s offense with a quick trigger and a ton of experience at the college level to be able to digest a complex offense.

Not only that, but Nix is impressive in the way that he reads a defense, limits turnovers, and doesn’t take many sacks. Certainly not unnecessary ones. That will be a nice change of pace from Russell Wilson, who took 100 sacks over the last two seasons with the Broncos. This team could end up surprising a lot of people in 2024.

19. Chicago Bears

If Chicago Bears fans weren’t already excited enough about Caleb Williams before the preseason, they’re going to be doing involuntary Olympic break-dancing impressions after seeing some of the throws he made in his preseason debut.

It was torturous to have the Bears kick off the preseason in the Hall of Fame game and not have Williams make his debut, but the #1 overall pick didn’t disappoint and certainly is adding fuel to the Bears’ 2024 hype fire. It’s going to be tough for this team to surpass the Lions in the NFC North, but the Bears definitely have the talent to be one of the top seven teams in the NFC this season and take a Wild Card spot.

Most importantly – Williams looks like the real deal.

17. Jacksonville Jaguars

Are the Jacksonville Jaguars going to bounce back after a dreadful finish last season? They capitalized on their first offensive possession against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 of the preseason where we saw the return of Trevor Lawrence.

After Lawrence left the game, we also saw the playmaking ability of first-round wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.

The Jaguars should be vastly improved defensively this season, but there are new weapons getting acclimated offensively as well. Thomas is going to be a huge asset and a much more dynamic presence – eventually – compared to what Calvin Ridley brought to the table. As tough of a loss as that was to stomach this offseason.

This Jacksonville team needs Trevor Lawrence to stay healthy and get back to the form we saw from him in 2022.

18. New Orleans Saints

To say Derek Carr did nothing to quiet some offseason concerns about what the Saints could possibly be this year would be the understatement of the week.

Carr finished 2-of-6 passing for just 12 yards and used the excuse/reasoning after the game that you don’t “show” anything during the preseason. It just didn’t feel like the Saints’ starters were operating well and the concerns are compounding after an offseason filled with question marks regarding the offensive line in New Orleans.

You can’t simply dismiss that the Saints had top 10 scoring offense and defense rankings last season, but if we were to say which direction teams on this NFL Power Rankings list were trending, the Saints have to be trending down.

16. Pittsburgh Steelers

The majority of training camp has seemingly been great for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields, who appeared to be in the driver’s seat for the starting job over veteran Russell Wilson. Wilson woke up the day training camp began with a calf issue, and he hasn’t even been out there on the field all that much for Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, videos have been circulating around social media of Fields dropping dimes to George Pickens and the fan base in Pittsburgh has seemingly really rallied around him. We got a bit of a sour taste in our mouths after watching Fields quarterback the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense in Week 1 of the preseason, his performance leaving many to believe that Russell Wilson could win the job by default.

It was just too much of what we saw in Chicago that got Fields traded in the first place. He made some nice throws, fumbled a couple of snaps, and took unnecessary sacks. He needs to be better in Week 2.

15. Cleveland Browns

Deshaun Watson not getting preseason work is certainly something. 

I could end up being wrong about this and maybe Watson is going to come out this season and just absolutely rip it. But what in the world are we doing here?

Watson has barely appeared in 12 games over the last three calendar years. The only reason why people aren’t calling the Deshaun Watson trade the worst in league history is because the Browns were miraculously able to have team success last season without him.

Why is Watson not playing in the preseason, throwing a couple of passes, if he’s fully cleared for contact? It doesn’t make sense. Maybe the Browns are just preparing for the inevitability that they will need someone else to play quarterback. Hopefully this team doesn’t waste another season with a top-3 defense.

14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Raise your hand if you forgot the Buccaneers had Kyle Trask. What a difference a year makes in the NFL…

The Buccaneers are returning a good majority of their roster from last year, but they might have one of the most dangerous rookies in the league joining an already loaded offense. Bucky Irving, formerly of the Oregon Ducks, has been making headlines all throughout the offseason and looked good in limited action for the Bucs. He carried the ball six times for 28 yards and a touchdown.

The Bucs handed out a bunch of money this offseason, rewarding in-house players with big contract extensions. Can they keep momentum from last season where they beat the Eagles in the playoffs?

13. Los Angeles Rams

Are we underestimating how big the loss of Aaron Donald is going to be for the Rams this year, or are we underestimating how good this team is going to be as the new, young core continues to come together?

The Rams had a down year in 2022 after winning the Super Bowl in 2021 but they showed last year that, when healthy, they could be one of the most dangerous teams in the NFC. Les Snead has gone from the “F*** Them Picks” mantra to more of a “Stack Them Picks” mantra, and it’s working out. The Rams have found great talent and value in the NFL Draft in recent years and look poised to continue being a threat in the NFC.

Sean McVay is going to have this team ready to go each week, but the key veterans on this team – Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp – absolutely have to stay healthy.

12. Philadelphia Eagles

We’re not going to get the clearest look at the Philadelphia Eagles after just one preseason game. We kind of know what to expect from the offense when Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown, and DeVonta Smith are all out there. The Eagles are going to be one of the top scoring offense in the entire league more than likely, and the addition of Saquon Barkley adds another dynamic to that side of the ball that was missing last season.

The real question mark for the Eagles is the defense. The word out of training camp is that Vic Fangio’s defense hasn’t yet really taken off, which maybe is to be expected. It’s going to be tough for Fangio to call a worse defense than what we saw last year for Philly but there are moving parts and unknown variables at every level that could lead to another year of struggle there.

11. Dallas Cowboys

If there’s not a dropoff defensively for the Cowboys this year under new coordinator Mike Zimmer, this team might actually cook.

The Cowboys were probably a better overall roster the last few years and they certainly were gutted a little bit in the 2024 offseason, but there’s still reason for optimism in Dallas as Dak Prescott is playing better than ever and appears poised for an MVP-caliber season.

That could depend largely on whether or not the Cowboys have CeeDee Lamb out there, though. Jerry Jones has openly created a rift between Lamb and the front office with some of his remarks lately, and the Cowboys aren’t going to capitalize on the window they find themselves in without Lamb in the mix. 

10. Buffalo Bills

Josh Allen did make his 2024 debut for the Buffalo Bills in their preseason opener against the Chicago Bears, but it probably won’t be until the second week of the preseason that we really see him get some extended time on task.

We have a lot of new faces in Buffalo this year, and a lot of departed familiar ones. The Bills lost a lot of guys this year who previously made up their championship-caliber core. That includes star receiver Stefon Diggs and starting safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.

Heck, Poyer even bolted for the division rival Dolphins.

The Bills have had a tough offseason in a lot of ways, but can some of their losses be addition by subtraction? The jury is still out, but there is a lot more responsibility and pressure on Josh Allen’s shoulders this year than in years prior.

9. New York Jets

Other than the debut of some new uniforms, we didn’t really get a great look at the New York Jets in their first preseason game of 2024. Everyone is eager to see what this team is going to look like with Aaron Rodgers at the helm, but that is going to have to wait. The Jets aren’t going to mess around with Rodgers playing in the preseason and risk him potentially aggravating his Achilles injury.

They need to keep him in bubble wrap and get him to the regular season. There are high expectations for this Jets team. This roster has been hyped up all offseason, and understandably so. The Jets have a lot going for them right now. But that’s all going to hell in a handbasket if they don’t have a healthy, focused Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers wasn’t great in his last year with the Packers. He’s now north of 40 years old and coming off one of the worst injuries an NFL player can suffer.

8. Green Bay Packers

I am fully buying into the Green Bay Packers after what we saw last year. There are a lot of other people out there acting like Jordan Love played poorly for half of last season, but that wasn’t the case at all. Love had a couple of clunkers in the first two months of the season and wound up finishing second in the entire league in passing touchdowns behind Dak Prescott.

If you want something to overreact to in the preseason, how about Love connecting with Dontayvion Wicks for 65 yards and a touchdown in the first game? It’s going to be tough for Packers fans to keep their optimism in check after the progression we saw from Love last year on top of what we’re seeing come together this offseason.

The Packers look like a legitimate threat to the 49ers in the NFC this season.

7. Cincinnati Bengals

The greatest news for the Cincinnati Bengals in their preseason opener? Not only was Joe Burrow back in action, but he wasn’t sacked or hit a single time in the reps he was given.

Oh, and the Bengals had a nice touchdown drive while Burrow was out there as well.

The rest of the AFC isn’t ready for the Bengals to be back in the mix. Keep in mind that at full strength, this team went all the way to the Super Bowl in just Burrow’s second NFL season. There has been plenty of change in Cincinnati since that time, but this team has also grown and gotten better in key areas.

One breakout player to watch this year is wide receiver Andrei Iosivas, a player who is in line to replace the departed Tyler Boyd along with Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase at receiver for the Bengals.

6. Miami Dolphins

Hey, you know what the Miami Dolphins needed? Another offensive playmaker. I don’t think they had enough of those before, right?

The Dolphins may have question marks elsewhere on the roster, but the offense is going to be incredible once again. We’ve all been enjoying the Olympics this Summer and the running joke is that the Dolphins have assembled a track team. Well, they’ve got a new weapon at running back in rookie Jaylen Wright out of Tennessee, who was one of the top stories of their preseason opener.

Wright may not be eclipsing 150 touches this season, but adding him to the mix with Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane at running back and the elite receivers they already have? This Dolphins team is going to average 35 or more points per game, I’m afraid. How often can the defense stop the other team from scoring 36?

5. Houston Texans

There are few teams that have been getting as much hype throughout the 2024 offseason as the Houston Texans. Understandably so. The Texans were one of the NFL’s biggest breakout teams during the 2023 season with the emergence of quarterback CJ Stroud as well as a host of other young players under head coach DeMeco Ryans.

The Texans followed up their breakthrough season by loading up in free agency and the 2024 NFL Draft with acquisitions like Stefon Diggs and Danielle Hunter to add top-flight veterans on either side of the ball. The roster has really come together for Nick Caserio over the last handful of years following the Deshaun Watson debacle and, frankly, they might be better off.

Watson has been a major disappointment so far in Cleveland while CJ Stroud looks like he might be the next Mahomes challenger in the AFC.

4. Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens always seem to get an absolute stud that falls to their slot in the NFL Draft, and it doesn’t even really matter what round we’re talking about. General manager Eric DeCosta knows how to build his roster, and after the first week of the preseason, it looks like he’s got another absolute stud in cornerback Nate Wiggins, the team’s first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Wiggins was a major standout for Baltimore in their game against the Eagles, but the Ravens and head coach John Harbaugh may have left him in the game too long. Playing into the second half, Wiggins ended up suffering a shoulder injury and leaving the game. At this point, the severity of that injury is not known, but the Ravens are definitely holding their breath a little bit after what we saw from the rookie.

Baltimore is loaded up and ready for another run in the AFC this season.

3. Detroit Lions

We all know the Detroit Lions are going to bring it this year. They’ve upgraded their look significantly with the new uniforms and even if we don’t see a lot of the usuals out there for the preseason, this team should be expected to hit the ground running.

Literally.

The Lions are going to dominate on the ground again this year and in the trenches on both sides of the ball. The addition of DJ Reader to the defensive line gives this team a new force on the defensive front to help take that unit to another level. The defensive backfield is revamped. The Lions suffered very few actual losses in the offseason and might be the team hosting the NFC Championship this year depending on what happens with the 49ers.

We don’t need this team to come out and prove itself in the preseason. The Lions are going to be great.

2. San Francisco 49ers

There’s nothing really to see with the San Francisco 49ers in the preseason right now. This team may need a slight tune up before the start of the regular season, but for the most part, the 49ers should be expected to be one of the most well-oiled machines in the entire league.

The biggest cloud looming over this team right now is obviously the Brandon Aiyuk situation. If he’s not there for the 49ers this year, the offense takes a substantial hit. There were rumors recently that the 49ers and Aiyuk had reignited contract talks, but it also sounds like the Pittsburgh Steelers could be lurking and still trying to make a move.

If the 49ers can manage to hang on to Aiyuk, there’s no reason to believe this team will be doing anything in February but representing the NFC in the Super Bowl.

1. Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t leave their starters out there for long, but the top defense got gashed a little bit by the Jacksonville Jaguars. There are questions for the Chiefs right now at both the off-ball linebacker position and at the cornerback position. After trading away L’Jarius Sneed, the Chiefs seemingly put their faith in a lot of young players and it remains to be seen whether the next man up strategy is going to work.

They also lost Hollywood Brown early to a shoulder injury that now has the start of his 2024 season very much in jeopardy. And that’s already with questions looming over Rashee Rice and whether or not he’s going to be suspended. 

And yet the Chiefs can probably just be penciled in for a trip to the AFC Championship game, or hosting it. Right?