Super Bowl champion Eagles top NFL power rankings
How the 32 NFL teams stack up heading into Week 1 of the regular season:
1. Eagles (1): Nope, Carson Wentz isn’t ready. Yup, preseason a mess for Nick Foles and depleted offense. But champs retain our top spot until first L.
2. Patriots (2): Significant questions at left tackle, wide receiver and defense for AFC’s kings. But can’t take them lightly as long as TB12 is slinging.
3. Falcons (3): Fresh measuring stick for talented squad comes Thursday, nearly eight months after five-point playoff loss in Philadelphia.
4. Rams (5): Loaded on both sides of ball. But after keeping so many starters bubble wrapped in August, will they emerge firing on all cylinders?
5. Saints (6): With five of first six against teams that failed to reach postseason, infamously slow starters should hit ground running.
6. Packers (7): Healthy Aaron Rodgers and retooled defense play four of first six at Lambeau.
7. Vikings (4): Impressive offensive firepower and new QB Kirk Cousins could mean great things ... if blocking is up to the task.
8. Jaguars (8): Loss of nominal No. 1 WR Marqise Lee casts further doubt on ability to dissuade opponents from stacking up to stop Leonard Fournette.
9. Chargers (9): If they can avoid bad luck for a change, few flaws to hinder them.
10. Steelers (10): Note to Le’Veon Bell: If it was best to avoid your place of employment for eight months a year, wouldn’t everyone do it?
11. Texans (11): Deshaun Watson had
18 TD passes in six starts. Houston had
10 TD passes combined in its 10 other
2017 games.
12. Redskins (14): Washington could be NFC East surprise with Alex Smith, Adrian Peterson and refreshed D-line.
13. Panthers (13): Daryl Williams is practicing a month after tearing an MCL and dislocating a kneecap. Beleaguered O-line could use him.
14. Titans (12): Not a lot to suggest transition — especially on offense — is out of first gear under new regime.
15. Broncos (15): Perhaps no team will enjoy bigger boost from rookies as Denver unleashes LB Bradley Chubb, WR Courtland Sutton and RB Royce Freeman.
16. Bengals (25): With focus on revamped O-line and breakout candidate Joe Mixon, what could be a deep and unrelenting defense is flying under the radar.
17. Ravens (18): Return of Marshal Yanda, who might one day be a Hall of Fame guard, one of this season’s more unheralded and underappreciated subplots.
18. Cardinals (21): Latest reason not to sleep on Arizona? How about defense that generated mind-blowing plus-15 turnover ratio in preseason.
19. Bears (22): Their offensive potential has only grown ... because newly acquired Khalil Mack ensures a few extra possessions over course of season.
20. Giants (24): They may have to win a lot of 31-30 type games, but an offense featuring Saquon Barkley and jubilant OBJ sure should be fun to watch.
21. Chiefs (19): “We will be the best offense in the National Football League ... without a doubt.” Tyreek Hill needs to balance confidence with patience.
22. Cowboys (17): This defense may catch a lot of opponents off guard. It may need to.
23. 49ers (20): Loss of RB Jerick McKinnon to ACL tear so close to opening day a blow to offense that couldn’t afford it.
24. Lions (23): They’ve got a lot of intriguing parts, but ... .
25. Browns (28): Good to see this club in position to cut NFL-caliber talent for a change.
26. Dolphins (26): They say good teams are strong up the middle. If that holds true, Miami appears to be in serious trouble.
27. Seahawks (27): RB Chris Carson must deliver to reduce load on Russell Wilson.
28. Raiders (16): Khalil Mack’s departure will likely cost Jon Gruden good will in locker room.
29. Jets (30): They couldn’t have asked for much more than Sam Darnold delivered in August.
30. Buccaneers (29): All indications point to 0-3 start.
31. Colts (31): Andrew Luck started looking like his old self — when rifling the ball or taking ill-advised hits.
32. Bills (32): Parking Josh Allen was right move.
Previous week’s rank in parentheses