PFT’s Week One Power Rankings

1. Patriots (0-0): Winning the Super Bowl comes with two benefits: Hosting the game that opens the season (unless the local baseball team has a game and refuses to change it . . . we’re still looking at you, Orioles) and occupying the top spot in the next year’s initial power rankings. Barring an Elway-to-Brister-style change at quarterback, the Super Bowl champ always lands here.2. Ravens (0-0): Bears fans will be shocked to learn that any team that employs Marc Trestman would be regarded so highly, but the latest example of the NFL’s Peter Principle will do well now that he has fallen one spot below the level of his incompetence.3. Packers (0-0): Ted Thompson showed the patience of Teddy KGB (sans Oreos) while waiting for the Giants to set James Jones free. They’ll still miss Jordy Nelson, but not nearly as much.4. Broncos (0-0): A little less Manning plus a little more defense could be the key to replicating what the team did nearly 20 years ago with a little less Elway and a little more everything else.5. Seahawks (0-0): Even with two straight years of playing into February, the worst hangover of the Super Bowl era, and a bizarre contract impasse with one of the most important players in the locker room, the Seahawks remain one of the best teams in all of football....19. Panthers (0-0): Last year, coaching overcame a so-so roster. It wasn’t good enough to get to 8-8, but it was good enough to get to the playoffs and win a game there. This year, it feels like the rest of the division is on the verge of catching up.20. Saints (0-0): Of all the offseason experiments, none was as significant as giving up on Jimmy Graham in the hopes of pumping up a paltry defense. The ability of coach Sean Payton and G.M. Mickey Loomis to stay on the same page despite more than a few roster misfires is a strong example for all other NFL teams, and their partnership could produce another playoff berth against competitors whose top two non-playing employees are more concerned about pointing fingers than solving problems....22. Falcons (0-0): Two straight horrible seasons after a half-decade of above-.500 performances makes their placement entering the season deserved. But with a franchise quarterback, a great receiver, and a defensive-minded coach with experience in a gold-standard franchise, the Falcons could climb the ladder, quickly....31. Buccaneers (0-0): They earned the ability to get Jameis Winston by being the worst team in football a year ago. They could be a lot better than that this year (especially with an actual offensive coordinator) but it’s going to take time.