Sports Illustrated NFL Power Rankings

[signbabybrady]

Biggest issues....

#6 49ers? Okay... how about they prove they can stay healthy first.... And perhaps most damning of all for them... They went 6-11 with their starting QB staying pretty much healthy the whole year minus 2-3 games. That is a bad sign suggesting Purdy overachieved when he was new and unleashed on the league with an amazing cast to back him up. Maybe he isn't that good? And their D which finished 29th in PPG surrendered... They had only 1 non-defensive TD score by opponents. Yeah they had to deal with the 6th most turnovers... but that and injuries can't explain such a massive collapse. I'd rank them #11 till proven otherwise... They don't deserve a ton 10.

#20 Raiders? With that D? Nah... They can't be that high.... If they had a Burrow and Chase combo to carry them maybe,,, But they don't. Bowers isn't that impactful and their #2 isn't Higgins. And their is mid. Also the more i read about that offensive line the more i dislike them being this high. They improved overall i think, but I'd rank them #25 at most.

Bowers might already be the best TE in the game. His numbers last year as a rookie were off the charts. He might be the best player on the field Sunday.

I'm sure there are still some parts of his game he can improve on too but hard to ask for more out of his rookie year.

I can agree maybe 20 is high for them. I thought 21 was high for us too. But Bowers is very impactful.

 

[Real fan 02]

Week One opponent is ranked one spot higher than the Pats by the SI author.

Surprised to see the Dolphins so low, or to see the Patriots ranked higher than Atlanta.


For the click-phobic, here's the bottom half of his rankings:

17. Pittsburgh Steelers
18. Arizona Cardinals
19. Chicago Bears
20. Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders enter the 2025 season hoping to erase those moments of bumbling incompetence from a year ago. While Pete Carroll’s Seahawks teams were always weird, they were not the specific kind of weird that was the 2024 Raiders. No identity. Frazzled decision making. The one bright spot is that most teams didn’t double their rookie tight end. While my personal jury is out on Ashton Jeanty over taking one of the anchor tackles in the first round and one of the big-time backs in the second, I have faith that Chip Kelly can make it look right.

21. New England Patriots
A pivotal season starts with Mike Vrabel instilling more confidence in the Patriots than at any point during the waning Belichick era or the short-lived Jerod Mayo era. Vrabel’s ultimate challenge will be keeping it that way. After taking the gap year à la Sean Payton and building a groundswell for his return, the pressure is on him to rack up at least seven or eight wins with an ascending star quarterback in Drake Maye.

22. Atlanta Falcons
23. Indianapolis Colts
24. Jacksonville Jaguars
25. Dallas Cowboys
26. New York Jets
27. New York Giants
28. Miami Dolphins
29. Carolina Panthers
30. New Orleans Saints
31. Tennessee Titans
32. Cleveland Browns

I'll take it.. we've been Cellar dwellers the last few seasons.. anything is better than 31st or 32nd.. this season is so pivotal to try to get these wins early and often especially at Home games.

 

[Real fan 02]

Bowers might already be the best TE in the game. His numbers last year as a rookie were off the charts. He might be the best player on the field Sunday.

I'm sure there are still some parts of his game he can improve on too but hard to ask for more out of his rookie year.

I can agree maybe 20 is high for them. I thought 21 was high for us too. But Bowers is very impactful.

Agreed he's a phenomenal player. Mapu or Woodson on him?? No matter what he has to be accounted for. If gonzo was playing he'd likely have the match up.. I'm thinking Williams doubles him or brackets him??

 

[PatsFan2]

Week One opponent is ranked one spot higher than the Pats by the SI author.

Surprised to see the Dolphins so low, or to see the Patriots ranked higher than Atlanta.


For the click-phobic, here's the bottom half of his rankings:

17. Pittsburgh Steelers
18. Arizona Cardinals
19. Chicago Bears
20. Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders enter the 2025 season hoping to erase those moments of bumbling incompetence from a year ago. While Pete Carroll’s Seahawks teams were always weird, they were not the specific kind of weird that was the 2024 Raiders. No identity. Frazzled decision making. The one bright spot is that most teams didn’t double their rookie tight end. While my personal jury is out on Ashton Jeanty over taking one of the anchor tackles in the first round and one of the big-time backs in the second, I have faith that Chip Kelly can make it look right.

21. New England Patriots
A pivotal season starts with Mike Vrabel instilling more confidence in the Patriots than at any point during the waning Belichick era or the short-lived Jerod Mayo era. Vrabel’s ultimate challenge will be keeping it that way. After taking the gap year à la Sean Payton and building a groundswell for his return, the pressure is on him to rack up at least seven or eight wins with an ascending star quarterback in Drake Maye.

22. Atlanta Falcons
23. Indianapolis Colts
24. Jacksonville Jaguars
25. Dallas Cowboys
26. New York Jets
27. New York Giants
28. Miami Dolphins
29. Carolina Panthers
30. New Orleans Saints
31. Tennessee Titans
32. Cleveland Browns

Right off the bat the NFC looks like the power conference. We are potentially better than Teams 17-20. Don't get how they have Houston @ 16 and the overrated Chargers @ 7.

 

[signbabybrady]

Agreed he's a phenomenal player. Mapu or Woodson on him?? No matter what he has to be accounted for. If gonzo was playing he'd likely have the match up.. I'm thinking Williams doubles him or brackets him??

It would be a serious test for Mapu not sure he's up for that. Probably a lot to ask of Woodson too in his first game.

If we do an all out double or bracket then I don't really care with who...... 2 v 1 you should win. But that probably leaves us short a guy in the deep half.

I think the play is probably to chip him with Landry almost every play to slow him up but not an all out double and then use Hawkins who is at least somewhat experienced and being a FS should have enough coverage skills. If that doesn't work then maybe try Davis.

 

[PatsFan2]

Ranking seems fair but we could quickly go sideways with injuries.

Every Team could go sideways with injuries...there's no Deep Team.

 

[PatsFan2]

It would be a serious test for Mapu not sure he's up for that. Probably a lot to ask of Woodson too in his first game.

If we do an all out double or bracket then I don't really care with who...... 2 v 1 you should win. But that probably leaves us short a guy in the deep half.

I think the play is probably to chip him with Landry almost every play to slow him up but not an all out double and then use Hawkins who is at least somewhat experienced and being a FS should have enough coverage skills. If that doesn't work then maybe try Davis.

Mapu sucks: he should go to NC and help BB.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Bowers might already be the best TE in the game. His numbers last year as a rookie were off the charts. He might be the best player on the field Sunday.

I'm sure there are still some parts of his game he can improve on too but hard to ask for more out of his rookie year.

I can agree maybe 20 is high for them. I thought 21 was high for us too. But Bowers is very impactful.

I am really interested to see how they defend Bowers.

 

[signbabybrady]

Mapu sucks: he should go to NC and help BB.

I was intrigued when we first got him by his skill set and how he could be a unique player in our system but that has not shown up at all for us yet.

The only thing keeping me from giving up is the move to LB where I think we all thought his speed would make him more unique than being a big safety. However I don't think he looked that good this summer at LB either. He made the team though so giving him the benefit of the doubt and pitching him in way that makes sense for his skill set was fair of Real to do. I'd like to see him against TEs too but maybe not start with Bowers although who else can do it? Obviously I suggested giving Hawkins first crack but how much better do we expect him to do?

 

[Nikolai]

Ehhhhh...anywhere from 17-24 is fair for the team at this point. It's a wide range, and one could argue for anything in that range based on roster improvements, coaching improvements, and an easier schedule, but it's all unproven. I think they'll rise above that by the time Halloween rolls around, but we're in the "prove it" phase now.

 

[Real fan 02]

It would be a serious test for Mapu not sure he's up for that. Probably a lot to ask of Woodson too in his first game.

If we do an all out double or bracket then I don't really care with who...... 2 v 1 you should win. But that probably leaves us short a guy in the deep half.

I think the play is probably to chip him with Landry almost every play to slow him up but not an all out double and then use Hawkins who is at least somewhat experienced and being a FS should have enough coverage skills. If that doesn't work then maybe try Davis.

Sensible. But Bowers you have to treat like a wr.. this is why not having all pro Gonzo affects us. Sure we have guys that can step up but we can't play " cat " coverage. Chipping is ok, but we need Landry to rush from his spot. I'm thinking marpu and Dugger bracket him.. not that Dugger is some great cover guy but just a physical presence on him. That leaves Hawkins and or Woodson to protect the deep half of the feild. Davis on Myers, Jones on the slot guy and Austin on the other guy outside.

 

[Real fan 02]

Mapu sucks: he should go to NC and help BB.

Twin Mapu was hurt alot to really be on the field to have a impact. He had YMCA volunteers for coaches with deer in headlights mayo last season..

 

[PatsFan2]

Twin Mapu was hurt alot to really be on the field to have a impact. He had YMCA volunteers for coaches with deer in headlights mayo last season..

Twin: His Selection reminds me of Cole Strange: hate it then still hate it now *smh*. Spillane - Elliss and Gibbens are much better LB's.

 

[patfanken]

Dumb. Dumb, DUMB! There is nothing more idiotic to talk about than predictions on the upcoming season. How about this one flash from the past. "the Patriots are the LEAST likely team to win a superbowl in the next 5 years". 2001 Pro Football Weekly

Injuries are so prevalent despite this era of "soft" football that it is difficult to judge a team's success when it is likely 5 or 6 starters are likely to be missing for a significant part of the year at any one time. Depth is a luxury few teams have and certainly not the Pats.

If they have a good year, I suggest the main reason will be a remarkable year injury wise. If they disappoint it will likely be because they were injury prone. It is simple as that. OR if they are better than expected, it will be because they have been good at getting TO's or if they are bad, they weren't.

Funny how this can be said for just about every team in the league. It's not a hard equation to figure out. BTW- It is interesting to me how the Jets went from having one of the best overall rosters in the league in 24 to being off EVERYONES radar in 25 and with the only major loss being a 41 year old QB. I haven't figured that one out yet.

 

[PWRxWLF]

Dumb. Dumb, DUMB! There is nothing more idiotic to talk about than predictions on the upcoming season. How about this one flash from the past. "the Patriots are the LEAST likely team to win a superbowl in the next 5 years". 2001 Pro Football Weekly

Injuries are so prevalent despite this era of "soft" football that it is difficult to judge a team's success when it is likely 5 or 6 starters are likely to be missing for a significant part of the year at any one time. Depth is a luxury few teams have and certainly not the Pats.

If they have a good year, I suggest the main reason will be a remarkable year injury wise. If they disappoint it will likely be because they were injury prone. It is simple as that. OR if they are better than expected, it will be because they have been good at getting TO's or if they are bad, they weren't.

Funny how this can be said for just about every team in the league. It's not a hard equation to figure out. BTW- It is interesting to me how the Jets went from having one of the best overall rosters in the league in 24 to being off EVERYONES radar in 25 and with the only major loss being a 41 year old QB. I haven't figured that one out yet.

 

[Real fan 02]

Twin: His Selection reminds me of Cole Strange: hate it then still hate it now *smh*. Spillane - Elliss and Gibbens are much better LB's.

I know twin.. marpu is a hybrid type player.. he has this year to show what he can do it not don't be suprise if get released during the regular season.

 

[Rob0729]

My Dude you're thinking of the year before, '23 was Tua's only full season. He wasn't healthy last year, he missed 4 games due to concussion and two for a hip injury. The same hip he injured in college. Tua is an injury waiting to happen, never more than one play from IR

In fairness to me, only missing 4 games is pretty healthy for Tua.

 

[mgteich]

Ranking seems fair but we could quickly go sideways with injuries.

as could every team in the NFL

 

[maust]

In fairness to me, only missing 4 games is pretty healthy for Tua.

It was 6 total last year. But yeah, 4-7 is about what we've come to expect. Tua is 'fragile' as NFL players go but to be fair he's probably a friggin' iron man compared to what would happen to the average human being subjected to that level of punishment.

 

[ErniesPinkStripes]

Bowers might already be the best TE in the game. His numbers last year as a rookie were off the charts. He might be the best player on the field Sunday.

I'm sure there are still some parts of his game he can improve on too but hard to ask for more out of his rookie year.

I can agree maybe 20 is high for them. I thought 21 was high for us too. But Bowers is very impactful.

Yea I could see Geno playing smart and sticking with Bowers plus their running game could make this a tough game. Hopefully we can generate some pressure and get a fumble/pick or 2. Should be a fun one to open the season, I wonder if Brady will be in the building

Edit: Brady will be busy duh