NFL Power Rankings: Assessing Every NFL Team Heading Into the Offseason

1. Kansas City Chiefs (14-3)

After that incredible Super Bowl performance, the Chiefs take the top spot in the power rankings heading into the offseason. There really isn’t much to say about the Chiefs at this point.

They might need to look for a new offensive coordinator depending on what happens with current OC Eric Bieniemy, but the reality is as long as the Chiefs have Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes they are probably going to be elite.

Not to mention, they could legitimately be good on defense next year too. The Chiefs had a lot of rookies playing meaningful snaps for their defense this year who figure to improve next year as well.

2. Cincinnati Bengals (12-4)

The Bills have better 2023-2024 Super Bowl odds than the Bengals, but I would put the Bengals in a tier above them.

If it wasn’t for three injuries to their offensive line that allowed Chiefs defensive tackles completely wreck the AFC Championship game for them, the Bengals likely would have represented the AFC in the Super Bowl for the second straight year.

Joe Burrow was correct when he said that their Super Bowl window is essentially his entire career. They will still have elite weapons next year, should figure to improve among the offensive line as well, and not to mention they were able to hang on to their defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, which is a big deal.

3. Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)

Similar to the Bengals, the Eagles are below the 49ers in terms of Super Bowl odds, but I have them above the 49ers in these power rankings.

With that said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Eagles took a step back next season, at least at the beginning of the year. They lost both their offensive and defensive coordinator to head coaching jobs, and currently have 7 of their 11 starters on defense scheduled to be a free agent.

Not to mention, Jalen Hurts is due to receive a monster contract extension, which gives the Eagles less cap space to work with.

4. San Francisco 49ers (13-4)

If not for suffering a ridiculous four quarterback injuries over the course of the season, the 49ers might have been the team to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. In the NFC Championship Game itself, they lost both of their (remaining) QBs to injury.

If we are to look ahead to the next season, the 49ers will have some question marks defensively as they lost defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who left to be the head coach of the Texans.

The good news, though, for the 49ers is that they replaced him with Steve Wilks, who is a respected coordinator. So, they should still figure to be an elite unit next year as well.

The 49ers also have major injury questions at the quarterback position, with both Brock Purdy and Trey Lance currently nursing serious injuries, and Jimmy Garropolo is scheduled to be a free agent.

5. Buffalo Bills (13-3)

This might seem harsh, having the Bills all the way down at the fifth spot after occupying a top-two spot pretty much all year, but the reality is the Bills did not look the same to close out the season.

A lot of that can be attributed to injuries, of course. One could make the argument that the Bills had the best offense and the best defense in the NFL at the beginning of the season, but that was not the case to end the season.

Josh Allen specifically suffered an elbow injury in Week 8 against the Jets and wasn’t quite the same after that. Their defense also took a major step back after losing starting safety Micah Hyde, and defensive end Von Miller to season-ending injuries as well.

6. Dallas Cowboys (12-5)

For roughly the 30th straight year, the Cowboys ended their season in disappointment as they were unable to reach the NFC Championship Game.

Specifically, Dak Prescott’s poor play to end the season left a bad taste in the mouths of Cowboys fans after throwing two interceptions in their playoff game against the 49ers.

Losing offensive coordinator Kellen Moore hurts, but one major positive is they were able to retain defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. The Cowboys finished with the second-best defense in the NFL both last year and the year before, according to DVOA.

7. Baltimore Ravens (10-7)

The biggest news with the Ravens heading into the offseason is what is going to happen with Lamar Jackson, who will be an unrestricted free agent. The guess here is that they will be able to work something out and that he will return to the team.

If that does happen, the Ravens are set up for success next year. After the trade for Roquan Smith, the Ravens defense stepped up in a major way. They finished the year with the seventh-best defense in the NFL.

Offensively, they will need to add firepower at receiver if they want to be a true contender.

8. Los Angeles Chargers (10-7)

The snake-bitten Chargers made a major upgrade already this offseason, firing their offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and replacing him with Kellen Moore.

Despite an inconsistent end to the season for the Cowboys offense, I am high on Moore as an offensive coach. Also, it won’t take much to improve upon Lombardi, who wasted much of Justin Herbert’s talents with his conservative play calling.

It is hard to take the Chargers seriously as an actual Super Bowl threat because they are living proof of Murphy’s Law that everything that can go wrong will go wrong, but there is no denying their talent on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

9. Detroit Lions (9-8)

Perhaps the top 10 feels too high, but it’s hard to ignore what the Lions did to end the season, finishing 9-8 with a +26 point differential. They were also one Seahawks loss away from making the playoffs and becoming a team that nobody wanted to see in the postseason.

Retaining offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is huge, as is having a top draft pick via the Rams. The Lions might end up being the favorite to win their division next year, depending on how some things go.

10. Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8)

I am excited to see what the Jaguars do this offseason and will be high on them entering next season. They are another team that ended the season on a hot streak and should only figure to get better with young quarterback Trevor Lawrence possibly taking another step forward.

Getting Calvin Ridley, who is expected to return from his year long suspension, is big for a team that could use more weapons for Lawrence.

11. New York Jets (7-10)

The Jets are a sneaky team to watch as a legit Super Bowl contender next season, depending on what they do with the QB position. They are obviously going to make some sort of move (Aaron Rodgers??), and that move could possibly vault them into the NFL’s elite.

They have a top-five defense, a good offensive line, and elite weapons at the skill positions in WR Garrett Wilson and RB Breece Hall.

12. Miami Dolphins (9-8)

The concussion history with QB Tua Tagovailoa is concerning, but there is no denying the firepower the Dolphins have on offense.

They have the potential to be a top-three offense in the NFL and made a major move on the other side of the ball, hiring Vic Fangio to be their defensive coordinator next season.

13. Minnesota Vikings (13-4)

The Vikings were, statistically, the worst 13-4 team in NFL history last year. Despite being nine games over .500, they finished the season with a negative point differential.

They went 12-0 in one-score games in the regular season and were a quick out in the playoffs, losing to the Giants in the wild-card round.

Advanced analytics weren’t kind to the Vikings either, as DVOA had them all the way down at 27th in the NFL, below teams such as the Raiders, Rams, and Broncos.

14. New York Giants (9-7-1)

The Giants had a great 2022, finishing with a winning record and winning a playoff game, before getting trounced by the Eagles 38-7 in the Divisional Round.

They are a well-coached team, but they are likely to re-sign Daniel Jones in the offseason, which severely limits their upside.

15. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-8)

Mike Tomlin continued his absurd streak of never having a losing season as the head coach of the Steelers, a job in which he’s had for over a decade.

After a rough start to the season, the Steelers looked good to end the season and have some hope with Kenny Pickett at QB.

16. Seattle Seahawks (9-8)

The Seahawks were a fun story for most of 2022. Everybody (including myself) expected them to be tanking, but instead had a winning record and a playoff berth.

They are an interesting team to watch this offseason, as QB Geno Smith had a Pro Bowl-caliber season, but the Seahawks have the fifth pick in the draft thanks to the Russell Wilson trade, so they are an option to draft a QB and start over.

17. Washington Commanders (8-8-1)

The Commanders have a decent roster, but major question marks at quarterback. Until Dan Snyder no longer owns the team, they will continue to be a train wreck.

18. New England Patriots (8-9)

The Patriots have some reason for hope next year, hiring Bill O’Brien to be their offensive coordinator. The marriage of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge as the OC last year was an epic disaster.

19. Las Angeles Rams (5-12)

I admittedly had a tough time deciding what to do with the Rams. On one hand, they were one of the most injured teams in the NFL last year, but, on the other hand, they were a horrible team even before all the injuries.

With Sean McVay returning, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rams were good in 2023, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

20. Denver Broncos (5-12)

I am willing to believe that Russell Wilson isn’t completely cooked and that the majority of the blame for the 2022 disaster season can go on head coach Nathaniel Hackett, so I am excited to see what Sean Payton can do with him.

21. Las Vegas Raiders (6-11)

It will be interesting to see what the Raiders do at quarterback this offseason. They are another Aaron Rodgers possibility.

22. Tennessee Titans (7-10)

The Titans are a tough, well-coached football team, but they need to make some serious upgrades on the offensive side of the ball in order to be taken seriously.

23. Cleveland Browns (7-10)

It will be interesting to see if Deshaun Watson is ever able to regain his form from before the time off and horrific charges. I am skeptical and am firmly in the camp of that trade being an absolute disaster for the Browns.

24. New Orleans Saints (7-10)

The Saints had a decent end to the season, but they are an aging team with no answer at quarterback.

25. Carolina Panthers (7-10)

I like Frank Reich as a head coach, but he has his work cut out for him this offseason, as another team looking for an answer at the most important position in all of sports.

26. Green Bay Packers (8-9)

This ranking is assuming that Aaron Rodgers will no longer be with the team in 2023. It’s possible that Jordan Love is the next Aaron Rodgers, in that he sits for the first three years of his career before becoming an elite QB, but that is unlikely.

27. Atlanta Falcons (7-10)

The Falcons don’t have much going for them on the defensive side of the ball and lack talent on offense, including at QB. I am also not a fan of their head coach Arthur Smith and his caveman approach to football.

But other than that …

28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9)

It is going to be a long, difficult rebuild in Tampa Bay now that Tom Brady has officially retired, for good (so he says). They didn’t replace Todd Bowles as their head coach, but they purged the coaching staff outside of him.

29. Chicago Bears (3-14)

There is some excitement for the future of the Bears, who have an exciting young QB in Justin Fields along with the No. 1 pick in the draft.

It will be interesting to see what the Bears do with that top draft pick, as they have three options:

• Keep the pick and trade Fields for a haul, and draft a QB at 1 overall.
• Trade the pick for a haul, and build around Fields.
• Keep the pick and take the best non-QB, and also build around Fields.

30. Arizona Cardinals (4-13)

2023 is going to be a rebuilding year for the Cardinals, who most likely won’t have Kyler Murray for at least the beginning of the season.

They also hired Jonathan Gannon to be their head coach, formerly the defensive coordinator for the Eagles, which is not a super inspiring decision after watching the Eagles defense crater in the Super Bowl.

31. Indianapolis Colts (4-12-1)

If Dan Snyder didn’t exist, the Colts might take the mantle for worst ownership in all of sports.

They hired Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen to be their head coach, who is well respected as a coach in the NFL, but I have a hard time seeing anybody succeed with Jim Irsay leading the charge.

32. Houston Texans (2-12-1)

The Texans laughably won their last game of the season, and now have the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, as opposed to the top pick. They still have the worst roster in football, so DeMeco Ryans will have his work cut out for him.