The 2024 NFL season officially kicks off on Thursday night, with the Baltimore Ravens taking on the Kansas City Chiefs. So, now is the time to rank where all 32 teams sit heading into the season. Below, we have the Week 1 NFL Power Rankings, with those Chiefs sitting on top.
Our weekly NFL Power Rankings will be released here on FlurrySports every Tuesday, so make sure to check them out every single week to see which direction your team is trending.
While we know the Super Bowl champions will start the year on top, where do the other 31 rank? Let’s jump right into the Week 1 NFL Power Rankings. Normally, we will only expand on the top 10 teams, but we have a blurb about the entire NFL to kick things off.
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NFL Power Rankings For Week 1
1) Kansas City Chiefs
To be the best in the FlurrySports NFL Power Rankings, you have to beat the best. The NFL wasn’t able to do that last season, and now the Kansas City Chiefs will attempt to win three Super Bowls in a row. They won with defense and the running game last season, but now Kansas City is built to throw the ball all over the yard again. Good luck, everyone else.
2) San Francisco 49ers
It was a drama-filled training camp for the San Francisco 49ers, with holdouts, shootings, and more. However, now that the majority of the dust has settled, it’s time to play football and the San Francisco 49ers are simply better than everyone in the NFC at doing exactly that. The defense is outstanding, Brock Purdy put on some muscle, and the team has even more offensive weapons than in the past, once they get fully healthy.
3) Baltimore Ravens
There’s a lot of meat in the backfield for the Baltimore Ravens, with Derrick Henry running behind Patrick Ricard. Whew! Oh yeah, reigning MVP Lamar Jackson is back and healthy too, and he has a bit more talent to throw to as well. The offensive line and defense take at least minor steps backward this season, and the start of the year could be a little slow, but this is a good football team that will figure things out.
4) Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions play only one game outdoors before Thanksgiving. Will that make them soft? Nah, Dan Campbell is still chewing this team out and preaching “grit” every second of the day. The defense added a little more talent, though an active trade deadline is still needed for that. Offensively, they’re talented and will win in the trenches. That’s the sign of a championship-contending team.
5) New York Jets
The New York Jets would still benefit from firing Robert Saleh and hiring Bill Belichick right now, or tomorrow, or at any point in time, but regardless, this is a good football team. The defense has been talked about as elite for a couple of seasons, and they have very rarely played with a lead. Now, with Aaron Rodgers back, more weapons on offense, and a talented group of offensive linemen, the sky is the limit for the Jets. A pissed-off Aaron Rodgers is a scary thing. Hopefully, the rest of the locker room follows him.
6) Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles completely fell apart last season, but this team too good to be any lower on the Week 1 NFL Power Rankings. We’ll see about the relationship between Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni. However, the offense is loaded with talent, the offensive line is still good, and the defense added both talent on the field and off it with new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. If this team starts hot, they will be tough to knock off.
7) Houston Texans
The Houston Texans were the shock of the NFL last season, but did they overachieve? I think almost undoubtedly yes, but this is also a much better team than what we saw on the field last year. The backfield should garner some respect this season, Stefon Diggs improves the receiving corps, and Danielle Hunter rushing the passer is what the defense really needed to grind out close games. Now, we’ll see if CJ Stroud continues to play at a high level.
8) Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons made some questionable decisions this offseason that really dominated headlines, but they made other moves that make them the clear favorite to win the NFC South. Kirk Cousins is a massive improvement at quarterback, and they added more receiving weapons for him as well. Defensively, they have solid players at every level, but the safety duo of Jessie Bates III and Justin Simmons is the best in the game. They also should have landed Bill Belichick, but this should still be a solid team.
9) Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Burrow looks motivated to prove himself again, which could be a scary thing. In fact, this entire team went from the youthful winners to a squad that feels the need to prove themselves for one reason or another. For some, pressure makes diamonds. But for others, the hard times will crush them. There are too many moving parts for this team to be dominant this season, and Burrow is one wrist injury away from shutting it down. Hopefully, his right tackle plays better than I think he will.
10) Dallas Cowboys
This is the first offseason where we didn’t hear some of the talking heads scream about it being the Dallas Cowboys’ year to win it all! However, that doesn’t mean they are destined to do it now. Dak Prescott is playing for a new contract from someone, and the defense will still make plenty of plays, but this receiving corps is not good enough to get the job done, especially if CeeDee Lamb has some issues after sitting out for so long. The “father timeshare” backfield of Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence either. Still, given the division and the points their defense will score, Dallas is still a top-10 team… barely.
I came up with that “father timeshare” thing, by the way. Pretty good, right?
11) Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills continue to be looked at as a potential Super Bowl contender. Well, they’re definitely not that. Defensively, they’re worse. Offensively, they’re less explosive. They’ll run quite a bit of 12 personnel and potentially run the ball better, which could lead to less mistakes, but this is no longer a team that can win a track meet.
12) Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins’ home-field advantage is early in the NFL season, then it fades as the weather cools. So, like every year, the Dolphins will start out hot and fade. The offensive line is also worse, as is the defense. I’ll put the over/under for games Tua Tagovailoa starts at 12.5.
13) Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a balanced team overall. They will win plenty of games playing this way, but they don’t have the locker room leaders, or go-to players, to make a real run. Jordan Love very well could become “a guy,” but he’s not quite there yet, and he’s not good enough to consistently overcome coaching and special teams issues.
14) Pittsburgh Steelers
Can the Pittsburgh Steelers get some sort of reliability at quarterback? They added two new passers and we still don’t know. The running game will be improved under Arthur Smith, and the defense will again be very solid. Yes, they will hit nine wins, but they won’t go above that if the quarterback continues to be less than serviceable.
15) Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams lost some important players, especially on defense, but the offense is capable of being very dangerous. Of course, this all depends on the health of Matthew Stafford, as well as his very talented receiving corps, which seemingly always has someone hurt (currently Tyler Higbee).
16) Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns played well against all odds last season despite injuries. However, they are again stuck with the sexual predator at quarterback, who sat out in the preaseason due to a sore arm. He no longer has victims to do that for him.
Still, this is a well-coached team that will be in every single game. They just play in the toughest division and start the year without their best offensive player.
17) Jacksonville Jaguars
It seems like most people are done talking about Trevor Lawrence being a great quarterback. Welcome back to reality. However, this is still a team with talent, and Doug Pederson thrives as the underdog. Watch out for this team putting some things together. They are the definition of a middle-of-the-road team in the Week 1 NFL Power Rankings.
18) Los Angeles Chargers
It’s a brand new culture for the Los Angeles Chargers, and they finally have a coach that will not openly sabotage everything they’re trying to do. They will win a few more games than last season, but this will still be a process, and I don’t like that Justin Herbert is already hurt.
19) Chicago Bears
Everything is set up for Caleb Williams in Chicago. Well, except for the offensive line, which people continue to ignore. Regardless, there are always some early-season rookie struggles. Williams will then likely play well in the middle of the season, but the end of the year will be tough. Believe it or not, I feel like a team that relies on the spread offense may not work very well in a place called “The Windy City” when it is snowy and cold. Weird.
20) New Orleans Saints
What are the New Orleans Saints? This may be the fourth year in a row I have asked this question before Week 1, and I can promise you we will all still wonder this around Week 10. They’re not bad, but they’re not good. They will compete for second in the division.
21) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a sneaky team because this is the first time in a long time that things have stayed the same for Baker Mayfield. The many needs stability, and he finally has it, as well as some receiving weapons. Defensively, they got worse. However, I do trust Todd Bowles to call some great games on that side of the ball, making this a potential team to rise the NFL Power Rankings.
22) Indianapolis Colts
Anthony Richardson has played one full NFL game. If he can stay healthy, this could be a dangerous offense. However, I don’t trust him to stay fully healthy, and this defense isn’t good enough to lean on.
23) Seattle Seahawks
There have been several issues in Seattle over the past few seasons. Pete Carroll wasn’t one of them, but he is now out. It will likely be a slow start for the Seahawks, then we will see if Geno Smith can find a groove and lead this team. Without Carroll, this will likely be inconsistent at best.
24) Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans would be much higher on this list with a head coach like, say, Mike Vrabel. They lost Derrick Henry, but they improved the offensive line, receiving corps, and defense quite a bit. They are a sneaky team to make a run, if the coach and/or Will Levis don’t ruin things.
25) Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are one of the least-talented teams in the NFL. However, if they are now fully bought into the Sean Payton scheme and culture, it will lead to some wins, especially in the AFC West. However, that doesn’t mean they will be a good team.
26) Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals can run the ball well, and they will steal some wins doing so. However, the passing game won’t be that great and the defense is lacking.
27) Las Vegas Raiders
Davante Adams said who he wanted the quarterback to be, then the Las Vegas Raiders went the other direction. That’s two QBs in a row the Raiders have taken from him. This, combined with the Raiders ignoring blatent weaknesses on their team, suggests this team will regress from what we saw at the end of last season.
28) New York Giants
The offseason Hard Knocks exposed a bit why the New York Giants are the way they are. And this season is supposed to be the year they’re “all-in” on Daniel Jones to see what he can do. Yet, they continued to essentially ignore the biggest weakness on the team since Jones arrived — the offensive line.
29) Minnesota Vikings
It was going to be a tough season for the Minnesota Vikings regardless. However, after losing JJ McCarthy before he could even start his Viking career, Minnesota finds themselves very low in the Week 1 NFL Power Rankings. The defense isn’t good, the offensive line will have some issues, and a rattled Sam Darnold has never been a good thing.
30) Washington Commanders
A new coaching staff and offensive scheme are things that will improve Washington for the long term, but there will be issues in Jayden Daniels’ rookie year. Trading away their second-best receiving option, who is also young, also suggests they know what type of season is ahead.
31) New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are so bad that they don’t want to play Drake Maye and ruin him. Expectations are low in the first season without Belichick.
32) Carolina Panthers
This is a team that was the worst in the NFL last season, but due to its own terrible moves, the Carolina Panthers didn’t have the first overall pick to help them out. The NFL is built for parity, but some teams cannot get out of their own way.
