Zak Drapeau's NFL Power Rankings Post-Week 1
- Zak Drapeau
- 3 days ago
- 11 min read
by Zak Drapeau 9/9/2025 Sportz Nation
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32. New Orleans Saints --
0-1
Last Week: 20-13 Loss vs ARI
The Saints may have made their game with Arizona closer than most expected but they are still the last on our list of power rankings. Spencer Rattler didn't show much in the game like everyone else on their offense not named Kamara. One of the worst rosters in the sport and they lose Week 1 at home, yes the Saints belong here.
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31. New York Giants \/4
0-1
Last Week: 21-6 Loss vs WAS
Brian Daboll has come out and said that he will stick with Russell Wilson for Week 2 and frankly both of them should be gone. Not that Wilson isn't fit to be in the league but the Giants need to look to the future already. Losing to Washington at home may not be the worst loss by the end of the season but they way they were never even in the game is more telling.
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30. Carolina Panthers \/1
0-1
Last Week: 26-10 Loss at JAX
I had the Panthers far down this list before the preseason and everything about their Week 1 loss makes it warranted. Bryce Young's 2nd half of 2024 was no where to be found and their defense which was supposedly refurbished this off season, couldn't stop Jacksonville. The Panthers need too much on both sides of the ball and I can't see their season turning around but I guess it's still early.
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29. Cleveland Browns /\1
0-1
Last Week: 17-16 Loss vs CIN
The Browns made their game with the Bengals interesting with their defense but unfortunately couldn't get it done in a very "Browns fashion". Unable to outscore the Bengals who only had 7 yards of total offense in the 2nd half, the Browns actually have a chance to climb these rankings this year but they will need to find an offensive identity.
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28. Miami Dolphins \/7
0-1
Last Week: 33-8 Loss at IND
And the award for the most embarrassing loss in Week 1 goes to the Miami Dolphins. Losing an away game should always be given a few points but the Dolphins made the Colts look like a Super Bowl contender both on offense and defense. When you let Daniel Jones score on every single offensive drive he has, there's a LOT of work to be done.
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27. Tennessee Titans /\4
0-1
Last Week: 20-12 Loss at DEN
The Titans were at the 31st spot on my list in preseason but actually made quite an effort against the Broncos, in Denver no less. Tennessee still has a long way to go to fill out their roster and to prove Cam Ward is every bit of a #1 pick they believe he is but this was as good of a loss as you can have to start their season.
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26. New England Patriots \/12
0-1
Last Week: 20-13 Loss vs LV
I have high hopes for the Patriots till this season but unfortunately I don't think they looked much better than last season if at all. To make matters worse, Mike Vrabel is completely overhauling this defense and receiving core and I'm not sure he's going about it the right way. They had positives and negatives but this was a game they really should have won but fell flat.
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25. Las Vegas Raiders /\3
1-0
Last Week: 20-13 Win at NE
Evident by how low I put the Patriots, the Raiders are the worst 1-0 team on my list because they didn't look great either. Their defense was impressive compared to last year but Ashton Jeanty's woes weren't inspiring and even Geno Smith's big day was massively inflated by a Patriots' secondary they could have thrown a beach ball through.
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24. Houston Texans \/ 11
0-1
Last Week: 14-9 Loss at LAR
The Texans needed to do two things this offseason; build their O-line and surround CJ Stroud in talent. Fast forward to Week 1 and yes, any game traveling to Los Angeles is difficult but their offense looked so poor it was hard to remember how good this team was in 2023. They still have a lot of potential and should still win the AFC South but it will take a massive midseason adjustment to do so.
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23. Atlanta Falcons \/5
0-1
Last Week: 23-20 Loss vs TB
The Falcons are a weird entry on this list because I thought they played well with a team that I have much higher on this ranking but they still fall 5 spots. Losing at home in a divisional game is never good but their drop really has more to do by other teams ranked closely to them impressing me more than I thought. Penix looked good, the defense looked good, everyone looked good. Not great, just good.
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22. New York Jets ^1
0-1
Last Week: 34-32 Loss vs PIT
Speaking of teams that really impressed me, the Jets may have taken the cake with how their offense marched down the field against the Steelers. Unfortunately for them they couldn't hold off Aaron Rodgers at the end in a display of a bigger problem with this team in that their defense looked very bad compared to expectations for Aaron Glenn. If Glenn can work some stuff around and bring this defense to where it SHOULD be, the Jets may be able to actually make some noise this year.
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21. Seattle Seahawks \/4
0-1
Last Week: 17-13 Loss vs SF
This may be bias because Seattle was the only pick I got wrong on a 10-leg parlay this weekend but I thought Seattle and Sam Darnold looked bad. Their defense was as expected very good and should have won this game for them but their rushing attack was better than Sam Darnold until the very last drive that Darnold ended up fumbling the game away in anyway. If Darnold gets anywhere close to his 2024 season this team will bounce back immediately.
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20. Chicago Bears \/4
0-1
Last Week: 27-24 Loss vs MIN
As the second half of Monday Night Football started I had Chicago penciled in at #14 but then... Chicago not only looked terrible in the second half but had far from a perfect first half with multiple bad penalties hurting them. The inclusion of Swift, Odunze and Loveland made this team look like it has the 'Lions' future in front of them but that future may take a while to reach.
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19. Cincinnati Bengals --
1-0
Last Week: 17-16 Win at CLE
The Bengals cme into this game knowing they were going to have a ridiculous offense and struggle on defense all year, but then they forgot about the offense part. Granted, the Browns defense is always toward the top of the league but Burrow, Chase and Higgins had a very slow start to their season. Truthfully, Cincy is lucky they escaped with the win and avoided a colossal drop had they done so.
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18. Arizona Cardinals \/7
1-0
Last Week: 20-13 Win at NO
I said earlier that the Raiders had the worst win of the week and their biggest competition came from the Cardinals. Arizona is a few spots higher because their roster is genuinely better but even though their matchup was a road trip, Arizona REALLY should have won this game by more or at least looked better in a close effort. For a team I had very high hopes for this year, maybe they will just be bang average as they have been for a decade now.
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17. Jacksonville Jaguars /\5
1-0
Last Week: 26-10 vs CAR
The Jaguars had a pretty solid win with their new offense on display and playmakers on defense doing their thing to. I bumped them up 5 spots and would have them even higher but I've already told you what I think of the Panthers. One of the bright spots for the team was their big plays as well with 5 of them throughout the contest. I'm not sure if the Jags can be real contenders this season but they are visibly taking steps to get there.
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16. Minnesota Vikings /\10
1-0
Last Week: 27-24 Win at CHI
I was ready to give up on J.J. McCarthy after the first half last night and BOY was I wrong. McCarthy suddenly realized he had Justin Jefferson on his team and by the end of the game looked like a stud. The Vikings' defense is what really gets the team here as we know Brian Flores' unit will be Top-10 again. If McCarthy can get a hotter start for the rest of the season we could see Minnesota much higher on this list.
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15. Dallas Cowboys --
0-1
Last Week: 24-20 Loss at PHI
I was somewhat surprised by the Cowboys in their season opener especially in the city of Brotherly Love. The 'Boys may have even won this game if Ceedee Lamb didn't have 3 heartbreaking drops right at the end. The defense looked much better than what I thought it would and even thought their pass rush is not good without Micah Parsons, they held the defending champs to 24 points and really gave them a run for their money.
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14. Indianapolis Colts /\11
1-0
Last Week: 33-8 Win vs MIA
The biggest shocker of the week? I am an admitted Colts' fan so unbiasedly I will tell you that this won't be the Colts team we see every week. This team got a good Quarterback play for the first time in over two years and was able to show what the rest of this roster is capable of when they have it and as much as I think Daniel Jones will be better here than in New York, he will have those games where we remember just who he is.
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13. San Francisco 49ers /\1
1-0
Last Week: 17-13 Win at SEA
The 49ers may have been lucky to have won that game but they're also "lucky" a lot and even in the midst of what I considered a rebuild, the team reminded us of their playoff ways from years prior. It was great to see Christian McCaffrey back healthy and get 31 touches right away and the defense looked not great but solid considering they trotted out 7 new starters since last season.
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12. Washington Commanders /\8
1-0
Last Week: 21-6 Win vs NYG
My instinct and all of my off season work had the Commanders much lower than everyone else and I'm not totally ready to throw them with the top teams after a win versus the Giants. Jayden Daniels did look great and the defense stuffed Russell Wilson at every turn but let's see how they do against an actual team before I move them higher.
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11. Detroit Lions \/4
0-1
Last Week: 27-13 Loss at GB
Yup this is what all Lions' fans were afraid of. After all of their losses this offseason in the coaching department, the retirement of Frank Ragnow may have been the biggest loss as the Packers D-line were living in the Lions' backfield. Whether the Lions took a huge step back, the Packers took a huge step forward or both, I'm not sure. These Lions are definitely struggling to re-find their identity though.
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10. Los Angeles Rams \/1
1-0
Last Week: 14-9 Win vs HOU
Puka Nacua made a believer out of me this Sunday after walking to the locker room after a cracking hit that left his head bleeding then return to catch 10 balls for 130 yards in a big win. The defense was the best part of this team as Jared Verse, Braden Fiske and Kamren Kinchens seem like they're the future of this team and made the Texans look like chumps.
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9. Pittsburgh Steelers /\1
1-0
Last Week: 34-32 Win at NYJ
Aaron Rodgers looked like he was 35 again and torched his former team especially in the 4th quarter. The Steelers' defense should be a big cause for concern after allowing 32 points to the Jets but at the end of the day I have full confidence in Mike Tomlin to turn his unit around. If the Steelers get back to their defensive ways and have A-Rod slinging the ball, look out.
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8. Kansas City Chiefs \/3
0-1
Last Week: 27-21 Loss vs LAC
The Chiefs have taken a slide in recent years to always be playing in these close games and it really bit them in the butt this week as the Chargers outplayed them. This is the Chiefs we're talking about so I can see them still hitting a 7-game win streak soon enough but the holes are apparent in this team and the biggest problem may be their division catching up to them as they're the only AFC West team to get a loss in Week 1.
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7. Denver Broncos \/3
1-0
Last Week: 20-12 Win vs TEN
Speaking of AFC West teams, the Broncos looked frankly terrible compared to what I thought they'd be. At home against the team that got the #1 pick last year... Denver should've won by 30. Aside from two picks from Bo Nix that gave the team good field position this defense was very solid and looked ready to carry this team all season like I knew they would.
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6. Los Angeles Chargers /\18
1-0
Last Week: 27-21 Win vs KC
The biggest jump of the week, the Chargers completely shocked me with their passing and dismantling of the Chiefs. Obviously we all knew how good Justin Herbert was but I didn't think Harbaugh and Roman would let him run the offense like that. If Herbert and Johnston and Allen can keep this up along with their great defense and a running game that will eventually come, we could really see new AFC West champions.
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5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers \/1
1-0
Last Week: 23-20 Win at ATL
Now for Top-5 time and it starts with the Buccs. Besides a run game that surprisingly couldn't poke holes through the Atlanta front-7, I thought the Buccs looked as advertised. Baker had a very efficient day especially with rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka's breakout and the defense bent but didn't break to Michael Penix also surprising me. This team always keeps things close in the division but look for them to iron out the kinks in the following weeks.
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4. Baltimore Ravens \/3
0-1
Last Week: 41-40 Loss at BUF
That may have been the greatest football game I've seen in a very long time and while the Ravens barely lost a game in Buffalo, they also gave up a huge 15-point 4th Quarter comeback. Can't blame this on Lamar or Derrick Henry, but the questionable play calling at the end with a punt on 4th&1 was suspect and even though it's the Bills, this defense shouldn't have given up so much. They will get it together sooner than later though and hopefully give us a rematch in January.
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3. Green Bay Packers /\5
1-0
Last Week: 27-13 Win vs DET
I will say that no team looked as dominant against another good team this weekend than the Green Bay Packers. In every phase as well, their defense looked great in the secondary and especially on the D-line where Jared Goff was running for his life. Jordan Love threw the ball around with ease to 10 different receivers and then handed the ball to Josh Jacobs for those tough 3rd&shorts. This team is stacked all around and will only get better as injuries come back and Micah Parsons adjusts further to his new team.
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2. Philadelphia Eagles --
1-0
Last Week: 24-20 Win vs DAL
The reigning champs may have not pulled away from the Cowboys as much as I would've liked to see but they still looked exceptional. Jalen Hurts was running all over the field and Barkley picked up right from last season to stifle the Cowboys' defense. Their defense may have played the worst game dating back to last season and still only gave up 20 points despite losing Jalen Carter before the game even started.
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1. Buffalo Bills /\5 1-0
Last Week: 41-40 Win vs BUF
Is there anyone else that deserves to hold the #1 spot? The winners of one of the greatest season-opening SNF games of all time and coming back from a 15-point 4th Quarter deficit. The MVP Josh Allen PROVED this week that as long as 17 is on the field you have a chance no matter where the score is. The defense will need to bounce back after allowing Derrick Henry a career day but that will come in time with Sean McDermott. Is this the Bills' year?
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-Z.D.
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