Preseason top 32 power rankings; record projections, more.
- Luke Snavely
- Sep 4
- 9 min read
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It's the eve of the 2025 NFL season, and I thought I'd share a few season predictions as well as how I think the 32 teams stack up. We're going to count up from 32; I'll include my prediction for that team's final record. You'll note that the list isn't necessarily sorted by the projected record; naturally a team's strength of schedule can inflate (or deflate) their record noticeably.
Final thought: to review last year's picks and see how that went, click here.
Let's get to it!
32) Tennessee Titans (projected record: 3-14). Poor Cam Ward, this is an absolute disaster of a situation for a young QB. Other than defensive tackle, can you name a position group here that will even be average, let along good?
31) Carolina Panthers (4-13). Carolina just doesn't have enough good players. That's it, that's the comment.
30) Las Vegas Raiders (5-12). I've lost count of the number of Raiders fans that have been gushing over Geno Smith and how he represented a huge upgrade for them at QB. Really, Geno Smith? In other news, the Raiders have no offensive weapons other than their TEs and rookie RB, and one of their top defensive players (Christian Wilkins) got released for reasons that remain unclear.
29) New Orleans Saints (6-11). The Saints don't have a QB and most of their best players are too old. Good luck, Kellen Moore!
28) Jacksonville Jaguars (7-10). Can Travis Hunter play tight end? And offensive line? What about safety? Thanks to a really weak schedule (somehow they get four combined games against the lowest three teams on this list), Jacksonville is probably an upset or two away from the fringes of the playoff picture.
27) Indianapolis Colts (7-10). Daniel Jones went from one terrible team to another. At least the Colts have an offensive line with a pulse, which should help. If the young pass rush develops, there's a chance for a respectable record.
26) New York Giants (4-13). The defense should actually be pretty good, maybe even elite. The offense is held back by a terrible QB room, shaky OL and the fact that they really only have one weapon. In other words, the offense is held back by pretty much everything. The tough schedule ensures the Giants will likely have an even worse record even than their talent would indicate.
25) Miami Dolphins (9-8). A manageable schedule, a dangerous pass offense and high upside pass rush will combine to keep Miami in the hunt all season. Deficiencies everywhere else will prevent the Dolphins from contending.
24) Cincinnati Bengals (6-11). Last year's Bengals gave us the answer to the question, "Is an elite passing offense all you need to contend?" (the answer is no). Now ask yourself the question: "Other than passing, what will this team do well?"
23) Arizona Cardinals (7-10). The Fraud Jonathan Gannon has maybe his best team yet, but one that is short on depth. Scanning through each position group, you'll see about one headliner player per slot. Not good enough, especially with a very average QB taking snaps.
22) Cleveland Browns (5-12). Cleveland's veteran talent on both sides of the trenches might be enough to keep the Browns afloat. Hard to see how they contend, however, with the league's most scrambled QB room (seriously, how do you bring in six different QBs and they all stink?).
21) New England Patriots (7-10). The Patriots need more help on the OL to merit the excitement that they're generating. I think New England was good for so long that the collective consciousness of the football fandom just can't accommodate the fact that they aren't the Big Bad Patriots any longer. That said, this team does have better talent and should see an improved record.
20) Washington Commanders (7-10). I've got a lot to say about the most overrated team in the NFL in 2025, mostly because I've spent the last seven months hearing about how the Commanders are basically a step away from a championship.
They are not.
Here's the real truth: from an overall talent and depth perspective, the Commanders were a seven win team that played like a ten win team (credit where it's due, their staff did a whale of a job last year), but actually won twelve games. This team was five flukes away from only winning those seven games:
In week two, the Giants lost their placekicker on the opening kickoff, forcing them to pass up all field goals and to go for two after every touchdown. This predictably didn't go well, and the Giants fell by three. By the way, Washington is only the second team in recorded NFL history to score no touchdowns, allow three, and still win. Such teams have an all time record of 2-621; they lose 99.68% of the time. This win still required the mediocre Commander kicker to hit all seven of his FG attempts, a statistical improbability.
In week eight, it took a Hail Mary to beat the Bears. Washington fans will rightfully look back on that moment with pride but should acknowledge how fortunate that result was.
In week fifteen, New Orleans was missing Derek Carr and still nearly took Washington down. Backup Spencer Rattler missed his man on a two point conversion that would have defeated the Commanders.
The very next week, this happened.
The week after that, yet another backup kicker missed a makeable FG that would have given Atlanta a win in regulation; Washington won in OT.
In summary, the Commanders were two kicker injuries, two QB injuries and a Hail Mary away from a 7-10 record. If that had happened, are they getting the "buzzy Super Bowl contender" treatment they're currently getting? What if they had only won a couple of those games and had gotten blitzed by Philly in round one of the playoffs, instead of the NFCCG? Or what if their game winning FG in Tampa had bounced out of the crossbars instead of in? You can do this all day, but it's painfully clear to me that the national perception of this team is considerably skewed by Washington's inflated record in 2024. Add to that the inevitable regression by Daniels (20 games of NFL tape now available for dissection), the fact that Washington is depending on a LOT of very old players and dealing with a much tougher schedule (going from five 2024 playoff teams to eight) and a noticeable regression is to be expected. There will be quite a few shocked and disappointed Commander fans in January.
19) New York Jets (9-8). I'm not going to go nuts and pick the Jets to acquire the AFC's top seed, like last season, but I maintain that this is a better roster than it's given credit for. If either Tyrod Taylor or Justin Fields can be passable at QB, the Jets will be in the Wild Card discussion.
18) Atlanta Falcons (7-10). I don't believe in Atlanta's defense, and Raheem Morris is one of the league's worst head coaches. Still, Michael Penix leads a good offense and there are extra wins to be had in a weak NFC South.
17) Los Angeles Chargers (10-7). The Chargers defense got turned over a bit in the offseason, and the offense lost maybe its best player in Rashawn Slater. Justin Herbert is undeniably talented but has yet to get over the hump. Lots of questions for Jim Harbaugh to answer.
16) Los Angeles Rams (8-9). Another painfully overrated team from last year that is due for a bit of regression. LA was a nearly average team last year that won a bad division and upset a deflated Minnesota in the Wild Card. Their game with the Birds in the divisional was tight but even their own bloggers admit that it wasn't as close as it seemed. The Rams are yet another team with about six or eight really good players but no depth. As the QB rankings column detailed, I have limited respect for Matthew Stafford, who is injured.
15) San Francisco 49ers (9-8). The 49ers talented core has aged. Their injury concerns give this season a wide variance. Should older and often-injured stars like RB McCaffery, TE Kittle, OT Williams, LB Warner, etc. manage to stay healthy they will beat this win total. I wouldn't bet on it.
14) Dallas Cowboys (9-8). The Parsons trade undeniably makes Dallas weaker but not as badly as commonly reported. Dallas has talent waiting in the wings at EDGE and needed some help in run defense. If they can get healthy in the back seven, this is still a good defense. They'll need that health, as well as solutions at OT to get back to the playoffs but Dallas may surprise this season.
13) Seattle Seahawks (11-6). Seattle's offense should have the ability to grind teams down, and their defense has some playmakers. I think this team is on the right track.
12) Chicago Bears (9-8). Some readers will see this and take it as a vote of confidence in Caleb Williams. It's actually a vote of confidence in the roster around Williams, which is pretty solid and well balanced. If he takes some steps forward this season, Chicago will get back to the playoffs.
11) Pittsburgh Steelers (9-8). While I certainly understand Steelers fans' frustration over the prolonged mediocrity of this team, it should be pointed out that the team's choices to play QB since Ben retired have been, in a word, uninspiring. Tomlin at least deserves credit for keeping this thing afloat this long. Pittsburgh is yet another team overly reliant on old guys (42 year old Aaron Rodgers, 36 year old Cam Heyward, 34 year old Darius Slay, 31 year old Jalen Ramsey, 31 year old TJ Watt, to name a few). The Steelers remain perhaps the highest floor team in the NFL but with a continual low ceiling.
10) Houston Texans (12-5). I think we've arrived to the first team that has a realistic Super Bowl shot. Houston has real OL issues but there's a chance they can fix them; if they do, the rest of the roster is solid to elite.
9) Denver Broncos (11-6). Denver looks rock solid in the trenches, has a proven young QB for the first time in I don't know how long (Jay Cutler? John Elway?), some offensive weapons, some dangerous back seven guys and a coach who knows how to win at this level. This team will be a tough out all year long.
8) Green Bay Packers (11-6). The Packers will probably have the best third and long defense in the league (Parsons, Gary, McKinney, Cooper) but questions about the run D and the corner room remain. On offense, the OL is good not great, as is Jordan Love. The media is overreacting to the Parsons trade; this is definitely a playoff team but not a frontrunner.
7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-6). Tampa has serious playmakers all throughout their defense, a terrifying 4 WR set and dangerous weapons at RB and TE. Their OL has few questions. This team showed their ceiling last September when they destroyed both Philly and Washington, and were the only team to beat a healthy Lions squad. So why only eleven wins? Another tough schedule awaits, plus I just don't trust Baker Mayfield or Todd Bowles. If I'm wrong about those concerns, this is a Super Bowl contender.
6) Minnesota Vikings (10-7). On the other hand, don't sleep on Minnesota. If JJ McCarthy is the player Minnesota thinks he is (Kevin O'Connell knows quarterbacks), there are no real weaknesses on this roster.
5) Kansas City Chiefs (12-5). Never count out Patrick Mahomes or Andy Reid, but one wonders what the Chiefs have left in the tank after playing 61 games in three years and coming up short of a generational achievement. Two of their three bona fide Hall of Famers (Kelce and Jones) are noticeably past their primes.
4) Buffalo Bills (12-5). Personally, I think the Josh Allen-Sean McDermott is as good a QB-coach combo as there is. Buffalo keeps adding pieces (if they get something meaningful out of Joey Bosa, that's a big deal). Still need to cure the KC Curse, though.
3) Baltimore Ravens (11-6). Baltimore annually wins the "roster looks like the best on paper" award and they're in that stratosphere once again; time to show it in the playoffs.
2) Detroit Lions (12-5). Detroit has killer skill guys, perhaps the best OL in the league in Penei Sewell, the league's presumptive DPOY before his injury in Aiden Hutchinson, probably the best safety tandem in the NFL and a deep collection of young talent at corner. Dan Campbell remains maybe the top coach in the game. My assertion is that the demise of the Lions is greatly exaggerated.
1) Philadelphia Eagles (12-5). Even with the losses on the defensive side, this is still the premier roster in the NFL. All you need to do is check the NFL 100; with nine entrants. the Birds pace the league (no one else has more than seven). Philly's nine are all in the top 70 of that list, highlighting the quality of their top guys. I'd rank at least seven of their position rooms in the top five leaguewide (QB, RB, WR, OT, DT, LB, CB). At least 13 of their 22 starters are either former Pro Bowlers or will be in one soon (Hurts, Barkley, Mailata, Dickerson, Jurgens, Johnson, Brown, Smith, Carter, Baun, DeJean, Blankenship, Mitchell), and that doesn't count ascending players like Jordan Davis and Nolan Smith, or guys like Dallas Goedert who haven't made a Pro Bowl but play at that level. Nick Sirianni has the second best win/loss record of any coach in the Super Bowl era. Additionally, Philly ranks as the second youngest team in the league and the second most athletic (by RAS). There are flaws (DE depth, CB2), but as we've seen, everyone has flaws; few teams have top end talent even in the stratosphere that the Birds do.
PROJECTED STANDINGS
NFC EAST
Eagles (12-5)
Cowboys (9-8)
Commanders (7-10)
Giants (4-13)
NFC NORTH
Lions (12-5)
Packers (11-6)
Vikings (10-7)
Bears (9-8)
NFC SOUTH
Buccaneers (11-6)
Falcons (7-10)
Saints (6-11)
Panthers (4-13)
NFC WEST
Seahawks (11-6)
49ers (9-8)
Rams (8-9)
Cardinals (7-10)
PLAYOFF STANDINGS
Eagles
Lions
Buccaneers
Seahawks
Packers
Vikings
Cowboys
AFC EAST
Bills (12-5)
Jets (9-8)
Dolphins (9-8)
Patriots (7-10)
AFC NORTH
Ravens (11-6)
Steelers (9-8)
Bengals (6-11)
Browns (5-12)
AFC SOUTH
Texans (12-5)
Jaguars (7-10)
Colts (7-10)
Titans (3-14)
AFC WEST
Chiefs (13-4)
Broncos (11-6)
Chargers (10-7)
Raiders (5-12)
PLAYOFF STANDINGS
Chiefs
Bills
Texans
Ravens
Broncos
Chargers
Steelers
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