NFL Power Rankings: Week 1

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Well, it certainly feels good to have football back in our living room Sundays, and shit – we’re a bunch of football writers, so I guess we have to get in on the ‘NFL Power Rankings’ action. So, here we are. Your boy “Big Natural” is a major advocate of the Bill Parcells school of thinking in that ‘you are what your record says you are.’

With that in mind, my power rankings are going to be based on the body of work. I don’t care what you were supposed to do before the season started. Nor do I care what you could do in a potential matchup. I’m placing an emphasis on what teams have actually done.

1. Kansas City Chiefs – Looking at the first week of action, no one in the entire league looked better than the Chiefs. They dominated the defending Super Bowl Champion Patriots in every facet of the game. Alex Smith looked like an elite quarterback. Tyreek Hill looked as dangerous as ever, and they seem to have found their feature back in Kareem Hunt. And, we’re not even talking about Travis Kelce, Justin Houston, Marcus Peters, etc. etc. Consider the rest of the AFC on notice.

2. Dallas Cowboys – The Cowboys won Sunday in a big way. They could not beat the New York Giants at all last season, and they kicked off this one by demoralizing Big Blue. Dak Prescott is the real deal, and that offensive line continues to steamroll defenders.

3. Oakland Raiders – The Titans are a damn good team, and the Raiders never really lost control of that game. Derek Carr looks like he’s ready to contend for an NFL MVP award, and the interior of the offensive line is bruising. Marshawn Lynch looked like a million bucks. But, the story was undoubtedly the defense that held the Titans in check. If that unit plays all season the way it did Sunday, this is going to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

4. Green Bay Packers – The surprising part of the Packers win over the Seahawks on Sunday was that the defense pretty well stifled the Seahawks. A healthy Jordy Nelson certainly helps the offense, and a good all-around Packers team is dangerous in the NFC.

5. Atlanta Falcons – The defending NFC champs were among my favorites before the season started, but they didn’t look too crisp against the Chicago Bears, a vastly inferior team (at least we think so now). Still, it’s one of the most talented rosters in the conference.

6. New England Patriots – The Patriots are still the Super Bowl Champions. Kansas City’s ability to gash the Pats defense on the ground was more the exception than the rule. This is still a contender in the AFC as long as Bill Belichick is breathing and Tom Brady is throwing the ball.

7. Baltimore Ravens – There’s no other way to put it: the Ravens flat out took care of business against the Bengals on Sunday. Jeremy Maclin looks like the missing piece on offense, but the defense looked downright nasty. This could turn into a dark horse team in the AFC.

8. Detroit Lions – How long can we call Matthew Stafford underrated? For goodness’ sake, he was playing himself into the MVP discussion last year, and he’s starting off 2017 with an effort to do so again. The Lions came back to defeat a formidable Arizona Cardinals.

9. Minnesota Vikings – Dalvin Cook looks like he’ll replace Adrian Peterson just fine in Minnesota. The defense smothered the New Orleans Saints and all of their weapons, and Sam Bradford looked like a top five NFL quarterback. That division is going to be brutal, as the Vikings, Packers, and Lions will cannibalize each other by season’s end.

10. Denver Broncos – The Broncos defense is going to win them several games alone, plain and simple. But, Trevor Siemian had himself a hell of a day, too. In a weaker AFC conference, the Broncos could make a little bit of noise.

11. Seattle Seahawks – We’ve seen it developing over the last couple of seasons….the Seahawks offense just isn’t what it used to be. Nor is the defense. They’ll have a shot as long as Russell Wilson is standing, and they get the benefit of playing in a weaker division, but if the Rams are what they looked like on Sunday, they’re in trouble.

12. Pittsburgh Steelers – I was not impressed with the Steelers at all on Sunday. Sure, I’ve been touting the Browns as ‘better than expected’ all preseason, but nothing can excuse the day that Le’Veon Bell had. The Steelers are second fiddle to the Ravens in the AFC North for now.

13. Philadelphia Eagles – The Eagles are on the rise and Jim Schwartz has the defense looking nasty. Still, they started 2-0 last season before crumbling, so forgive me if I’m not ready to anoint them NFC East Champions just yet.

14. Los Angeles Rams – Who would have thought the Rams would be such an offensive juggernaut? They rained points all over the Colts in every facet of the game on Sunday. Cooper Kupp looks like he’ll become Jared Goff’s favorite target, and I’m nearly ready to declare that Todd Gurley is BACK! This is a promising team if Sunday was more an indication of their progress and not the Colts regression.

15. Tennessee Titans – I’m not ready to sell the Titans just yet. Mike Mularkey gambled on an onside kick to start the game, and it backfired. The Titans chased the results seven points for the entire game when they aren’t built to do so. The Raiders are a legit Super Bowl contender, and it’s not like the Titans played poorly against them. This team will be just fine in an AFC South that looks atrocious.

The Back Half

16. Buffalo Bills
17. Jacksonville Jaguars
18. Carolina Panthers
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
20. Miami Dolphins
21. Los Angeles Chargers
22. Arizona Cardinals
23. New York Giants
24. Washington Redskins
25. Cleveland Browns
26. Houston Texans
27. Cincinnati Bengals
28. Chicago Bears
29. New Orleans Saints
30. New York Jets
31. San Francisco 49ers
32. Indianapolis Colts

Week 1 Super Bowl Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Dallas Cowboys.

Catch y’all next week.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. A strong advocate of GSD (get shit done) and #BeBetter, he’s down to talk Tennessee Titans and Alabama Crimson Tide football over a beer any day. Check him out covering the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @WrestlingNewsCo